The dizzy path to Mixed Martial Arts’ mainstream success is inspiring a vicious form of bare-knuckle combat currently illegal in New Zealand. Peato says he ran bare-knuckle fights in Tauranga in December 2021 and early 2023, following a model developed in the United States, the United Kingdom and Thailand, where bare-knuckle fighting is legal. “Any bare-knuckle boxing, regular boxing, or wrestling contest must first receive a permit from police,” a police spokesman said. Russell Tangiwai says the rules of a bare-knuckle combat boxing match differ from typical boxing. Tangiwai said most fights ended with a knockout rather than by decision due to the nature of bare-knuckle fights.

Concerns are rising among Dunedin parents about the level of violence among youths in the city. She said police were able to identify the offender and he was referred to Youth Aid. Under New Zealand law, teenagers aged 14-17 who commit crimes are referred to Youth Aid or the Youth Court. It is one of three incidents of youth violence reported to Dunedin police in the space of a week. The teen was charged with assault and appeared in the Dunedin Youth Court.

The father of Australian rugby league player Payne Haas has been arrested in the Philippines and is accused of running enough drugs in Indonesia to qualify for the death penalty. Gregor Johann Haas was arrested in Cebu City on Wednesday and now faces extradition. An image of Gregor Johann Haas circulating in Indonesian media. Indonesian authorities said they had been hunting the 46-year-old since last December after police discovered five kilograms of crystal methamphetamine at an undisclosed location. In a post to Instagram, police also linked Haas to Mexico’s infamous Sinaloa drug cartel.

Photo: Getty ImagesIn the past I’ve sometimes got it wrong, the compliment. I just wanted to pay her a compliment." Someone should send her the second thing I read, a Time magazine piece about how to give good compliments. Girls learn to see a compliment in the same way as a calorie, to be wary of and to count carefully. It should be just as unacceptable to say awful things about ourselves as it is to say them about other people.

Kiwis stranded in New Caledonia are being assured by the Government that “significant work” is being done to get them home. Smoke rises during protests in Noumea, New Caledonia on May 15. “The situation in New Caledonia has been foremost in our thoughts,” the minister said late last night. “New Zealanders in New Caledonia are urged to register on SafeTravel to receive direct messages from consular officials. “An in-person meeting was held for a large group of New Zealanders in Noumea yesterday [Thursday, May 16] and further meetings are taking place today,” a spokesperson said.

Producer Susan Leonard remembers her father Ernie, a pioneer of Māori television, and how his legacy lives on in Pathfinders. My father was a fabulous man. His name was Ernie Leonard and he started in TV in the 1970s when it was still glamorous – when TVNZ made behind the ...

Queenstown’s St Joseph’s School’s massive annual book fair’s on again this Sunday, but students were already warming up for it with their Book Character Dress Up Day last week. From left are Emilia Shaw, 10, Gabriel Armstrong, 7, Lottie Reid, 6, and Jerusha Kulasiri, 11. As the name suggests, there’ll be piles of second-hand books for sale at the fair, which runs at the school’s Beetham St campus from 10am till 2pm. The last three days of this school week involve a ‘book sort’ in which books are placed in their category, principal Alan Grant says. Beyond reading matter there’ll be food, baking and plant stalls, games, raffles, a chocolate wheel and a silent auction.

Warehouse Group chief executive Nick Grayston is stepping down, effective immediately. Photo / FileThe Warehouse chief executive Nick Grayston is stepping down immediately with the company saying fresh energy was needed for a change in direction. “Leading The Warehouse Group has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career. In announcing results for the half-year to January 28, The Warehouse Group said it would simplify more to focus on core brands. Total group sales were $1.633 billion, down 4.9 per cent on a year earlier.

Two people are due to appear in court after being caught allegedly drink-driving on Wednesday night. Senior Sergeant Anthony Bond, of Dunedin, said a 41-year-old man recorded a breath alcohol level of 400mcg at 8.05pm at a police checkpoint in Taieri Rd. He was on a zero-alcohol licence after a recent drinking conviction and so he would be summoned to court. A 55-year-old man who had also been drinking at home recorded a breath alcohol level of 489mcg about 8.30pm and he was also summoned to court. Earlier in the evening, a 73-year-old man was issued an infringement notice after recording a breath alcohol level of 381mcg at 7.45pm.

In the US, housing starts rose in April from March but are still lower than year-ago levels, and that year-ago standard is not high. Overnight European markets fell -0.7% except London which fell -0.1%. The Kiwi dollar starts today with a slight easing from yesterday at just on 61.2 USc. That all means our TWI-5 starts today just on 70.2 and little-changed from yesterday. The bitcoin price starts today at US$64,946 down a very minor -0.2% from this time yesterday.

Aotearoa’s dynamic indie agencies got together with media and industry partners at the Maritime Room in Auckland last night to promote collabs between media partners and Independent Media Agencies New Zealand members. At the event, IMANZ also announced indie agency legend and co-founder of MBM Sean McCready had been appointed as Executive Mentor to the newly formed IMANZ Leadership Team. McCready will mentor five senior leaders from IMANZ, with an eye to fostering a community of collaboration in areas such as training, compliance, technology, research, and networking. Energy and potentialKath Mitchell, IMANZ General Manager, says the event was testament to the energy and potential of the indie sector. “The talent, creativity and ambition in this slice of the industry is huge and our partners clearly recognise that.

Photo: UnsplashIn March, RNZ warned of a global shortage of olive oil and in turn, higher prices at the checkout. According to Foodstuffs, olive oil represents roughly 40 to 50 percent of New Zealand's total oil sales, making it a hugely popular grocery item. Locally produced olive oil only makes up about 10 percent of what is consumed in New Zealand, and while the price of New Zealand olive oil has not increased at nearly the same rate as what is produced overseas, it still does not come cheap. In addition, increasing labour and material costs across the horticulture industry means local olive oil production "is not a hugely profitable industry", Glover said. What you need to know about olive oilMany people do not know this, but olive oil does not have an infinite shelf life - it expires quite quickly.

First, the April US inflation rate brought no surprises, coming in as expected at 3.4%, a dip albeit a small one, from March's 3.5%. Their 'core' rate fell to 3.6%, also as expected. Yields on US benchmark bonds are falling in secondary markets, equity prices are rising in anticipation (and to record highs), and the US dollar is weakening as a risk-on mood envelopes markets today. Benchmark mortgage interest rates fell -bps to 7.08%, mortgage brokers report. The monthly inflation rate slowed for the fourth straight month to 8.8% in April from 11% in the previous month and below market forecasts of a 9% gain.

Prison art created by notorious double murderer Scott Watson will be exhibited at a Christchurch gallery this month - around the same time as he appears before the Parole Board for his next bid for freedom. While in prison, Watson has taken up painting and carving to occupy his time. On May 24 an exhibition will open at the Rei Gallery in Lyttleon featuring work Watson has completed. “As part of the WCCT kaupapa, a community collective has emerged, Te Whare o Rei (Rei Gallery). Art experts compared Watson’s art to work by Picasso and Colin McCahon, though not always favourably.

Then there was the inevitable announcement, the return of Charter Schools, at a cost of $153 million over four years. Charter schools will be the only schools that contract that and say ‘if you don’t do it, your funding is at risk and you may ultimately be closed down’.”The proposal is straight out of the Atlas Network playbook as exeplified by this editorial description of what educational choice involves. Strangely Charter schools will not have to abide by the cellphone ban or the requirement to teach an hour’s reading and writing and maths. The Ministry of Education concluded that the monitoring was inadequate and apart from two schools there was no independent evidence they were doing a better job than comparable state schools. This has not stopped Seynour from claiming that charter schools are the best thing since sliced bread.