China has staged mock missile strikes and dispatched fighter jets carrying live missiles as part of exercises Beijing says are to punish Taiwan's new president.
A former Shortland Street actor from Christchurch protesting New Zealand's response to the Gaza conflict says he is not convinced a meeting with government officials will change anything.
A daily passenger train linking Invercargill, Dunedin and Christchurch would also reconnect smaller urban centres along the route, a rail advocate says.
A boat-towing driver fully on the wrong side of the road was just one of several motorists caught crossing a highway centre line in Canterbury recently.
New Zealand must be prepared for the bird flu strain causing concern overseas, public health experts say, after Australia confirmed its first human case.