Rockfall has been causing disruption on the roads around Arthur's Pass between Canterbury and the West Coast. Fire and Emergency said it responded to a crash around 10.15pm on Christmas Day on State Highway 73, near the turnoff to Mount White. A car had run into a fallen rock and was damaged, but there were no injuries. And further west on the Ōtira Gorge stretch of the same highway, a section of the road had a priority give-way system in place because of rockfall. It was still in place early on Boxing Day morning.

A post on social media this morning warned people heading to Auckland Airport for flights to “be aware the Manawa Bay Boxing Day shoppers are adding an obscene amount of traffic to the journey”. The weather service says during this period, driving conditions will also be hazardous, “with surface flooding and poor visibility in heavy rain”. The Boxing Day shopping rush follows Christmas Eve retaining its title as the busiest shopping day of the year, though the peak hour was well down on previous years. That was lower than the 607,299 transactions recorded in the same hour on Christmas Eve last year. In 2020, some 678,812 transactions were made between noon and 1pm on Christmas Eve.

Man appears in court on charges after handing himself in for questioning over suspected double homicideThe man appeared in court on December 26. Photo / NZMEA man who handed himself in to police for questioning over the suspected double homicide of a farming couple has appeared in court. A man was named a person of interest over the suspected double homicide, which was followed by a nearly two-week search for him. Central District Commander Superintendent Dion Bennett said the man had presented himself to the Whanganui Police Station about 1.30pm on Christmas Day, and was arrested on an active warrant. “Police on ground in the area will now be making further inquiries in the investigation,” Bennett said.

You can do this by wetting your dog with cool water and turning the air con on in the car, for example, says Javala. “If your dog has long hair, make sure you’re brushing through it and check them again after you [return from] a walk. Make sure you’re checking between the foot pads and around their ears and their face.”There are a few things dog owners need to avoid on NZ beaches over summer. Another one to watch around water is blue-green algae, which produces harmful toxins that can be fatal to dogs. If your dog eats it, Javala says they may experience severe and continuous seizure activity, vomiting, high heart rate, drooling and diarrhoea.

More than 4500 unwanted Christmas presents were already on TradeMe by 8.30am on Boxing Day. Photo: Getty ImagesMore than 4500 unwanted Christmas gifts had already been listed for sale online by 8.30am on Boxing Day, according to Trade Me. "It's become a bit of a tradition for Kiwi to list their unwanted Christmas pressies on Trade Me. Silvester said including the words "unwanted gift" in the tile will help attract bargain hunters and clear, well-lit photos would also make a difference. The company's survey found that popular choices of dealing with unwanted presents also include donating them to charity, regifting, or stashing them in a cupboard to be forgotten.

MetService has issued a severe thunderstorm warning over Dunedin and Clutha. MetService has issued a severe thunderstorm warning over Dunedin and Clutha. Photo / 123rfBy RNZMetService has issued a severe thunderstorm warning over Dunedin and Clutha. It said thunderstorms are moving east/northeast and are expected over Dunedin about 6pm. MetService said thunder will be accompanied by very heavy rain and large hail and warns it may make driving conditions dangerous.

Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Facebook

A key focus for NZ Jet is flying to multiple destinations in ways big carriers cannot. There’s also a queue-busting benefit, with customers able to access a private terminal and avoid long wait times. “The jet is just ready when they need it,” Sofia Ambler told the Herald. Photo / Dean PurcellShe said that business had grown to a point where the couple did not have to be hands-on with it. “They’re here for the summer.”He said business travel had taken a hit from the domestic economic downturn.

PHOTO: STEPHEN JAQUEIRYFour-year-old Evie Coutts is chuffed with the new bike and helmet she got for Christmas. She waited until after lunch to test it at the bicycle track in Marlow Park. She said the bike went pretty fast and even had a carrier at the back for her new unicorn stuffed toy Snowy.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNINGArea: Gore, Clutha and SouthlandAt 04:45 pm, MetService weather radar detected severe thunderstorms near CATLINS STATE FOREST PARK, CLINTON and WAIPAHI moving southeast, expected to be accompanied by very heavy rain, large hail and frequent lightning. Meanwhile, holiday hotspots including Northland, Auckland, Great Barrier Island, Coromandel Peninsula, Bay of Plenty and Rotorua lie under a severe thunderstorm watch from 2pm to 8pm. MetService confirmed heavy rainfall has started in the Northland, Auckland and Waikato regions, with severe thunderstorm warnings still in effect. A heavy rain watch is in place for the Bay of Plenty to the east of Whakatāne from 7pm, with a risk the rainfall might upgrade to a warning near the ranges. While the West Coast of the South Island might be having an unexpectedly fine start to 2026, the rest of the country faces erratic forecasts.

“These people collectively bring expertise in education, business, healthcare, community services, marketing, sports, governance, law, environmental protection, grant allocation and community development to the trusts.”Lawyer Phillip Crump has been appointed to Foundation North Trust. Crump, a member of the Waitangi Tribunal, NZ On Air Board and NZME’s Editorial Advisory Board, said he was honoured to be appointed to the Foundation North Community Trust. Foundation North, formerly Auckland Community Foundation, provides grants – collectively in the millions – throughout Auckland and Northland, focusing on community wellbeing. Māori filmmaker Cleave joins Crump, Bridges, Aryana Nafissi and Tevita Funaki on the Foundation North board. Māori filmmaker Martin Cleave (pictured with wife Michelle) has been appointed to the Foundation North Community Trust Board.

More than 2180 people have reported feeling the tremor, with many saying they were jolted awake because of it. Another person near the quake’s epicentre in Pongaroa said they felt it but there was “no damage”. GeoNet reported the quake, which hit at a depth of 30km, caused “moderate” shaking. “People are far more likely to be injured if they get up and move around during an earthquake. “Research consistently shows that ‘drop, cover, and hold’ is the best way to stay safe in earthquakes in New Zealand – and if you’re in bed, that becomes ‘stay, cover, and hold’."

Photo: Getty ImagesA quake described by GeoNet as "strong" shook the lower North Island this morning. It measured 4.7 and struck 10km southwest of Pongaroa at a depth of 17km at 7.16am. Pongaroa is southwest of Hastings and northeast of Wellington. Felt reports were lodged from the top of the South Island up to around Lake Taupō.

The line between work and rest has not blurred. We do it because being unreachable now feels oddly irresponsible, even when no one is asking us to be available. Sitting still without a screen feels uncomfortable. Leaders who remain online all summer unintentionally teach the rest of the workforce the rules of modern commitment. Above all, we must accept the uncomfortable truth: summer did not disappear.

A California woman has been charged with murder in what a sheriff called the “calculated and cold-blooded” killing of her 9-year-old daughter following the discovery of the girl’s remains in rural Utah. Melodee died of gunshot wounds to the head, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said in a news conference. “But this level of criminal activity is particularly shocking.”Investigators “recovered a significant amount of evidence” against Buzzard, Brown said. Buzzard is being held at a Santa Barbara County jail without bail. The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office said he is reviewing the case.