It is inevitable bird flu will come to New Zealand, given its presence in Australia, the biosecurity minister says.

A Canterbury fire chief believes the number of crashes at the Selwyn district’s intersections will increase.

Weather experts say Dunedin is fortunate today's king tide which swamped harbourside streets didn't happen during last week's heavy rain.

Residents around Kaikōura are in clean-up mode after torrential rain led the Kowhai River to burst its banks, causing widespread flooding across the district.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have shot a driver to death in Maine, less than a week after an ICE agent in Texas shot and killed a man in a traffic stop during a deportation crackdown there.

The US military has carried out a third consecutive night of strikes against Iran and two tankers came under fire in the Strait of Hormuz, after President Donald Trump said the US was reinstating its blockade of Iranian shipping in the Gulf and would ensure that the strategic waterway stayed open — for a fee.

National has slumped to its lowest level of support since Christopher Luxon became leader, while the fledgling Opportunity Party has surged to within a whisker of Parliament.