Emergency services are responding to a gas leak in Auckland's Newmarket this morning.

Fire and Emergency NZ were called to Newmarket at around 9.40am, responding with two crews from Remuera and Auckland City.

Police said the line near Khyber Pass Rd was damaged today while earth works were being carried out in the area.

"Khyber Pass has been closed between Crowhurst St and Broadway, with nearby buildings evacuated as a precaution," a police spokesperson said.

There were no reports of any injuries.

Motorists were advised to avoid the area and could expect delays while the line was repaired.

A 33-year-old woman has been charged with attempted murder following a stabbing in West Auckland that left two people critically injured.

Emergency services were called to Kirby St in Glendene at around 11.40pm on Sunday following reports a person had been injured.

Detective Senior Sergeant Adam Lough said police located two people with injuries consistent with knife wounds.

"Neighbours came to these people’s aid prior to emergency services arriving on the scene,” he said.

“We are very grateful for their assistance and bravery with what can only be described as a very confronting and upsetting scene.”

Two people were initially transported to hospital in a critical condition, while a third was transported to hospital with moderate injuries.

Yesterday, police confirmed to 1News a child was among the three people injured. The NZ Herald reported neighbours tended to a wounded baby at the scene.

Police said today one person had undergone surgery and remained in a critical condition.

A second person remained in a serious but stable condition in hospital, while another suffered moderate injuries and was recovering at home.

Lough said the investigation remained ongoing, with police working to establish the events leading up to the incident.

“We appreciate the public’s interest in what has occurred here,” Lough said.

“However, the welfare of two people is at the forefront of this, and their privacy is paramount as they recover from this traumatic event.”

Police said all those involved were known to each other and officers were not seeking anyone else in connection with the incident.

The woman was due to appear in the Waitākere District Court today via a bedside hearing.

King Charles has reportedly told his brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor that private funding he receives from the monarch must not be used to pay for his legal action against UK police.

The former Duke of York has launched a judicial review against Thames Valley Police over his arrest in connection to the Epstein files earlier this year.

According to The Telegraph, a Buckingham Palace source said the King had no involvement in the legal action and it had been "made clear" to Mountbatten-Windsor that his private allowance from the monarch should not be used to fund it.

Mountbatten-Windsor received an annual six-figure allowance from the King through his private funds, which included money towards his private security.

The legal action against Thames Valley Police could reportedly cost hundreds of thousands of pounds. Buckingham Palace had previously made it clear that taxpayers would not cover Mountbatten-Windsor's legal cost.

The former prince, who was stripped of his royal titles last year, was arrested at Marsh Farm in Norfolk on his 66th birthday in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

UK police searched Marsh Farm and his former home, Royal Lodge in Windsor, as part of the investigation.

Correspondence contained in the Epstein files suggested Mountbatten-Windsor may have passed on confidential information to Jeffery Epstein during his time as a UK trade envoy.

He was questioned for almost 12 hours before being released under investigation and had since repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

Mountbatten-Windsor had reportedly launched legal action over the circumstances of his February arrest, with the claim concerning the actions of officers when executing the search warrant.

Thames Valley Police had applied to restrict access to documents relating to the legal challenge, with a High Court hearing on the application expected to take place later this week.

Following his brother's arrest, King Charles said the "law must take its course" and expressed his "deepest concern".

"What now follows is the full, fair and proper process by which this issue is investigated in the appropriate manner and by the appropriate authorities," the monarch said in a statement at the time.

National says it will reduce New Zealand's foreign aid spending to boost Pharmac’s medicines budget and cancer screening, if elected.

The party announced today that it would invest $604 million to help Pharmac fund new medicines and expand access to those already funded.

To pay for the boost, National said it would cut funding to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, reducing New Zealand’s foreign aid outside the Pacific by 10%. Aid to the Pacific would remain “fully protected”.

"New Zealanders are generous people, and we'll continue to play our part in the world,” National health spokesperson Simeon Brown said.

“But National believes more of New Zealanders' hard-earned money should be spent here at home, caring for Kiwis fighting cancer and other serious illnesses, rather than being sent offshore.”

The Party’s policy document said: “Millions of dollars have gone towards, among other things, smart agriculture systems in Latin America and the Caribbean, workshops with indigenous farmers in Patagonia, and installing livestock emissions equipment at universities in South Africa.”

National said the 10% cut would save $431 million over the forecast period.

The vow to protect Pacific funding, which makes up 66% of what is spent overseas, reflected “the importance of our closest neighbours and strongest interests”.

National said MFAT’s funding had grown from $1.05 billion in 2017 to nearly $2 billion, with the Ministry exempt from the current Government cuts.

“National will now bring MFAT into line with the rest of the public sector, catching up through a 2% baseline expenditure reduction that saves a further $45.6 million over the forecast period.”

Alongside the Pharmac announcement, National said it would set a national target for clinical trials and unlock CAR-T cell therapy.

"Clinical trials and CAR-T also give New Zealanders access to cutting-edge treatments, often years before they would otherwise be available,” Brown said.

“For someone facing cancer or a rare disorder, that can mean real hope when other options have run out.”

National says it will lower free bowel screening age to 50

National promised to lower the free bowel cancer screening age to 50 by 2029.

It also said it would deliver free cervical screening for all women aged 25 to 69 from March 2027 and complete the free breast screening extension to age 74 by 2029.

New screening pilots for prostate and lung cancer would also launch.

"Early detection and prevention are just as important, catching cancer when it is most treatable and keeping more Kiwis well and out of hospital,” Brown said.

National wanted to establish a “Healthy Kiwis Programme”, offering active prescriptions and helping to stop chronic diseases. It would aim to double the number of people receiving active prescriptions by 2030.

"Supporting families through some of the hardest moments of their lives is why National has been so focused on responsible financial management, so we can keep investing in the health services that matter most,” Brown said.

A former Ohio music pastor who once appeared on American Idol was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole Monday after a jury convicted him of murdering his wife while he was having an affair.

Prosecutors said Caleb Flynn, 40, staged a home invasion in February after shooting Ashley Flynn, a 37-year-old schoolteacher and volleyball coach. Flynn claimed she was killed by a burglar.

With tears rolling down his cheeks, Flynn addressed the courtroom ahead of the sentencing and apologised to his family, starting with his two daughters.

“I made vows to Ashley on our wedding day. I failed in those vows,” he said. “I cannot apologise enough.”

Although he admitted to lying about many things, Flynn remained adamant that he was innocent.

“As I stand here before God, who is my ultimate judge, I am not lying when I say I did not kill my wife,” he said.

Flynn faces up to life in prison without the possibility of parole after the jury found him guilty last week of murder, felonious assault and tampering with evidence.

Flynn appeared briefly on American Idol in 2013, telling TV viewers about how his wife had encouraged him to chase his dreams on the singing competition. He did not advance to the main competition in Hollywood after singing before judges Mariah Carey, Randy Jackson and Nicki Minaj.

During closing arguments, prosecutors told jurors that Flynn wanted out of his marriage when he shot his wife at their house in Tipp City, a suburb north of Dayton. The couple’s two daughters were home with their father when police arrived.

He sent a text message to his lover the night before the shooting, saying, “I choose you. I’m free. Actions will come tomorrow,” prosecutors said.

During the trial, Alleigha Botner testified she met Flynn in 2022 while she was a 20-year-old intern at his church and had an affair with him for more than a year. She told jurors that Flynn said he hated his wife and had thoughts of killing her.

Jurors also heard AI-generated love songs that prosecutors said he made for Botner. Flynn didn’t testify on his own behalf, nor did anybody else.

The gun used to kill Ashley Flynn was not found at the scene, and his attorney told jurors that investigators found no evidence that Caleb Flynn fired a gun that day.

Prosecutors said his fingerprints and DNA were at the scene and that his devices showed him moving around the house, even though he claimed he was asleep at the time of the shooting.

A school bus flipped over onto its roof during a multi-vehicle crash in central Florida on Monday, killing two people — including a 10th grade girl — and injuring several others, authorities said.

Some 39 people were on the school bus that was headed to Winter Haven High School in Winter Haven when an oncoming car crossed the centre line and caused the crash, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said at a news conference.

“It was a horrible crash,” Judd said. “It was a terrible, tragic morning. We had a beautiful 10th grade girl lose her life.”

The bus had been travelling along a Winter Haven road shortly after 6am (local time) when an oncoming car crossed the centre line and crashed into the side of the bus near the rear wheels, Judd said. The impact ripped the tire off the bus and caused it to crash head-on into an oncoming Jeep, which caught on fire.

One person in the Jeep died. Judd said five to seven people were transported to the hospital with potentially traumatic injuries and that one person remained in critical condition early Monday.

The bus was transporting 39 people in all — 37 high school students, the bus driver, and the bus driver's daughter. Judd said first responders spent the first several hours getting people to the hospital, identifying them and reuniting students with their parents.

“I think this is the most horrific bus tragedy we’ve had in decades, as far back as I can remember,” Judd said.

Just over a month ago on Sept. 3, another Polk County school bus was involved in a crash in Lakeland. Authorities said no students were on the bus at the time, and one person had injuries that were not life-threatening.

Polk County Public Schools Superintendent Frederick Heid said students practice drills on how to leave a bus that is involved in an accident.

“This event could have been far worse. You can see the condition of the bus, you can see its current positioning,” Heid said. The sheriff and superintendent held their news conference directly in front of the overturned bus, which had come to rest in a ditch beside the road.

Helicopter video taken by WESH-TV later in the morning showed a horrific crash scene. The front end of the school bus was a mangled mess of metal, and it appeared to be missing one of its four back tires as it lay on its roof.

Justin Sharpless, chairman of the Polk County school board, asked the community to come together to support the family of the girl who died, as well as the school and school staff.

“There are really no words that can take away the pain of losing a young person,” he said.

Seven students and four retirees, with very different levels of experience of voting, both found surprises when they used the new edition of Vote Compass.

For some of the students, November’s general election will be their first while the retirees estimated they had each voted in between 15 and 20 elections.

But they had one thing in common: none had previously used Vote Compass, the online tool that compares voters' views with party policies.

Vote Compass is live now at 1News.co.nz/VoteCompass

Vote Compass, run by Vox Pop Labs in association New Zealand political scientists and TVNZ, does not tell people how to vote. It shows how their answers compare with the policy positions taken by the political parties.

The 11 Aucklanders were invited by 1News to work through the tool’s 30 propositions, discuss the issues raised and privately view their results.

The exercise quickly moved beyond ticking boxes on a screen.

Thirty questions and plenty to discuss

One proposition asked whether migrants applying for New Zealand citizenship should be required to pass a test on the country’s laws and values.

Matthew, one of the students who gathered in Albert Park for the exercise, questioned how such a citizenship test could be designed.

“It’s a hard thing to decide what the country’s values are,” he said. “I’m not sure that that’s a test that you could really design and give to migrants as a broad population.”

At the retirement village across town, another proposition prompted a more divided discussion: “Police should be allowed to order rough sleepers to move on.”

Chrissy strongly disagreed.

Lahraine raised the impact on businesses when people were sleeping or urinating in their doorways.

“I think there are other ways of doing it, though,” Chrissy replied.

The same question prompted a personal response from 19-year-old Sian.

“As a Māori wahine, it’s really unfortunate because a lot of the time I see my own people there,” she said. “At the end of the day, where are they going to go?”

Their discussions demonstrated how a short policy proposition could prompt different considerations, even among people who ultimately selected the same answer.

Voting for the first time

Several of the students said Vote Compass would now become part of their preparation for their first general election.

Lily, 19, said she was excited to finally have her say.

“I’ve been working since 16, so, like, paying taxes,” she said.

Another student said researching political parties could be difficult, particularly amid the volume of information encountered online.

“Especially for students, with the noise on social media and just random stuff that you see, it can be hard to hear what parties’ policies actually are,” they said. “This is probably a good tool for that.”

One participant said the questions prompted the group to consider issues they had not previously thought about.

“It encourages you to reflect on your own beliefs and what’s important to you, and make an informed decision when it comes to voting.”

Decades of political change

The retirees brought memories of changing governments, leaders and political systems to the table.

Their answers also showed that political views are not necessarily fixed over a lifetime.

Lahraine grew up in a farming family in Taranaki, which she described as a strongly National environment.

After moving to Auckland, working in the police and becoming involved in social services, she supported Labour for many years.

Chris also described his politics shifting as his circumstances changed.

“In my early days, I was more centre - still centre, but to the left a little bit,” he said. “Then, as I had my own business and things, you move a little bit.”

Chrissy said her result was more politically mixed than she had anticipated.

“You’re not blindly red-blue, or green, or whatever,” she said. “You’ve got your combinations.”

The reveal

After completing the questionnaire, each participant privately viewed where Vote Compass had placed them and explored how their answers compared with the parties across individual issues.

Some found what they expected. Others were surprised by parts of their results.

One student said the result had given them a clearer idea of what to investigate before voting.

“I was a little shocked by some of it,” they said. “I’m definitely going to be doing more research, and this has given me a gauge of where I want to research now.”

At the retirement village, Chris’s result prompted an immediate reaction.

“Oh... oh... oh, dear,” he said.

His wife, Jan, looked at the screen.

“We’re going to have to talk about this later.”

University of Auckland political scientist Danny Osborne said Vote Compass shifted attention away from polling and political personalities.

“It moves away from that horse-race sort of politics - about who’s in the lead and who’s doing this and who’s doing that — and focuses specifically on the policies.”

Around 700,000 people completed Vote Compass during New Zealand’s 2023 election campaign and more than 80,000 had already taken part in the 2026 edition by last evening - just over a day after it was launched.

As more New Zealanders use the tool this year, their answers will begin building a new picture of the issues voters agree on — and those pulling them apart ahead of the election on November 7.

Vote Compass is live now at 1News.co.nz/VoteCompass

The All Whites have lost the Kirin Cup final against Japan, despite putting on a brave defence.

The hosts proved too strong for the New Zealanders at Tokyo National Stadium, with Ritsu Doan's close-range winner settling the contest after excellent work from Keito Nakamura down the left.

Watch the replay of last night's match free on TVNZ+

Japan's Ayase Ueda opened the scoring in the 28th minute, with a goal from Ben Old four minutes later levelling the game.

Like the World Cup, the All Whites were asked to defend for long spells and were largely successful in repelling deliveries into the box.

However, once the game became more stretched, Japan proved too dangerous in the area, and the All Whites couldn't hold on with Doan scoring in the 71st.

New Zealand's international window now comes to a close with the players set to return to their clubs.

The All Whites will next be back in action at home in November, taking on India in a two-match series, first at Go Media Stadium before making history with their first-ever match at One New Zealand Stadium in Christchurch.

- Additional reporting by 1News

The Department of Conservation plans to drop 1080 poison over a big chunk of the Kahurangi National Park, including the popular Heaphy Track, this summer in a new predator control operation.

By Vihan Dalal of Local Democracy Reporting

The operation covers nearly 29,000ha of the national park, including the northern part of the Heaphy Track where it traverses the Tasman Sea coastline.

The helicopter aerial operation will also stretch far inland, spanning the Heaphy, Lewis and Bluffy catchments between the Gunner Downs and Mackay Downs.

DOC says the operation to "accurately distribute bait" across 28,883ha aims to reduce rat, stoat and possum numbers in the area in a bid to protect native species such as the rare long-tail bat population and the large powelliphanta snail species.

"This bait targets rodents and possums. Stoats are also controlled through secondary poisoning as they feed on the dead rodents," DOC said in an advisory.

Native species are fighting for survival from predators, it said.

"Without protection, we risk losing the unique natural heritage and biodiversity within the Heaphy...

"Due to consistently high seed production in the lowland forests of these areas, rodent numbers are constantly high, threatening native species."

Taupō-based predator control company Epro has been contracted for the aerial operation, starting from this week with pre-feeding of non-toxic baits before moving to the 1080 toxins. It will continue until December 18, weather dependent.

The 82km-long Heaphy Track is one of New Zealand's nine Great Walks and one of two on the West Coast, attracting thousands of domestic and international visitors every year.

DOC in the past few years has spent tens of millions dropping 1080 operations across more than 311,000ha of conservation land on the West Coast including at Heaphy.

– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ on Air

The search for missing Christchurch man Braydon Hepworth is continuing after police completed an examination at the property believed to be his last known address.

Hepworth, 21, was last seen on England St in Linwood on September 14 and has not been seen or heard from since.

Police previously said they were "very concerned" for Hepworth after extensive inquiries failed to locate him.

Last week, a scene examination was carried out at a Linwood property believed to be his last known address.

Detective Senior Sergeant Karen Simmons said today the examination had now been completed, but the wider investigation was continuing.

"The operation to understand the circumstances surrounding his disappearance remains ongoing," Simmons said.

Police were continuing to appeal for anyone with information about Hepworth's whereabouts to come forward.

The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including the Strava risk to our Defence Force, and protests in France cost a teenager his hand.

Security experts warn the data from fitness app Strava could provide valuable intelligence to foreign adversaries.

Two people have died, and another is seriously injured following a three-vehicle crash north of Auckland yesterday afternoon.

A teenager has lost his hand after picking up a grenade during protests in France.

The US has reportedly pulled its planes out of a British base after an attempted attack a week ago.

Two people have died, and another is seriously injured following a three-vehicle crash north of Auckland yesterday afternoon.

Emergency services were called to the scene on Dairy Flat Highway, south of Orewa at 2.30pm.

"Sadly, two people were pronounced deceased at the scene," a police spokesperson said.

"A third person was transported to hospital in a serious condition."

The road was initially closed but has since reopened.

"The Serious Crash Unit attended, and enquiries into the circumstances surrounding the crash are ongoing," police said.

Cheaper, more readily available cocaine, and increased social acceptance has lead to a steep increase in use in less than a decade, new research shows, with New Zealanders getting through nearly 7 kilograms of cocaine a week in the second quarter of 2026.

By Keiller MacDuff of RNZ

This was down slightly from the record figures recorded in late 2025, with police wastewater testing reporting an all time high, with New Zealanders using an estimated 9.4 kilograms of cocaine a week.

During the same period, Kiwis were also using an estimated 34.7 kgs of methamphetamine each week.

Cocaine has increased threefold since 2017, with the latest New Zealand Drug Trends Survey (NZDTS) showing a "steep rise", with 31% of respondents reporting cocaine use, compared to 11% in 2017/2018.

Massey University professor Chris Wilkins, who leads the team that conducts the annual anonymous survey, said those reporting cocaine use were using it relatively infrequently - most commonly once or twice in the previous six months, though levels of weekly and monthly use had also increased.

That meant users were less likely to suffer from the worst impacts of sustained cocaine use, which could lead to the perception the drug was relatively risk free, Wilkins said.

Combined with New Zealand being all but excluded from earlier peaks of global cocaine use such as during the 1980s, we risked being "a little naive" about the dangers of cocaine use, Wilkins said.

"Cocaine use in New Zealand is in the 'honeymoon' phase where use looks glamorous and consequence-free, people are yet to experience the serious addiction and social harm that is well-known in mature cocaine markets.

"We've missed that cultural memory of large levels of cocaine use and harm. The real risk here is that people have this kind of perception of cocaine as low harm, low risk, based on there's no cultural history of really bad cocaine problems like you see in North America and Europe [where] there's really a lot of evidence of high levels of addiction, some mental health problems, and longer term cardiovascular problems as well," he said.

Once adjusted for inflation, the price of cocaine in New Zealand had dropped by almost a third between 2017 and 2026 - from $368 a gram to $247.

Lower cost, greater availability and increased social acceptance had all led to increased use, Wilkins said.

The main reason reported by cocaine users for increasing use over the previous six months was "it's fun/nice effect", while expense was the top reason reported for using less or quitting in the past six months.

New supply routes via the Pacific and a glut on coca production in Central America had led to the lower prices, Wilkins said.

It was likely cocaine importation had piggybacked on new routes for methamphetamine from North and Central America via Mexican drug cartels but online sales on the dark web and social media were also contributing.

Wilkins said the cartel link increased the risk that New Zealand may be susceptible to increased amounts of opoids like fentanyl arriving through the same routes.

"If you look at the last wave of the opioid epidemic - the fourth wave in North America - that was characterised by fentanyl adulterating methamphetamine and cocaine, because essentially fentanyl is much cheaper from the drug trafficker's point of view than providing cocaine and meth so they fill it out with fentanyl."

He said there needed to be increased vigilence at the border and in drug testing for the arrival of fentanyl.

University of Auckland senior lecturer Dr Rhys Ponton said the survey findings supported trends from wastewater testing and samples presented at drug checking clinics.

There would be an inevitable further increase in use if prices continued to drop, he said.

"This shift in the market means healthcare professionals and services working with people who use drugs will need to adapt their advice and approaches to include cocaine," Ponton said.

He urged a harm reduction approach, including expanding access to drug checking and encouraging its use.

Auckland University of Technology Law School professor Khylee Quince said the NZDTS data confirmed the perception that cocaine was somehow "safer" and "cleaner" than other illicit substances.

"This is likely to be connected to the heavy correlation between cocaine use and socio-economic advantage and status - which may of course also be a proxy for ethnicity, that cocaine is a white drug for white people.

"Cocaine users are likely to be employed and be high earners, so this perception is a form of confirmation bias - whereby people believe information that supports their views and behaviours - cocaine is ok, but meth is not."

Quince said easier access and falling prices meant cocaine use amongst Māori had almost trebled in recent years, "illustrating a probable gap between the perception and reality of who is using cocaine in Aotearoa and in what context".

University of Wellington associate professor Dr Fiona Hutton said drug testing service KnowYourStuffNZ had reported cocaine made up 10% of everything tested during the 2025/26 season, up from 6% last year and 5% the previous year.

She warned against a "moral panic-type response", and encouraged people to have illict drugs tested, and to inform themselves about the drugs they used through sites such as the New Zealand Drug Foundation site, The Level.

Hutton said monitoring trends showed drugs and drug use fluctuated over time with new substances making their way onto the market or traditional drugs such as cocaine finding new popularity.

"Governments and policy makers should ensure those working with people who use drugs have the resourcing to support those who may have problems associated with cocaine (and other drug) use and to examine ways to effectively reduce harm, rather than focusing solely on supply side 'war on drugs' type responses that often cause more harm," she said.

Cornell's main administration building was splashed with graffiti and a glass door was broken overnight as student groups planned a protest over the university's handling of the alleged 2024 fraternity-house gang rape that has ignited a firestorm of anger on campus and beyond.

Holes were knocked into one of the administration hall's glass doors, and the walls beside them were marked with red-painted messages condemning patriarchy and the Ivy League school's handling of sexual assaults, news media photos showed.

Cornell spokesperson Kyle Kimball said in a statement that the university was investigating and that “damaging property is not the answer” to Cornellians' “frustration and strong emotions".

Meanwhile, a roster of student organisations planned a late-afternoon “Justice for Survivors” demonstration to push for changes in the university's process for handling sexual assault complaints and for more punishments connected to the one that followed a party at the Chi Phi fraternity in October 2024.

A then-sophomore alleges that she was sexually assaulted there by multiple men after being pressured into drinking and taking drugs.

The woman, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, recently sued the university, seven former students, the fraternity and others. Her lawsuit said that she became fully incapacitated as fraternity members assaulted her, and that one man sent others a message inviting them to participate.

Lawyers for two of the former students denied they participated in a sexual assault. Attempts by The Associated Press to reach the other men or their representatives have been unsuccessful. Court records show that some of the accused students, when interviewed by Cornell investigators, described the sexual activity as consensual.

The suit has drawn national attention to what Cornell, its police force and the local district attorney did after she told the campus police in November 2024 she “can say with 100% confidence I was raped".

No criminal charges have been filed. The Chi Phi chapter at Cornell was shut down, and the Ivy League university has said it expelled some students and suspended others. In a statement last week, the administration bristled about the “false narrative that there were minimal consequences in this case".

Students, however, have demanded more accountability and transparency, and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has said Jane Doe was “failed by people and institutions" including the Cornell police and local District Attorney Matthew Van Houten.

Hochul appointed the state attorney general last week to take over a criminal investigation that Van Houten had reopened days earlier, and the governor called for an independent review of Cornell’s handling of the matter.

After the week's developments, Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff released an apologetic video Saturday, saying that Jane Doe's account “raises heartbreaking and troubling issues about sexual assault, dehumanisation and aspects of party culture, alcohol and drug use".

Kotlikoff reaffirmed his support for an independent review of the university's actions and vowed more transparency and a commitment to "finding the answers our community deserves".

The FlyDubai co-pilot who allegedly stabbed his colleague in an attempt to seize an Israel-bound aircraft and crash it spent time in New Zealand.

Omani national Hammam al-Hammami is currently in custody in the United Arab Emirates following the bloody attack.

New Zealand-trained pilot Smit Machchhar was seriously injured in the attack but managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers to enter and restrain the attacker as the Boeing 737 descended more than 4000 metres, witnesses and Israeli authorities said.

New Zealand police said the co-pilot had also spent time in New Zealand and that the authorities would investigate.

Meanwhile, Australian security agencies are investigating the Omani pilot’s time in Australia around a decade ago, Australian Federal Police said.

A police statement on Monday said a joint counterterrorism team, including federal and state police and Australia’s domestic intelligence agency, “is investigating the man’s links to Australia”.

- Additional reporting by 1News

Russian authorities have quarantined a hospital and are monitoring contacts of an employee at a plague research institute in Siberia who contracted pneumonia of an “unknown” cause.

Local state TV said the woman died last week.

Russian authorities said they found no evidence that her illness was caused by any of the pathogens she worked with. But the case has raised alarm in Russia after unconfirmed media reports suggested she might have died of pneumonic plague — a less common but severe form of plague that can spread from person to person.

The woman worked at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East in Irkutsk, southeastern Siberia. A state TV station in Irkutsk reported that she died last week in a hospital in Shelekhov, a town just outside Irkutsk.

The hospital has been placed under quarantine, Mayor Maxim Modin said Friday, no longer admitting or discharging patients, and its laboratory halted carrying out routine tests. The hospital's outpatient clinic kept operating as usual, he said.

Anna Popova, head of Russia’s public health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, flew to Irkutsk and met with Gov. Igor Kobzev and other officials on Friday.

Kobzev said everyone who came into contact with the woman is under medical supervision. He didn’t identify the infection and called it a suspected case of “a particularly dangerous infection".

Rospotrebnadzor was implementing “a full range of anti-epidemic measures,” he added.

Rospotrebnadzor said the woman was diagnosed with “pneumonia of unknown etiology,” or origin, and said “extensive” testing found “no microorganisms associated with the patient’s professional activities".

The agency also said it didn't uncover any incidents at the institute “involving pathogenic microorganisms".

Two people who were in contact with the woman tested positive for a virus that causes a common cold and two others for Covid-19, the agency said, adding that others who were tested were all negative.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he doesn’t think there is cause for alarm, but the US is watching the case closely, aware that “it could spread quickly” despite the quarantine and other public health protocols.

Independent local news outlet Lyudi Baikala quoted sources it did not identify as saying the 28-year-old lab technician died from pneumonic plague and that several Irkutsk hospitals were placed under quarantine.

Asked to comment on the case, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the public and media should follow official statements from Rospotrebnadzor, rather than "rumors or speculation".

Rospotrebnadzor did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Irkutsk Aluminum Plant in Shelekhov required staff to wear masks as a precaution, its director Artyom Fominykh said Saturday on Telegram, calling for calm and adding: "Better be safe than sorry.”

The World Health Organization describes pneumonic plague as a less common but severe form of plague — a disease caused by Yersinia pestis, a bacterium usually found in small mammals and their fleas.

“In the event of a potential laboratory exposure, it would be normal to identify individuals who might have been exposed and to monitor them according to the assessed level of risk,” said Dr. Malick Gibani, clinical associate professor in bacterial vaccinology at the Imperial College London.

The scale of any monitoring program would depend on "the circumstances of the exposure and the number of people potentially affected,” Gibani said in a written comment.

Ian Jones, professor of virology at the University of Reading, said that “plague carries a huge history and is still present in many parts of the world, including Russia,” although because of modern living conditions and antibiotics, “its potential is therefore limited".

Woolworths' 'three-for-$20' special is no more and has been replaced with a "three-for-$24.99" offer.

By Susan Edmunds of RNZ

The supermarket chain said the 'three-for-$20 special' had been popular since it launched in 2018. Shoppers could buy three meat items or three seafood items for that price.

But it said customers wanted more.

"When we spoke with them, the feedback was clear: they wanted bigger portion sizes and more variety to be able to cater for family dinners," Woolworths said in a statement.

"We've listened to that feedback and added more than 10 new options-like a fresh whole chicken (950g), bacon and rump steak-while also increasing pack sizes across more than 30 existing favourites.

"The cost-per-unit or price per kilo remains equivalent to or better than the previous offer on most items so the customer is getting larger packs and everyday value to make meal planning easier for their family."

Police are investigating after a person arrived at a Christchurch hospital with injuries consistent with a gunshot wound early this morning.

Police said it was notified of the incident at around 1.55am.

The person received medical treatment and had since been discharged from hospital.

Circumstances surrounding the injury were still being investigated, police said.

Daniil Medvedev struck a spectator with a ball and was disqualified from his semifinal against Novak Djokovic at the China Open.

The spectator was helped out of the arena holding a hand over his left eye.

“I feel terribly sorry for him actually and I just hope he’s OK,” Medvedev said. “Hopefully I can meet him and make up for it somehow.”

Djokovic was serving for the match at 7-5, 5-3 when Medvedev hit the ball into the stands in apparent frustration. After a forehand volley winner from Djokovic, the ball bounced off the advertising boards and back toward Medvedev, who smacked a backhand that sailed into the front row.

“It was 100% an accident,” Medvedev said. “You can see that I didn’t hit the ball in anger. … The ball was bouncing back, so I tried to just hit it anywhere, so it wouldn’t go out of the court.”

Immediately after striking the spectator, Medvedev appeared to wave his left hand in apology. He remained on the court.

“When I saw the result, I felt horrible,” Medvedev said. “The most important thing is I hope that he’s OK because you never know with these types of situations.”

The chair umpire and tournament supervisor came down onto the court to talk with Medvedev, who didn't appear to put up much of an argument with the disqualification. Medvedev then walked to the net and shook hands with Djokovic.

The incident was reminiscent of when Djokovic was kicked out of the 2020 US Open for hitting a line judge in the throat with a ball. That was also accidental.

“A bit of a shock, to be honest,” Djokovic said. “I honestly didn’t see what happened. I hope that person is not badly injured. On the other hand, I also feel sorry for Daniil, because I know exactly how he feels to be disqualified in a big match. ... I am sure that Daniil didn’t want to do this intentionally. It just happens.”

Medvedev has a history of on-court behaviour issues. In April, he was fined 6000 euros (NZ$12,000) for unsportsmanlike conduct after he smashed his racket seven times during a 6-0, 6-0 loss to Matteo Berrettini at the Monte Carlo Masters.

Djokovic extends perfect record

Djokovic extended his perfect career record at the China Open to 33-0.

Aiming for a seventh China Open title in tomorrow’s final, Djokovic will face ninth-ranked Alex de Minaur, who advanced when Hubert Hurkacz retired due to an apparent injury midway through the second set of their semifinal.

It will be Djokovic’s second final of the year after losing to Carlos Alcaraz at the Australian Open.

With his ranking down to No. 11, this is the first time in eight years that Djokovic is playing a tournament without being in the top 10. It's also his first tournament since a first-round exit from the US Open. The 39-year-old Serb rallied to beat top-seeded Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals on Sunday.

Against Medvedev, Djokovic was twice caught exceeding the time limit on the serve clock. After first receiving a warning, he was then stripped of his first serve on a crucial break point midway through the second set. But Djokovic still won the point.

Medvedev won only two of 18 break points as the pair of former No 1s traded one gruelling rally after another.

“It was a tough match for me,” Medvedev said. “He played really well. I felt he played like when we played our best matches. I had some opportunities, which I missed. He played incredibly, so I think he has big chances in the final.”

The match was 2 1/2 hours old when Medvedev was defaulted.

“I was three points away from the win,” Djokovic said. “It’s always a big battle with Daniil and it’s so hard to play him when he’s feeling the ball well in slower conditions with a big serve. But we move on.”

De Minaur led 6-4, 3-2 when Hurkacz — who was barely able to run for balls in the second set — stopped playing. The nature of Hurkacz’s injury was not immediately clear.

Coco Gauff advances

In the third round of the women’s tournament, which ends Sunday, Coco Gauff eliminated 16-year-old Chinese wild card Sun Xinran 7-5, 6-1. Sun recently won the US Open junior title.

Also, six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek rallied past Donna Vekic 4-6, 7-6 (0), 6-2 and will next meet Iva Jovic, who beat Kamilla Rakhimova 6-1, 7-5.

Elina Svitolina beat Maria Sakkari 6-4, 7-5.

Security experts warn the data from fitness app Strava could provide valuable intelligence to foreign adversaries. NZDF has known about the risk for years, but has no specific policy to stop it. Ed O'Driscoll has this exclusive investigation.

It's just after midday at Ohakea Air Force Base.

A runner heads out on a 6km loop beside the airfield. Within minutes, the workout appears on the fitness app Strava.

Over the following weeks, the same account records workouts in Guam, outside Kadena Air Base in Japan - a major US Air Force installation, and Darwin, before returning to New Zealand.

Posted under the user's real name, the runs create a detailed public record of their movements across the Pacific.

The account was one of more than 500 uncovered by a 1News investigation. Their activity was logged at NZDF sites in New Zealand and across 13 countries and territories overseas.

Strava allows users to map and share their runs, walks and rides.

While military bases are not secret, security experts say fitness data can be pieced together to build a "pattern of life" picture of day-to-day military operations.

"You've got potential adversaries that are always interested in collecting intelligence," said David Capie, Director of the Centre for Strategic Studies at Victoria University of Wellington.

"The ability to vacuum up public information like this is a real help to them."

Capie said it would be "naive" to assume countries weren't trying to collect information about New Zealand's military.

Documents obtained by 1News show NZDF members have been repeatedly warned about the risks of sharing fitness data.

The latest warning came in June after a French naval officer using Strava inadvertently exposed the location of an aircraft carrier deployed towards the Middle East.

Even sharing unclassified information increases the risk of personnel being targeted through "cultivation and exploitation" and could compromise security, the warning said.

Multiple locations

Since January, 565 Strava users have been identified logging activity at NZDF camps and bases by the 1News investigation. These locations include Whenuapai, Devonport, Ohakea, Linton, Burnham, Waiouru and Woodbourne.

Some ran inside Papakura Military Camp, home to the NZSAS. Others appeared at the nearby Ardmore training facility, used for special operations training.

Of the 565 profiles, 488 were public - meaning their full activity histories were visible to anyone.

Not every profile could be confirmed as belonging to NZDF personnel. But most showed at least one marker of military service - including activity across multiple bases, military-specific training, or workouts at overseas military installations.

The profiles were found through Strava's "segments" feature - running and cycling routes with public leaderboards showing users who have completed them.

A simple search uncovered 41 public segments at defence sites, including "Loop in Base" and "Base Escape!" at Whenuapai, "Runway Dash" at Ohakea and "Linton RFL" - a reference to the Required Fitness Level test soldiers must pass.

Some leaderboards had been active with lists of names since 2018.

"You've instantly got a list of names that are almost certainly people in the military," said Cole Proebstel, a former New Zealand Army intelligence specialist and founder of ALCON Intelligence.

"An actor can then go and look at other social media profiles, and then figure out your relationships, the network you're part of, who you work for, potentially your position, your rank, and what you might have access to."

Even users with private profiles appeared by name on public leaderboards. In at least 30 cases, that was enough for 1News to track activity across multiple military sites.

In 13 cases, family members could be identified through linked accounts or tagged activity.

Overseas footprint

The investigation identified activity at military sites around the world logged under users' own names.

Australia accounted for the largest overseas footprint, with activity at major air force bases in Richmond and Amberley, as well as Townsville and Edinburgh, where surveillance and signals intelligence operations are based.

In the US, personnel logged workouts at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii and Fort Irwin, an Army training centre in California.

Personnel shared runs inside Desiderio Army Airfield in South Korea - part of Camp Humphreys, the largest US military base outside the United States.

Capie said there was a significant difference between sharing a run around Waiouru and revealing activity at an overseas military posting.

"When you're seeing people posted offshore, close to potential combat zones, conflict zones, operationally deployed - that is much more concerning and a real risk to operational security," he said.

"We do have New Zealanders on the Korean Peninsula. We have New Zealanders training Ukrainian forces in Eastern Europe," he said. "Those situations can move from peace to war very quickly at the moment."

Other profiles revealed activity at RAF bases in the UK, camps in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, where NZDF personnel serve with the Multinational Force and Observers, and Scott Base and McMurdo Station in Antarctica.

Activity was also found at military sites in the Philippines, Fiji and Rarotonga.

In March, two accounts appeared to follow a diplomatic and trade delegation led by Foreign Minister Winston Peters through Latin America, with workouts logged in Buenos Aires, Montevideo and near the Brazilian Army headquarters in Brasilia.

Another user deployed to Tonga described the country as "home for the next week", revealing their location and how long they expected to remain there.

The exposure ran both ways. Visiting Australian, Bruneian, Singaporean and Canadian military personnel were also identified through Strava activity at NZDF bases.

High-ranking officer's movements

One profile belonged to a high-ranking NZDF member posted to the New Zealand Embassy in Washington DC.

Because the user recorded activity under their real name, it was possible to verify their rank through a basic internet search.

The profile traced movements from Ohakea Air Force Base to the United States, including Ladd Army Airfield in Alaska and the Presidio of Monterey - a US military foreign language training centre.

Runs were also posted outside the embassy itself.

Some profiles revealed more than location, including specific details of military training.

At Waiouru, one user posted a photo holding a training rifle, captioned: "10 days in the field done and dusted."

Two others uploaded videos from inside the camp during Exercise Thunder Warrior, a live-fire exercise involving visiting Singaporean troops.

Other users recorded workouts at Army Bay on the Whangaparāoa Peninsula and the Kaipara Air Weapons Range, under titles including "battle training" and "Combat Fitness Test".

Photos and videos of pack marches, where personnel could be identified, were also found.

Proebstel said, individually, the posts may seem harmless.

"It's not until you combine that with other information that you might find online or through open source," he said.

"Once you have that rich intelligence picture, that's when it becomes a risk."

Not a new risk

Strava's public heatmap revealed military bases and patrol routes in conflict zones around the world between 2015 and 2017.

"This is not a new issue. This is as old as time itself," said John Howard, a retired Major General and former NZDF Chief of Defence Intelligence.

"We were exposed to this in 2015, during operations in the Middle East. That threat hasn't gone away - it has only accelerated because of the use of technology."

Documents obtained by 1News show NZDF has warned personnel about the risks posed by fitness-tracking applications.

The military's social media handbook cites a case in which several New Zealand personnel visiting the US National Security Agency's Fort Meade headquarters were identified through a different fitness app in 2018.

The guidance warns personnel to disable fitness-tracking apps in sensitive locations and avoid using their full names on fitness platforms.

Howard said he wasn't surprised by 1News' findings. "I'm disappointed in relation to people's understanding of their own personal security and their professional security," he said.

"This is an open book for the world to see if you choose to look."

Proebstel said the responsibility ultimately sat with individual personnel.

"At the end of the day the security of yourself, your colleagues and of the mission is of the utmost importance."

Overseas concerns

International concern over Strava has grown this year in the wake of the US-Iran war.

More than 500 British Armed Forces personnel had exposed their locations at sensitive military sites, according to an investigation in the i Paper.

In August, Sky News identified more than 1300 users sharing workouts from US military facilities across the Middle East, including bases later targeted by Iran.

New Zealand's Defence Force has no policy specifically covering Strava or other fitness-tracking applications.

In a statement, it said: "NZDF applies a range of measures to protect personnel, facilities, operations and information, and expects all personnel to exercise sound judgement when using personal applications and online platforms."

It said personnel receive regular guidance on protecting personal information and maintaining operational security, including during pre-deployment training.

"The availability of fitness tracking (or other) information online does not of itself indicate a security breach or compromise of operations or non-compliance with NZDF requirements," the statement said.

National leader Christopher Luxon and Labour leader Chris Hipkins step into the ring tonight for one of their only one-on-one debates of this election campaign.

The 90-minute Leaders' Debate starts at 7pm in front of a live studio audience, screening live and free on 1News, TVNZ+, and TVNZ 1. Q+A presenter Jack Tame will moderate.

Key topics the leaders will be asked about include cost of living, health and education, as well as the climate and environment.

Tonight's debate is the first of four TVNZ will screen before the November 7 election, and the only one featuring the two leaders alone.

Luxon declined an invitation to a second head-to-head on November 5.

With both major parties on 28% in the latest 1News Verian Poll, tonight's debate comes at a tight and critical point in this year's campaign.

The Leaders' Debate is the first of several live debates and part of 1News' extensive campaign coverage, including the interactive Vote Compass tool which launched Sunday.

Breakfast presenter Tova O'Brien will host the 1News: Multi-Party Debate on October 13 at 7pm. TVNZ will confirm which party leaders will be able to take part the week of the debate, once qualifying polls are in.

Te Karere presenter Scotty Morrison and 1News Māori Affairs Correspondent Te Aniwa Hurihanganui will co-host the 1News: Kaupapa Māori Debate on October 29 at 7.30pm.

TVNZ will use the November 5 slot — intended for a second Leaders' Debate — for the Q+A People's Debate, which puts voters' questions to every party that qualifies under TVNZ's debate criteria, including National and Labour. Tame will moderate.

All debates will screen on the 1News app, TVNZ+, and TVNZ 1.

Viewers will be able to share their reactions in real time through interactive features.

Follow live updates of the debates on the 1News app and website.

Five men who died at Wellington’s Loafers Lodge would have likely had the opportunity to escape the blaze if fire safety systems were working properly, a court has heard as the second trial into the tragedy opened in Wellington's High Court today.

By James Fleury and Reuben Smith

Michael Wahrlich, also known as Mike the Juggler, 67; Melvin Parun, 68; Kenneth Barnard, 67; Peter O’Sullivan, 64; and Liam Hockings, 50 died when a fire was lit at the Newtown hostel on May 16, 2023.

Esarona Lologa was found guilty of arson and murder and sentenced to life in prison last December.

On Monday, hostel director Gregory Mein, property manager Marie Murphy, fire warden and resident Glenn McAllister, and another resident who worked on site, Barry Collins, appeared in court, each facing 10 charges of manslaughter.

They have all pleaded not guilty.

The Crown's opening address was heard by a jury of five men and seven women.

Crown prosecutor Stephanie Bishop told the court the trial relates to the fire safety systems and those responsible to manage and oversee its safe operation.

"The Crown says that this is a case of layers of failings of management and those who held a quasi-management and fire warden role," Bishop said.

“Ultimately, the Crown says that if the building's fire safety system was working as it should have been, the five residents who died would have had the opportunity to escape and would have likely survived."

The jury heard that the alarm had been silenced on the night of the fire due to an earlier arson attempt and that residents were often paid to reset alarms instead of independently qualified technicians.

“Because the alarm had been silenced after the first fire and had not been reset, the alarm on level three did not sound. That meant that the fire could continue to grow without warning to those around and above it,” Bishop said.

She said it took 13 minutes for the fire alarm to activate, at 12.25am.

“When it did, the alarm sounded only on the lower floors," she said.

“Five men had been trapped on the mezzanine floor and tragically lost their lives."

The defence will begin their opening statements tomorrow.

The trial is expected to last eight weeks.

A new blood donor centre has officially opened in Porirua, as the New Zealand Blood Service works to collect an extra 25,000 plasma donations nationwide by the end of next month.

The November deadline comes as the Australia-based plant that processes New Zealand's plasma donations prepares to close for three months early next year to undergo routine maintenance.

"So, we need to over-collect to make sure that we have enough that when they resume fractionation, we've got enough to meet the demand," the NZ Blood Service's chief executive Sam Cliffe told 1News.

"Also, like the rest of the health system, we've been really badly impacted by the flu and winter illness this year, so our plasma collections have been down on what we would normally collect."

The opening of the site in Porirua was part of the New Zealand Blood Service's work to grow access to plasma and blood donation, with nearly 20,000 New Zealanders having received plasma-derived medicines last year.

Those medicines can be used for those undergoing chemotherapy, recovering from major surgery, or living with kidney disease.

Cliffe said there had been a significant growth in demand over the years, "particularly for immunoglobulin, which is used to treat people with a range of immune and other serious medical conditions".

"Over the past decade, the amount of immunoglobulin used in New Zealand has more than doubled," she said, increasing by 114%, from 356,582 grams to 762,584 grams.

At the centre's official opening on Monday, Aimee Kinzett celebrated her 100th donation, saying her parents were also regular donors.

"I do remember sitting on my mum and dad's knee while they were donating, so I think it's always been part of one of those things that just you do," she said.

But Kinzett added that donating has recently become more personal to her.

"Recently, I had a friend who had quite a serious blood cancer and she used heaps of products when she was unwell and it kind of feels like giving back for her as well," she said.

Until now, Wellington had only one permanent donor centre in Newtown, supported by mobile blood drives in other parts of the region.

Cliffe said the mobile blood drive visited Porirua every other month and if people wanted to donate plasma they had to travel to Lower Hutt or Newtown.

The new centre will be open five days a week with around 215 donation appointments available for plasma and 75 for whole blood.

An 89-year-old Gisborne man saved from a burning house has been able to thank his rescuer in person after the pair met.

Construction worker Timothy Morris, 37, and his friend were driving past when they noticed a house on fire on Aberdeen Rd at around 1am on Saturday and pulled over to help before emergency crews arrived. Morris pulled Norman Mercer to safety.

In the hospital, Mercer told 1News about the moment he woke up to his home ablaze.

"The house was full of smoke and ... the heat, I think it was a matter of seconds, and it came like a gust of wind.

"Like hell on earth."

In their first meeting since the night of the rescue, Mercer expressed his gratitude for Morris' help.

"It's a miracle through and through, and I just cant believe I've survived it," he said.

"I cant believe that he's been there at a time to drag me away from the burning house."

Morris said he saw Mercer pop his head out of the bedroom window in an attempt to escape the blaze.

"It was just the right place at the right time really," he said.

"We were lucky to sort of get around to the front of the house and he had woken up in the smoke and tried to make a flee for fresh air, but he didn't quite make it."

Morris said he tried to pull Mercer through the window as quickly as possible without hurting him.

"I managed to pull him through the window while the smoke was running through his bedroom door and coming after us."

The 89-year-old was unconscious when he was first found, Morris said.

"He kind of came to, and he was a bit lost at the start and the poor guy was stuck there in his undies.

"I ran over to the neighbours and I said to the lady 'miss I need some pants'."

Once Mercer was safely outside and emergency crews had arrived, Morris and his friend left.

Police on Saturday made a public appeal for the rescuer to come forward to thank him for his actions.

Morris said he had gone straight to sleep, and it wasn't until the next day that it all sank in.

"It just kind of slipped my mind until I saw a post about it and then my friend mentioned it."

Emergency services are responding to a serious three-vehicle crash in the north of Auckland.

The crash on Dairy Flat Highway was reported at about 2.30pm.

“Initial indications are there are critical injuries,” a police spokesperson said.

St John responded with two ambulances, an operations manager and a rapid response vehicle.

"Two patients were assessed at the scene, with one patient currently being transported to Auckland City Hospital in a serious condition," a St John spokesperson said.

The road is closed between Postman and Horseshoe Bush roads, with diversions in place.

A Fire and Emergency NZ spokesperson said it responded at 2.40pm with two units from Silverdale and one from East Coast Bays. A specialist heavy rescue unit from Papatoetoe was also called but they were not required and stood down.

"Three people were trapped in the vehicles and had to be extracted," the spokesperson said.

The serious crash unit has been advised.

Samoa’s Prime Minister Laʻauli Leuatea Schmidt apologised Monday for a video from 19 years earlier in which he said "Heil Hitler" and made a Nazi gesture during what he described as a family gathering.

His statement published on the government's Facebook page came a day after the Samoa Observer newspaper made public for the first time the existence and content of a seven-second clip that the outlet said was filmed at a Schmidt family reunion in Samoa in July 2007.

In a screenshot from the video, Schmidt holds a microphone in one hand with the other arm lifted, surrounded by others making the same gesture.

The newspaper reported Schmidt was heard saying into the microphone, "Raise your right hand, Heil Hitler!"

Prime minister admitted the Nazi gesture and slogan

Schmidt, who was the deputy speaker of Samoa's Parliament in 2007, didn't dispute the report. He has led the South Pacific island nation of 220,000 people since winning an August 2025 election.

"I recognise that those words and gesture were inappropriate and capable of causing offence and hurt and I apologise for using them," he said Monday. He added that the video was filmed "at a private family gathering — not intended for the public".

He rejected "Nazism, antisemitism, racism and all forms of political extremism", the statement said.

What happened immediately before and after the moment depicted was unknown, the newspaper said, and Schmidt's statement didn't explain further.

Newspaper is banned from government events

The episode unfolded as Pacific media groups decried Schmidt's ongoing rancour against the Observer, which has been barred from covering his and other government news conferences and events since November, when Schmidt accused the newspaper of misleading coverage.

On Friday, Schmidt confirmed claims that an Observer reporter's photos of him, taken in front of government buildings during an official event, were deleted from their camera by an aide. He defended the move, saying the Observer, Samoa's largest newspaper group, was flouting its prohibition.

The Observer has called his ban "authoritarian". Pacific media groups have called on the prime minister for a reversal, with the Journalists Association of Samoa saying it was "deeply disturbed" by the photo deletion incident.

Schmidt has expressed support for Israel

Like a number of other leaders of small island nations in the South Pacific Ocean, Schmidt has voiced vehement support for Israel before.

Since September 2023, three Pacific islands, not including Samoa, have been among a handful of countries to follow the United States in opening embassies in the contested city of Jerusalem instead of Tel Aviv, where most diplomatic missions are located.

Analysts attribute support for Israel in the region to deep Christian traditions woven throughout public life. When Schmidt was sworn into office in September 2025, he wore a Jewish prayer shawl during a ceremony that included the blowing of a shofar.

"Samoa will not withdraw from supporting Israel as the country of God’s people," he told reporters after the event, according to local news outlets.

Kiwi drivers filling up with 91 are now paying more than ever before, with the average price of a litre hitting an all-time-high, according to fuel monitor Gaspy.

Gaspy said the national average for the most popular grade broke the previous record of just over $3.50, set in early April soon after the US and Israel struck Iran. The average had sat at $3.49 earlier on Monday.

The latest increase follows a sustained period over where the price of Brent crude has stalled at above US$100 a barrel.

Prices jumped in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch and across the rest of the motu.

ASB acting chief economist Kim Mundy said a weak Kiwi dollar was adding to the pain of high global oil prices.

"Because global oil prices are high, when we bring that into the country, that flows through into the price we see at the pump. But at the moment there's also another element coming through in the fact that the New Zealand dollar is quite low. So, it's also costing us more from an exchange rate point of view to import that fuel."

Pump prices spiked after the strikes on Iran at the start of the year, then fluctuated before easing back. They began climbing again in early September.

Mundy said the higher cost of filling up would hit household budgets.

"If you're having to pay more every time you go and fill your car up at the pump, there's just less money at the end of the day to spend on other things."

Conflict on two fronts

Fighting in the Middle East has kept oil prices high. In Yemen, on the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, the Saudi-backed government has escalated its fight against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, who recently struck an Aramco oil facility in neighbouring Saudi Arabia.

Russian supply has also come under pressure, after Ukraine hit another key Russian oil facility over the weekend.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine would answer Russian attacks on its power network by targeting Russia's energy sector.

"With their attacks on our energy, we have to respond on their energy. First of all, oil refiners etc., what gives money to them for this war. But we will not respond, of course, just like them, on any civilian objects."

Reuters reports Chinese refiners have suspended some fuel exports, including to Singapore, which supplies much of New Zealand's refined fuel.

The G7 group of advanced economies has pledged to release 100 million barrels of oil and diesel to ease global supply concerns. The pledge followed a US threat to restrict its own diesel exports to counter high domestic prices.

Asked on Saturday whether a diesel export ban was off the table, US President Donald Trump credited Europe.

"Well, we were never going to do it... Europe was great because they're putting a lot of diesel oil out there."

Seven major oil-exporting countries agreed on Monday to keep production steady in November at a time when the Iran war has driven the price of benchmark Brent crude oil above US$100 (NZ$178.35) a barrel.

The so-called OPEC+ subgroup – Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Algeria and Oman – will meet again on November 1 to review conditions in the oil market.

The fighting with Iran, which began with US and Israeli attacks on February 28, has disrupted global oil supplies and driven prices higher.

The Group of Seven wealthy democracies said Saturday that they plan to release 100 million barrels of oil and fuel products in the coming weeks, starting with "substantial" amounts of diesel. Diesel prices recently hit record highs in the United States, squeezing farmers, truckers and consumers who depend on the fuel.

The G7 promised a "frontloaded substantial release" of diesel within the next 20 days and the rest over four months.

National has promised to commit $800 million to fully fund the Belfast to Pegasus Motorway and Woodend Bypass if re-elected, allowing construction to begin next year.

National’s transport spokesperson Chris Bishop announced the funding today, saying it would be included in National’s first Budget following the election.

“This is the next major transport project Canterbury needs, and National will fund it so NZTA can get on and build it,” Bishop said.

Follow all the latest from the election campaign at our live updates here

The project would extend the Christchurch Northern Motorway 11km north towards Pegasus and Ravenswood, including upgrading the existing State Highway 1 to four lanes and building a new four-lane bypass around Woodend.

Bishop said the project was designed to address growing congestion and safety concerns as the Woodend, Pegasus and Ravenswood communities continued to expand.

“SH1 approaching Woodend already carries around 21,500 vehicles a day, around 9% of them freight, and that is expected to increase to around 28,000 vehicles a day by 2048,” he said.

“That pressure is being felt in Woodend itself. At peak times it can take up to 20 minutes to travel through the town, while heavy through-traffic makes it harder for locals to access shops, schools and other parts of the community.”

The project was prioritised as a Road of National Significance in 2024 and detailed design and consenting had since been completed. Early works were already under way.

However, NZTA said in July there was no confirmed funding available for the main construction work to begin in the short term due to broader funding constraints.

Bishop said National's $800 million commitment would allow the main construction phase to begin in 2027.

"For locals, the bypass means getting their town centre back," he said.

"Moving through-traffic and heavy trucks onto the new motorway will make Woodend safer, easier to get around and a better place for local businesses and the community."

Speaking to media, Bishop said they were taking advice on potential tolling of the new road.

Motorists are being asked to take their foot off the gas as they approach Amberley in Canterbury from the south.

The speed limit on State Highway 1 south of Amberley will reduce from 80km/h to 60km/h from November 4.

It is one of four Canterbury speed reductions confirmed by Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency over the next month.

The new speed limit follows extensive community engagement, with the Hurunui Youth Council calling for the speed limit to be reduced to 50km/h on the 0.9km stretch of road south of Amberley.

Hurunui Mayor Marie Black said the lower speed limit was backed by the council and the South Ward Community Board, as well as the youth council.

She said the youth council’s submission showed why it's important young people play a role in local decision making.

"It’s another reminder that local voices can influence outcomes on national decisions.

"I’m very proud of the representation the Hurunui Youth Council has been able to provide across a wide variety of consultations.

"With the growth of Amberley and the significant traffic movement through the town, coupled with the proposed truck stop at the south entrance, this speed reduction is welcome and sensible with the view to ensure safety is paramount."

Reducing the speed to 60km/h is expected to reduce crashes resulting in injury by 23%, according to an NZTA assessment.

Hurunui Youth Council member Lexi Thomson-Hall said the speed limit should reflect the changing environment, as Amberley continues to grow.

"As young people who live, learn to drive, travel, attend school and work in Hurunui, road safety directly affects us, our families and our wider community.

"The environment surrounding this stretch of SH1 is changing, and the speed setting should reflect that change."

NZTA has indicated that further speed limit changes may be considered in future as Amberley continues to grow.

New 50km/h speed limits have also been approved on SH73 at Sheffield (from October 28), SH73 at Kirwee (October 28) and SH75 at Halswell (November 11).

– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.

The lethal drug administered in Tennessee's failed attempt to execute Christa Pike has been used in multiple states that carry out the death penalty and by the US government after President Donald Trump resumed federal executions during his first term.

Pike, 50, remained alive after two doses of pentobarbital were administered on Wednesday, according to her attorneys and media witnesses. She has remained unconscious and on a ventilator at a hospital in the four days since her failed execution.

Tennessee officials haven’t explained yet what went wrong during the execution.

Republican Governor Bill Lee ordered a third-party review to determine what happened and said another scheduled execution in Tennessee will not take place this year.

What is pentobarbital?

Pentobarbital is a barbiturate, a class of drugs that depresses the central nervous system.

Approved medical uses include sedation, short-term treatment of insomnia, preparation for anesthesia and emergency control of certain severe seizures. It is also used in veterinary euthanasia.

In an overdose, it can produce coma, suppress breathing and cause circulatory collapse and death.

Why is it used in executions?

For years, lethal injections commonly used three drugs: an anesthetic, a paralytic that stopped breathing and potassium chloride to stop the heart.

That method drew criticism because if the anesthetic failed, the paralytic could prevent a prisoner from communicating pain. It also became difficult to maintain after drugmakers restricted distribution for executions.

The pentobarbital protocol was adopted at the federal level during Trump’s first term to replace a three-drug mix used in the 2000s.

As with Tennessee's guidelines, the federal death penalty protocol calls for administering a 5g dose of pentobarbital; in medical settings, patients typically receive a fraction of a gram.

Trump resumed the federal death penalty after an informal moratorium during previous administrations. The federal government used pentobarbital in 13 executions between 2020 and 2021, contributing to making Trump the most prolific execution president in over 130 years.

During the Biden administration, the Justice Department stopped executions with pentobarbital after a government review raised concerns about the potential for “unnecessary pain and suffering".

After Trump came back to power, the Justice Department in 2026 reauthorised the use of lethal injections with pentobarbital.

How do guidelines vary in different states?

Georgia and Texas use a similar protocol to Tennessee, administering a second dose only if the first is unsuccessful. South Carolina, which turned to pentobarbital in 2024, automatically gives inmates two 5g doses spaced about 10 minutes apart.

Lawyers for people on death row have argued that giving such a large dose twice was proof the condemned were dying a lingering death, still conscious and feeling like they were drowning when fluid rushed into their lungs.

But a South Carolina Department of Corrections attorney said inmates are unconscious in well under a minute and can't feel anything. The heart may show an occasional flicker on a monitor, but that's because it is the last organ to use the body's stored oxygen and has residual electrical impulses.

When past lethal injection executions have gone wrong, it is usually because an IV line can't be properly inserted and the execution is stopped before the drugs are given. There have also been cases of violent reactions or prolonged time passing before death when a new combination of drugs is used.

Witnesses to pentobarbital executions frequently report that inmates stop breathing and become still less than a minute after getting the drug.

What have experts said about the drug?

Experts quoted in the 2025 federal review argue pentobarbital can cause pulmonary edema, a build-up of fluid in the lungs that may create a sensation of suffocating.

The review concluded that “there remains significant uncertainty about whether the use of pentobarbital as a single drug lethal injection causes unnecessary pain and suffering” and advised that the government should “err on the side of humane treatment".

Other specialists quoted in a report released by the second Trump administration said a lethal dose causes unconsciousness before that occurs.

A fire at a central Christchurch home has been contained after producing a "lot of smoke" billowing across the central city this afternoon.

Fire and Emergency NZ was called to the blaze at a one-storey home on Fitzgerald Ave at about 3.22pm, with three crews from Christchurch City and Woolston attending.

"FENZ have been on the scene for 26 minutes and are in the process of extinguishing it. The fire is contained but put up a lot of smoke when it was fully alight," a spokesperson told 1News.

Fire and Emergency said there were no reports of anyone in the house.

Footage from 1News cameras showed fire crews with breathing apparatus at work as heavy smoke emanated from a white weatherboard building.

Police cordoned off part of Fitzgerald Ave as the response continued, with the smoke causing significant traffic delays.

Five teenagers have been arrested after a masked group – armed with machetes and a knife – raided an east Auckland karaoke bar and led police on a chase.

Staff at the 123 Karaoke Bar on Gooch Pl in Somerville called police about 1.40am this morning after the group walked in and demanded cash.

A staff member told 1News four of the group carried machetes and a fifth had a short knife.

Detective Senior Sergeant Veronica McPherson said the group climbed over a counter where they took the till and several other items.

"The offenders fled in a vehicle, which was abandoned on Windsong Court.

"From there, the offenders got in a stolen Nissan, which was sighted by officers shortly after the aggravated robbery."

Police pursued the Nissan through Ōtāra, Manukau and Māngere before it was abandoned it in Favona and the occupants tried to run. McPherson said "all five were quickly located and taken into custody".

No one was hurt during the robbery.

McPherson said police have no tolerance for this type of crime. "Employees and business owners deserve to go to work and not be confronted by this violent behaviour."

An 18-year-old man was due to appear in Manukau District Court today, charged with aggravated robbery, unlawfully getting into a motor vehicle, unlawfully taking a motor vehicle, dangerous driving and failing to stop.

Four others, aged 15-17, faced charges of aggravated robbery, unlawfully getting into a motor vehicle and unlawfully taking a motor vehicle.

Black Caps white-ball allrounder Michael Bracewell will shift to a casual contract with NZC for the 2026-27 season to pursue an opportunity in the Australian Big Bash League.

Northern Districts batter Nick Kelly will replace Bracewell on the central contracts list as he earns his first national contract 11 years after making his first-class debut.

Kelly debuted for the Black Caps in March 2025 and has since earned 15 international caps (8 ODI, 7 T20I). Kelly also captained the side when he filled in for the injured Tom Latham in a T20I in Bangladesh earlier this year.

Bracewell said he was grateful to remain available for the Black Caps and was looking forward to facing India later this month.

“The backing from New Zealand Cricket for me to take this opportunity at this stage of my career means a lot,” Kelly said.

“As a white-ball only player, this felt like too good of an opportunity to pass up. I’m still very much committed to the Black Caps and can’t wait to be involved in the upcoming India tour and future white-ball series.

“I’ve also got my eyes firmly fixed on the opportunity to be involved in the inaugural NZ20, which is set to be introduced from next summer."

The left-handed Kelly comes onto the central contract list at the age of 33, having recently returned from a county stint with Leicestershire where he contributed 950 runs across all formats, including his sixth List A century in the Metro Bank One Day Cup final against Middlesex.

Black Caps head coach Rob Walter, who coached Kelly for two seasons at Otago, said it was pleasing to be able to reward him with his first central contract.

“Nick’s been a standout performer in domestic cricket for several seasons now, and it’s testament to his hard work that he’s earned this first contract at this stage of his career," Walter said.

“Introducing players like Nick to international cricket a bit later certainly has its advantages in terms of the player knowing their game and being able to trust themselves to perform under pressure.”

Walter said Kelly, who has scored three half-centuries in his last four ODIs, deserved his opportunity.

“Nick stuck his hand up with his performances against Bangladesh and the West Indies in what was at times challenging batting conditions.

“He has more than 300 professional matches under his belt and is one of the best fielders in the country, so he adds a lot to our contracted group.”

Bracewell joins Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Lockie Ferguson, Adam Milne, and Tim Seifert as the other casually contracted players for the 2026-27 season.

Rachael's routine mammogram came back clear, but five months later a biopsy taken ahead of her breast reduction surgery found cancer that had likely been hiding in her dense breast tissue.

"What is understood now is that that tumour was very likely there but wasn't picked up," she said.

Dense breast tissue can affect anyone, but age, genetics and hormone treatments can play a part.

Radiologist Dr Monica Saini explained why density makes cancer harder to spot.

"This dense tissue looks white on a mammogram and cancer looks white, so you can imagine that if you have more white it's harder to find cancer in that background."

A decade ago, Saini began offering contrast enhanced mammography to cancer patients. The scan pairs a standard mammogram with a dye injected into the bloodstream, which makes tumours easier to see.

A small number of clinics offer the technology, mostly privately, and usually only to patients already diagnosed or considered high risk.

Women with high breast density alone are not classed as high risk, despite what the evidence suggests.

"That risk is anywhere from two to four times increased from a woman who has extremely dense breasts compared to a woman who mostly has fatty breast tissue, and that's a risk over her lifetime," Saini said.

No requirement to tell women

Health NZ's guidelines for public breast screening do not require density to be recorded, or for women to be told about it.

The agency reviewed how density reporting could be included in screening last year.

Alana Ewe-Snow, from Health NZ's National Public Health Service prevention screening team, said the agency was still working out what it would need to introduce breast density measurement and reporting within BreastScreen Aotearoa.

"This includes consideration of service impacts, workforce and imaging capacity requirements, and the availability of appropriate follow-up pathways.

"As part of this, BSA will also need to carry out research to determine what proportion of women have different breast densities in Aotearoa New Zealand."

The Breast Cancer Foundation wants contrast enhanced mammography made available to women like Rachael who have dense breast tissue.

"The sooner we actually identify and get people on a treatment programme, we save lives," chief executive Vanessa Sorenson said.

Rachael is now in remission. Had the tumour not been found, she would have waited another 18 months for her next mammogram.

"It was close to the chest wall and I suspect that things would be looking very, very different right now."

The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists updated its guidelines in 2024 to recommend mandatory reporting of breast density in both screening and diagnostic settings.

A former reality TV star is "worried about his family" and will fight domestic violence charges after being arrested.

Ex-Bachelor star Sam Wood, 46, is set to spend several nights in custody before applying for bail on Thursday over his weekend arrest on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland.

The Melbourne-based fitness influencer was arrested after police received reports of alleged domestic violence at a Noosa property on Saturday night.

Wood was charged on Sunday with the domestic violence offence of assault occasioning bodily harm and strangulation in a domestic setting.

He was stood down indefinitely by the online fitness empire he fronts on Monday.

His lawyer, Matthew Cuskelly, confirmed Wood would apply for bail after the matter appeared in Maroochydore Magistrates Court on Monday.

"He's simply worried about his family. A bail application will be heard on Thursday," he told AAP.

"The charges will be defended."

A Wood family statement was posted on social media on Monday addressing the charges.

It was shared with Wood's 253,000 Instagram followers, saying the family was "working through this".

"This is a difficult time for all of us," the statement said.

"We are working through this as a family and are thoroughly co-operating with the authorities."

His wife, Snezana – who he met on The Bachelor – also shared the statement on social media, marking her first comment since the arrest.

Wood earned a national profile as a star of The Bachelor's third season in 2015, going on to launch a successful home fitness business, "28 By Sam Wood".

He reportedly sold it in 2022 but remained the face of the online platform.

The wellness businesses behind the platform on Monday said Wood had been stood down indefinitely following the charges.

"DBG Health, the parent company of 28 by Sam Wood, has zero tolerance for domestic violence," a DBG Health spokesperson said.

"While the matter is under investigation and before the court, Sam Wood is on indefinite leave from his duties.

"Our thoughts are with the family and anyone in the community affected by domestic violence."

Mark Watkins, 28 Group's Chief Operating Officer, would be leading the business in Wood's absence, it said.

"We have all been shocked and saddened by the matters involving Sam Wood," Watkins said in a separate statement posted across the fitness and nutrition business's social media platforms on Monday.

Queensland Police on Monday confirmed Wood was charged after officers received reports of alleged domestic violence and attended a Hastings Street address about 9pm on Saturday.

Wood did not appear in court when his matter was heard on Monday.

It was adjourned until Thursday for the bail application.

The All Whites have a rare opportunity to challenge for international silverware as they face off against Japan in the Kirin Cup final in Tokyo tonight.

The Kiwi side reached the final to take on the tournament hosts after a penalty shootout victory against 47th-ranked Panama in Yokohama last Thursday.

Japan also progressed to the final through a penalty shootout, defeating Ecuador 5-4 after being held 0-0 in the 90 minutes.

Watch the Kirin Cup final between the All Whites and Japan at 11.30pm NZT live and free on TVNZ+.

Seventeenth-ranked Japan will prove a tough test for the All Whites. However, head coach Darren Bazeley is once again embracing the opportunity to face higher-ranked opposition.

'We'll learn – we'll get better'

“For us, it's exciting because we are developing as a team, and for us to keep facing top 20-ranked teams in the world is good for us. It means we'll learn, we'll get better,” said Bazeley.

“Our players, through the experience, will get better at playing against these types of players.”

The All Whites have limited experience against Japan and fell short in both of their previous international friendlies.

In their most recent meeting in 2017, Japan came out on top 2-1 despite a goal from All Whites captain Chris Wood. Auckland FC's club captain Hiroki Sakai assisted the winning goal for Japan as he headed the ball down for teammate Shu Kurata to score in the 88th minute.

Wood was also on target for the All Whites in 2014 against the Samurai Blue, scoring two goals in their 4-2 defeat in Tokyo.

“It's always special to play a host country. So Japan, in Japan, is even more special,” Bazeley told the Japanese media.

“When we beat Panama, we were obviously very pleased because they're a very good team, and I was hoping that Japan would win because I think it's special to play Japan here in front of the big crowd.”

The final will be played at the Japan National Stadium in Tokyo, with a capacity of just under 68,000.

Japan had an admirable World Cup campaign, reaching the Round of 32 after finishing second in their group. They exited the tournament after an agonising 2-1 defeat against Brazil, only after conceding a 95th-minute goal scored by Al Hilal’s Gabriel Martinelli.

'Opportunities' for younger, debut starters

Bazeley was asked about the makeup of his squad during this international window, with many players who featured at the World Cup missing from the tour.

“What we've done on this tour is bring some key players who played at the World Cup, but also some younger players to help that process of developing players for the next cycle.

The All Whites are yet to lose a match during their tour, with a 2-2 draw against Palestine followed up by wins against China and Panama.

“Some younger players and some players that went to the World Cup but didn't play. This is the opportunity that we've given them to push themselves forward.”

All Whites goalkeeper Alex Paulsen missed out on playing at the World Cup as he was kept out by Max Crocombe. The 24-year-old shot-stopper has done an admirable job on this tour for the All Whites, keeping a clean sheet against China and saving a decisive penalty against Panama to send the Kiwi side through to tonight's final.

Another player who seems to have made the most of this tour is striker Ben Waine, who has recorded two goals and an assist across their previous three matches.

“Everybody’s done a really good job, and that's good depth for New Zealand; we're able to come and bring half of our World Cup squad and still be very competitive.”

The Kirin Cup final between the All Whites and Japan kicks off at 11.30pm NZT and is live and free on TVNZ+.

A man accused of gate-crashing a Dunedin party, allegedly assaulting one of the hosts before hurling rocks at police from the Water of Leith and being tasered, now faces multiple charges, including assaulting first responders.

Police were called to an address on Leith St at around 2pm on Sunday after reports of a disorder incident involving a man who had gone into a private party uninvited.

Senior Sergeant Ian Notman said the man had allegedly assaulted one of the hosts, who was unknown to him, and caused further disruption.

Attending officers found the man in question standing in the Water of Leith, he added.

"After officers negotiated with him to leave the water and stop throwing rocks, he continued to behave in a threatening manner. As a result, a taser was deployed and the man was taken into custody."

Notman said the man suffered a medical event after his arrest and was treated by ambulance staff.

"While receiving care, he allegedly assaulted attending paramedics and police officers."

New offences for attacks on first responders passed into law in August, with the previous offence of assaulting a police officer changed to include paramedics, firefighters and prison officers – now carrying a maximum penalty of three years' imprisonment.

A 32-year-old man has charged with threatening to kill, burglary, common assault, wilful damage, resisting police and assaulting first responders.

He was due to appear in the Dunedin District Court at a later date.

After time away from the game due to a hamstring injury, All Blacks loose forward Shannon Frizell is back in the All Blacks camp ahead of the upcoming Bledisloe Cup series against the Wallabies.

Frizell played limited minutes for his Japan League One side, Toshiba Brave Lupus, but has managed to take part in four NPC matches towards the back end of the regular season for Tasman.

The 33-Test All Black managed a full 80-minute performance at number eight for Tasman in their 50-33 win against Waikato in their final regular season match over the weekend.

Despite getting quality game time representing Tasman over the last month, Frizell said he still has some underlying nerves returning to the All Blacks environment.

“I feel like I'm not there yet, but I'm capable of doing the job,” said Frizell.

The 32-year-old’s last Test match in the black jersey was in the 2023 Rugby World Cup final loss against the Springboks.

“I have the feeling in the back of my head that my best rugby is still in front of me and want to give myself another chance.”

All Blacks forwards coach Jason Ryan showed more confidence in the loose forward being up to speed for the series against the Wallabies.

“He's come in in great shape and got a bit of confidence playing for Tasman. He didn’t play much in Japan, so he needed these games. He’s fully selectable, he's come in fresh, and we know what he's capable of,” said Ryan.

Ryan was hesitant to give confirmation as to whether Frizell might start, but hinted that he will most likely be involved in some capacity across both Bledisloe Cup Tests.

“The match fitness was important; I think he’s got that, and whether or not he’s thrown straight into the mix to start, I'm not sure.

“I think he will add some value in these two games…the quicker he gets in, the more he'll get up to speed.”

This morning the All Blacks confirmed first-five Ruben Love would miss the rest of the year with an ankle ligament injury.

"He was starting to find his timing quite nicely, direct his forwards around the park and take real ownership of our game. We've got a few injuries at the moment, and that's all part of it and that's off the back of a pretty rugged tour."

The All Blacks head into this weekend off the back of three straight defeats to the Springboks, with Ryan emphasising that his coaching staff are well aware of their current form.

"The tour sucked a lot of juice out of everyone, and it was good to come in on Sunday and review that. There's a little bit of discomfort in the room, as there should be when you're reviewing something like that coming off the back of three losses. It was good to put that to bed and move on."

OPINION: In the latest in our State of the Nation series, a 53-year-old Wellington lawyer reveals her views on the two main political party leaders and who she plans to vote for in November.

Where were you born? Wellington, New Zealand.

How old are you? 53.

What's your profession? Lawyer.

Do you have children? Two – one still at home.

What’s your household’s annual income? Mine, before tax, would be about $240,000 and my husband’s $160,000. So about $400,000.

Do you have any plans to leave New Zealand? Yes. Very futuristic plans to move to Melbourne in ten years’ time, because the kids will probably end up there.

Has the fuel crisis affected you? Yeah, I’m probably spending another $50 a week on petrol, but it's not impacting me in a meaningful way.

Have you decided who you're going to vote for in this election? Yes, Labour.

Why is that? Because National have ballsed it completely.

Who did you vote for in 2023? National.

What were you expecting from National that, in your view, they haven’t delivered? I expected they would have to get the books in balance after what happened with the Labour’s quite poor handling of the Covid situation, and its overspending, but I did not expect them to tear Wellington apart. I did not expect them to leave all of the water pipe issues in Wellington to ratepayers to deal with through the City Council. I didn't expect them to destroy the city completely with mindless cycle lanes that are barely used and to destroy the public sector in the way that they have.

What’s your view of Christopher Luxon as Prime Minister? I think he is careless and not a forward thinker.

What’s your view of Chris Hipkins? I think he's decent. I think he's likely to be more careful and have a more global perspective on things.

What do you think is the biggest issue facing New Zealanders is in this election? The employment situation.

Do you feel secure in your industry? Yes.

Do you think that we should, as National has proposed, raise the superannuation eligibility age to 67? Part of me agrees, but the negative sentiment around older job seekers makes me unsure whether that's tenable.

So is ageism something that you see as a problem in our workplaces? Yes.

Do you plan to work yourself past the age of 65? Yes, because I enjoy the work.

And you're not concerned about the ageism that you've witnessed elsewhere? I'm self-employed. But I’ve seen ageism affect others in more corporate environments.

What do you think New Zealand’s biggest problems are? We're a very poor country, and we're going backwards. No one, globally, is interested in us. We haven't got anything to bring to a global stage, and we're not inventive.

What’s your view on the proposed building of AI data centres in places such as Auckland and Southland – an opportunity or something to be avoided? I think it’s an opportunity that should be grabbed and encouraged.

What do you think of the Green Party's wealth tax proposal? Ridiculous. I think that you don't want to demotivate people in that way.

They’ve also proposed taxing inherited wealth. Does that seem reasonable to you? If that was implemented, people would just find a way around it. It’s going to be pointless.

Do you think schools should provide lunch for students? In low decile schools, yes.

What do you think of the Government’s proposed move-on orders, enabling police to move rough sleepers and beggars out of public places? I actually don't know what I think about that. The difficulty is that the support for homeless people in the city centres is considerable compared to say a small town. So I’m not sure that it would make sense to move them to other places.

Do you think te reo Māori should be taught to all children in New Zealand schools? No. I feel as though the language should be preserved, but not foisted on those who want a different cultural experience. I think there should be respect for te reo, but I feel like there's been a lot of tokenism and people using this issue for political advantage in corporate life.

I like having a lot of different cultures coming to New Zealand. I feel as though there's room to allow other communities to flourish, having their own interests in their own cultural ways, and that just means it's richer and more interesting here, which is sorely needed.

So you think we need to allow more immigrants into New Zealand? Yes, I think we need more people.

What’s your own level of te reo Māori? It's low, it's insignificant.

What about the beneficial impact on young Māori of preserving and expanding the use of te reo? I think there has been a beneficial impact from all of the things Labour introduced with the language. I think it's done its job and it’s gone far enough.

How do you feel about this government's controversial review of the language used to refer to the Treaty of Waitangi in various pieces of legislation?* I actually don't know that much about that. I feel like I haven’t really landed on my own view of the treaty so I can’t say.

Do you think that the government is doing enough to address climate change? Yes. I mean there has been a big upswing in hydro and wind farms etc, through the various energy companies. I don’t really know what the Government could do that would make anything better. I mean, maybe make electric cars a more accessible option for people on lower incomes.

You’re not concerned about the environmental impacts of large AI data centres? Not really, I mean, we’re desperadoes down here in New Zealand. We’ve just got to grab anything that can help us bring some money into this place. There's no money here.

In general, you seem to have given quite right-wing answers to these questions. Are you confident that your Labour vote is going to deliver you the kind of government you want? I guess I'm not, but I can't stand the meanness of this government. I’d rather deal with a government that had less cruelty about it, even if it meant overspending in some areas.

What would you like to change about the culture of Aotearoa? I think we are very small-minded in comparison to more developed countries, very rule bound, not expansive. I think we're quite gloomy, to be honest.

*Correction: This question was inaccurately worded as: How do you feel about this government's controversial reviewing and amending of the Treaty of Waitangi?

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. The views expressed are not those of TVNZ.

The video, taken at the Railside Ave crossing in Henderson about 9am on September 15, shows the car pulling around vehicles waiting at the crossing before driving through the barriers.

A KiwiRail spokesperson said the driver's actions could have had serious consequences.

"The behaviour of the driver in this video is incredibly reckless and this action could have had serious consequences. Barrier arms are only lowered when a train is approaching. If the barriers are down, stop and wait. Never drive around or under them."

The spokesperson said more trains were now running on Auckland's rail network, which made it more important than ever for drivers to obey signals at level crossings.

"Even close calls can take a huge toll on train drivers and all those involved."

KiwiRail warned the rail corridor was an unforgiving environment and a collision could be catastrophic.

"Trains can appear at any time whether they are expected or not. They travel faster than they appear to and take much longer to stop than people realise."

Rail safety charity TrackSAFE NZ also urged drivers to wait at lowered barriers.

Foundation manager Megan Drayton said drivers who went around them were gambling with lives.

"Every time someone drives around lowered barrier arms they are taking an unnecessary and potentially devastating risk. Barrier arms, lights and alarms are there to keep people safe."

Drayton said four people had lost their lives in incidents involving lowered barrier arms in recent years.

"With more train services and higher frequency of services following the opening of CRL, safety in Auckland is more important than ever."

She asked anyone who saw similar behaviour to report it to police immediately.

Near miss interrupts Greens announcement

The footage emerged as another close call played out in Morningside today, also on the Western Line, which unfolded in front of the Green Party's co-leaders.

Marama Davidson and Chlöe Swarbrick were announcing an election pledge to fund the removal of the line's level crossings when a car left a queue of traffic and drove over the tracks ahead of an oncoming train, as the barrier arm was down and alarms sounded.

The train driver sounded the horn.

Swarbrick said the timing could hardly have been more pointed.

"That is case in point as to why we need to remove these level crossings. It's like you set that up. That's incredibly, incredibly dangerous."

Police are appealing for the public's help locating a man and woman who jumped into a river while fleeing police near Ōpōtiki early yesterday morning.

The driver ran a red light in the Wainui area at around 3.45am on Sunday and failed to stop when signalled by police.

The vehicle came to a stop after road spikes were deployed about 10km from Ōpōtiki shortly after 4am.

The car came to a stop down Snell Rd by the Ōtara River.

"They subsequently entered the river, and extensive search efforts have been ongoing ever since," Inspector Phil Gillbanks said.

While the pair were initially believed to be two men, police confirmed this afternoon the missing pair were an adult man and woman.

"It is understood the male may have made contact with associates and family members; however, his welfare has not been independently confirmed. Police are still seeking both individuals to ensure they are safe and well," Gillbanks said.

"Our primary concern remains the welfare of these two people. We are appealing directly to them, and to anyone who knows them, has spoken with them, or may have assisted them since Saturday morning, to contact police immediately."

Gillbanks said police, including specialist search teams, have carried out aerial and ground-based searches on both sides of the river and along the coastline. Search efforts have also involved dogs, New Zealand LandSAR partners and Coastguard Ōpōtiki. The Police National Dive Squad are travelling to Ōpōtiki to assist in the operation.

Gillbanks said police were particularly interested in hearing from anyone who may have seen the pair after they entered the river, provided them with transport, shelter, or assistance, or has had any contact with them since.

"If you are one of the people we are seeking, or if you know where they are, please do the right thing and get in touch with us. Even a brief contact to confirm they are safe could significantly assist our efforts and ensure valuable search resources are directed appropriately."

Anyone with urgent information has been urged to call 111. Information that may assist police can be reported via 105.

Tauranga City Council has this afternoon confirmed Gareth Green will serve as its acting chief executive, one week after Marty Grenfell announced his resignation in the wake of a damning review that found the Mount Maunganui landslide tragedy was preventable.

Green, who currently serves as the manager of the Mayoral Office at the council, had previously served as the chief executive of the New Plymouth and Taupō district councils.

Grenfell announced his resignation on September 29. His last day was on October 2.

"We respect Mr Grenfell's decision and thank him for his unwavering commitment to public service in our city over the past eight years," Mayor Mahé Drysdale said at the time.

"During this time, Mr Grenfell has helped lead Tauranga City Council through periods of significant growth, change, and challenge. I thank him for his contribution and wish him all the very best for the future.”

Grenfell had faced calls to resign after a report by former High Court judge Paul Davison KC, released in August, said: "This tragedy was, in the end, preventable."

"For more than two decades, one competent consultant after another identified the landslide hazard to the campground, located it on the very slope that failed, and explained – sometimes in stark terms – what the consequences of a landslide occurring could be."

Six holidaymakers were killed in a slip at the council-owned Mount Maunganui Beachside Holiday Park in January 22.

The Tauranga City Council said it would "commence a recruitment process to appoint a permanent chief executive".

"The mayor and councillors will consider next steps for the appointment process during a public excluded session at the council meeting on October 20, 2026."

Two of the three people who were found dead at a South Auckland home last week were children, police say.

They were Dahlia Neville, 6, Hunter Neville, 9, and Edward Courtenay James Neville, 40.

Police were called to Cambridge Tce in Papatoetoe at around 6.40pm on Thursday after a person was found dead at the property. Two others were found dead at the scene when officers arrived.

Detective Inspector Karen Bright said the investigation into the incident on behalf of the Coroner was ongoing and that it would take time to get answers for the family.

"Our deepest condolences are with their family and friends during this difficult time," she said.

"The whānau are being provided with wrap around support which will continue as we piece together the tragic events."

The scene examination at the property was completed with the scene handed back to family on Saturday.

"We would like to acknowledge the community for their outpouring of support for the family as they come to terms with this tragedy."

A frightening near-miss at an Auckland level crossing unfolded just metres away from the Green Party as they spoke about an election policy aimed at making level crossings safer.

Co-leaders Marama Davidson and Chlöe Swarbrick were in Morningside today announcing the party would fund the removal of level crossings along Auckland's Western Line.

Follow all the latest from the election campaign at our live updates here

During the announcement, a car waiting at a nearby level crossing in a line of traffic pulled out and drove across the tracks as the train approached, prompting the train driver to sound its horn. Warning lights and sirens were blaring at the time and the barrier arm was lowered.

The vehicle continued across the tracks in front of the train and drove to the other side.

Car nearly hit by train during Green Party announcement - Watch on TVNZ+

Davidson, Swarbrick and other Green Party members turned around in shock as the car crossed the tracks.

"Did you see that? There was somebody just driving across the crossing as the train was coming," Swarbrick said after witnessing the incident.

"That is really dangerous," Davidson added.

Swarbrick said the moment illustrated the argument the party was making for removing the crossings.

"That is case in point as to why we need to remove these level crossings.

"It's like you set that up. That's incredibly, incredibly dangerous."

Speaking on the policy, the party said removing level crossings along Auckland's Western Line would help improve safety, reduce congestion and allow more trains to run on the route.

Davidson said there had been almost 70 crashes and hundreds of near misses involving vehicles and pedestrians at Auckland level crossings over the past decade.

"This is primarily about making sure that we are prioritising safety," she said.

The South Island recorded the most Legionnaires' disease cases in the country over the past year, as health officials urge gardeners to wear masks and gloves when handling potting mix this spring.

Health NZ figures show 54 of the 152 legionellosis cases notified nationwide between September 2025 and August 2026 were in the South Island, and 46 of those people were hospitalised.

Across the country, 135 people ended up in hospital with the disease.

National Public Health Service medical officer of health Dr Matthew Reid said gardeners could take simple precautions to protect themselves.

"To reduce the risk of breathing in legionella bacteria only handle potting and compost mix bags outdoors or in well-ventilated areas, and open them carefully and away from your face.

"It's also important to wear gloves and a well-fitting face mask. An N95 mask is best."

Reid said N95 masks could generally be bought at DIY and gardening stores or local pharmacies.

"It's also recommended you dampen down soil products to reduce dust, and to wash and dry your hands thoroughly after gardening or handling potting mix."

Legionnaires' disease is a type of pneumonia caught by breathing in legionella bacteria, which thrive in moist environments and stagnant water, including potting mix, compost and other soil products.

Who is most at risk

Not everyone who breathes in the bacteria becomes unwell, and some people develop only a milder illness called Pontiac fever.

However, Health NZ said people aged over 50, smokers, and those with chronic illnesses or weakened immune systems were more susceptible and should be especially careful in the garden.

Reid said the symptoms were similar to a flu-like illness.

"[They] can include a cough, fever, chills, shortness of breath, muscle aches, headaches, nausea and vomiting, stomach aches, diarrhoea and excessive sweating. Some people also develop mental confusion or disorientation."

The illness typically worsens over several days and requires antibiotic treatment, with most cases needing hospital care.

"If you experience these symptoms, particularly after using potting mix or compost, you should contact your usual health care provider for advice or call Healthline for free on 0800 611 116."

Cases by region

The South Island region covers Nelson-Marlborough, Canterbury, South Canterbury, the West Coast, Otago and Southland.

The Northern region, which covers Northland and Auckland, was close behind with 49 cases and matched the South Island's 46 hospitalisations.

The Midland region, which includes Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Taranaki and Tairāwhiti, recorded 38 cases and 32 hospitalisations. The Central region, stretching from Hawke's Bay to Wellington, had 11 cases, and all 11 of those patients were admitted to hospital.

Kiwi Olympic great Dame Lisa Carrington has welcomed her first child, saying she and husband Michael 'Bucky' Buck are "completely in love" with their newborn daughter.

The 37-year-old kayaker, New Zealand's most decorated Olympian, announced the birth with a post to social media today.

"Our beautiful baby girl is here," she wrote in the caption of the video accompanied by Six60's song Rivers.

"We are completely in love."

Dame Lisa had already ruled herself out of this year's world championships after revealing her pregnancy, but said she was still targeting the LA 2028 Olympic Games.

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A post shared by Lisa Carrington (@liscarrington)

In April she described pregnancy as an adjustment.

"Pregnancy so far has been a real learning curve - but feeling very lucky and very excited for what's to come."

Dame Lisa has won eight Olympic gold medals across four Games, including three in Tokyo and three more in Paris in 2024.

A major police presence has descended on Coromandel township this morning as officers search for a man wanted on firearms charges who was seen in the area.

Max Bradbury, 27, was spotted running across farmland near the town on the Coromandel Peninsula's west coast, prompting a "strong police presence" including the Eagle helicopter and dog units from around 9am.

Police said Bradbury was considered a "risk to the public" and should not be approached.

The search was currently focused on the Kapanga Rd area in the centre of the township.

"Police ask the public to call 111 immediately if they see him," a police spokesperson said.

Thames-Coromandel District Council said its office in the township was closed for "safety reasons due to a police operation in the area".

"Please do not plan to visit our office for now."

Russian attacks in Ukraine killed at least six people and damaged Kyiv’s Northern Bridge, suspending traffic and causing tailbacks for a third day in Moscow's latest effort to disrupt life in the Ukrainian capital.

The strike came after two days of Russian assaults forced the full or partial closure of three of Kyiv’s six road bridges over the Dnipro River. Previously, Russia has hit apartment blocks, supermarket warehouses, gas stations and data centres, among other targets.

Russia's Foreign Ministry said Saturday it would continue to carry out "mass retaliatory strikes" on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, urging foreign nationals and diplomats to leave the country. It previously issued a similar warning in May.

Russia invaded its neighbour more than 4 1/2 years ago, and there are no concrete signs that a peace settlement might be possible. Fighting along the roughly 1250-kilometre front line snaking through northern, eastern and southern Ukraine has been virtually deadlocked in recent months.

Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said the strike on the bridge damaged the road surface and trolleybus cables, forcing traffic to be suspended. He later said two people were wounded in the attack, one of whom was briefly hospitalised.

Russia’s Defence Ministry on Saturday confirmed it was behind the latest attack, claiming the bridge is used to "facilitate troop movements and the logistics of military cargo deliveries" for Ukraine’s armed forces.

Videos circulating on social media appeared to show the moment of impact as vehicles crossed the bridge, including footage purportedly recorded by a driver's dashcam.

A baby is reportedly among those injured in a triple stabbing which left two people critically injured in West Auckland last night.

Police were called to Kirby St in Glendene at around 11.40pm following reports of disorder where someone had been injured.

Acting Detective Inspector Megan Goldie from Waitematā CIB said officers found three people with injuries that appeared to be consistent with knife wounds.

"Two people were taken to hospital in a critical condition," she said.

"The third person suffered minor injuries and was also transported to hospital."

The NZ Herald reported neighbours tended to a wounded baby who was among the three injured.

"I woke up and listened for a minute to make sure and then got my brother to check he also heard it," a neighbour told the Herald.

"We went into the house and saw blood everywhere."

Police confirmed to 1News a child was among the three people injured.

Hato Hone St John said it sent three ambulances, two critical care units and an operations manager to the scene.

Vision from the scene showed a large number of police officers in attendance.

Goldie said while the investigation was in its early stages, police were not currently looking for anyone else in connection with the incident.

Residents could expect an increased police presence in the area while inquiries continued.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has launched legal action against Thames Valley Police over his arrest in connection to the Epstein files earlier this year, UK media has reported.

The former prince and Duke of York, who was stripped of his royal titles, has reportedly lodged a judicial review asking a judge to rule whether the police's search warrants at his home in Sandringham and the Royal Lodge in Windsor were lawful, according to The Telegraph.

A private hearing will reportedly take place at the UK High Court later this week to determine whether to release certain court documents relating to the judicial review.

In February, on his 66th birthday, Andrew was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

Correspondence contained in the so called Epstein Files suggested he may have passed on sensitive trade related information. He was released under investigation after spending 11 hours in police custody and has denied any wrongdoing.

A photograph taken of a stunned Mountbatten-Windsor as he was driven away from the police station following his release was splashed across newspapers and websites around the world.

He was the first senior member of the British royal family to be arrested in nearly 400 years, and with the imminent judicial review would become the first royal since Charles I to challenge legal proceedings.

Andrew's brother, King Charles III, said at the time the "law must take its course" and expressed his "deepest concern" over the arrest.

"What now follows is the full, fair and proper process by which this issue is investigated in the appropriate manner and by the appropriate authorities," the monarch said in a statement at the time.

"In this, as I have said before, they have our full and wholehearted support and co-operation."

Nearly two years after streets in Dunedin and Ōamaru were transformed into a film set, it’s hoped the success of the production East of Eden will bring more big-budget projects to Otago.

The series starring Florence Pugh – based on John Steinbeck's 1952 novel – was filmed in the summer of 2024/2025 in New Zealand. Parade reports the seven-episode Netflix mini-series has hit number one on the streaming platform.

Ōamaru’s heritage precinct was shut down for a week and some parts of Dunedin for a day, with crews starting about 4am on make-up and traffic changes, and working late until the evening.

Some of the locals involved had never acted before, and simply answered an ad in the paper.

Moana Kyle was one of them.

"We had to either walk up and down, up and down, up and down, and the same over at the Stuart Street as well," Kyle said.

She said it was a fun day for a lot of reasons.

"Our makeup, our clothes, fed well, treated really beautifully," Kyle said.

Student Eva Clarke was also an extra on set in Dunedin.

"It was filled with a lot of really old Victorian kind of stuff like carriages, posters.

"I knew everybody was in costume.

"You had old fellas with cigarettes and walking canes and stuff," Clarke said.

"I was instructed to start walking as soon as I saw Florence. So I got to directly walk right past her which was quite cool – turn around – and then walk towards the camera.”

Clarke said it was a “surreal” experience.

The traffic control for Ōtepoti and Ōamaru took months of planning and came with some unusual jobs.

"So typically, traffic management, you would follow around diggers, sucker trucks, hydro excavators and all that kind of stuff, but this day, one of our crew's jobs was to follow around the horse and cart," traffic management and control manager Grace Morris said.

But Morris said the teams weren't too star-struck.

"I think that's the great thing about Dunedin and Ōamaru, and New Zealand as a whole, that there can be famous people everywhere – we just talk to them like they're normal people.

"We just gave a yarn to them and off you go," Morris said.

The shoot came during an already busy Otago summer, with the influx of cast and crew felt across Dunedin and Waitaki.

"But what was so cool was the tourists that it brought, the community that it brought, even just all the accommodation through the whole of Ōamaru and Dunedin, you couldn't get accommodation for a 50km radius because everything was booked out by staff and crew, which was super cool to see," Morris said.

The Waitaki District Council also ran a photo competition called Through Our Eyes – Memories of East of Eden for locals who watched the filming from the roadside.

Parts of the production were also filmed around Thames and Auckland.

Film Otago Southland's Stefan Roesch said New Zealand's rebates of "20% plus 5% uplift" help draw international productions, but Otago's locations are also a selling point.

"And then studios, of course, or streamers, look at exchange rate, you know, crew depth and talent, infrastructure.

"And, Otago, we have some unique locations, especially as in standing in for some areas in America, like, you know, talking South California or Colorado.”

And now the crew's gone; he is hoping the series will bring more benefits.

"The long tail, as I say, is always when the crew leaves, and we get to see our Dunedin, our Ōamaru on the big screen.

"So screen tourism has never been bigger on a global scale than it is now," Roesch said.

Film Otago Southland is also launching a locations map showing where various productions have been shot around the region.

"So in terms of the work that went into it, it's about getting the rights for some of the images, which can be a bit tricky, but also I watched all the films in there and then timed the seconds where a certain location was showcased.

"And the time codes are on the brochure," Roesch said.

MVP contender Parker Jackson-Cartwright has flirted with a triple-double as the New Zealand Breakers consolidated fourth position on the NBL ladder with a clinical 88-72 win over the Adelaide 36ers.

Jackson-Cartwright posted 27 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds as the Breakers restricted the off-colour Sixers to a paltry 30 second-half points at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Sunday.

NZ wing Mojave King celebrated his 100th game with 18 points, including 4-of-8 threes, while former 36ers captain Dejan Vasiljevic scored 15 points, all in the first half, in his first game back in Adelaide since surprisingly being released following last season's grand final.

"I thought the difference was our defence in this game," Breakers coach Gordon Herbert said.

"I thought we got some good deflections on the defensive end.

"Our guys did a good job of turning those deflections into points going the other way."

Sixers big man Nick Rakovevic had the game of his life, pairing 29 points with 16 rebounds, while Bryce Cotton contributed 19 points.

But the 36ers misfired at 6-of-29 from three-point range and 6-of-14 from the foul line, to cap a horror 48 hours, after being hammered by 22 points by the Illawarra Hawks in Wollongong on Friday.

Vasiljevic looked like a man on a mission from the opening tip, scoring the opening bucket and racking up 10 first-quarter points.

Meanwhile, Cotton had just two in the opening term, harassed by the defensive tag-team combination of King and Carlin Davison as the Breakers pulled ahead 23-17.

Rakocevic racked up 17 points in the second stanza to keep the Sixers in the hunt, but Jackson-Cartwright imposed himself after a quiet start and NZ still held sway 48-42 at halftime.

In a scrappy third period, Adelaide drew level early on but the Breakers, despite being held to just 12 points, still led 60-57 at three-quarter time.

Jackson-Cartwright splashed back-to-back triples to start the final term, which the visitors dominated 28-15 to turn the arm wrestle into a rout.

"I thought we were a little flat coming out," Sixers coach Trevor Gleeson said.

"We didn't have the pop and energy that we needed, especially at home.

"We're in a bit of a grind at the moment. We're facing adversity - now we've got to respond."

A vape retailer has been fined $35,000 after young people walked into its stores 10 times during undercover checks, and bought vapes on six of those occasions.

Discount Mall Vape Ltd, a specialist vape retailer with stores around the country, was prosecuted by Health New Zealand and the Ministry of Health for selling vapes to minors and for failing to take all practicable steps to keep young people out of its shops.

The case followed a series of controlled purchase operations run by Health NZ at the retailer's branches.

Health New Zealand director of protection Becky Jenkins said the investigations found repeated non-compliance across many of the chain's stores.

"Our investigations showed this wasn't a one-off mistake. We recorded 10 instances where a young person was able to enter the store, and on six of these occasions they were able to buy a vape," Jenkins said.

"That is an unacceptable breach of laws meant to protect the health of children and young people."

It is the first time a specialist vape retailer has been prosecuted for both selling to under-18s and failing to stop a young person from entering its premises. It is also the seventh prosecution for selling regulated products to under-18s since 2023.

Ministry of Health deputy director-general of regulatory services David Shanks said the penalty sent a clear message to vape retailers that failing to protect young people would have consequences.

"Businesses that continue put sales ahead of young people's health can expect serious repercussions."

Health agencies have more than doubled the number of store visits and controlled purchase operations since 2023/24.

That stepped-up enforcement has led to more than 600 infringement notices issued to businesses and individuals for breaching smokefree laws, including selling vaping and tobacco products to people under 18.

Discount Mall Vape Ltd has been contacted for comment.

The All Blacks have confirmed that first-five Ruben Love will miss the remainder of the year after sustaining an ankle ligament injury on the Greatest Rivalry tour in South Africa.

Love is set to undergo ankle surgery, which will rule him out of the two Bledisloe Cup Tests against the Wallabies, as well as the three end-of-year Nations Championship Tests against Scotland, Wales, and England.

At this stage it is unclear whether the Hurricanes star will be available for the start of the 2027 Super Rugby Pacific season.

All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie said Love had been managing the ankle for much of the season.

"He sort of nursed it a little bit through Super Rugby. He's tough, Ruben,” said Rennie.

Love has been favoured by Rennie this year, starting six Tests in the 10 jersey before sitting out the Baltimore Test against the Springboks.

Richie Mo'unga and Josh Jacomb have been selected as the specialist first fives in the 34-man Bledisloe Cup squad, with Beauden Barrett and Damian McKenzie providing further cover.

Mo'unga featured in two matches for the All Blacks in South Africa, starting at first-five against the Lions as well as in the Baltimore Test. He also featured for Canterbury in two NPC matches before the Springboks tour, but was not released to play for them since returning from South Africa.

Jacomb and Barrett both featured for Taranaki in their final regular season game, as they defeated Wellington 68-26 in New Plymouth.

The US Air Force has brought home its bombers stationed at a US-run military air base in England used to strike Iran following an investigation into a planned terror attack at the RAF Fairford base.

The bombers were redeployed back to their home bases in the United States, according to a Pentagon official who was not authorised to discuss sensitive military movements and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Aviation watchers such as the Military Air Tracking Alliance have observed dozens of B-52 and B-1 bombers operating out of RAF Fairford since the opening days of the Iran war. Observers noticed a host of B-1 bombers fly out of the base on Sunday.

A dual British-Iranian national was arrested in central London last week on suspicion of plotting a terror attack, following a security incident at RAF Fairford in late September. In total, six people have been taken into custody and then released on bail during the investigation.

British authorities have linked the incident to Tehran. Iran has denied involvement.

RAF Fairford, located 160 kilometres west of London, has been used by American bombers during decades of conflicts in the Middle East.

The US military still maintains a sizable presence in the Middle East. On Thursday, a US official said the recently deployed USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier, as well as the USS Malkin Island amphibious readiness group — a group of ships that together carry over 7000 sailors and 2000 Marines — are heading for the region. The official said the move could result in three carriers in the region as early as the end of October.

Japanese police arrested a US Marine in the alleged robbery and killing of a woman on Okinawa, officials said, the latest criminal case on the southern island where the heavy American troop presence has remained a sensitive issue.

The Okinawa prefectural police said they arrested a 20-year-old Marine stationed at the Futenma Air Station on suspicion of killing a 39-year-old local woman at a hotel in Naha, Okinawa's capital city, and taking her wallet and backpack in the early hours of Saturday (local time).

Kyodo News agency, citing the police, reported the woman's body was found in her hotel room and she appeared to have been strangled to death.

Police said security camera footage showed the man believed to be the suspect entering the hotel with the victim and coming out alone. An officer arrested the suspect after spotting him walking alone on a street in Naha’s entertainment district late Saturday, Kyodo said.

"The case deals a major shock and adds fear to the Okinawans who have already been forced to live next to US bases," newly elected Okinawa Governor Genta Koja told reporters. "It is absolutely unforgivable and we are outraged."

"I must say, discipline and troop education are not working at all," said Koja, referring to the US military’s measures taken in response to past criminal cases.

Some 50,000 US troops are deployed in Japan under a bilateral security pact, about half of them on Okinawa, whose strategic role is seen as increasingly important for the Japan-US military alliance amid growing tensions with China. Japan's southwestern shift in its military focus centres heavily on Okinawa and its nearby islands.

Okinawans have long complained about noise, pollution and crime related to US bases, with crimes involving US service members on Okinawa complicating ties between Japan’s central government and the Okinawa administration. The latest case comes as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s cabinet pushes to further fortify its Japanese military presence on Okinawa and work more closely with the US military.

"The occurrence of the heinous crime is extremely regrettable," Takaichi said in her message on X. She said her government has strongly protested to the US side and demanded maximum cooperation with the Japanese authorities in the investigation, as well as tougher discipline for US service members and preventive measures.

Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi summoned US Ambassador to Japan George Glass to his office and conveyed "outrage", the ministry said in a statement.

Glass, on X, expressed condolences to the victim's family, adding that the United States is cooperating with the Japanese national and local governments.

The US Marine Corps said in a statement the suspect is assigned to the III Marine Expeditionary Force on Okinawa and that it is fully cooperating with Japanese authorities. "The Marine Corps takes these allegations very seriously and expects every Marine to adhere to the highest standards of behaviour."

Futenma base, located in a densely populated area in central Okinawa, has been a sore spot for many Okinawans for decades, who demanded its relocation. Despite protests, the central government greenlit construction to relocate the base to Henoko on Okinawa’s eastern coast, though the project has faced massive delays.

A high-profile 1995 rape of a 12-year-old girl by three US service members sparked massive protests against the heavy US troop presence on Okinawa. The number of arrests related to US service members and their families exceeded 100 last year, according to prefectural police. Repeated occurrence of sexual crimes and some of their delayed disclosures have also sparked outrage on Okinawa in recent years.

National's Nicola Willis is on the attack over Labour's fiscal plan, labelling it fraudulent, and claiming some former Labour finance ministers would be ashamed and disappointed.

By Lauren Crimp of RNZ

Labour says the plan it released on Sunday is responsible and pays for all its election promises.

Meanwhile, an economist says every party's plan will have holes and complicated trade-offs.

RNZ laid out National's claims about the plan and how Labour has defended them.

Follow our live updates on today's campaign developments here

No specific cost for restoring pay equity scheme

This is the biggest argument of them all.

Labour's fiscal plan does not specify the cost of restoring the full pay-equity legislation, which boosts pay for women who can prove they're underpaid compared to men. The coalition government has significantly pared back the scheme.

The plan does include $2.5b to give a $4/hour pay rise to 65,000 care and support workers, whose claim was axed, when the government pared back the scheme.

National says Treasury estimated restoring the scheme would cost $11 billion, leaving Labour $8.5b short.

Labour doesn't want to undermine negotiations by putting a number on it, but says it has enough headroom with $10.5b in unallocated funding.

Willis says that means pay equity would soak up most of Labour's unallocated funding for the next four Budgets, "which means nothing more for schools, police, prisons, defence and other frontline social services".

It is worth noting Willis has also not revealed how much she would set aside for settlements under the coalition's pared-back scheme.

She uses the same argument - not wanting to show her hand - but insists the costs are accounted for.

Fuel tax and the public transport fare cap

Willis says Labour has not included the cost of freezing fuel tax and road-user charges for three years, which she puts at $3.1b, nor its public transport fare-cap policy, which Labour previously indicated would cost $260 million.

It is true that they're not included as line items.

Labour says that's because they'll be paid from the National Land Transport Fund - revenue from petrol tax, road-user charges, registration and licensing, which pays for roads.

"The National Land Transport Fund is not generally part of fiscal plans that other political parties release," said finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds.

Labour says the fuel tax would use about 1% of the fund and Hipkins has previously said his government would "scale" NLTF investments to fit the funding available.

Willis says National fully costed its fuel-tax freeze in its 2023 fiscal plan.

Dividends of Future Fund companies

If elected, Labour will establish a Future Fund to invest in New Zealand businesses and infrastructure, seeded with the dividends of selected state-owned assets, and a $200 million Crown capital injection.

It refuses to say which assets would be included, citing commercial sensitivity and saying it must wait to be in government, because only then can it receive proper advice.

Willis argues Labour should have accounted for a $2.8b loss of dividends from companies included in the Future Fund, because that money would otherwise be invested into government services.

National assumes Labour will include the biggest dividend payers - Genesis, Mercury, Meridian, Air New Zealand and Transpower.

Edmonds says Labour would determine what goes into the fund when it's in government and account for any dividend impact then.

Health cost pressures and guaranteeing graduate nurses jobs

Labour's plan increases funding for health cost pressures, that is rising costs due to inflation and population changes, each year for three years - but not the fourth (2030/31).

Willis says that means it has left $1.5b unfunded. She promises National would deliver an uplift each year.

Hipkins says Labour's plan to give everyone three free GP visits would have a huge flow-on effect on health cost pressures.

"When you've got people in hospital emergency departments costing thousands of dollars a night to accommodate, because they couldn't afford to go and see their doctor, and get the medication they need to avoid ending up in hospital in the first place, that is a major easing of the pressure that our health system faces," he said.

Labour also guarantees every graduate nurse a job at a cost of $526 million.

National says Labour has not included that in its plan, but Labour is clear it would be paid for from health cost-pressure funding.

Willis says, if Labour did that, "every single other deliverable in the health service would be compromised", because cost-pressure funding was meant to keep hospital lights on, and keep up with an ageing and growing population.

'Here we go again' with fiscal hole debate

In many ways, Labour and the National-led coalition are largely on the same track.

The government's pre-election economic and fiscal update (Prefu) forecast a return to surplus by 2028/29 and shrinking spending as a share of GDP to 29.8% by 2031.

Labour has forecast the same return to surplus and plans to bring spending down to 30.4% of GDP.

The government's 2026 Budget included a $2.4b annual operating allowance, that is extra spending on new initiatives, and Labour is budgeting for the same.

Yet: "here we go again, we're going to go through a big debate about fiscal holes", independent economist Cameron Bagrie said.

"Realistically, it doesn't matter which political party you look at, there's going to be gaps, there's going to be challenges, there's going to be some pretty complicated trade-offs.

"You don't go from a big deficit to a big surplus and turn the debt curve down, unless you're driving some pretty hard levers."

Bagrie said voters had to consider a simple trade-off.

"What do you want? Do you want a well-functioning healthcare system and education system, and what are you prepared to pay in regard to tax for that on the other side, because there's no free lunch."

He addressed some of the major arguments between Labour and National.

On pay equity, he said no party would commit to pay-equity costs up front, "because then it becomes open season".

Bagrie also argued each offered insufficient funding for roads and were punting the problem by not hiking fuel taxes. Labour's freeze is for three years, National's is for one.

"No-one's prepared to take a stand and put the rates up, because, of course, it's election year," he said.

"All that's going to take place is that we're going to walk into reality in about 2028 and realise there's a gaping hole, and it doesn't matter which side of the political fence that you look at, but they're all pretty well the same."

That, Bagrie warned, would create literal holes - potholes - on crumbling roads up and down the country.

Kalyn Ponga says the evidence is there for Newcastle to again be title contenders in 2027, but he's warned it won't come easy despite this year's fairytale finals run.

From wooden spooners last year to a grand final loss by the closest possible margin represents a remarkable turnaround for any team, and it's why Ponga knows this year's form won't automatically translate to 2027.

"Nothing is given, we still have to earn everything we get next year," the captain warned after the Knights' 19-18 defeat to the Sydney Roosters on Sunday.

"The youth that is coming through, it gives us evidence we can do it."

Halfback Sandon Smith also believes the result will only add fuel to the team's pre-season preparation.

"I always say, if we're going to lose one or win one, we'll nurture this feeling and it can only help us," the former Rooster said.

"It's so disappointing because it's hard to get here. It's not going to happen every year, but we'll use this feeling of motivation next year."

The gutting one-point loss couldn't diminish coach Justin Holbrook's immense pride in the team's performance.

"I've never watched a harder game of footy, I am so proud but you just felt for them," Holbrook said.

"To still be in it at the end there was an enormous effort from the boys."

"We were just holding on the whole game. We were on the back foot the whole game.

"The spirit in the playing group meant we were still in there with a couple of minutes to go."

But in the end, the relentless Roosters' defence was simply too much to overcome.

"We were coming off our own line facing baseball bats there," said Holbrook.

"If you can win anything on heart and effort, then we definitely won that because it was the hardest game of footy I have ever coached."

A busted rib to Tyson Frizell during the match added to the adversity the team had already experienced with several key players unavailable for the grand final, with Phoenix Crossland suspended and a mid-season injury to million-dollar man Dylan Brown.

"I've never seen a gutsier performance," Holbrook said.

"I've got no doubt that if we had the fortunes during the year and we'd been lucky enough to be at full strength, I'm confident it would be a different result.

"We've got to start again next year and fight our way all year to get back here and have another shot at it."

With New Zealand’s general election now just under five weeks away, 1News Vote Compass is back to help voters look beyond the personalities and find their place in the political landscape.

VOTE COMPASS is live now at 1News.co.nz/VoteCompass

This is shaping up to be an election in which every vote could matter.

Neither National nor Labour can expect to govern alone. Under MMP, the fortunes of the smaller parties could determine who occupies the Beehive after November 7.

Polls tell us how people say they intend to vote. Vote Compass asks something different: what do New Zealanders actually think about the choices confronting the country?

Put the policies to the test

You may know which party you like... or which one you have always voted for.

But do their policies line up with what you believe?

Vote Compass presents users with 30 propositions covering the defining issues of the campaign.

They could concern how much tax New Zealanders should pay, what services the government should provide, how crime should be punished, or what role the Treaty should play in public life.

For each proposition, users indicate how strongly they agree or disagree.

They are then asked to identify the issues they consider most important.

Once completed, Vote Compass shows the user where they sit in the political landscape, and how their position compares to the parties.

It is possible to agree with one party strongly on economic policy, another on healthcare and a third on the environment.

It is also possible to discover that the party you feel closest to is not the party you expected.

That is not Vote Compass telling you how to vote.

It is showing how your views compare with the policy positions the parties have taken.

Your eventual vote may also be influenced by leadership, competence, trust, local candidates, coalition possibilities or a single issue you consider non-negotiable. Vote Compass gives you another way to examine that.

University of Auckland political psychology lecturer Danny Osborne said the tool was designed to engage people with policy.

“Democracy is best when people are informed about the issues of the day,” he said. “Vote Compass is that first step that gets people a little more interested in the types of policies and where the political parties sit on these policies.”

Osborne said that focus could help voters cut through the personalities and polling numbers that often dominate election coverage.

“It moves away from that horse-race sort of politics about who’s in the lead and who’s doing this and who’s doing that, and focuses specifically on the policies.”

The tool is developed by Vox Pop Labs in consultation with a panel of New Zealand political scientists.

Researchers have assessed published policies and public statements, and reviewed them with the parties, in order to accurately position them on the issues that matter to New Zealanders.

In 2023, more than 700,000 people completed Vote Compass in New Zealand. When users were asked to name the single most important issue to them in that election, the cost of living ranked first.

How to use Vote Compass

Visit 1News.co.nz/VoteCompass on your phone or computer and work through the 30 questions covering issues such as health, housing and education.

For each question, select the answer that best reflects your views.

Once you’ve completed the questionnaire, you can explore how your views compare with the political parties and where you sit in the political landscape.

You can also look more closely at individual issues, see where you agree or disagree with parties, and read the statements used to explain their positions.

In a new feature, you can also compare how your views line up with similar groups in society.

Vote Compass doesn’t tell you who to vote for. It’s a starting point to help you explore the policies and make your own decision.

To take part, go to 1News.co.nz/VoteCompass now.

Three people have been taken into custody after allegedly attempting to steal copper piping on the Kapiti Coast early this morning.

Police said it was alerted to the incident on Old State Highway 1 near Greenhill Rd in Waikanae at around 1.10am.

One person was taken into custody at the scene, while two others allegedly fled on foot.

A police dog tracked down one of the pair about 50 minutes later, while the other was found attempting to hide in water, police said.

Around 50m of cabling was also found near the alleged offenders' vehicle.

Inquiries were ongoing and furthers charges were likely.

Earlier this year, police warned of a rise in copper thefts as the value of scrap copper increased.

"These have included copper cylinders being targeted, copper wire being burnt off and stripped, and copper being taken from buildings and power companies," Constable Craig Colyer said.

"Police are asking anyone with information about copper crimes, or of scrap copper that may come from suspicious origins, to contact police immediately."

Sitting across from the AI interview agent, Charlie Maclean tried to put her best foot forward, but it was awkward.

By Mary Argue for RNZ

"It had specific questions," she said, but it was nothing like connecting with a potential employer face-to-face.

"It would sort of pick up on a key word or something that you've said, [like] 'Hey, that's good experience in project management - tell us more about it'."

Answers were timed, Maclean told RNZ, leaving little room to consider a response.

"You're not really able to take a second to think mid-sentence because it will just assume that you're finished and then cut you off and on to the next bit."

It was a jarring experience, which became more strange after the initially very eager company ghosted her.

Maclean is now sounding the alarm about companies that post prolifically on sites such as LinkedIn, advertising remote roles with attractive salaries.

After some digging online, she fears the company that sent an AI agent to interview her was simply after her personal data to train artificial intelligence - a potential scam or so-called "ghost" job, a scenario where a company advertises for a role it has no intention of filling.

The experience has prompted Maclean to launch a petition to Parliament explicitly banning such job advertisements.

'Data is king'

Senior lecturer in organisational psychology at Victoria University Ben Walker doesn't have "case-closed" evidence of phantom job listings but feels there is enough online commentary to suggest advertised roles by certain companies were spurious.

Companies under fire in online message threads for suspected data harvesting have not responded to RNZ's requests for comment.

While recruiters RNZ contacted had not come across ghost jobs in New Zealand, they had heard of such practices.

One recruiter, with almost 20 years experience, said companies posting fake jobs to harvest candidate data was a new con for the industry and had been a topic of discussion among colleagues overseas.

Chief executive of Tribe Group recruitment agency Bruce Pilbrow found the scenario plausible, and said it would be an effective way to gather core information.

"There's a lot happening in the AI space and the online space in the sense of harvesting information," he said. "Data is king."

Fake job listing or not, Victoria University senior lecturer in artificial intelligence Andrew Lensen said there was growing concern about where personal information ended up.

CVs and cover letters contained potentially valuable data, he said, including a person's name, educational background and even an address.

"It's your career history, it's what you've learned, the skills you have, and we often don't think about it that carefully but that is a lot of information.

"If it is going into any sort of database or system that could be used for things like AI in the future, then I think people are quite rightfully getting more and more concerned about how the data is being used and where it's going."

Rapid recruitment a red flag

In her months-long search for work, Maclean said she came across a handful of companies on LinkedIn - a professional networking platform - advertising remote jobs with inflated salaries that seemed to "go nowhere".

According to Walker, an intense recruitment drive could be a red flag.

"Where it's a company that you've never heard of suddenly doing those sorts of things, it potentially raises a few question marks and alarm bells about whether the jobs are legitimate or whether they may be a cover or some means to another end."

As a global platform, LinkedIn differed greatly from job sites such as SEEK and Trade Me, he said, and in his opinion it had undergone a transformation in recent years: "People talk about the slopification of LinkedIn."

In response to questions from RNZ, a LinkedIn spokesperson said the company was investing in free verifications for jobs, recruiters and company pages, and that every job must be authentic and accurately represented.

Neither SEEK nor Trade Me considered ghost jobs to be a material issue on their sites, citing the financial commitment to advertise a role, verification processes, and the ability for job seekers to report suspect listings.

A petition and a warning

Maclean has since found work but the process was demoralising to the point that she almost forgot what she was good at.

"Jobs that I was really keen on I even took to sending people cupcakes with a little QR code in the icing, literally just to cut through the noise to get a phone call."

The exhausting process, in addition to her experience with the suspect company, has prompted a petition to Parliament to see ghost jobs explicitly banned, in line with crackdowns overseas.

"It's incredibly difficult out there.

"I can't fix that for people but this seems like a really easy one ... at least the things that you do put the effort in [for] should be real."

The Sydney Roosters have fulfilled the club's mantra of playing for premierships, claiming their first in seven years with a 19-18 grand-final defeat of Newcastle.

After trailing 12-0 just before halftime at Accor Stadium on Sunday, the Roosters dominated the second half before holding on late for their 16th title.

The result ended a fairytale run for the Knights, who had ridden a wave of emotion after going from wooden spooners last year to enter the finals in seventh spot.

But this was a moment of triumph for the Roosters, who produced one of the most complete halves of their season after the break as weight of ball and territory told.

While Newcastle were desperate in defence and produced some moments of first-half magic, the Roosters' class told.

Rugby-bound winger Mark Nawaqanitawase scored a double, Naufahu Whyte and Spencer Leniu were immense up front and James Tedesco ran for more than 300 metres to claim the Clive Churchill Medal

Then with the Tricolours leading 18-12 and 10 minutes to go, 37-year-old Daly Cherry-Evans nailed the 32nd field goal of his career to ice the match.

It proved the difference, and enough to see the Roosters hold on after a late Greg Marzhew try gave the Knights three minutes to pull off a miracle.

The Roosters have been one of the NRL's heavyweights for 14 seasons under Trent Robinson, to the point where seven years without a title felt like an eternity.

That wait is now over.

"We have a slogan, we play for premierships, and it's there and you feel that," Robinson said.

"And that's uplifting as well because it's quite clear, the goal.

"But it also, when you don't, you feel it a lot. And I've felt it a lot as well as Ted and the other players over the last six years."

Cherry-Evans' field goal also ensured he'd finish his NRL career as the oldest premiership winner in 104 years, with his 15-year gap between title also the longest in history.

"I've been chasing that moment, that feeling my whole career," Cherry-Evans said.

"I'm extremely competitive, play to win."

Cherry-Evans' move to the Roosters at the start of this season had made them the early favourites again, but much like most of this year Sunday night did not come easy.

Newcastle had their moments of magic early, with one of the feel-good stories of the finals Francis Manuleleua scoring first when he cut back inside through a gap.

Ponga also turned it on with five minutes of brilliance, making a try-saver on Nawaqanitawase and running 95m to score and make it 12-0.

At that point, the Newcastle tidal wave of emotion appeared set to deliver the Knights their first title in 25 years.

But Nawaqanitawase got the Roosters back into the game before halftime when he toed a ball ahead for himself, before Leniu was the difference after the break.

With Newcastle holding on desperately and produced two try-saving tackles in one set, Leniu rocked Dom Young on Newcastle's first touch and forced an error.

Newcastle couldn't hold on again, and Billy Smith carried Jermaine McEwen and Dane Gagai over the line to get the ball down and make it 12-12.

And when a Cherry-Evans kick rebounded off the upright and Tedesco spread the ball right to Nawaqanitawase, he had his second and the Roosters led by six.

Newcastle were as gutsy as any team has been in a grand-final loss.

Some 84% of the game was played in the Roosters' attacking half, and the Roosters' only linebreak came when Smith carried over two defenders.

And while the Knights' never-say-die approach was on show when they surged late through Marzhew, a last-minute shift ended in a Gagai error the Roosters were champions again.

"I've never watched a harder game of footy. I am so proud. But you just felt for them," coach Justin Holbrook said.

"We were coming off our own line facing baseball bats there.

"If you can win anything on heart and effort, then we definitely won that. Because it was the hardest game of footy I have ever coached.

"But you don't win off being proud, you win off being the better side. And we weren't the better side today and we didn't win."

Liam Lawson has claimed seventh place after a flying start to a dramatic Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.

The Kiwi started 11th on the grid but surged to fourth on the opening lap as Racing Bulls' decision to start him on intermediate tyres paid off in the wet conditions.

Lawson later dropped back as the track dried and the faster cars worked their way through the field.

He eventually crossed the line seventh to secure another six championship points and his 11th points finish of the season.

“I’m happy with seventh,” Lawson said after the race. "I was thinking we deserved more, and then we got lucky at the end with a couple of guys not finishing.

“[I’m] very happy. The car’s been very good, it was strong in the race.

“It’s [been] two weekends where Alpine has been quicker than us and we’ve managed to outscore them. That’s on good decision-making on the strategy for the start.

“I had one of the best starts I’ve ever had in my career, and that put us in a great position for the rest of the race.”

Verstappen's first win of 2026

Meanwhile, Max Verstappen's long wait for another Formula 1 race win is finally over. The title race might be over, too.

Verstappen took his first victory of an often-frustrating year for the four-time champion at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia on Sunday. A retirement for George Russell handed a huge title boost to Kimi Antonelli.

Verstappen was leading from Antonelli and Russell behind the safety car with five laps to go when Russell suddenly pulled over in his Mercedes.

The retirement allowed Antonelli to further stretch his lead over teammate Russell from 66 points to 84, with seven races remaining on the schedule, including those in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.

Mercedes told Antonelli over the radio it appeared Russell had suffered a power unit problem.

“You’ve almost got to laugh. I’m beyond disappointment,” the British driver told Sky Sports.

Antonelli finished second and Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton passed Verstappen's Red Bull teammate Isack Hadjar for third.

Verstappen savours a win after ‘tough start’

Four-time champion Verstappen hadn’t won since the final race of last season, but upgrades to his Red Bull car made him competitive again in Malaysia this week. That means Verstappen extends his run of winning at least once every year since he joined Red Bull in 2016. His only winless season was his 2015 rookie year.

“Very special for us. We had a very complicated and tough start to the year with all sorts of problems and just not being competitive enough,” he said.

“But throughout the year, the team has been working very hard to understand our issues, bring good performance upgrades to the car and make it more drivable. Step by step, we’ve been getting closer and closer.”

It was also the first win for Red Bull Ford Powertrains, the engine partnership between Red Bull and American auto giant Ford. The last time a car with a Ford-branded engine won an F1 race was in 2003 with the Jordan team.

Delays for rain and software issues

The first wet-weather race for F1 in 2026 started more than 90 minutes later than planned. The start was first delayed 40 minutes for heavy rain, then suspended again when cars had apparent software problems on the formation lap.

When it finally did get under way, Verstappen was slow off the line and lost places to Antonelli and Russell. He chased down Russell and then got past Antonelli in a side-by-side fight after a safety-car restart.

After Verstappen took the win, he had another small delay before hearing his anthem. Crowd chants filled an awkward silence as Verstappen waited on the top step of the podium before the Dutch anthem finally began.

The race was relocated because of the Iran war, becoming F1's first event at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia since 2017.

Ferrari recovers from early blunders

Hamilton's third place capped a remarkable recovery for the seven-time champion and ends a run of five races without a podium finish for the Italian team.

It seemed almost impossible early in the race as Hamilton, and his teammate Charles Leclerc, were near the back of the pack. Ferrari had gambled on sending them to the start on dry-weather tires as the track began to dry after rain, causing Hamilton to drop from second to near the back.

Leclerc also overtook Hadjar late on to follow Hamilton with fourth place, as Hadjar ended up fifth. Oscar Piastri was sixth for McLaren after a punchy late battle with Lawson, who was seventh after racing near the front at the start.

Fernando Alonso was eighth in Aston Martin's best result of the season, Lando Norris ninth after going off-track and losing places, with Lawson's teammate Arvid Lindblad 10th.

- Additional reporting by 1News

Christa Pike has remained unconscious and on a ventilator at a hospital in the four days since her failed execution in Tennessee, and her prognosis might not be known for days more, one of her lawyers said.

Little has been released about Pike's condition since last week's execution attempt. She has since remained hospitalised under guard as doctors try to get the massive dose of the barbiturate pentobarbital out of her system.

When asked whether she ever regained consciousness after the execution attempt, Assistant Federal Defender Stephen Ferrell, Pike’s lawyer, said on CNN’s “State of the Union”: “Not that I am aware of.”

Lawyer says Pike's medical decisions are being decided by someone else

Pike, now 50, was 18 when she and her boyfriend tortured and killed a classmate, Colleen Slemmer, in a jealous rage in 1995. She became one of the youngest women to be sent to death row.

Tennessee prison officials gave Pike two doses of the lethal injection drug. The pentobarbital didn't kill her, but her lawyers said her arms were burned and blistered from the caustic drugs.

Pike gave someone her medical power of attorney and that person is protecting her privacy, Ferrell said.

“I'm not sure what all they may have told that person,” Ferrell said.

Pike's attorneys have not identified who is making Pike's medical decisions. They said they may not know for several more days whether or not she can recover.

“We don’t know right now, and we may never know what sort of torture she endured during that process, where her consciousness was, what physical pain there was — what mental torture she went through,” Ferrell said.

A spokeswoman for Pike's defense team said in a statement that “we appreciate all respect for Christa’s rightful privacy".

Pike's lawyer says Tennessee needs to be more open about executions

Pike's execution was delayed for more than eight hours as the US Supreme Court considered, and ultimately overturned, a federal appeals court ruling to halt her lethal injection so judges could thoroughly review whether the jury that sentenced her to death should have considered sexual abuse she said she suffered as a child.

Her attorneys asked a court to order Tennessee prison officials to preserve any written records, communication, images or video from the execution.

Tennessee, like many other states with capital punishment, keeps many details about executions secret from the people involved to details about how the drugs are manufactured or obtained or any tests done on their quality.

“The state of Tennessee has got to start telling its people exactly what it is doing so that in the democratic process, the people of Tennessee can decide if that’s what they want to be done in their name,” Ferrell told CNN.

Tennessee has struggled with executions before

This was the second time this year Tennessee has not been able to execute a prisoner who was seemingly moments away from death. In May, Tennessee stopped the execution of Tony Carruthers after staff placed an IV into his right arm but couldn’t get a secondary IV line.

Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Correction Frank Strada announced Sunday he was resigning.

Gov. Bill Lee has ordered an independent investigation into the state's capital punishment system conducted by former US Attorney Ed Stanton. He also reviewed Tennessee's execution procedures after Lee called off a different execution in 2022 and found the state did not comply with its own lethal injection process.

Prison officials and the Tennessee Attorney General's Office have said little since Pike was taken to the hospital.

Future of Pike's death penalty case is unclear

It is unclear what will happen in her death penalty case. Pike's lawyers have asked the governor to commute her punishment to a life sentence.

“If she recovers, she may not fully recover. And there may be issues about her competence,” Ferrell said.

Pike didn’t deny she killed 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in 1995. The two were classmates at Knoxville Job Corps.

Prosecutors said Pike feared Slemmer was a romantic rival and lured her to a secluded area where she and her boyfriend slashed Slemmer with a box cutter and beat her with a large chunk of asphalt. The case got widespread attention because of the brutality of the killing, the ages of the people involved and because a satanic symbol was carved into the victim’s body.

Authorities in the United Arab Emirates shared with Israel a list of passengers and crew ahead of the FlyDubai flight on which a pilot attempted to seize control of the Israel-bound aircraft and crash it, regional officials said, raising new questions over how the attacker evaded detection.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later told the head of the National Security Council to appoint an examiner to review “all security aspects regarding foreign civil aviation to Israel".

With the investigation into the FlyDubai incident underway, preliminary details have highlighted several major security lapses.

Officials already have said the Omani co-pilot had been barred from flying by his own country because of concerns about his extremist views. It also remains unclear how a citizen of Oman, an Arab country that has no diplomatic relations with Israel, was allowed to fly a planeload of Israelis to Tel Aviv.

The UAE, which is leading the investigation, said the co-pilot attacked the flight's captain with the cockpit’s crash ax and tried to take control of the plummeting plane in a “terrorist attack” last week.

His actions nearly crashed the flight with 182 people on board before the Indian captain managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers and others to rush in and subdue the attacker.

Israel did not raise concerns about passengers and crew

The regional officials said Emirati authorities had shared information about the passengers and crew, including their nationalities. Israel hadn’t raised red flags on any passenger or member of the crew, said the officials.

The Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic security agency, said the Transportation Ministry is responsible for vetting passenger lists from foreign flights. Transportation Minister Miri Regev on X said the security agencies are responsible for flight security and that her ministry wasn’t given a list of passengers or any warnings.

Sharing the list is standard aviation procedure. But the head of aviation security at the Transportation Ministry, Dvir Rubenstien, told Army Radio that the ministry relies on local security checks and does not have the tools or the ability to run checks on each passenger on every flight.

Netanyahu said Friday that Israel has long-standing agreements with foreign carriers to keep pilots from flying into the country if they are citizens of nations that don’t maintain diplomatic relations with Israel.

Australian police said Sunday that counterterrorism investigators were looking into the attacker's possible connections to Australia.

The passengers who halted the attack and helped regain control of the aircraft have been hailed as heroes in Israel.

Questions being raised about security failures

But as the initial euphoria of the rescue has subsided, officials have begun to raise difficult questions and trade accusations about the security blunders that could have led to a major disaster.

Ahead of the elections at the end of the month, some opposition candidates have seized on the security failures to highlight what they perceive as negligence on the part of Netanyahu and his supporters. Transportation Minister Regev is a member of Netanyahu's Likud party and a staunch supporter.

“This is exactly what system collapse looks like,” Yair Golan, head of the opposition Democrats party, wrote on X. “A transportation minister who completely abandons our skies, and a prime minister who abandons national security.”

It also remains unclear how FlyDubai, a low-cost Emirati airline that operates flights between Israel and the UAE, had failed to identify the Omani pilot as a security risk.

Philip Baum, a visiting professor of aviation security at Coventry University in England who wrote a book about aircraft hijackings and bombings, said background check systems differ from country to country and there are limits on what types of information can be shared.

“In terms of aviation security itself, obviously we want to have as robust background checks as possible. But there are huge limitations on doing background checks in any case, especially in cross-border checks,” he said.

The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including Willis questions Labour’s commitments, and two people are hospitalised after a West Auckland incident.

National's finance spokesperson Nicola Willis says Labour is avoiding fronting up to the cost of its election promises, arguing its fiscal plan is "not credible".

Cordons were in place in a central Auckland suburb after a fleeing driver was stopped by police and hazardous materials were found in the vehicle.

Two people have been taken to hospital in a critical condition following an incident in Auckland's Glendene last night.

Two people have been injured in Russia's latest drone strike on the Ukrainian capital.

Liam Lawson's finished seventh in the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Roughly one in five New Zealand voters identify as disabled and some of them say casting a vote still means hunting for an accessible booth or giving up their privacy.

Access Matters Aotearoa Kōrero for change producer Natalie Brunzel is among them. She remembered the barriers she faced when voting in the 2023 election.

"I had to search through to find an accessible venue where I could cast my vote. Most of the booths are made for people to stand and cast their vote, so I had to find a place to cast my vote that I could do it sitting," she said.

Blind Low Vision NZ research and policy analyst Cain Richardson said even accessing information before the election can be challenging.

"Most of the current political parties don't put their election policies out in an accessible format. Most of them are PDFs that are hosted on a website, where they could quite easily be turned into an html page, which a blind person can access with a screen reader quite easily," he said.

Changes made

The Electoral Commission released its Accessible 2026 plan this year, setting out the services available to disabled voters and the improvements it is making.

Chief electoral officer Karl Le Quesne said election information was available in formats including easy read and braille. He said the commission had also worked with the blind and low vision community to make sure assistive smartphone technology could read the emails it sends.

A full list of voting places will be published on vote.nz a month before election day. Voters will be able to use an interactive map to find their nearest voting place and see how accessible it is.

The plan also includes accessible voting options for people who are unable to get to a voting place.

Le Quesne said some voting places would look different on election day.

"We're trying to increase the number of voting places where we'll have sign language interpreters at set times. We're also going to try for the first time a few voting places where we'll have a low sensory environment to support the neurodivergent community," he said.

Richardson said Blind Low Vision NZ had helped provide etiquette training for electoral staff, such as speaking directly to blind voters rather than to the person accompanying them.

"Simple things such as if someone comes in with a person to assist them to help them find the voting place, electoral staff talk to the blind person rather than the support person," he said.

More work to do

Richardson said more needed to be done to protect the privacy of voters.

"They brought out the telephone dictation voting service, which works for people who want to use it to be able to vote independently over the phone, but it still requires someone on the other end of the phone to mark your ballot paper for you," Richardson said.

Brunzel said those who don't have use of their hands encounter a similar issue, when casting their ballot.

"They [staff] do offer to tick it for you but often you do actually know the people in the voting booths working there so it's not exactly a secret vote." she said.

The Electoral Commission said it was looking into the issue for future elections.

Brunzel also wanted to see more disabled candidates standing by the 2029 election.

"There is the Access Fund and the government has made a commitment towards that. However, we aren't really seeing disabled people coming through. There is still a shortfall for disabled people to be represented," she said.

Cordons are in place in a central Auckland suburb this evening after a fleeing driver was stopped by police and hazardous materials were found in the vehicle.

Police said the vehicle failed to stop near Karaka at around 5pm, travelling north before spikes were deployed near Market Rd in Epsom.

“The vehicle came to a stop near the intersection with Great South Road,” a police spokesperson said.

“The driver was arrested and the vehicle was searched, and a number of hazardous materials were discovered in the vehicle.”

The nature of the materials is unknown. Footage captured by 1News at the scene shows tape which reads "Hot Zone",

Fire and Emergency NZ confirmed it was assisting police with three fire trucks from Remuera and Auckland City stations.

“Diversions are in place and motorists should avoid the area if possible.”

The smallest Māori electorate is grappling with a disproportionately sized cost of living crisis.

The Tāmaki Makaurau electorate covers the majority of Auckland, south of the Harbour Bridge to the suburb of Takaanini. The width stretching from Piha in the west to Waiheke Island in the east. It has the most Māori voters – more than 45,000.

Even some people with a steady job are facing a choice between food or heating; driving without a warrant because they cannot afford the renewal fee; and visiting food banks to feed whānau.

It's a level of hardship those on the frontline say they have never seen before.

Debbie ‘Whaea Debs’ Munroe runs a food bank that hands out up to 300 food parcels a day in Manurewa.

She said the number of people coming in has “absolutely tripled” and a growing number of them are employed.

“Working whānau. Working whānau are coming in because their wages are not meeting their essential needs. Between their rent, their power and gas, there’s nothing left. There's nothing left for food.

“And because they're working, a lot of food banks turn them down because they don't meet the criteria.”

She said their food bank is different in that the only criteria for people coming in is a smile. “That allows anyone and everyone to come here.”

In Auckland's southern wards, 23% of households used a food bank at least once in the past year – almost double the national average visitor to food banks.

“When you think of food,” said Munroe, “you have to think of cleaning products, you have to think of dish washing liquid, you have to think of feminine products, you have to think of meat, veggies, anything other than that. There's not enough money to buy that.”

‘Rent is more than my wages’

Mum-of-three Melanie Kanara is a full-time employee struggling to keep on top of bills in a household of five on a single income.

“My rent is more than my wages, and then the petrol – to get to work, to drop the kids to school – and then food, power,” said Kanara.

In Mount Eden, she pays over a thousand dollars a week in rent. Her employer helps with that cost, but what's left over is never enough.

“There's a worry every single night of ‘how am I going to pay this next bill that's coming in?’ Like, right now my rego's about to run out and I need my car to go to work. It’s $160, I think for six months.”

How will she pay for it?

“I don’t know, I just keep having faith in the Lord,” said Kanara. “I really don't know. Probably my siblings in Australia.”

'I don't use a heater because I can't'

Kanara's work colleague Harriet Faralley is also the sole income in a single adult, three-children household grappling with car issues. She said the only car available to her is unregistered and unwarranted and her job as a drug addiction therapist requires her to travel.

"I need to go attend all the classes that I teach which is [in] multiple locations across Auckland, from Papatoetoe Central and then out to Mount Albert. So I'm at different locations during the day."

Faralley lives in Onehunga with her two children – 11 and 16 – and 17-year-old niece.

Her biggest expense is the rent which she said is the same as what she was paying in Ōtara. The second is the power bill which came in at $500 last round, she said.

“I have a fireplace, but it doesn't warm the whole house up, just the layout of the house, so I have to leave heat pumps on plus the heaters in the girls’ room.

“I don't use a heater because I just can't – that'll be another $80 per month, so I just handle it.”

She said they were living week to week.

“Even though you're on a 40-hour contract and you get family support, like I get Working for Families and then my wage, and then I get help with my rent, and I get help with my petrol. But I'm still short. It blows my mind. Like, that's quite a good income if this day and age wasn't how it is,” said Faralley.

Children likely 'left with debt', growing up in poverty

The two mums ultimately want to give their children a life without struggle, said Kanara.

“What are we gonna leave our children when we die? We're gonna leave them debt. We're gonna leave them no homestead because we just can't make ends meet here.”

According to a report by the Ministry of Social Development, more than one in every four children in South Auckland are living in material hardship with Māori and Pasifika children impacted the most. That's almost double the national average.

“Why are our food prices so high?” asks Kanara. “Our gas prices are high, our rent so high – so how are we ever supposed to get ahead?”

The two mothers want to see polices that address their immediate needs of food, petrol and rent.

‘Which is the best government?’

Munroe said people look at food banks and think of beneficiaries, but that is not the case. She said there are more elderly people unable to find employment and people from different cultures dropping in.

She wants the next government to provide the means for people to pay for power, to get electricity and petrol prices down.

“You know power bill's $500 a month? For a whānau, how do you pay that when you've only got a small amount of money? You know, you don't pay for power, what do you do? You go without power - you cannot do that. That means no hot water, no lights, you can't cook.

“We need to help people more. And look at some of these big companies and go 'come on guys, bring those costs down'.”

She said people were at the point where they are giving up. She wants those in power to change their views and way of thinking.

“Start thinking for the lower income families, the worker families, people on beneficiaries. Stop letting the rich get richer. Because they're not bloody helping us are they? They are absolutely crucifying New Zealanders.”

Does she worry it’s going to get worse?

“Absolutely. If the same government continues penalising people, it's going to get worse,” said Munroe.

She added: “I don't see a better future unless we change the government – but which government is the best government? They've all got their faults, they all make their promises and they never keep it. Everyone gets excited until they're elected, and then it all turns into custard because they don't follow through on what they say. Hōhā.”

New Zealand's heaviest insect has been taking big steps toward a population boom, with the success of a ground-breaking breeding and conservation programme.

Wētāpunga - or Little Barrier giant wētā, used to be widespread in Northland and Auckland, but by the 1990s only one remnant population remained, and only in one place - Little Barrier Island, the Department of Conservation says.

That population was found to be dwindling and in bad shape when surveys were carried out, from 2005 to 2009, and it was decided there were too few of the wētāpunga left to directly start another wild colony to be able to safeguard the species.

So instead, small numbers of the giant insects were collected from Little Barrier Island, to begin an intensive breeding population.

Tens of thousands of wētā have now been bred at Butterfly Creek in Auckland and at Auckland Zoo.

The efforts mean the ancient insect has gone from being classed as a Nationally Endangered species in 2004, to Nationally Recovering.

And details of the project to save the endemic species have just been published in the New Zealand Journal of Zoology.

Lead author Dr Chris Green says last year the success of the project meant 11,000 wētāpunga could be released onto predator free islands and into fenced sanctuaries, to finally establish more wild populations. He expects their population will keep growing.

"Of all our giant wētā, this is the largest, species, the size of adult females would sit nicely on the entirety of your hand - so they're a very big insect," he said.

"This species was endangered at the start of the programme, it is now not endangered - it is recovering. So that is a significant benefit to the species and New Zealand's biodiversity.

"We need to do that with a lot more species."

Workers at Butterfly Creek, a small zoo in Manukau, developed early knowledge about breeding the wētāpunga and releasing them. And that was "refined and industrialised" by the Auckland Zoo team, who were able to rear large numbers of wētā in communal creches.

The project has been "one of the most comprehensive case studies of invertebrate conservation breeding, translocation and species recovery ever undertaken in Aotearoa New Zealand, Green said, with significant expertise and commitment from many hands-on conservationists working with the wētāpunga.

Iwi Ngāti Manuhiri - the mana whenua of Te Hauturu-o-Toi Little Barrier Island, where the founding wētāpunga used in the project came from - also supported the efforts, and many community groups fundraised to pay for the programme, and support the releases and ongoing monitoring of the wētā populations.

"By documenting this amazing conservation success story, we can share valuable knowledge on husbandry, release methods, and population persistence," Green said.

"The future of wētāpunga is looking bright. What we have learnt is now informing breeding of Māhoenui giant wētā at the Ōtorohanga Kiwi House.

"There are many more critically endangered invertebrates that could benefit from similar programmes, for example the Canterbury knobbled weevil (Hadramphus tuberculatus) and several native stag beetle species."

rnz.co.nz

Anti-immigration Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage was ignored when he complained of threats to his safety, his deputy said after the man accused of killing former British politician Ann Widdecombe was charged with plotting a terror attack against Farage.

Richard Tice said Farage had discussed the risks to his security many times over the years and the charge amounts to a wake-up call.

“What’s particularly upsetting for those of us in and around him is sometimes he’s not being believed, not being listened to,” Tice told the BBC.

Joshua Kerry, 28, was charged with one count of preparation of terrorist acts, including against Farage, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

Authorities did not release additional information about the charge, but counterterrorism police in August said they had reopened a probe into an alleged firebomb attack at Farage's south London home.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood expressed sympathy for Farage and his family.

"I know the new charges made today will be extremely concerning," Mahmood said on X. “Let no one make any mistake: an attack on anyone in politics is an attack on us all."

Mahmood said she would work to strengthen protections for politicians after Parliament returns from recess on Oct. 12.

Kerry was previously charged with murder in the July 8 beating death of Widdecombe, who was found dead in her house in an isolated southwest England village.

Widdecombe, 78, was a spokesperson for the Reform Party after a long career as a Conservative member of Parliament and government minister known for her blunt-spoken, socially conservative views opposing abortion and the expansion of LGBTQ+ rights.

She later found fame as a contestant on the reality television shows Strictly Come Dancing and Celebrity Big Brother and returned to politics.

Widdecombe's killing renewed concerns over the security for politicians, which had been tightened in the past decade after the murders of two prominent MPs. Labour lawmaker Jo Cox was shot and stabbed in 2016 by a far-right extremist, and Conservative David Amess was stabbed in 2021 by an attacker inspired by the Islamic State group.

Tice said the party had a series of high-level meetings with the government about security and that authorities had shifted their approach to treat threats more seriously.

Kerry is due to appear Wednesday (local time) in Westminster Magistrates' Court on the new charge.

A Gisborne construction worker who dragged an 89-year-old man through the broken window of a burning house has come forward, a day after police appealed for the rescuer to make himself known.

Tim Morris, 37, walked into the Gisborne police station on Sunday morning.

He and a friend had been driving along Aberdeen Rd around 1am on Saturday when they spotted the blaze and pulled over. Battling thick smoke, the pair hauled the occupant out through a broken window to safety.

Morris then checked whether anyone else was inside and ran to neighbours for help. Once emergency services arrived, he and his friend slipped away into the night.

Police said the 89-year-old is recovering well in hospital.

Morris, who was born and raised in Gisborne, said it only sank in on Sunday morning, when his friend showed him the police appeal.

"I just wanted to get him out," he said.

"It's been a bit emotional. At the end of the day, helping people makes me feel good."

Detective Senior Sergeant John Love said Morris did not want to make a fuss when he turned up at the station.

"I think that tells you quite a lot about the person who walked through our doors today," he said.

"However, thanks to his quick actions, the house occupant was able to escape a life-threatening situation."

Love said police went looking for Morris to thank him, and he had not been in any trouble.

"We wanted the opportunity to shake his hand and say 'thank you'. We got that opportunity today.

"He might not consider himself a hero, but his actions made a very real difference to another person on what must have been an incredibly frightening day."

One of New Zealand's most accomplished winter Paralympic athletes Corey Peters announced he is retiring from competitive snow sports.

Over the 43-year-old alpine skier's career, he won four medals in three consecutive Paralympic games, including a silver in giant slalom sitting at Sochi 2014, a bronze in the downhill sitting at PyeongChang 2018, a gold in the downhill sitting along with a silver in the Super-G at Beijing 2022.

He had his fourth Paralympic appearance in the Milano Contina 2026.

Peters also won 22 World Cup podiums, with gold in seven, as well as two World-Championship titles and five World Championship podiums.

"The memories, the experiences, the people I’ve met, and the athletes I’ve had the privilege to compete alongside will stay with me forever. The success we achieved together is something I will always hold with pride," said Peters.

"As I step away from competitive racing, I do so with a full heart. I’m excited for what comes next, but I will forever cherish the sport that gave me purpose, identity, and a lifetime of unforgettable moments. Thank you to everyone who has been part of this incredible chapter."

Peters began his sit-skiing career after sustaining a crushed spinal cord injury from a 2009 motocross accident, which left him paralysed at the age of 26.

Snow Sports Para high performance programme manager Jane Stevens said Peters had inspired future generations.

“We look forward to his continued influence through the young athletes who will seek to emulate his incredible career.”

Paralympics NZ CEO Greg Warnecke said Peters was a "legend of winter Para sport".

“With the undeniable speed and risk associated with sit-skiing, combined with Corey’s full-throttle approach, he has thrilled everyone who has watched him fly down the slopes.

"On behalf of everyone at Paralympics New Zealand and the NZ Paralympic Team, congratulations to Corey on a highly distinguished and successful career.”

Taupō had a distinctly golden glow this morning as 200 golden retrievers and their owners descended on the town for a convention celebrating the breed and the joy it brings.

The idea came from Scotland, where the 'Gathering of the Goldens' has been celebrated for almost 160 years.

Organiser Lynda Galbransen said she was inspired after seeing the Scottish event first-hand.

"Seeing the thousands of golden retrievers there I thought, oh my god, I'd love to do that."

At first she wasn't sure anyone would turn up.

"We didn't have an aim at the start. Let's get the goldies together, if we can get 50 that'd be amazing, and then we had to cut it off at 200 because it was growing so fast."

Owners and their dogs lined up this morning to collect official bandannas showing they had registered, while Who Let the Dogs Out played in the background. Some had travelled from as far as Auckland, Whangārei and Tauranga.

One man, who fell for retrievers at the age of 10, said seeing so many of his favourite dogs in one place nearly brought him to tears.

"Never go any other way than golden."

Two bagpipers led the parade from the Taupō Domain to the Love Taupō sign beside the lake, where one bystander quipped: "Makes me want to buy a border collie." The retriever owners laughed it off.

Galbransen said the breed's appeal was easy to explain.

"There's just something about a golden retriever, their fluffy waggy tails. They're just the people's dog."

Fellow organiser Robyn Wilson said her family's retriever was a carefully researched decision.

"My daughter and I did research about what sort of dog we should get because my husband said it would be a divorce if we got a dog.

"They're just the perfect family dog, they're loving. They don't live long enough is the only thing, the only drawback."

The official photo was taken in front of the Love Taupō sign, though the sign itself had disappeared behind a wall of golden fur and proud owners.

Regional tourism organisation Love Taupō spokesperson Victoria Jackson said the town was happy to host.

"We're just really happy to host this event here in Taupō, perhaps the most dog-friendly place in New Zealand."

She said they hoped to host another Gathering of the Goldens next year.

Proceeds from this year's event will go to Taupō Hospice.

The cost of fixing storm damage inflicted on Whangārei district roads earlier this year has risen to more than $23 million - of which almost $11m has been spent clearing one giant landslide.

By Peter de Graaf for RNZ

The almost week-long January storm cut off coastal settlements at Ōakura and Whangaruru, swept away a bridge approach, damaged dozens of homes and destroyed others, and triggered a huge number of slips on the coastal road between Whangārei and Russell.

One section of road at Helena Bay Hill was only re-opened on Friday, after an eight-month effort to remove almost 100,000 cubic metres of soil, boulders and trees.

Further storms in March and April added more damage.

A report prepared for Whangārei District Council said the initial estimate for repairing storm-damaged roads was $16.5m, but that had now increased to $23.2m.

The report, by transportation manager Greg Monteith, sought councillors' approval for the extra $6.7m.

The NZ Transport Agency was expected to contribute $16m, leaving Whangārei ratepayers to pick up the remaining $7.2m.

The $23.2m total included $10.9m for emergency works at the massive Helena Bay Hill slip on Russell Road, the main connection between Whangārei and coastal communities at Ōakura and Whangaruru.

The council previously described the slip repair as one of the biggest and most complex projects it had ever undertaken.

About 93,000 cubic metres of soil, boulders and downed trees had to removed - reduced from the initial estimate of 110,000 cubic metres - and the 35m-high slip face had to be stabilised.

The cost of fixing the slip had previously been put at $7.5m.

The council would fund its share of the extra costs by borrowing, to avoid major delays or cuts to existing roading projects.

The report stated the original cost estimate for the Helena Bay Hill slip was based on a completion date of mid-2026.

Since then, however, persistent wet weather, difficult ground conditions, giant basalt boulders, fill site constraints and further slip movement had delayed work and increased costs.

Some boulders were so big, they could not be broken up, even with a 50-tonne breaker, and instead required blasting or a specialist rock-breaking crew.

The report stated there had also been delays due to health and safety issues, such as near-misses involving trucks and local residents, and unauthorised entry into exclusion areas.

Once the slip had settled, which was expected to take about a year, more funding would be needed to repair the road below the slip and along the 2km route to the clean-fill site.

The estimated road rehabilitation cost was $2.3m.

During the road closure, the Whangārei District Council operated a convoy, via steep, narrow and unsealed Kaiikanui Road, to allow continued access from the south.

Piloted convoys left every 35-40 minutes from 6.30am to 6.30pm, seven days a week.

The cost of operating the Kaiikanui Road detour was put at $2.1m.

According to claims recorded by the Insurance Council, the total nationwide cost of the January storm, was $75.9m.

More than 5000 claims were lodged including $54.5m for damage to homes, $13.7m to commercial property and $4.6m for vehicles.

According to the Insurance Council, the most costly event of the past decade in terms of insurance claims was the 2023 Anniversary Weekend storm, which totalled $1.98 billion nationwide.

About a week later, Cyclone Gabrielle cost $1.85b.

ACT has pledged to remove tax on KiwiSaver earnings and scrap Government contributions at the party's election campaign launch today.

Leader David Seymour said the changes would let returns "stay invested and generate savings for generations to come".

"If you save for the future we will let you get the full benefit of compounding returns instead of taxing you every step of the way," he said.

Seymour believed the proposed policy could double savings for some workers before retirement, with accounts potentially collecting hundreds of thousands more.

"Put it this way. Over a 42-year career, a 10 per cent return could double your savings nearly six times, compared with only four times at seven per cent, leaving you with roughly three times as much at retirement," he explained.

“This policy would help a 20-year-old builder earning $60,000 save an extra $209,486 by the time they turn 65."

The party also revealed it would end government contributions, saying KiwiSaver members' accounts would instead receive a "new tax treatment".

Seymour explained KiwiSaver savings should be managed and controlled by accountholders, justifying the party's decision to end government contributions.

He said the policy would aim to "unlock New Zealand’s potential by shifting power from the government departments and politicians in Wellington back to you, your family, and your business”.

Taking a swipe at the opposition, Seymour told campaign launch attendees that “other parties want to force your money into KiwiSaver, then tax you".

ACT kicked off their election campaign in Auckland, with candidates stepping out of a new hot-pink bus as broadcaster-turned-politician Paul Henry introduced them.

The launch took place in an industrial shed in Penrose, with former leaders Don Brash and John Banks watching on.

Labour says all of its election promises will be fully paid for as it reveals a fiscal plan that leans on scrapping National's Investment Boost and a previously announced capital gains tax to help fund its spending.

The plan, released ahead of the November election, keeps the $2.4 billion operating allowance set at Budget 2026, and it also forecasts a return to surplus in 2028/29, the same year as existing forecasts under the National-led coalition.

Labour said all of its promises are "fully costed and fully funded" while closely similar debt and surplus commitments detailed by the Government.

The ten-page document is the party's answer to attacks from National on an alleged "hidden bill" questioning how a centre-left coalition could pay for new promises.

Labour's costings show $24.5 billion of spending over five years, offset in part by almost $11 billion of new revenue, with the rest absorbed by existing Budget allowances.

Today's announcement also follows repeated pledges from Labour that the detail would come after the pre-election fiscal update, which Treasury released last Tuesday.

Notably, the plan has no specific line item for future pay equity settlements, the single biggest cost National had pinned on Labour.

The party says those will be funded through future Budgets as agreements are reached.

Where is the money coming from?

Labour expects to raise almost $11 billion in new revenue over the forecast period. These would come from four initiatives according to its plan.

• $7.7 billion from repealing Investment Boost, the Government's flagship tax incentive for business investment - of which National has been quick to defend in the past.

• $2.8 billion from its capital gains tax

• $365 million from reversing the changes to tobacco excise duty

• $100 million from other savings

The capital gains tax would be a 28% tax on gains from commercial and residential investment property made after July 1, 2027.

The family home, farms, KiwiSaver, shares, business assets and inheritances would be exempt, and Labour says nine out of 10 New Zealanders would never pay it.

Labour first announced the tax a year ago and has pledged every dollar gained from it to health spending. With around $15 billion of health spending in the plan, most of it is matching the coalition's existing cost-pressure track.

That spending would include meeting rising cost pressures at the same level as the current Government, three free GP visits a year through a new Medicard proposed by Labour, and bringing back the free prescriptions scheme.

When questioned on the lack of extra health funding beyond the coalition's track, Hipkins said free primary care would ease pressure on hospitals by keeping people healthy.

"Providing free primary healthcare to New Zealanders will be the biggest advance in the delivery of healthcare in New Zealand in a generation," he said.

He said Labour would also end what he called National's hiring freeze in the health system within the plan's existing envelope.

What is money being committed to?

Labour has pledged to reverse half of the Government's public service savings planned for the next Budget and all of the following round at a cost of almost $2 billion.

Hipkins said Labour expected about half of the first year's cuts would already have been made or be underway by the time it took office, and it would not reverse those.

"But we are going to stop the future cuts," he said.

Other commitments in the plan include:

• $591 million for school lunches, though no funding is booked for 2030/31, which Labour says follows the same accounting treatment the Government uses

• $760 million in rent subsidies for 6000 new state houses, alongside $2.9 billion in capital for Kāinga Ora over four years which is counted in capital allowances

• about $1.56 billion to lift the GST registration threshold to $80,000 and let businesses write off assets worth up to $10,000

• $226 million for Apprenticeship Boost and $84 million for Māori trades training

Labour has also pencilled in $968 million for "future announcements".

The plan leaves about $10.5 billion of future operating allowances unallocated over four years, including about $1.5 billion in 2027/28 and $1.1 billion in 2028/29.

That unallocated for money would also need to cover other cost pressures outside health, such as defence or public sector pay rounds. Labour asserts the remaining space leaves room to respond to future pressures and also pay equity claims.

Additionally, Labour's plan includes about $2.5 billion for an immediate $4 an hour pay rise for 65,000 care and support workers in an interim increase.

However, it leaves future pay equity settlements to future Budgets, saying it "would undermine the process" to announce a figure in advance.

Pay equity settlements left out

The plan does not include a specific figure for future pay equity settlements, despite Labour's pledge to reinstate the pay equity legislation within its first 100 days.

Labour says it is confident those costs can be met within the flexibility built into the plan, but would not say how much it expects them to cost. The party was continuing to argue in its plan that naming a figure would weaken negotiations.

"It would undermine the process to announce in advance how much had been set aside for individual claims."

Hipkins said the $4 rise was an interim increase, about half of the $8 an hour unions had pushed for, and was not a final deal.

"I'm not going to say to them that they're going to have to wait that much longer," he said, adding a final settlement could take a year to negotiate.

The party's finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said transitional rules may be needed so 33 claims that had been underway would not have to start again, while Hipkins said there would be no retrospective back pay for the years of repeal..

Pay equity was the largest single item in National's "hidden bill" claims against Labour, which cited a Treasury estimate of almost $11 billion for reinstating the former regime.

That document, which came out before Labour's plan, claimed an $18.2 billion gap between Labour's spending intentions and its capital gains tax revenue.

Labour also plans to freeze fuel tax for three years and cap weekly public transport fares at $20 in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch and $10 elsewhere.

The fare cap would be funded by reprioritising 1% of the National Land Transport Fund. The plan's costings table does not list a separate figure for the fuel tax freeze.

Te Pāti Māori says it's putting its "money where its mouth is" by announcing a "one-person" party list.

By Lillian Hanly of RNZ

The list announcement for the 2026 General Election came on Sunday morning, with only Lance Norman, General Secretary of Te Pāti Māori, selected "unanimously" as the additional list candidate.

The party said it was "reaffirming its candidate-vote strategy" by selecting just one list candidate outside its candidates for the seven Māori electorate.

"This list proves we are putting our money where our mouth is," Te Pāti Māori Co-Leader Rawiri Waititi said.

"We made a deliberate decision to put collective Māori representation ahead of building a long party list."

"We said this election is bigger than any one party. Our list reflects that commitment," Co-Leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said.

She asked supporters to cast their candidate vote for Te Pāti Māori and party vote for Green or Labour.

"We are backing our seven candidates to win the Māori electorates and standing by the strategy we announced to our people."

In August, the party urged supporters to give their candidate vote to TPM, and their party vote to the left bloc.

At the time, Waititi suggested the party's strategy could see up to 13 Māori MPs get into power.

The strategy could lead to the creation of an overhang, where there are more seats in Parliament.

Earlier this year, Labour's Māori campaign chair Willie Jackson criticised the approach, saying it threatened a backlash against the Māori seats that could lead to their abolition "when you start working the system like that".

US President Donald Trump on Saturday pressured Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas to support a bill to make daylight saving time permanent, posting the personal cellphone number of the chairman of Senate Intelligence Committee and urging Americans to call it.

The Sunshine Protection Act passed the House in July, but it faces roadblocks in the Senate where some Republicans are strongly opposed. Proponents, including the White House, argue that the change would provide more daylight during the times that Americans are most active. Detractors said permanent daylight saving time would lead to darker and potentially more hazardous winter mornings when children will be waiting for school buses and parents will be driving to work in darkness.

It was a remarkable escalation on Trump's part of a longstanding fixation shared by both men — with Trump supporting making daylight saving time permanent, and Cotton vociferously opposed — at a time just weeks before the midterms, when Republicans would prefer that the president focus on talking about affordability issues and the party's achievements. Cotton is also up for reelection this November, although that race is not expected to be competitive.

Trump calls daylight saving time ‘depressing’

Daylight saving time is that period between spring and fall when clocks in most parts of the United States are set one hour ahead of standard time. Not all states observe it — and under the bill, states can opt out of the change if their respective legislatures act to do so before the bill’s enactment.

“It’s a lot of work for a lot of people, running around for two days, changing all the clocks in the house,” Trump told reporters as his left the White House on Saturday for a rally in Vandalia, Ohio.

“It discombobulates everybody," he said.

Trump said the time change gives golfers less time on the greens and tennis players less time on the courts. He blamed Cotton for stopping the bill. “So, everyone in Arkansas, a State I love, and won 3 times, the last by by 34 points, tell Tom to, GET IT DONE! It will be appreciated by all,” Trump said on social media on Saturday morning, kicking off the fight.

Trump included a phone number with an Arkansas area code. The Associated Press called the number, but no one answered and the voicemail box was full.

Cotton, a member of Republican leadership, reiterated his opposition to permanent daylight saving time in a social media post of his own Saturday afternoon. He is not the only GOP senator who opposes the policy, though he has been among the most vocal opponents.

“No one likes changing the clock, me included, but Congress has enacted permanent Daylight Savings Time multiple times before and repealed it each time once Americans experienced absurdly late sunrises in the winter,” Cotton wrote.

“Arkansans don’t want their kids going to school in the pitch dark, and I’ll always put Arkansas first.”

Trump promptly fired back in another post. “If Tom Cotton were putting Arkansas first, he would give them an extra hour of daylight and, more importantly, they wouldn’t have to run all over their houses, farms, work places, and everywhere else, twice a year, having to change their Clocks, and often forgetting to do so,” Trump said, adding that “that is really putting Arkansas FIRST.”

As his motorcade was rolling back to the White House from his golf course, Trump added that “a table full of very distinguished people just told me that they HATE, immediately after a mandatory time change, going home at night – and it’s DARK.”

“It’s depressing!" Trump continued.

"One of the gentleman stated that, ‘I just hate going home in darkness.’ It’s also, in Crime Ridden Blue States, a lot more dangerous to be walking home in the dark!”

A 2025 poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that if forced to choose, most Americans would prefer to keep that extra hour of daylight in the evening. Only 12% of U.S. adults favor the current system of daylight saving time, which requires people in most states to change their clocks twice a year, while 47% oppose it and 40% are neutral.

Members of Congress have long been interested in the potential benefits and costs of daylight saving time since it was first adopted as a wartime measure in 1942. The Senate passed a bill four years ago to make daylight saving time permanent, but it stalled in the House.

A re-elected National government would spend $1.75 billion to start building the first stage of South Auckland's Mill Road corridor in late 2028, the party has announced.

The money would be set aside in Budget 2028 for the first stage of the project, which runs between Manukau and Alfriston.

A further $100 million would go to NZTA in 2027/28 to protect the route for stages two and three, from Alfriston to Drury.

National's transport spokesperson Chris Bishop said the south's roading network hadn't kept pace with its growth.

"People travelling between Drury, Papakura and Manukau are funnelled onto an already congested Southern Motorway, while roads like Redoubt Road and the existing Mill Road were built for a semi-rural community, not tens of thousands of new households."

Once finished, the corridor would be a four-lane, 21.5km road running alongside State Highway 1 from Manukau to Drury.

Stage one would include a westbound bus lane at the northern end. It would also add two new and six upgraded intersections between the SH1 interchange and Murphys Rd, three new roundabouts, and new bridges over Puhinui Creek and Cheesman's Bush.

The project returns $3.10 in benefits for every dollar spent if it isn't tolled, or $2.20 if it is, according to NZTA cost-benefit estimates.

National's policy document did not say whether the road would be tolled.

"We've made strong progress on Mill Road stage one over the last three years," Bishop said.

"The NZTA Board has endorsed the investment case, and NZTA is completing the design work and taking the project through the fast-track process to secure the consents it needs."

The $1.75b cost estimate figure comes from NZTA's 2025 investment case.

National has not set a construction date for the second or third stages.

The party said it would work with Auckland Council, through the new Auckland Regional Transport Committee, to settle their timing in Auckland's 30-year transport plan.

"Landowners, Auckland Council, businesses and communities need certainty about where the future corridor will go, so they can plan and make investment decisions with confidence," Bishop said in a media release today.

The Mill Road project itself has changed shape several times over the past decade.

In 2020 it was one of the largest items in the Labour-led government's NZ Upgrade Programme, at about $1.35b for the full corridor.

Costs rose to over $3 billion, and in 2021 Labour cut the project back to a smaller safety package. The current National-led government campaigned on it at the last election and revived it as a Road of National Significance three years ago.

Amid rising cost estimates, transport officials have struggled to make headway in progressing all of the motorway projects National pledged at the last election. Bishop himself conceded the projects committed to in 2023 were "long-term" commitments.

Labour has questioned how the Government would pay for its roading programme.

Searchers found a "debris field" off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, from an air ambulance that was carrying six people when it vanished over the Atlantic on Saturday during a flight from Bermuda to Boston, the US Coast Guard said.

There were four Canadian nationals and two Bermudian nationals aboard, and their next of kin were notified as the search continued, the Coast Guard said in a statement. It added that one of its cutters would continue searching the water overnight and into Sunday.

Air traffic audio indicates that the medical transport may have been "coming in blind" with electrical problems when a storm loomed ahead shortly before it vanished very early Saturday.

The pilot reported electrical problems and declared an emergency as the jet approached the coast, according to air traffic control audio posted by LiveATC.net. "Roger, you said you’re coming in blind. Is that what you said?" a controller can be heard asking the pilot.

That makes Mary Schiavo, who is a former Inspector General of the Transportation Department, think the plane may have lost its navigational instruments just as a storm moved across its path on radar. The plane also descended sharply from its cruising altitude of around 24,000 feet to around 10,000 feet, according to preliminary data from flight tracking site FlightRadar24.

"Something bad happened with this big drop, and they flew into this big storm. It’s a terrible place to have a loss of your instruments and be flying blind," said Schiavo, who is an aviation attorney. "It’s very easy to get disoriented and not know if you’re turning, climbing, descending, etc. Spatial orientation hits pretty quickly."

The Canadian-registered air ambulance jet had four crew members and two passengers aboard when it departed Bermuda’s LF Wade International Airport for the nighttime flight to Massachusetts, according to a statement from the Bermuda airport's operator, Skyport.

Transport Canada was closely monitoring and working with authorities on search and rescue efforts, the country’s Minister of Transport Steven MacKinnon said on the social platform X.

The Coast Guard said the Federal Aviation Administration reported that the Gulfstream G100 lost contact very early Saturday morning.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it was gathering information about the situation, but it did not say immediately if it would investigate.

Most parties - aside from ACT - are heading into next month's general election with policies that could split up a grocery sector dominated by Foodstuffs and Woolworths.

Speaking to Q+A this morning, Chris Quin said he could not comment on the politics, "although, clearly, you know, there is a populist nature to a lot of this."

He said the proposals to break up the industry's scale would not lower the cost of food.

"In fact, they run a real risk of the opposite."

Quin said the plans had alarmed the owners of the co-operative's stores.

"That's why you've seen 530 families who own these stores be quite concerned and quite frightened and quite alarmed about what is proposed here."

He said uncertainty over the policies was weighing on investment decisions such as a $340 million warehouse expansion in Palmerston North announced two weeks ago.

"With all of these policies floating around now, you could forgive our board for going 'Should we be concerned about this?'"

Quin said store owners were losing sleep over the same question.

"Do I put more fridges in? Do I invest in the store or is something going to change?"

When asked if he had a better idea for lower food prices, he argued for a stronger economy and exchange rate, better regulation and permission to merge Foodstuffs' support operations.

Quin also argued the duopoly label overlooked a growing range of rivals, saying about 80% of households shopped outside Foodstuffs and Woolworths each week.

"There is a Chemist Warehouse, there's a Kai Co, there's Tai Ping, there's Pino Foods, there is this range of competitors that aren't included in the measures people talk about.

"The view of competition today is quite a traditional and old market view. When you walk out the door today and watch where people go shopping, and I drive around my suburb, you see dozens of options about where people can buy groceries," Quin suggested.

Land covenants?

Quin is one of 51 business leaders who signed an open letter to political parties raising concerns about the degree of intervention proposed in the economy. The letter also called for the removal of "rules that keep new competitors out".

Q+A host Simon Mercep asked the Foodstuffs boss whether that was a hypocritical position given the business's previous use of covenants.

In 2024, the High Court in Wellington fined Foodstuffs North Island $3.25 million for lodging land covenants intended to block rival supermarkets.

Quin said the covenants predated his 11 years in the industry.

"They were things that we stopped doing and then recognised we needed to remove from market. It was right to not have those. We accepted that they were against the spirit of competition from a different business time," he said.

"It was probably intentional then-10, 20 years ago, yes."

The Commerce Commission said Foodstuffs North Island had committed in 2021 to stop using restrictive covenants and had admitted the conduct at the earliest opportunity.

In his judgment, Justice Radich noted the company had not intended to breach the law and had never enforced the covenants.

For the full interview, watch the video above

Q+A with Jack Tame is made with the support of New Zealand On Air

Armed police have cordoned off a street in Dunedin and taken one person into custody after a firearms incident this afternoon.

Police said the incident on Tedder St in the suburb St Kilda was reported at about 2.50pm on Sunday.

“Armed police are in attendance out of an abundance of caution with one person in custody,” they said.

There were no reported injuries.

The street is cordoned off between Bay View Rd and New St and the public was asked to avoid the area.

A driver whose car careered into a crowd of Newcastle Knights supporters will be kept in custody as the community rallies to support those injured in the crash.

Chris Clancy was one of thousands of Newcastle Knights fans who lined the streets to farewell their team as the players travelled to Sydney for the grand final.

But he was left injured, along with nine other people, when a car driven by 18-year-old P-plater Indika Bambrick Samarasinghe careered into a crowd gathered on the side of the road near a major roundabout.

"We're there at the roundabout having fun - cars going past, beeping their horns, people waving," he told AAP.

"The next thing, this car stops (at) the roundabout and then he just floored it on the wet ground, lost it.

"It happened in seconds, but when you stand there, seeing the car coming at you, I honestly thought I was going to die. It just felt like slow motion."

Clancy suffered small fractures in his ribs and spine, a broken collarbone, and small fractures in his foot.

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Samarasinghe was taken to hospital for mandatory testing and subsequently charged with nine offences, including dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, negligent driving and causing bodily harm by misconduct.

He did not make any application for release during a brief court appearance on Sunday and he was formally refused bail.

The bail court was told the most serious offence of dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm carried a maximum jail term of seven years.

Samarasinghe will next appear at Newcastle Local Court on October 15.

The judge endorsed a warrant for a health assessment.

Investigators did not believe the incident was deliberate but declined to comment on reports the vehicle was being driven erratically before the crash.

At least seven people remain at John Hunter Hospital with injuries caused by the collision.

They include a five-year-old girl who was placed into an induced coma with critical injuries, although her condition has stabilised.

A 67-year-old man was also hospitalised in a serious but stable condition.

Multiple fundraisers have been established for the victims of the incident, including one for the five-year-old girl and another for Wallsend grandfather Dave Martin.

Martin was injured after being struck by the car while trying to protect his two young granddaughters, sustaining multiple fractures in both legs and undergoing a lengthy surgery.

He was known in Wallsend for his love of the Knights, often decorating his barber shop on Nelson St with team paraphernalia.

Knights chief executive Peter Parr expressed deep concern for those impacted by the crash.

"Newcastle is a strong community," he said.

"We have seen that strength throughout this week and today we need to draw on it again with compassion, care and support for those who need it most."

Cornell's president called the alleged gang rape of a student at a fraternity house in 2024 "deeply disturbing" and said it would weigh on the university for years to come, as he pledged greater transparency amid mounting outrage over the school’s handling of the case.

In an eight-minute video message to the Cornell community, Michael Kotlikoff described the past week as one of the most difficult in the university’s history and acknowledged troubling questions about the investigations that followed the allegations.

"My heart aches when I think of what she experienced," Kotlikoff said. "It raises heartbreaking and troubling issues about sexual assault, dehumanisation, and aspects of party culture, alcohol, and drug use."

"I believe we as an administration and we as a community must do better," he continued.

Kotlikoff reaffirmed his commitment to supporting an independent investigation of the case called for by New York Governor Kathy Hochul and said Cornell’s Board of Trustees would announce details next week. He also expressed support for Hochul’s decision to turn the criminal investigation over to the state attorney general.

Scrutiny has mounted in recent days over Cornell’s response to allegations that the woman was sexually assaulted by multiple fraternity members in 2024. The woman, identified in court documents as Jane Doe, has sued the university and seven former students.

During a student assembly hearing Thursday that gave students an opportunity to voice concerns and discuss proposals to improve Cornell’s response to sexual assault, several speakers called for Kotlikoff’s resignation.

Kotlikoff acknowledged frustration that Cornell has not communicated enough about its handling of the case, saying that has led to distrust. While citing "real legal and privacy limits" on what the university can disclose, he pledged greater transparency and more opportunities for students, parents and others to engage with university leaders.

He also committed Cornell’s support to legislative efforts to change New York’s sexual assault laws.

The case has renewed scrutiny of a New York law that makes it difficult to prosecute sexual assaults involving people who voluntarily consume alcohol or drugs, even if they became too intoxicated to consent.

Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten cited the law in defending his initial decision not to pursue charges, saying the woman’s original statement to police described voluntary drug use and sexual activity.

Critics have long sought to close what they call the "voluntary intoxication loophole", which distinguishes between people incapacitated by drugs administered without their consent and those who voluntarily became intoxicated. Hochul has pledged to push for changes to the law.

Kotlikoff also called for a "serious look at the role of fraternities and sororities in campus life". He acknowledged that while Greek life on campus can provide students with friendship, mentorship and a sense of belonging, sororities and fraternities must also foster a culture of individual responsibility and accountability.

"Being part of a group can never diminish individual responsibility for our own actions, for how we treat others or for speaking up when someone may be at risk," he said.

He said Cornell will engage students, alumni and other members of the community to examine how to preserve "what is valuable about Greek life" while strengthening accountability, transparency and a culture of safety and responsibility.

Hochul, asked at a news conference Friday whether she believed Kotlikoff should resign over the university’s handling of the case, declined to take a position, saying she did not yet have enough information.

The Green Party wants to make buses and trains free for children, students and Community Service Card holders, and cap adult fares at $2, under a public transport plan announced by the party.

The policy, called Connecting Aotearoa, also promises mass rapid transit in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, an overnight passenger train between Auckland and Wellington, and the return of passenger rail between Christchurch and Dunedin.

Free travel would extend to teenagers, apprentices and Total Mobility users.

The Parliamentary Library costed the fare changes at $262 million in 2027/28, rising to $381 million by 2030/31, and the Greens said their tax policy would cover the cost.

Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick said the fare changes would put money back in people's pockets straight away.

"Congestion sucks - it costs us time, money and productivity. The Greens will unclog our roads and free up wallets with mass rapid transit, free travel for kids, students, Community Service Card holders, Total Mobility users, and a maximum $2 fare for everyone else," she said.

"The Greens have the plan to get immediate improvements using what we've already got, while laying down the tracks for the future."

Swarbrick tied the policy to the cost of fuel.

"In the middle of a fossil fuel crisis, these common sense investments will save New Zealanders money, stress and time. It'll cut emissions and improve quality of life."

The policy puts $13.65b towards light rail in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, though the party said it would build either light rail or bus rapid transit depending on the Infrastructure Commission's preferred option. It describes the light rail figures as a cost ceiling and all its costings as indicative only.

Auckland's line would run from Māngere to the city centre via Mt Roskill, Wellington's from Island Bay to the railway station, and Christchurch's from Hornby to Belfast.

Councils and rural towns

The party said it would cover the funding shortfall councils face in running bus and train services, so smaller cities and towns could expand public transport alongside the main centres. It also plans more frequent bus services between regions and wants to let councils pedestrianise more inner-city streets.

Green Party transport spokesperson Julie Anne Genter said cities had paid the price for neglect.

"Years of underinvestment in public transport have left our cities harder to get around without a car. Our cities have the potential to be accessible, vibrant and connected for locals and visitors."

She said the plan's focus on more frequent buses and modern trains would help growing towns and cities keep up with demand.

"The Green Party will create many more options for people to hop on fast, affordable buses and trains either in their town, city or across the country."

On long-distance travel, the Greens would bring back the Southerner between Christchurch and Dunedin, with a possible extension to Invercargill, and improve, electrify and extend the Te Huia service, which runs between Hamilton and Auckland, through to Tauranga.

Swarbrick said travel around the country had become too expensive.

"Visiting family members or friends across the country shouldn't cost a small fortune or rely on an air carrier that's been shutting down regional routes."

An "extensive" search and rescue operation is underway for two men who jumped into a river near Ōpōtiki early this morning after the car they were in failed to stop for officers.

The driver ran a red light in the Wainui area at around 3.45am and failed to stop when signalled by police.

Road spikes were then deployed to stop the vehicle.

Duty Inspector Phil Edwards said the car came to a halt after spikes were deployed.

"Road spikes were successfully deployed about 10km from Ōpōtiki shortly after 4am, before the vehicle came to a stop down Snell Road, by the Otara River," he said.

"The two occupants have then got out of the vehicle and jumped into the water."

A "large-scale" search and rescue operation was ongoing, he said.

"Police have searched the river, and deployed helicopters and ground crew across farmland to find the missing men."

Edwards appealed for help, urging those with any information to come forward.

"If you are one of these males, you know who they are, or you have any other information which may help us locate them, please get in touch. We’re also after information about any suspicious behaviour in the area," he said.

He appealed directly to the missing men, “If you’re safe, please let us know. Your safety is our priority.”

Urgent information can be given on 111, referencing job number P067829874.

An Arizona man’s 10-year manslaughter sentence has been tossed in a case where a video generated by artificial intelligence portrayed the deceased victim addressing a judge before the punishment was imposed.

The Arizona Court of Appeals concluded Gabriel Paul Horcasitas must be resentenced in the 2021 shooting death of Christopher Pelkey because the AI video wasn't reliable.

The court found the video crossed the line, saying it didn’t reflect actual events and presented statements made in the footage as coming directly from the victim.

“Indeed, rather than document an event or recording a particular moment, the AI video presents a depiction of the victim and his thoughts created from the imaginings of the victim’s sister,” the three-judge panel wrote.

Jessica Gattuso, an attorney who represented victims in the case, and Kristen Reller, Horcasitas’ lawyer, declined to comment on the decision.

Reller had argued Superior Court Judge Todd Lang violated due process protections by relying on AI evidence.

Gattuso and prosecutors told the appeals court that the lower-court judge didn’t err, saying the footage was an accurate representation of Pelkey’s character.

In what’s believed to be a first in US courts, Pelkey’s family used AI to create a video of his likeness to give him a voice. Pelkey’s sister, Stacey Wales, raised the idea of her brother speaking for himself after struggling to figure out what he would say.

Wales expected an appeal on the sentence and was disappointed the AI video was cited as the reason, saying her only goal was to humanise her brother for the judge.

“It feels unfair because there is a convicted murderer sitting in prison that has blankets and walls of protection around their rights. Where are the rights for the victim?” Wales said.

A victim appeals lawyer has told the family that using AI again could result in another appeal.

“We will continue to let his voice be heard in whatever allowable medium we can convey that through the court system,” Wales said.

The AI-generated victim impact statement was played during a May 2025 sentencing hearing after nine of Pelkey’s family members and friends stood before the judge describing how emotionally devastated they were by his killing.

Authorities say Horcasitas, 55, fatally shot Pelkey, 37, during a November 2021 road rage encounter at a stoplight in Chandler, a suburb of Phoenix. Pelkey, who was unarmed, was shot after getting out of his truck and walking toward Horcasitas’ vehicle.

Horcasitas was convicted of manslaughter in Pelkey’s death and endangerment for a gunshot that struck another vehicle at the intersection during the encounter.

The AI rendering of Pelkey said he wished he could still be with his friends and family, voiced a belief in forgiveness and said it was a shame Horcasitas had encountered him because “in another life, we probably could have been friends.”

The video didn't request a specific prison sentence.

Horcasitas’ appellate lawyer argued her client had no meaningful opportunity to rebut material in the AI-generated video.

It’s not clear if attorneys or the court were aware in advance that an AI-generated video would be used.

But attorneys representing Pelkey’s family said in court records that Arizona law does not require victims to disclose statements they plan to make in court to prosecutors, defence attorneys or the judge — and that victims can exercise their rights by speaking before the court or submitting statements that are written or recorded on audio or video.

In a statement, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office said its prosecutors knew the victim’s family would address the court during sentencing but weren't aware of the nature of it.

While the use of AI within the court system is expanding, it’s typically been reserved for administrative tasks, legal research and case preparation. In Arizona, it’s helped inform the public of rulings in significant cases.

But using AI to generate victim impact statements marks a new tool for sharing information with the court outside the evidentiary phases.

Reller told the appeals court that the video doesn’t disclose who wrote the words used by the AI version of Pelkey and wasn’t backed up with evidence establishing that its contents accurately reflected Pelkey’s views.

It also had an “undue emotional weight” and conveyed an authenticity that wouldn’t have been there had a family member read the same words aloud, Reller said.

Horcasitas’ lawyer contended the judge weighed the statements made in the AI-generated video when deciding on a sentence, but prosecutors argued Lang didn’t consider the footage when issuing the punishment.

Shortly before delivering the sentence, the judge commented that he “loved that AI” but didn’t say from the bench whether the video factored into his decision.

Lang said he felt Pelkey’s “obvious forgiveness of Mr. Horcasitas reflects the character I heard about today.”

The family’s lawyers say the judge was already inundated with relevant information from Pelkey’s family and friends before the AI video was played — and that nothing in the video was inflammatory. Horcasitas’ attorney didn’t object to the AI video.

Former Blues star Kurt Eklund announced his retirement from professional rugby after concerns were raised about ongoing neck issues.

The hooker took to social media and released a statement revealing he had been advised to hang up the boots.

"That’s all she wrote. I've been battling neck injuries for the past few years and I've been told it's in my best interest to step away from the game, so that's what I am going to do," he said.

Eklund was due to move to Japan after signing a contract with the Yokohama Canon Eagles alongside fellow Blues player Stephen Perofeta, but never left New Zealand.

Despite the 34-year-old's career being cut short, Eklund said he was proud of all he accomplished in the sport.

"I’m truly grateful for all the opportunities the people I have met and the memories I’ve made along the way," he said.

"If you'd told 10-year-old me that I'd be able to achieve all the things I've been able to, I would have thought you'd be joking."

Former All Blacks captain Sam Cane and All Blacks and Hurricanes fly half Ruben Love were among those leaving comments showing their support for their teammate.

"Top man. Sorry to hear it finish this way bro. All the best for the next venture," Cane wrote.

"All the best brother made me feel welcomed first day Māori ABs 2022 will never forget. Respect bro!" Love said.

Eklund played 75 matches for the Blues, debuting in 2020 against the Chiefs and scoring 115 points across his tenure.

He also captained the Māori All Blacks in 2025, playing nine games since June 2021.

An Auckland Lotto player won $15.3 million overnight, taking home both the Powerball and a Lotto First Division prize.

The winning numbers are 03 04 05 17 18 36 Bonus 7, and Powerball is 1.

The Powerball prize was worth $15 million, while the First Division was $333,333

The winner joined two other MyLotto customers in collecting $333,333 from the First Division draw, one from Christchurch and another also from Auckland.

A Strike One player gained $200,000, with the winning ticket being sold at Woolworths Rangiora East in Rangiora.

From today, all triple dip tickets sold until 7.30pm on October 17 will go into a draw to win one of 100 $20,000 extra prizes.

Labour has published an AI policy, and Opportunity has offered the outlines of one. There was an attempt at a discussion about it in the first leaders' debate.

By John Hartevelt for RNZ

The most interesting contribution so far, however, has come from ACT leader David Seymour. In an interview with RNZ's Guyon Espiner on Friday, Seymour reminded us of his background as an engineering graduate.

"I was at engineering school 20 years ago, and they told us that around 2035, if computer power kept growing at the exponential rate according to Moore's Law, which it largely has, then we would get to a stage where intelligence could self-reproduce and it might start to do things adverse to us that we can't control."

His credentials established, Seymour engaged on the issues AI presents for New Zealanders thoughtfully and more concretely than others have to date. He said:

- There should be "somebody in government" in charge of AI policy for New Zealand - a near-enough endorsement of Labour's 'Office of AI' proposal.

- His office has used AI in a "dummy run" to cut through a lengthy policy development process in "a very short space of time".

- He has no issue with AI drafting Cabinet papers - the important thing is that they're read and understood by ministers.

- The public service is wrongly resistant to adopting AI technologies because it fears being displaced.

These are all worthy of scrutiny as part of a broader debate about the role of government in AI implementation here.

But the biggest and most controversial position Seymour took was that it's unrealistic for this country to think it can influence the way the AI industry is regulated. We "certainly could" take a national position on things and even regulate in our own context, he said.

"But I suspect that our best play is to be a fast follower as those debates play out overseas."

This is where the biggest fault line between the parties of the centre-right and those of the centre-left is likely to emerge on AI in the months and years ahead.

Labour's spokesman Reuben Davidson earlier told Espiner that AI likely represents the "most significant industrial revolution of our generation" and that future governments "have to help navigate what that looks like for New Zealanders".

Both Davidson and Opportunity's Qiulae Wong said several times and in different ways that the government needs to get active on AI, taking leadership on standards for its use.

The trouble is, their rhetoric is not quite matched by the ambition of their ideas.

In other countries, a much more active role for government in AI policy means things like:

- Counting AI as part of the national strategic infrastructure, and planning and investing in it as such.

- Mandating certain sensitive data sets to be held entirely on-shore, or in a digital embassy.

- The creation of state-funded national AI models for things like ACC claims or tax returns.

- AI-specific alliances with friendly nations to pool resources.

If you squint, you could just about claim any one of these counts as the "fast following" Seymour advocates for New Zealand.

But it seems unlikely he or any of the parties in the current coalition would be up for these ideas. Rather than the quest for full-scale AI sovereignty they imply, something more like AI resilience appears to be what he has in mind.

Here again though, the policy development by the parties seems a bit thin. All parties are keen to be seen as boosters for the benefits of AI.

After nodding to that, most of the time is spent describing the risks and suggesting some regulatory responses to control for them.

But what about the effort that's required to achieve the benefits?

In Thursday's debate, Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick was keen to point out her party's position of a one-year moratorium on data centres.

It's a straightforward piece of populist policy and it may well be sound, but what if building more data centres is actually a plank in an AI resilience plan?

Could preventing even local firms from building data centres just end up meaning even more of our data sits offshore?

The public appetite for understanding AI technology has been evident for many months. We are shifting to an expectation of leadership on the matter.

Our multi-party system should be well-suited to tackling the issue with a spectrum of ideas. Let's hear more of them.

Police have charged a teenager alleged to be involved in an air gun incident in Hamilton yesterday afternoon.

A person was injured at a bus stop on Masters Avenue near Hillcrest Park and given medical treatment after being shot at.

Senior Sergeant Mark Pettigrew said police went to a Hamilton property early on Sunday, where firearms, ammunition and other weapons were found.

"Following extensive enquiries, at approximately 1am today, the Armed Offenders Squad and CIB assisted front line staff at a Hamilton property where firearms, ammunition and other weapons were discovered," he said.

An 18-year-old Hamilton man is facing charges of wounding with reckless disregard, unlawful possession of ammunition and possession of an offensive weapon.

He is due to appear in Hamilton District Court on Monday.

Pettigrew acknowledged the public for their help.

"Police want to thank members of the public who helped with enquiries, and police continue to work with community members who may have witnessed the incident."

Will pushing people to lift their KiwiSaver balances make New Zealanders better off overall?

By Susan Edmunds of RNZ

With $11 billion going into New Zealanders' KiwiSaver accounts over the past year, and a combined balance of almost $150b, it might seem that the answer is obviously yes.

But as the scheme nears 20 years in existence, and more political parties call for compulsion, some commentators still argue it may not be as wealth-boosting as hoped.

University of Auckland Retirement Policy and Research Centre co-director Michael Littlewood said New Zealand was often compared unfavourably to Australia, which had amassed more than AU$4 trillion in retirement assets, with compulsory higher contribution rates.

But he said the Australian experience showed that, while pushing a superannuation scheme changed where wealth was held, it did not necessarily make people wealthier, or reduce hardship in retirement.

There, superannuation is 49% of Australian household financial assets compared to 11% in New Zealand. But he said the fact that it had not made households wealthier relative to their incomes was important.

"Net worth is nine to 10 times income in both countries, and the median New Zealand adult ranks fourth in the world for wealth, only one place behind Australia."

He said it could also come at a significant taxpayer cost. Australia's superannuation tax concessions cost A$60 billion a year, he said.

Means-testing of the pension in Australia helps to save on pension costs, though. The Government spends about 8.4% of its budget on the pension there, compared to 12.6% in New Zealand. Australia's percentage is forecast to decline while New Zealand's is set to grow on current settings.

Littlewood said it was notable that Australian household debt had climbed to 177% of income while New Zealand's had been flat at 125% for two decades, which might indicate that Australians were more willing to take on debt for longer, knowing that their superannuation savings would help to clear it.

Littlewood said after 18 years of KiwiSaver superannuation assets were just back to their 1999 level.

"Perhaps a government cannot force its citizens to save more than they want to save. Despite the seemingly very different environments in Australia and New Zealand, the total costs to taxpayers of each of the two systems are much closer than headlines suggest and the final outcomes are much the same."

The Retirement Commission said it looked at whether KiwiSaver was likely to make New Zealanders better off overall in its review of retirement policy last year.

"Early research, using data from 2010, found little evidence of a boost, particularly during the years when the scheme was heavily subsidised.

"That said, research using data from 2010 is likely to have covered too short a time frame to fully assess the impact of KiwiSaver, which had only been in place for three years. Further, the data was likely to have been influenced by the effects of the Global Financial Crisis, which began in 2008. KiwiSaver today is very different to the scheme in 2010, but there are no updated estimates ... This partly reflects data issues."

It said as KiwiSaver had matured, the role of Government subsidies had diminished and a greater share of KiwiSaver balances was now likely to come from new savings.

"While a definitive assessment would require formal modelling or access to longitudinal data, it does seem in New Zealand that more of the savings in the scheme are additional.

"These savings come from what are called 'passive savers', people who wouldn't otherwise save, versus 'active savers', people who would save anyway but will change the form of saving to maximise tax concessions."

Data for the KiwiSaver scheme looks increasingly compelling.

Sixty% of New Zealand households contributed to savings of some sort in 2023, up from 18% in 2007.

The biggest change has been in the middle income range, where savings rates have increased from 9% to 15%, to 54% to 69%.

Younger people have also been boosted by KiwiSaver. The median financial assets of 25 to 34-year-olds has increased from $9000 to $22,000 over the 10 years to 2024, when adjusted for inflation.

Since 2016, households paying into KiwiSaver rose from 43% to 59%, while those paying into other super or managed funds fell only from 6% to 4%.

KiwiSaver had also become increasingly helpful for first-home buyers saving a deposit.

Simplicity chief economist Shamubeel Eaqub said no one would argue that 100% of KiwiSaver saving was activity that would not have otherwise happened, but there was clear evidence that such schemes broadened household savings rates and improved the wealth of younger age groups.

In the 12 months to August 2026, $11.1b was paid into KiwiSaver through Inland Revenue.

Members contributed $6.8b of that and employers $3.8b. The Government contributed $0.5b.

That is the reverse of the scheme's beginning. In the year to June 2008, Government was responsible for 55% of what went into the scheme, and 40% the next year.

Claire Matthews, a banking expert at Massey University, said she was confident KiwiSaver had increased savings rates, too.

She said many people had been able to access employer contributions via KiwiSaver that would not have been available to them otherwise.

Gertjan Verdickt, former senior lecturer in finance at the University of Auckland, said he thought the scheme also encouraged financial market participation more generally.

Israel has some of the world’s most stringent air travel security measures. The United Arab Emirates proudly adheres to international aviation safety standards. Yet those safeguards failed to prevent a flight between the countries from taking a dangerous plunge during an alleged attack in the cockpit.

The copilot allegedly stabbed the captain in the cockpit before passengers intervened aboard FlyDubai Flight FZ1073 after taking off from Dubai, UAE, with 182 people including eight crew members flying to Tel Aviv, Israel, on Wednesday.

The aeroplane made a safe emergency landing in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday and the incident is under investigation by Saudi, Emirati and Israeli authorities, with the United States and Oman assisting efforts to determine a motive.

“Until this event, the possibility of a threat originating from a pilot or crew member was not considered a likely scenario.

"Security efforts have traditionally focused much more heavily on passengers and their luggage,” said Eyal Hulata, Israel’s former national security adviser.

“That will probably change now and crew members will be subject to heavier screening.”

Israel's security protocols focus heavily on Israeli airlines and departing flights from Ben-Gurion International Airport. A potential Achilles’ heel lies overseas, where procedures for Israel-bound flights vary and are harder for Israeli authorities to oversee.

Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest airport for international passenger traffic, has built some of its appeal around a reputation for safety in a volatile region, said Philip Baum, a visiting professor of aviation security at Coventry University in England.

“They are very conscious of the fact, a little bit like Israel in many respects, that they cannot afford to have a terrorist attack happening on a flight out of there,” he said.

Pilot vetting, preflight screening aren't uniform worldwide

Investigators have not publicly identified the object used to stab the flight's captain or said whether it was carried onto the plane or came from inside the aircraft.

Preflight screening of flight crews should generally “mirror very closely what a passenger goes through,” although security procedures vary around the world, said Dave Komendat, a senior security adviser at risk management firm International SOS and former chief security officer for Boeing.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel has long-standing agreements with foreign carriers to keep pilots from flying into the country if they are citizens of nations that don’t maintain diplomatic relations with Israel.

Israeli authorities have described the FlyDubai copilot as Omani. Israel and Oman do not have formal diplomatic relations, raising questions about how the suspect ended up on the Tel Aviv-bound flight.

“Obviously, there was a loophole here. And we’re taking care of that,” Netanyahu said Thursday during an interview with Fox News Channel’s “Fox and Friends.”

Israel will increase security precautions on flights coming into the country whether or not they are operated by Israel.

Pilots flying into Israel will be vetted and Israel will know their identities, prime minister’s office spokesperson Doron Spielman told The Associated Press.

There were no Israeli air marshals on the FlyDubai flight and the people who helped were civilians, Spielman added.

The International Civil Aviation Organisation sets baseline pilot-vetting and licensing standards, while national regulators and airlines can impose additional requirements.

Aviation security expert Menachem Bachrach said Israel relies largely on foreign governments and airlines to vet their own crew members, and Wednesday’s incident may point to a compliance lapse rather than a flaw in the procedures.

“Before we’re jumping to tighten security, I would just say it’s likely that somebody didn’t follow the protocols,” Bachrach said.

Investigators to look for red flags and review distress call handling

Israeli flag carrier El Al periodically assesses its pilots’ fitness to fly, while other airlines may do so less often, said Arik Arad, chairman of the aviation cybersecurity consultancy CYVIATION and El Al’s former head of security at Ben Gurion Airport.

Investigators will want to know whether colleagues previously reported concerns about the copilot and, if so, how the airline responded, Komendat said.

Investigators in the UAE and Israel also are likely to review responses to the distress signals that came from the FlyDubai plane after a steep drop in altitude.

A person who heard the FlyDubai flight’s air traffic control communications said a crew member reported a hijacking and requested ambulances.

Authorities in Saudi Arabia and Jordan initially refused to clear the aircraft for landing, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

The crew member eventually persuaded Saudi authorities to allow the plane to set down at Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport in the city of Tabuk.

International aviation standards call for countries to give aircraft facing hijacking or other “unlawful interference” maximum assistance and priority.

But the underlying 1944 treaty, the Convention on International Civil Aviation, only requires a country to provide assistance “as it may find practicable,” making it a “relatively soft obligation,” said Vincent Correia, co-director of McGill University’s Institute of Air and Space Law.

Standard practice in a serious emergency is to get an aircraft on the ground as quickly as possible at the nearest suitable runway, “regardless of nationality, flight plan or politics,” said John Gradek, who manages McGill’s Aviation Management Program.

Gradek stressed it’s still not clear why the FlyDubai plane took a 180-degree turn as it crossed into Jordanian airspace before heading southwest to Tabuk.

It’s not unusual for flight crews to bypass the nearest airport in favour of one better-equipped to meet a plane’s needs, he said.

Locked cockpits have been central to flight security for 25 years

Netanyahu said the flight's injured captain saved the aircraft and everyone on it by resisting the copilot's attacks long enough to open the 737's cockpit door, enabling passengers to subdue the suspect and other FlyDubai crew members to take the controls and land the plane.

Cockpit doors worldwide were reinforced and locked after the September 11, 2001, attacks to keep intruders out.

The FlyDubai incident, and past crashes caused by pilots who wanted to take their own lives, highlight the risk when a threat comes from inside the cockpit.

“The industry itself needs to recognise that flight deck door — whilst installed for very understandable reasons to prevent a suicidal hijacking by a passenger — has also created a fortress into which the good guys cannot gain access to a rogue individual, be it a hijacker or a rogue crew member,” Baum said.

Airline personnel know more about aviation security weaknesses and can gain the trust of security workers they regularly encounter, Osprey Flight Solutions Chief Intelligence Officer Matthew Borie, whose company advises airlines on flight threats, said.

“Unfortunately, if an insider with nefarious intent wants to carry out something like this, they may actually be best placed to know where the most vulnerable points are and how to breach them,” Borie said.