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25 Feb 2025

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Foreign Minister Winston Peters to resume high-level political dialogue with China
His decades of interaction with China will be invaluable for talks with leaders that seem certain to include the issue of warships conducting live fire exercises off Australia.

What Warriors coach was ‘struggling’ with ahead of Las Vegas trip
Andrew Webster has grown more and more excited about what’s in store for his team this weekend, but ahead of leaving, he had one thing on his mind.

David Seymour wants to ‘decringe’ Avatar and force ‘socialist’ director James Cameron to use Kiwi actors in top roles
ACT leader wants to ‘de-cringe’ Avatar and force ‘socialist’ director to use Kiwi actors in top roles

Te Kahui Maunga welcomes Te Matatini as the gates open and the kapa haka festival begins
A powhiri of special significance signalled the start of Te Matatini o Te Kahui Maunga 2025 in New Plymouth on Monday but the competition starts today.

The massive methamphetamine shipment disguised as paper
Inside a shipping container, Customs officers found the first major drug importation out of South Africa to NZ via sea freight. Then they hatched a plan to catch the culprits.

Local retailers get ‘wake-up call’ with Kiwis spending more at Temu, Shein
New ecommerce data shows a 23% increase in Kiwi shoppers purchasing items from offshore retailers like Temu, Shein and Aliexpress.

'Monster' kicks, singing & plenty of tries - best of Six Nations round three
Watch the best moments from round three of the Six Nations, including a rousing choir in Cardiff, Fin Smith's "monster" kick for England and France's multiple tries against Italy.

New Mercedes a 'significant change', says Russell
George Russell says he is "optimistic" that Mercedes "can have a decent season" in 2025 as the team launch their new car.

Is Salah set for greatest individual Premier League season?
With Mohamed Salah top of the Premier League goal and assists charts this season, BBC Sport looks at how he compares to other great strikers and what records he could break.

The corruption ranking that could affect your mortgage
New Zealand has been "complacent" about its reputation for honesty and now it's on a downward slide in international perception.

Crusaders set to get Taylor, Ennor back after bye week
All Blacks pair could make their first appearances of the Super Rugby Pacific season after injuries when the Crusaders host the Reds.

How much might your house be worth by Christmas?
The Reserve Bank expects house prices to increase by 3.8% this year. Here’s what that means in dollar terms.

‘Gut-wrenching’: The aftermath of the Masterton church fires
The congregations of the Masterton parishes targeted by arson on Saturday showed their resilience and determination in the wake of the fires.

The compelling case for a tolled motorway connecting Wellington and wine country
There could be a straighter, flatter and faster alternative between Wellington and Wairarapa.

‘Joy and nourishment’ gone: Hidden impact of new school lunch programme
David Seymour’s new school lunches are saving money, but others say it’s coming at a significant cost to some communities.

Company has receiver appointed ahead of appearance in Environment Court
The application to have a receiver appointed was opposed by some shareholders who claimed it was a bid by the company’s directors to avoid disclosing financial information.

Gmail is killing SMS-based 2FA login codes in favor of this instead
With around 1.8 billion active users worldwide, Gmail remains the most popular email service by far. Google was also one of the first to pioneer and popularize two-factor authentication (2FA). You know those text messages with one-time numerical codes that you need to enter whenever you want to log in? Turns out, while 2FA itself is a great way to protect your online security, the SMS method for delivering codes is not. In fact, hackers can bypass SMS 2FA. And that’s why Google is changing up the Gmail login process. According to an exclusive report by Forbes, Gmail is dropping SMS-based two-factor authentication in the near future. In its place, we’ll be getting QR codes, which are significantly more secure than SMS codes. Ross Richendrfer, a Gmail spokesperson, told Forbes: “Just like we want to move past passwords with the use of things like passkeys, we want to move away from sending SMS messages for authentication.” This move is meant to curb the impact of rampant SMS 2FA abuse. While SMS codes are convenient, they can be spoofed by criminals who steal your SIM card or stolen via phishing tactics. They’re also at the mercy of your mobile service provider’s own security. The switch from SMS to QR codes makes sense given the security concerns surrounding SMS 2FA codes. In addition, it’s common for phishing attempts to not only aim to take over email accounts but also gain access to your entire smartphone. Unfortunately, Google hasn’t provided any specifics on how the new QR code logins will work. Presumably, Gmail will provide you with a QR code to scan using your phone or some other authentication app. We also don’t know exactly when the transition will take place. According to Google, they want to work on this “over the next few months.” Further reading: Simple tips to make Gmail even more secure