Sun, Sails, and Steel Guitars: Your Ultimate Guide to the 2026 Bay of Islands Country Rock Festival - If you’re planning a trip to the "Winterless North," there is no better way to see it than when the Bay of Islands Country Rock Festival is in full swing. The term "winterless" is a bit of a local secret, while the rest of New Zealand is starting to feel the first real bite of May , Northland stays famously mild. In May, you’re looking at…

Something has to give with New Zealand’s electricity market. And this week, the numbers arrived to prove it. The Big Four gentailers (Contact, Genesis, Meridian and Mercury) have just reported combined operating earnings of $1.86 billion for the six months to December 2025. That’s a jump of roughly 45% on the same period last year. Their combined dividend payouts rose 10% to $551 million. Meanwhile, the amount they actually invested in new…

Sinking without a trace. · According to the latest Taxpayers Union Curia poll, National has the support of just 28.4% of respondents. · Given that National are the leading party in the coalition government it is almost unbelievable that they could drop so low. · The leader of the party, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, is said to be stunned by the result. He was attending a meeting this morning (Friday 6^th^ March) where he was discussing his…

Friday’s Taxpayers’ Union-Curia poll was a political earthquake. National at 28.4%. Christopher Luxon’s net favourability in freefall. The centre-left, for the first time in this polling series, able to form a government on the numbers. Senior figures in the National Party reportedly told the Prime Minister to go home for the weekend and seriously consider whether he was the right person to lead them into November. · Luxon said he was…

The New Zealand First English Language Bill has passed its first reading in Parliament, marking an early legislative milestone for the party’s policy agenda this term. Party leader Winston Peters described the vote as a victory for “common sense,” saying the legislation would provide clarity around the status of English in New Zealand law. · “This bill provides clarity and certainty in legislation of the official status of the English language…

It has been one of those days in politics when everything accelerates. This morning I published a briefing warning that Christopher Luxon and National were in serious trouble after leaks of a dire Taxpayers’ Union-Curia poll. By lunchtime the numbers were official: National on 28.4 percent. By mid-afternoon the conversation had shifted from “if” Luxon might leave to “when and how”. I don’t normally publish two columns in a day. But when the…

On the heels of a significant rise in the latest Taxpayers’ Union-Curia poll—which now places the NZ Outdoors & Freedom Party (NZOFP) at 1.7%, the party has officially unveiled a cornerstone of its 2026 General Election platform: the ACC Justice & Accountability Statement. Launched today by NZOFP List Candidate and policy development lead Aly Cook, the two-pronged strategy is designed to fundamentally dismantle the "adversarial culture"…

We have been indoctrinated with the lie that CO2 is bad for the environment and that we need to reduce our emissions down to zero if we want to save the planet from burning up. This is the biggest lie of all and if by some chance we were ever able to get the emissions down to zero that would be the day that life on earth would stop. · Achieving zero emissions of CO2 would be the equivalent of finding a Unicorn. · Impossible; particularly in…

Is Prime Minister Christopher Luxon finally on the way out? A Taxpayers’ Union-Curia poll out today reportedly puts the National Party on only 28% support. And rightwing commentator Matthew Hooton says today in the Herald that the senior leadership of the party “need to set up a conference call amongst themselves this weekend” to start the process of replacing him. Hooton says that after Luxon’s extremely poor performance over the US-Iran War,…

Yesterday I found our Tamarillo tree leaves infested with microscopic mites who were busy sucking the life out of the plant. This morning I got up and found a massive invasion of ants had cleared up the mites. Problem solved. I never cease to marvel at the natural world. Trillions upon trillions of beings of all shapes, sizes and types integrated within an ecosystem of immeasurable beauty, diversity and balance, all following paths set by their…

Who said getting older means slowing down? · At Acacia Cove Village, retirement isn’t about winding down — it’s about opening up a new chapter filled with freedom, friendship, and fun. · With practically everything taken care of, residents enjoy more time to focus on what really matters: engaging in activities, socialising with neighbours, relaxing in beautifully maintained surroundings, and living life with a genuine resort-style feel. · …

It happens in a split second. · A crunch. · A scrape. · That sinking “Uh ohh…” feeling in your stomach. · Whether it’s a car park mishap or a serious collision, the stress can be overwhelming. But in Pukekohe, there’s one simple piece of advice: · Keep calm and call the experts. · For more than 30 years, Classic Auto Body Panel & Paint Ltd has been the trusted name in collision repair across Pukekohe and the greater Franklin region. What began…

Republican Congressman Thomas Massie has long fought to publicize the files related to the late pedophile · Congressman Thomas Massie (R-KY) at a House Committee on the Judiciary hearing, Washington, DC, February 11, 2026. © Getty Images / Nathan Posner/Anadolu · [RT] A Republican lawmaker has accused US President Donald Trump of attempting to distract the public from the Epstein scandal by embroiling the country in a…

David Lindfield · A migrant from the African nation of Eritrea who was once celebrated by German media as a “model migrant” is now accused of beheading and dismembering his wife, in a case that has shocked the country. · Authorities say 41-year-old Asmerom G. is the prime suspect in the killing of his wife, 31-year-old Weghata A., the mother of his infant daughter. · Investigators say parts of her body were found along a German…

This war might be about to get a lot uglier. · Andrew Korybko · Residents of the Iranian capital of Tehran awoke on Sunday to an apocalyptic scene after the US and Israel bombed Iran’s oil storage facilities. A sky-high flaming pillar emerged in the aftermath, toxic smoke clouded out the sun, and blackened rain fell on this city of around 10 million people. The environmental consequences alone could push Tehran to the breaking point after…

Hungary and Slovakia are the only EU nations standing up to the Kiev Godfather and truly representing Europeans’ interests · https://www.rt.com/op-ed/authors/tarik-cyril-amar/ ByTarik Cyril Amar, a historian from Germany working at Koç University, Istanbul, on Russia, Ukraine, and Eastern Europe, the history of World War II, the cultural Cold War, and the politics of memory https://www.rt.com/op-ed/authors/tarik-cyril-amar/ ·…

An exclusive interview on RT’s Sanchez Effect. · Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, joins us from Tehran under the missile barrage – with the sound of drones audible throughout the conversation. He describes the assassination of the Supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as a “heinous crime.” He said it’s not just a tragedy for Iran, but also for millions of Muslims around…

Iranian state TV confirms the Supreme Leader's death... as well as the deaths of his daughter, son-in-law, grandson, and daughter-in-law. · What comes the day after? This US-Israeli regime change action may have just opened pandora's box. · !Image Text · - US official confirms to Fox that US believes Khamenei and 5-10 top Iranian leaders killed in initial Israeli strike on compound; agree with Israel’s intelligence assessment. · - No U.S.…

Gold is being sold to meet margin calls, but a tweak to margin requirements is being seen by some as a signal for gold to be the pressure valve By Henry Johnston, a Moscow-based writer who worked in finance for over a decade https://www.rt.com/op-ed/authors/henry-johnston/ · ©  Getty Images/Oselote · [RT] The moment we all wondered about has come. Oil has surged past $100 per barrel and markets are coming under serious…

Trump called Britain "uncooperative," dismantled Lloyd's three-century grip on the Strait of Hormuz, and inherited a united Gulf alliance — all in 72 hours. This is what the end of empire looks like. · Susan Kokinda · In this Wednesday update, Susan Kokinda argues that President Trump has openly ruptured with the UK over Iran, base access, and broader British policies on energy and immigration, while treating Germany under…

Frank Bergman · The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is preparing to release another explosive batch of 47,635 additional documents connected to convicted child predator Jeffrey Epstein, adding to the millions of records already made public. · Officials say the new batch of files is expected to be released by the end of the week, raising expectations that more bombshell revelations about Epstein’s network could soon surface. · The…

Frank Bergman · A sworn declaration buried in the Trump administration’s recent release of millions of “Epstein Files” documents reveals that an FBI computer system hack resulted in the destruction of roughly 100 terabytes of Jeffrey Epstein-related data. · The September 2024 declaration from FBI agent Aaron Spivack states that a massive breach of the FBI’s New York Field Office (NYFO) systems on Super Bowl Sunday in 2023 led to the…

What was the godless imperial power in John's Revelation of the end of the world? · John Leake · John of Patmos, the author of the Book of Revelation, was a Jewish Christian who was probably from Galilee. Long identified as John the Apostle, modern scholars now believe he was a different man. Aramaic was his native language. but like John the Apostle, he wrote his contribution to the New Testament in Greek. · The Gospel of John is…

Key Markets report for Monday, 9 March 2026 · Alex Krainer · President Trump’s war of choice against Iran has focused the world’s attention on the strategic importance of the region, like nobody’s ever seen before. · Even casual consumers of the news flow knew that a large chunk of the global oil supply passes through the Strait of Hormuz and that any disruption to maritime traffic there would send the oil price soaring well into…

The Israeli army says it will target Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s successors amid the ongoing war in the Middle East · FILE PHOTO. ©  Global Look Press / David Silverman · [RT] The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has threatened to assassinate anyone who replaces the slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as Iran’s supreme leader. · Khamenei and several other senior Iranian officials were killed in the first wave of US‑Israeli airstrikes…

The Commission chief has used the Middle East escalation to question the global order and push for a more militarized security doctrine · European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. © Getty Images / Thierry Monasse · [RT] European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has failed to condemn the US-Israeli war on Iran, saying “there should be no tears shed for” Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who…

Authored by Thomas Brooke via Remix News, · Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has condemned remarks by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Budapest says amounted to a threat against Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. · Responding to comments made during a press briefing in Kyiv on Thursday, Szijjártó said the statement was “beyond every limit” and reflected what he described as “the kind of ‘culture’ coming from Kyiv.” · “This is the…

Zelensky remains recalcitrant towards Russia, is worried that a long war in Iran could give Russia an edge, and is therefore anxious to have EU aid replace US aid. · Andrew Korybko · Zelensky recently gave an interview to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera in which he spoke about the Third Gulf War, the Ukrainian Conflict, and his latest thoughts about security guarantees. Regarding the first, he shared his worries that a long war…

The Russian president’s comment comes as Kiev has halted oil supplies via the Druzhba pipeline, jeopardizing energy security in the bloc · ©  Sputnik/Kristina Solovyova · Russian President Vladimir Putin has likened the relationship between Ukraine and the European Union to “the tail wagging the dog,” saying that despite the aggressive behavior of the government in Kiev, Brussels keeps supporting it. · The Ukrainian…

Instead of challenging male power, the high-ranking ladies attach themselves to it like tradwives By Rachel Marsden, a columnist, political strategist, and host of independently produced talk-shows in French and English. https://www.rt.com/op-ed/authors/rachel-marsden/rachelmarsden.com · Women marching in St. Louis as part of women's liberation demonstration on 26 August, 1970 ©  Getty Images/Bettmann · International Women’s…

Doing so is a “legitimate tool” to make Kiev resume oil supplies through the Druzhba pipeline, the Slovak prime minister has said · FILE PHOTO: Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico. ©  Global Look Press / IMAGO · [RT] Bratislava is ready to block a planned EU loan for Ukraine if Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is voted out of office in the upcoming election, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has said. It would be a…

The 1979 oil shock wasn't a market event — it was engineered by the same imperial establishment now trying to pin an economic crisis on Trump. Barbara Boyd exposes the playbook and explains why unconditional surrender is the cure, not the cause. · Barbara Boyd argues that warnings of a 1979-style oil shock after President Trump’s call for Iran’s unconditional surrender are a manufactured panic pushed by the City of London’s…