USA’s Alex Ferreira celebrates after winning the freestyle skiing men’s freeski halfpipe final during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games.

There were no medals for New Zealand at the men’s freeski halfpipe final, USA’s Alex Ferreira taking home the gold at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.

The final run ended with Ferreira in first place (93.75 points), Estonia’s Henry Sildaru (93.00) in second and Canada’s Brendan Mackay in third (91.00).

Canada’s Brendan Mackay reacts after competing in the freestyle skiing men’s freeski halfpipe final run 3 during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games.

New Zealand’s Ben Harrington was ninth.

Earlier Harrington had led the Kiwi contingent after a clean first run saw him sitting at ninth, dropping to 12th during the second run.

Making it to the finals was “an insane feeling”, he said.

“My biggest goal was just to come out and land some runs. I had knee surgery just over a year ago, so it was a mission to get back here but we did it.”

Fin Melville Ives fell during the second run, leaving him unconscious and stretchered off.

USA’s Nick Goepper came in fourth after he crashed on his final jump as he attempted a switch double cork misty flip – a never-before-done halfpipe trick – to land on the deck of the halfpipe.

“I have no regrets,” he said to the crowd. “I’m going to be 35 in four years,” as he looked ahead to another Olympic Games.

USA’s Birk Irving finished in fifth and Britain’s Gus Kenworthy in sixth.

New Zealand has so far secured three medals in this year’s Games.

On Thursday, Zoi Sadowski-Synnott became the world’s most decorated Olympic snowboarder with her silver-medal run in the women’s snowboard slopestyle event.

Luca Harrington brought home bronze at the men’s freestyle skiing slopestyle last week, after Sadowski-Synnott also claimed New Zealand’s first medal of the games, taking silver in the big air event.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

A long-running police investigation has exposed a syndicate operating a drug importation and distribution network through the dark web.

Operation Solana, led by the National Organised Crime Group, had been ongoing for the last nine months looking at the alleged importation and distribution of methamphetamine, cocaine, MDMA and ketamine.

It led to 16 search warrants being carried out across Auckland and Hamilton on Thursday and Friday.

Police arrested 11 people and seized drugs and cash.

Detective Senior Sergeant Jason Hunt, from the National Organised Crime Group, said police would allege the group used dark web markets, encrypted messaging applications, and cryptocurrency services to obscure their identities and financial flows.

The drugs were being sent to New Zealand from the United Kingdom, Europe and the USA.

Hunt said the investigation started after a local syndicate was found using anonymous online marketplaces to carry out illegal activities.

Customs and overseas law enforcement agencies from USA, Australian Border Force, and Europe seized in excess of 200 kilograms of these controlled drugs at their borders destined for this syndicate, Hunt said.

Approximately $500,000 in cash had been seized during the search warrants along with guns, including a 3D printed one.

Eleven people, aged between 24 and 42, were expected in the Auckland District Court and Hamilton District Court on Friday facing charges of importing, possessing and supplying class A, B and C drugs, unlawful possessions of firearms and participating in an organised criminal group.

“Offending on the dark web is not invisible,” Hunt said.

“Police are increasingly equipped to identify and dismantle criminal enterprises that believe they can hide behind technology and encryption.

“These arrests send a clear message: if you are importing or dealing drugs through the dark web, we will find you, and we will hold you to account.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

A long-running police investigation has exposed a syndicate operating a drug importation and distribution network through the dark web.

Operation Solana, led by the National Organised Crime Group, had been ongoing for the last nine months looking at the alleged importation and distribution of methamphetamine, cocaine, MDMA and ketamine.

It led to 16 search warrants being carried out across Auckland and Hamilton on Thursday and Friday.

Police arrested 11 people and seized drugs and cash.

Detective Senior Sergeant Jason Hunt, from the National Organised Crime Group, said police would allege the group used dark web markets, encrypted messaging applications, and cryptocurrency services to obscure their identities and financial flows.

The drugs were being sent to New Zealand from the United Kingdom, Europe and the USA.

Hunt said the investigation started after a local syndicate was found using anonymous online marketplaces to carry out illegal activities.

Customs and overseas law enforcement agencies from USA, Australian Border Force, and Europe seized in excess of 200 kilograms of these controlled drugs at their borders destined for this syndicate, Hunt said.

Approximately $500,000 in cash had been seized during the search warrants along with guns, including a 3D printed one.

Eleven people, aged between 24 and 42, were expected in the Auckland District Court and Hamilton District Court on Friday facing charges of importing, possessing and supplying class A, B and C drugs, unlawful possessions of firearms and participating in an organised criminal group.

“Offending on the dark web is not invisible,” Hunt said.

“Police are increasingly equipped to identify and dismantle criminal enterprises that believe they can hide behind technology and encryption.

“These arrests send a clear message: if you are importing or dealing drugs through the dark web, we will find you, and we will hold you to account.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

A long-running Police investigation has exposed a New Zealand syndicate operating a drug importation and country-wide distribution network through the dark web.

Operation Solana, led by the National Organised Crime Group, dialled in on the illegal activities over the past nine months, involving importing and distributing substances such as methamphetamine, cocaine, MDMA and ketamine.

Sixteen search warrants were executed across Auckland and Hamilton on Thursday and Friday.

Police have made 11 arrests and seized significant quantities of illicit drugs and cash.

Police will allege the group used dark web markets, encrypted messaging applications, and cryptocurrency services to obscure their identities and financial flows.

The drugs were being sent to New Zealand from the United Kingdom, Europe and the USA.

Detective Senior Sergeant Jason Hunt, from the National Organised Crime Group, says the operation began after enquiries identified a local syndicate using anonymous online marketplaces to carry out its illegal activities.

“We have established this group allegedly imported and distributed these controlled drugs across the country,” he says.

New Zealand Customs and overseas law enforcement agencies from USA, Australian Border Force, and Europe have seized in excess of 200 kilograms of these controlled drugs at their borders destined for this syndicate.

The warrants resulted in further seizures of methamphetamine, cocaine, MDMA and ketamine.

Approximately $500,000 in cash has been seized.

Three firearms were also seized, including a 3D printed firearm.

Eleven people, aged between 24 and 42, are expected in the Auckland District Court and Hamilton District Court today facing charges including:

– importation, possession and supplying class A, B and C controlled drugs
– unlawful possession of firearms
– participating in an organised criminal group

Operation Solana shows Police is growing a capability to detect and disrupt offending occurring out of sight, in online and anonymised environments, Detective Senior Sergeant Hunt says.

“Offending on the dark web is not invisible.

“Police are increasingly equipped to identify and dismantle criminal enterprises that believe they can hide behind technology and encryption.

“These arrests send a clear message: if you are importing or dealing drugs through the dark web, we will find you, and we will hold you to account.”

Police will continue to target individuals and networks seeking to exploit digital platforms for drug harm within New Zealand communities.

ENDS

Jarred Williamson/NZ Police

MIL OSI

HANOI, VIETNAM – Media OutReach Newswire – 19 February 2026 – Vietnam Airlines, the National Flag Carrier of Vietnam, signed an agreement to purchase 50 Boeing 737-8 narrow-body aircraft in Washington, D.C. (USA), in the presence of General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam To Lam and Vietnamese officials as part of his visit to the United States to attend the Board of Peace.

On the sidelines of the signing ceremony, the airline’s leadership also met with Boeing to discuss a subsequent plan to invest in 30 wide-body aircraft in the coming period, with an estimated total value of over USD 12 billion, in support of its international network development strategy.

This landmark agreement represents a cornerstone of Vietnam Airlines’ long-term fleet modernization strategy. The airline is scheduled to take delivery of the aircraft between 2030 and 2032, with the expansion expected to increase its total fleet to approximately 151 aircraft by 2030. The US$8.1 Billion (at 2025 catalog pricing) investment prioritizes the development of the narrow-body fleet to enhance network frequency, operational flexibility and cost efficiency, while strengthening competitiveness in the next phase of growth.

The Boeing 737-8 aircraft will primarily operate on domestic and regional Asian routes, supporting rising passenger demand and strengthening regional connectivity. Over the next five years, Vietnam Airlines targets sustained double-digit average annual growth across key operating indicators, in line with the robust expansion of Vietnam’s aviation market.

Dang Ngoc Hoa, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vietnam Airlines, said: “Vietnam Airlines is taking a comprehensive and forward-looking approach to strengthening its capabilities, spanning fleet modernization, financial resilience and the development of high quality talent, to support our long term growth ambitions. The investment in 50 Boeing 737-8 aircraft marks a significant step in building a modern, fuel efficient fleet while enhancing operational performance and elevating service standards to meet international benchmarks. This agreement also deepens the long standing strategic partnership between Vietnam Airlines and Boeing, creating a strong foundation for our ambition to become a five star international airline by 2030.”

Stephanie Pope, President and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said: “We are proud to build on our partnership with Vietnam Airlines and support them as they pair the 737 MAX with the 787 Dreamliner to further scale regional networks and strengthen connectivity across Asia. The 737‑8’s capabilities, economics and passenger experience make it an ideal airplane to support Vietnam Airlines’ growth plans.”

Boeing 737-8 is the fastest-selling airplane in Boeing’s history, recognized for its advanced design, operational reliability, and sustainability performance. With seating for up to 200 passengers and a range of up to 6,570 kilometers, the aircraft offers strong flexibility across short- and medium-haul networks.

Powered by CFM International LEAP-1B engines and incorporating an optimized aerodynamic design and advanced technology winglets, the 737 reduces fuel use and emissions by 20 percent compared to the airplanes it replaces. On average, each aircraft is expected to save up to 8 million pounds of CO₂ emissions annually, supporting the airline’s network expansion while lowering operating costs.

The Boeing Sky Interior further enhances the passenger experience, featuring larger pivoting bins, advanced LED lighting, larger windows, and a spacious cabin architecture that delivers a modern and comfortable flying experience.

Beyond fleet expansion, this investment underscores Vietnam Airlines’ long-term commitment to sustainable development, emissions reduction, and service excellence. With the addition of the 737-8, the airline is strengthening its operational capabilities and adherence to international safety and service standards.

To secure diversified funding sources, Vietnam Airlines in 2025 engaged in discussions with domestic banks and dominant U.S. financial institutions, including EXIM Bank and Citi, to arrange financing for strategic projects such as fleet investment.

Building on strengthened financial foundations and improving operational performance, Vietnam Airlines continues to expand its global footprint, including the recent launch of a record 14 new international routes. The introduction of the Boeing 737-8 will further enhance the airline’s capacity to capture growth in the Asia Pacific aviation market, expand connectivity and elevate service quality, as it advances toward its goal of becoming a five-star airline by 2030.

www.vietnamairlines.com

Hashtag: #VietnamAirlines #Boeing7378 #FleetExpansion #AviationIndustry #AirlineGrowth

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

Explainer – Depending on your tolerance, it’s the iconic sound of a Kiwi summer or a drill buzzing into your ears.

The seasonal serenade of cicadas kicks off as the weather warms and typically peaks sometime in February – but how and why do these insects make such a loud noise?

Here’s a primer on how New Zealand’s annual cicada season works.

Why do they make so much noise, anyway?

It all boils down to, they want some love.

Cicadas emerge from the ground – typically from December to March or so – to spend the rest of their brief lives trying to mate. The males make their distinctive buzz as they’re desperately seeking some sweet, sweet cicada loving.

“I love it,” said Julia Kasper, Te Papa’s lead curator of invertebrates. “It’s beautiful, it’s the sound of summer and still very exotic.”

“That’s basically the noise of a wedding. In summer all the adults are emerging from nymphs that live in the soil.”

Cicadas actually spend most of their lives underground. The New Zealand varieties typically live as nymphs for two to three years before shedding their final shells and emerging as adults.

In some parts of the world, what are called periodical cicadas can spend as long as 17 years underground, such as in the eastern United States where trillions of them can burst forth in a single season.

“It’s the males that sing, calling for the females, trying to be the loudest, the coolest, the best and getting, you know, the prettiest girl, and the girls are moving towards the males,” Kasper said.

Of course, not everyone adores the cicada’s call.

“Some people love the sound,” said Professor Grant Searchfield, head of the department of audiology at the University of Auckland.

“(For them it’s) ‘the sound of summer’ so it’s not bothersome at all, but some people may find the sound annoying or are more sensitive to sound.”

A cicada’s song can hit between more than 80 decibels, studies have found.

That’s within the range of “dangerous” sounds as defined by the American Academy of Audiology, which lists power tools, concerts and sporting events as hitting the same benchmarks, where damage can be caused with repeated exposure.

Airplanes can hit more than 120db during takeoff, while gun shots can reach over 150db – well within the range of causing hearing damage.

How does such a small insect make such a huge sound?

These plucky insects come with a built-in amplifier, a special organ called a tymbal.

“It’s amazing and we still know so little about it,” Kasper said.

The “tymbal organ sits in their thorax and it’s basically a drum,” Kasper said. “You can see it from the outside, it’s almost like it looks a bit like a window in their side.”

Many insects make noise by rubbing body parts together, such as crickets, but in the cicada’s case, the tymbal itself contracts and expands, pulling a ribbed membrane back and forth so quickly it can sound to humans like a continuous sound.

“It’s so complex it’s unbelievable,” Kasper said, noting that studies that use video to slow the movement down reveal how intricate the cicada’s song is – and humans may not even be capable of hearing some of the sounds.

Our ears may not always discern it, but every species of cicada also has a different song.

How many cicadas are there in New Zealand? Are they unique to here?

Cicadas are found all around the world, but there are at least 42 distinct species in New Zealand. There’s even a species endemic to Norfolk Island. The most common is the Amphipsalta zelandica, or the chorus cicada.

There’s one species that lives high up in the mountains of the South Island which is the only alpine cicada in the world. It can even freeze and go dormant, Kasper said.

Can some years be louder than others?

How big each year’s cicada eruption is depends on many factors.

“Every year is kind of different,” Kasper said. “The rainfall and the dryness and the humidity. Cicadas need moisture and warmth.

“If it’s too dry they can’t get out of the soil to emerge, and if there’s too heavy rain they’re probably washed off and drowned. It needs to be the right mixture.”

That means every year peak cicada noise might be at a different time.

Are they the loudest insects in the world?

Certain cicadas sure are.

If you’re getting sick of hearing them out on the deck this February, take a moment to be happy you’re not living in the habitat of the African cicada, Brevisana brevis, which can hit 106.7 decibels and has been officially named the world’s loudest insect by Guinness World Records.

Can cicadas actually damage your hearing?

“Potentially, but unlikely in reality,” Searchfield said.

“If the cicadas were close enough to the ear, and you couldn’t get rid of them – they were there for hours – it’s possible. But a cicada that close would normally be flicked away.”

“It is unlikely but not impossible that cicadas could cause hearing loss,” he said, but generally the sound is more irritating to some than dangerous.

Still, try to avoid sticking a cicada directly into your ear this time of year, although that’s really pretty good advice any time.

I’m not a fan. Is there anything to do to make them be quieter?

“I never thought of that question because they’re so lovely,” Kasper said.

Still, “I guess you could make your garden very bird-attractive because birds feed on them,” she suggested.

Searchfield said people should avoid turning to earplugs, as they can make you more sensitive to the sound.

“Close the doors and windows, and if you have air conditioning, turn it up – there are sound conditioners, used to drown out noisy city sounds, that could be used,” he said. “I’d suggest trying to think of them as your friendly reminder that the sun’s out.”

But as they say, if you’re particularly bothered by the cicada serenade, all things must pass and the season will end by March or so as the last heartsick male cicadas give up the ghost.

“They only live for two weeks or so (once they come up), they’re only there to mate, and that’s why they sing,” Kasper said.

Until next year, that is, when the buzzy sound of summer will kick off again.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

A law expert says it is ironic the coalition appears to have run out of time to put a four year Parliamentary term to a referendum.

The government has ditched a bill to put a longer electoral term to a binding referendum, citing time constraints and a desire to prioritise law and order policies.

University of Otago law professor Andrew Geddis said the proposal was basically dead now.

“Ironically, it’s dead because the government has run out of time which is the very thing that governments say they need more of and which is why they’re so keen to actually get a four year term if they can get the public to agree to it.”

The select committee that considered the bill had recommended it progress to second reading without the ACT Party’s proviso a longer term came with greater checks and balances on the government of the day.

New Zealand and Australia are outliers in having three-year parliamentary terms; four or five year terms are far more common.

The arguments for a longer term include that there three years is too short for a government to accomplish its goals, with the first year settling in and the third year all about gearing up for another campaign.

Those wary of allowing longer terms argue New Zealand lacks certain checks and balances on government power other countries have, such as a supreme court that can strike down legislation or an upper house like the Senate in Australia and the United States or Britain’s House of Lords.

Geddis said MPs clearly had concerns about the uncertainty the legislation might bring.

“The original legislative proposal, which was an ACT Party move, was that four year terms would only happen if the government agreed to give opposition parties control [of] the select committee and that would be written into the legislation.

“The worry about that was you never actually knew whether you’d have a three year or four year parliamentary term until the government made the decision as to whether to let opposition have select committee power.

“Putting that into the legislation itself could create future uncertainty down the track. So the select committee said it would be better to have a simple vote on whether to have a three year term or four year term with no extra complications put into the legislation.”

Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said a four year term was something a future government might look at.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

A Wanaka-based adventure consultant says she agrees that anyone wanting to climb Mount Everest should have previously summited a 7000 metre high mountain at least once.

Nepal’s government is considering the new rule that would require climbers to have previously summited a 7000m high mountain in Nepal before attempting Everest which is 8848m high.

New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first people known to reach Everest’s summit in 1953.

But recently the mountain has been been in the spotlight over increasing pollution with discarded climbing gear, tents, oxygen canisters and human waste.

And the traffic jams with climbers literally nose to tail at dangerous pinch points as more people attempt Everest.

Wanaka-based Adventure Consultants takes climbers up Everest and its general manager Caroline Ogle said they had strict rules around who they took to Everest but there was a real mix of people on the mountain.

She said there were some operators, such as hers, which had been on the mountain for many years and ran well-resourced expeditions ensuring that only experienced climbers came onto Everest.

“Unfortunately there are a lot of teams that are a) quite large in size and b) their climbers don’t have necessary experience before heading onto the mountain and those factors combined can mean that people do get into trouble and that’s what you end up seeing in the headlines.”

Adventure Consultants advised anyone who wanted to climb Everest to follow a programme which started with a mountaineering course and to ensure they had a lot of climbing experience either in New Zealand, the European mountains or in the United States, she said.

“So building up experience on multiple 6000 to 7000m peaks and ideally another 8000m peak before going on to Everest.”

But often the climbers do not want to put in the preparation, she said.

“And we often see them turning up on other climbing teams who are just happy to accept their money for a place on their expeditions.”

A lot of people including influencers have been documenting their Everest trips on social media in the last few years with some willing to put in the work and some less so, she said.

Ogle said she agreed that climbers wanting to take on Everest should have climbed a 7000 metre peak at least once.

“But the key caveat here is the proposed regulations require climbers to have climbed that 7000m peak in Nepal, where as lots of climbers who are already on their Everest pathways, they may have climbed a 7000m peak in South America or Kyrgyzstan or even 7000m peaks in Tibet or Pakistan – but under these proposed regulations those would not be applicable.”

That requirement could set back climbers who were wanting to take on Everest and had already climbed a 7000m peak, but just not in Nepal, she said.

“Summiting Everest (is) definitely not a walk in the park, it’s an extremely serious and dangerous mountain and you need to have experience before doing that.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Dairy prices rose again at the global dairy trade auction overnight – continuing a reversal of last year’s downward swing and raising questions about whether a $10 milk payout could be back on the table.

The average price rose 3.6 percent to US$4028 a tonne – it follows the 6.7 percent rise a fortnight ago, and is the fourth consecutive increase of the year.

Rabobank Dairy Analyst Emma Higgins said it was a “very good result” for New Zealand dairy farmers, with meaningful gains across key products.

The price of wholemilk powder, which strongly affects farmer payouts, rose 2.5 percent to US$3706 a tonne.

Prices for other products were mostly stronger, including a sharp increase in butter which rose over 10 percent.

“Overall, the event reinforced a couple of things. First is that there is improving demand sentiment across the dairy complex,” Higgins said.

“With current current dairy commodity prices where they are, the question begs whether we’ll start to see an increase in the farmgate milk price forecast for the 2025/26 season.”

Higgins was cautiously optimistic, adding there was still a lot of milk available on the global market at the moment.

“We’ve had some incredibly strong growth in the European Union, particularly driven from Ireland, France and Poland. And then if we think about the United States, we’ve seen consistently strong milk production for the majority of 2025.

“That was the reason that we saw weaker commodity prices at the back half of last year. It was the reason that we saw farmgate milk prices slashed by Christmas time.

“Now we’ve got the situation where demand is starting to improve, and at the same time, we’re starting to see perhaps some signals as we move through 2026 that supply environment will start to tighten up.”

She said current market dynamics would suggest there was support for lifting the current milk price forecast from where it sits at that midpoint range of $9, up to somewhere around the $9.50 per kilogram of milk solid mark.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Infant formula maker A2 Milk showed a solid lift in first half profit on the back of double digit growth in sales allowing an increase in dividend.

Key numbers for the six months ended December compared with a year ago:

• Net profit $112.1m vs $102.5m
• Revenue $993.5m vs $836.5m
• Operating earnings $155m vs $130.9m
• Net cash $896.9m vs $1.01b
• Interim dividend 11.5 cents per share vs 8.5 cps
• Forecast mid-teens revenue growth, increased full year profit

Sales of infant milk formula (IMF) to China led an overall near 19 percent rise in revenue, boosted by its acquisition of a manufacturing plant at Pokeno, and further improvement in the fledgling US market.

“We continue to execute our growth strategy with a focus on maximising opportunities in China infant milk formula, adjacent categories and new markets,” chief executive David Bortolussi said.

“Infant milk formula remains central to our growth strategy and continues to outperform the China market, delivering 13.6 percent year-on-year revenue growth.”

Bortolussi said English label IMF sales were significantly stronger through on-line retail platforms, while there had been a stabilisation of the once important daigou channels – sales by third parties of A2 IMF.

Fresh milk sales improved in Australia and the United States, while the company looked to diversify with new nutritional products.

“Recently launched kids and seniors nutrition products have accelerated our growth in other nutritionals, strengthening our position in these growing and exciting categories.”

Bortolussi said the US operation was close to break even after posting initial big losses and the company hoped to get approval from the Food and Drug Administration to sell infant formula in the US.

He said the Pokeno manufacturing plant acquired last year was securing and diversifying its supply chain last year, and the company was shifting more production to the plant from Synlait Milk’s Canterbury plant.

Bigger sales and profits

Looking forward A2 expected double digit revenue growth, with a full year profit ahead of last year’s $202.9m.

“Our upgraded outlook means we are now on track to achieve our $2 billion medium term sales ambition in FY26, a full year ahead of plan,” Bortolussi said.

The company increased its interim dividend and reaffirmed plans for a $300m special dividend from its $897m cash holdings.

Forsyth Barr senior analyst Matt Montgomerie said the result was strong and better than analysts had been expecting, and noted the company had a track record of exceeding it forecasts.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

MIL OSI

New Zealand has signed the global Call-to-Action on Undetectable = Untransmittable (U=U), sending a strong signal of our commitment to ending HIV transmission and ensuring people living with HIV can lead healthy lives free from stigma and discrimination, Associate Health Minister Matt Doocey says.

“U=U is a clear, evidence-based principle that when someone living with HIV is on effective treatment and maintains an undetectable viral load, they cannot transmit HIV sexually,” Mr Doocey says.

“By signing this Call-to-Action, we are reinforcing U=U as a core part of New Zealand’s HIV response. Increasing awareness helps reduce stigma, encourages testing, supports earlier access to treatment, and strengthens prevention and long-term health outcomes.”

The Call-to-Action encourages countries to embed U=U within HIV guidelines and strategies, improve equitable access to testing and treatment, support community-led initiatives, and strengthen public understanding.

“Endorsing U=U aligns with New Zealand’s National HIV Action Plan, which sets out our goal of eliminating local HIV transmission by 2030 and addressing HIV-related stigma and discrimination.

“While treatment uptake and viral suppression rates are strong, it is clear stigma remains a significant barrier for many people. This commitment sends a clear message that discrimination has no place in New Zealand.”

Mr Doocey acknowledged the many advocates, community organisations and people with lived experience of HIV who have long called for New Zealand to formally endorse U=U.

“This milestone reflects years of dedicated advocacy and leadership from communities most affected by HIV. We thank those with lived experience who have shared their stories and challenged stigma. These voices have been instrumental in driving change.”

New Zealand is the fifth country to join the Call-to-Action. In addition, more than 1,100 organisations across 106 countries have signed on to share the U=U message with their communities.

This builds on the significant progress that has been made in recent years, including reductions in locally acquired HIV infections, increased uptake of combination prevention measures, and expanded testing options.

 Notes to editor:

• New Zealand joins Canada, the United States, Vietnam and Australia in signing the Call‑to-Action.
• The move is supported by findings from the latest HIV Monitoring Report, which highlighted ongoing progress in New Zealand’s HIV response. This included 98.5% of people diagnosed with HIV on treatment, and 91.7% achieving viral suppression.

MIL OSI

New Zealand SailGP

4pm Saturday, 14 February

11.30am Sunday, 15 February*

Wynyard Point, Auckland

Live updates on RNZ

*Start time has been change for the weather

Amid considerable fanfare, SailGP has returned to Auckland, building on a wildly successful – not for the home team though – debut in 2025.

The wait for availability of the Wynyard Point site proved well worthwhile, when spectators crammed the giant grandstand on the waterfront to watch Australia claim honours last year – and organisers promise bigger and better this time round.

Here’s what you should know about the professional sailing event.

History

Sail Grand Prix was created in 2018 by billionaire Larry Ellison and Kiwi sailing legend Sir Russell Coutts, loosely based on the America’s Cup, where both its founders originated from.

Unlike the ‘Auld Mug’, this format was designed for high-speed racing in identical F50 catamarans around spectator-friendly courses near the shoreline.

Many of the crews are also involved in the America’s Cup, so this event enables them to remain fully professional sailors between four-year cycles, albeit in a different class of boat.

The fleet began with just six teams, but has since doubled in size, with the addition of Brazil and Italy last year, before adding Sweden as the 13th entry for 2026.

Guided by Tom Slingsby, Australia have dominated the league, winning the first three editions and finishing runners-up in the last two. Spain were 2023/24 champions, while Great Britain triumphed in 2024/25.

Another feature of the competition is known as the ‘Impact League’, which rewards teams for promoting sustainability and inclusivity within their organisations. Winning teams receive prizemoney to donate to charities and New Zealand took 2021/22 honours.

Format

Each regatta takes place over a series of tightly contested fleet races (up to seven) across two days, with teams gaining points based on their placings and the top three qualifying for the final at the end of the weekend.

Overall results from each stopover count towards season rankings, with the top three again qualifying for the series final.

Black Foils

New Zealand did not contest the inaugural SailGP series, but joined the fleet in 2020, under the leadership of America’s Cup supremo Peter Burling and sidekick Blair Tuke.

Their distinctive boat Amokura was launched the following year and has suffered several accidents since.

In 2023, its mast was struck by lightning in Singapore, as it was being towed back to base, frying its electrical systems. The NZ crew were already ashore, collecting their winners’ prize, but Danish grinder Martin Kirketerp – who was helping return the boat to port – was taken to hospital with an electric shock.

Later that same season, Amokura’s wing collapsed while racing at Saint-Tropez. No-one was hurt, but the damage was too serious to continue racing and repairs could not be carried out before the next round at Taranto, Italy.

In March 2024, the NZ team announced their ‘Black Foils’ nickname, aligning with other famous Kiwi sporting outfits.

Burling and Tuke have won Olympic and world championship gold, won and defended the America’s Cup and sailed around the world (separately), but SailGP success has eluded them. They finished second in 2022/23 and third the last two years.

Form

The 2026 series has had only one stop so far, at Perth, with the defending champion British team picking up where they left off last year, heading off Australia and France in the event final.

Sweden won two of the seven preliminary races, but finished last in the seventh to place fourth, while Canada also showed their ability with victory in the last race.

New Zealand were off to the worst-possible start to their campaign, damaging their stern in a collision with Switzerland during the opening race and, while the Swiss were able to return to the water on the second day, the Kiwis were shorebound for the rest of the weekend and faced some time pressure to repair their board for the Auckland leg.

They are now at the bottom of the table with no points, alongside Switzerland and Spain, who also suffered malfunctions off Perth.

New Zealand SailGP

New Zealand was originally included on the 2021/22 championship schedule, with Lyttelton Harbour, Christchurch, as the venue on an alternating arrangement with Auckland’s Wynyard Point.

Covid-19 delayed the NZ stopover until 2023, with Christchurch hosting the very successful event, and it returned there the following year, when the Auckland waterfront site was unavailable.

This time, racing was not possible on the opening day, due to dolphins on the course, and Coutts vowed not to use the venue again.

Instead, Auckland staged the 2025 event, fully justifying the decision to develop Wynyard Point, with a grandstand that is expected to hold more than 10,000 spectators and break the SailGP attendance record, along with unticketed viewing along the shoreline.

Kiwi Phil Robertson skippered Canada to victory at the inaugural 2023 NZ SailGP, Burling steered the Kiwis home in 2024, but the Black Foils struck electrical problems at Auckland, with the Aussies dominating the weekend.

Teams

Australia: Tom Slingsby (driver), Tash Bryant (strategist), Nina Curtis (strategist), Iain Jensen (wing trimmer), Kinley Fowler (flight controller/grinder), Sam Newton (grinder), Jason Waterhouse (flight controller/tactician), Tom Needham (reserve)

Brazil: Martine Grael (driver), Marco Grael (grinder), Mateus Isaac (grinder), Rasmus Kostner (flight controller), Pietro Sibello (wing trimmer), Paul Goodison (strategist), Richard Mason (reserve), Breno Kneipp (grinder)

Canada: Giles Scott (driver), Billy Gooderham (flight controller), Paul Campbell-James (wing trimmer), Annie Haeger (strategist), Georgia Lewin-LaFrance (strategist), Tom Ramshaw (grinder), Tim Hornsby (grinder/technical director), Alex Sinclair (grinder)

Denmark: Nicolai Sehested (driver), Tom Johnson (wing trimmer), Ed Powys (flight controller), Anee-Marie Rindom (strategist), Hans-Christian Rosendahl (grinder), Luke Payne (grinder), Kahena Kunze (strategist)

France: Quentin Delapierre (driver), Manon Audinet (strategist), Leigh McMillan (wing trimmer), Jason Saunders (flight controller), Olivier Herledant (grinder), Bruno Mourniac (grinder), Timothy Lapauw (grinder), Enzo Balanger (reserve), Amelie Riou (reserve)

Germany: Erik Kosegarten-Heil (driver), Kevin Peponnet (wing trimmer), James Wierzbowski (flight controller), Anna Barth (strategist), Will Tiller (grinder), Linov Scheel (grinder)

Great Britain: Dylan Fletcher (driver), Hannah Mills (strategist), Stuart Bithell (wing trimmer), Luke Parkinson (flight controller),, Nick Hutton (trimmer/grinder), Neil Hunter (grinder), Kai Hockley (development), Ben Cornish (reserve), Ellie Aldridge (development)

Italy: Phil Robertson (driver), Ruggero Tita (alternate driver), Kyle Langford (wing trimmer), Andrea Tesei (flight controller), Will Ryan (grinder), Enrico Voltolini (grinder), Jana Germani (strategist), Maelle Frascari (strategist), Jimmy Spithill (reserve driver)

New Zealand: Peter Burling (driver), Blair Tuke (wing trimmer), Leo Takahashi (flight controller), Liv Mackay (strategist), Louis Sinclair (grinder), Marcus Hansen (grinder)

Spain: Diego Botin (driver), Florian Trittel (wing trimmer), Joel Rodriguez (flight controller), Nicolle van der Velden (strategist), Joan Cardona (tactician/grinder), Bernard Freitas (grinder), Matthew Barber (grinder)

Sweden: Nathan Outteridge (driver), Julia Gross (strategist), Chris Draper (wing trimmer), Any Maloney (flight controller), Brad Farrand (wing trimmer), Julius Hallstrom (grinder)

Switzerland: Sebastian Schneiter (driver), Arnaud Psarofaghis (wing trimmer), Bryan Mattraux (flight controller), Stewart Dodson (grinder), Arno de Planta (reserve), Maud Jayet (strategist), Matt Gotrel (grinder)

USA: Taylor Canfield (driver), Michael Menninger (wing trimmer), Hans Henken (flight controller), Andrew Campbell (strategist), Anna Weis (grinder), Peter Kinney (grinder), Mac Agnese (grinder), Harry Melges IV (reserve)

Weather

In a case of imperfect timing, New Zealand’s North Island – including Auckland – is under storm warning this weekend, which has already forced a couple of changes to event scheduling.

Friday practice racing was cancelled, with only New Zealand, Spain and Germany allowed out on the water to test their recent modifications before racing begins in earnest.

In anticipation of worsening conditions on Sunday afternoon, the second day’s racing has been brought forward to 11.30am.

Everyone is talking glowingly of great sailing conditions, but maybe not so great for spectators.

Asked about the expected big winds, Auckland-born Italy driver Phil Robertson replied: “You wet your pants a little and you move on.”

Where to watch

Organisers have increased the size of the already impressive Wynyard Point grandstand by 30 percent to more than 10,000 seats. Boats will whistle past so close, you can almost reach out and touch them.

Other vantage points around the harbour include any of the wharves as far as Bledisloe Wharf on the city side, Westhaven Marina and Stanley Point on the North Shore.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

MIL OSI

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn., Feb. 12, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — NOVONIX Limited (NASDAQ: NVX, ASX: NVX) (“NOVONIX” or the “Company”), today acknowledged the U.S. Department of Commerce’s (“Commerce”) final determinations in the antidumping and countervailing duty investigations covering anode active materials (“AAM”) imported into the U.S. from China. The total amount of the tariffs applicable to AAM imported from China will be at least 160%, subject to a final affirmative determination by the U.S. International Trade Commission (“ITC”) that the U.S. AAM industry has been materially impeded because of Chinese AAM imports. The ITC’s final determination is expected in March 2026.

Highlights
Subject to the ITC’s final determination on material impediment:

• An antidumping duty of 93.5% will be imposed on AAM imports from China from specified companies and a duty of 102.72% will be imposed China-wide on all other exporters
• A countervailing duty of 66.82% to 66.86% will be imposed on all AAM imports from China producers
• These duties will remain in effect unless revoked and will be reviewed every five years

“These determinations represent a meaningful step toward restoring fair competition in the U.S. anode materials market,” said Mike O’Kronley, CEO of NOVONIX. “By addressing longstanding trade distortions, these measures strengthen the foundation for domestic production of critical battery materials, accelerate investment in U.S. manufacturing, and support the creation of high-quality advanced manufacturing jobs. We believe this materially enhances NOVONIX’s competitive position as we continue scaling synthetic graphite production in North America.”

The duties apply broadly to anode-graphite materials, as defined by Commerce, including synthetic and natural graphite products, whether coated or uncoated, and blended materials used in lithium-ion battery applications.

The previously imposed 25% tariff under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 and 20% tariff under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA”) on AAM imports from China remain in effect. The legal validity of the IEEPA tariffs is currently under review by the U.S. Supreme Court.

NOVONIX supports the transparent and rules-based enforcement of U.S. trade laws and believes these determinations represent an important step in promoting fair competition, strengthening domestic battery supply chains, and encouraging long-term capital investment in advanced manufacturing in the United States.

With the most advanced synthetic graphite production capability in North America, NOVONIX is strategically positioned to support customers seeking secure, domestically produced anode materials. The Company continues to execute on its strategy to expand high-performance synthetic graphite production in the United States, reinforcing supply chain resilience, U.S. energy security, and long-term manufacturing competitiveness.

Additional information regarding the determinations is available through the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Enforcement and Compliance records.

This announcement has been authorized for release by NOVONIX Chairman,
Mr. Ron Edmonds.

About NOVONIX
NOVONIX strives to reduce supply chain risk, support U.S. energy independence, and establish a resilient battery materials supply chain. The company is building a North American platform for critical battery materials—anchored by its Chattanooga, Tennessee headquarters and anode materials operations, expanding through its patented all-dry, precursor-free cathode synthesis technology, and supported by industry-leading battery cell testing and R&D services.
Together, these capabilities position NOVONIX as an integrated supplier of advanced battery materials and technologies powering the energy storage and electrification economy.

To learn more, visit us at www.novonixgroup.com or on LinkedIn and X.

For NOVONIX Limited
Investors: ir@novonixgroup.com
Media: media@novonixgroup.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This communication contains forward-looking statements about the Company and the industry in which it operates. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by use of words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “will,” or “would,” or other similar expressions. Examples of forward-looking statements in this communication include, among others, statements made regarding the creation and development of new technology, anticipated production capacity at its facilities, anticipated customer demand, the impacts of economic uncertainty, tariffs, and other legislation on our timely achievement of targets and customer milestones, our ability to obtain or maintain and benefit from additional government funding and other support, our expectations of the benefit of the antidumping and countervailing duty determinations, tariffs imposed on China and other countries, improving and growing battery testing equipment and research and development services business, continued investment in and efforts to commercialize the cathode synthesis technology, and efforts to help localize the battery supply chain for critical materials and play a leading role in the transition to cleaner energy solutions.

The Company has based such statements on current expectations and projections about future events and trends that it believes may affect its financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. Such forward-looking statements involve and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, the timely deployment and scaling of its furnace technology, ability to meet the technical specifications and demand of existing and future customers, the accuracy of estimates regarding market size, expenses, future revenue, capital requirements, needs and access for additional financing, the availability and impact and compliance with the applicable terms of government funding and other support, ability to obtain patent rights effective to protect its technologies and processes and successfully defend any challenges to such rights and prevent others from commercializing such technologies and processes, and regulatory and economic developments in the United States, Australia, and other jurisdictions. These and other factors that could affect its business and results are included in its filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including the Company’s most recent annual report on Form 20-F. Copies of these filings may be obtained by visiting the Company’s Investor Relations website at www.novonixgroup.com or the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or outcomes, and actual performance and outcomes may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward-looking statements contained in this communication. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement in this communication is based only on information currently available to us and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as required by law.

– Published by The MIL Network

HANOI, VIETNAM – Media OutReach Newswire – 12 February 2026 – Vingroup and Vinhomes have been recognized by TIME (USA) in the ranking of ASIA-PACIFIC’S BEST COMPANIES OF 2026, placing both companies among the Top 500 enterprises in the region.The simultaneous presence of Vingroup and Vinhomes with impressive rankings in TIME’s prestigious list not only affirms the global scale and stature of their ecosystem, but also underscores the growing influence of Vietnam’s economy on the international stage.

This year’s ranking honors 500 outstanding companies that are elevating the Asia-Pacific region’s role on the global economic map under the title ASIA-PACIFIC’S BEST COMPANIES OF 2026. Vingroup achieved a total score of 89.68, ranking 57th. Vinhomes ranked 352nd with a score of 80.69.

The results are based on a rigorous and transparent evaluation process conducted by TIME in collaboration with Statista. The assessment draws on comprehensive data collection and in-depth analysis across three key criteria: Financial Performance, Sustainability Transparency (ESG), and Employee Satisfaction.

Under the Financial Performance criterion, Vingroup received high recognition from TIME, recording consolidated net revenue of VND 332.77 trillion in 2025, up 76% year-on-year, the highest in the Group’s history. This exceptional performance was driven by the simultaneous launch of large-scale real estate mega-projects nationwide, alongside strong breakthroughs in its technology and industrial segments.

Vinhomes reported consolidated net revenue of VND 154.102 trillion in 2025. Its total consolidated net revenue (adjusted) reached VND 183.923 trillion, while consolidated profit after tax amounted to VND 42.111 trillion, representing year-on-year increases of 30% and 20%, respectively, compared to 2024. These figures not only exceeded business targets but also set new records, securing Vinhomes’ place among the region’s most prestigious Top 500 companies.

Under Sustainability Transparency (ESG), Vingroup continued to demonstrate meaningful contributions across environmental, governance, and social dimensions. ESG principles are integrated across all of the Group’s operations, from advancing green industrial development and building a comprehensive electric vehicle ecosystem centered on VinFast, to developing Vinhomes’ large-scale urban projects based on sustainable planning standards from inception.

A standout example is Vinhomes’ mega-project, Vinhomes Green Paradise, located in Can Gio. The project aims to achieve international certifications including BREEAM Communities and ISO 37122. Beyond merely adhering to global standards, Vinhomes Green Paradise pioneers an upgraded ESG++ urban model built upon five pillars: Environment – Social – Governance – Regeneration – Climate Change Adaptation. This ESG++ framework is set to become the benchmark for all future Vinhomes developments.

With a forward-looking vision, Vinhomes Green Paradise has also become the first Official Participant in the “7 Wonders of Future Cities” campaign initiated by New7Wonders, affirming its global aspiration in shaping a model city of the future.

Under the Employee Satisfaction criterion, Vingroup ranked 55th globally, while Vinhomes placed 335th, reflecting a dynamic working environment that fosters creativity, dedication, and continuous personal development.

In Vietnam, Vingroup and Vinhomes have consistently led national rankings of “Best Workplaces” announced by independent organizations, reinforcing their human capital strategy as a core foundation for sustainable, long-term growth.

This marks the third consecutive year that Vingroup and its subsidiaries have been honored by TIME in prestigious global rankings. Previously, VinFast was named among the world’s Most Influential Companies 2024 and included in ASIA-PACIFIC’S BEST COMPANIES OF 2025. Also in 2025, Vingroup became the first and only Vietnamese company to be honored among the World’s Best Companies 2025.

The continued recognition of Vingroup and its ecosystem companies by TIME underscores the rising strength and expanding global influence of Vietnamese enterprises.

TIME, headquartered in New York, USA, is one of the world’s most respected publications, with a history spanning 103 years and a broad international presence. Its annual rankings are widely regarded for their objectivity, rigorous evaluation methodology, and comprehensive criteria, earning strong credibility within the global business community.

Hashtag: #Vingroup #Vinhomes

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

The remaining two fixtures of the Pacific Four Series have been revealed by hosts USA Rugby, with the Black Ferns playing matches in Sacramento and Kansas City.

The Black Ferns’ schedule will start against the US at Heart Health Park on Sunday, 12 April at 11.00am NZT.

Kansas City will then host the Black Ferns clash with Canada on Saturday, 18 April at 10:15am NZT.

The Black Ferns last played the US last year in Auckland with the hosts winning 79-14 on their way to winning the Pacific Four Title.

Canada beat the Black Ferns 34-19 in last year’s World Cup semi-finals, with the two teams drawing 27-27 in the 2025 Pacific Four series.

New Zealand Rugby general manager of professional rugby and performance Chris Lendrum said it’s a great opportunity for the Black Ferns to showcase their talent in front of new audiences.

“The United States is an important market for rugby, as we build toward the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2033.

“The Pacific Four Series is a chance for the Black Ferns to inspire and connect with other sports fans, through fast-paced, dynamic and entertaining rugby.”

USA Rugby boss Bill Goren said he was excited to bring the world-class tournament and teams to the US fanbase.

“With the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2033 now one year closer, these multi-match events act as building blocks towards our goal of record success in 2033.

“Last year was a historic year for women’s rugby, we’re ready to continue that momentum this spring with a strong collective of host cities, partners and players.”

The Black Ferns will end their Pacific Four Series run when they meet the Wallaroos in a historic match at Sunshine Coast Stadium on Anzac Day as previously announced.

Black Ferns Pacific Four Series 2026 Schedule:

Black Ferns v USA

Saturday, April 11, 4.00pm PT (Sunday, April 12, 11.00am NZT) kick-off

Heart Health Park, Sacramento, California

–

Black Ferns v Canada

Friday, April 17, 5.15pm CT (Saturday, April 18, 10.15am NZT) kick-off

CPKC Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

–

Black Ferns v Australia

Saturday, April 25, 7.45pm AEST (9.45pm NZT) kick-off

Sunshine Coast Stadium

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

The remaining two fixtures of the Pacific Four Series have been revealed by hosts USA Rugby, with the Black Ferns playing matches in Sacramento and Kansas City.

The Black Ferns’ schedule will start against the US at Heart Health Park on Sunday, 12 April at 11.00am NZT.

Kansas City will then host the Black Ferns clash with Canada on Saturday, 18 April at 10:15am NZT.

The Black Ferns last played the US last year in Auckland with the hosts winning 79-14 on their way to winning the Pacific Four Title.

Canada beat the Black Ferns 34-19 in last year’s World Cup semi-finals, with the two teams drawing 27-27 in the 2025 Pacific Four series.

New Zealand Rugby general manager of professional rugby and performance Chris Lendrum said it’s a great opportunity for the Black Ferns to showcase their talent in front of new audiences.

“The United States is an important market for rugby, as we build toward the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2033.

“The Pacific Four Series is a chance for the Black Ferns to inspire and connect with other sports fans, through fast-paced, dynamic and entertaining rugby.”

USA Rugby boss Bill Goren said he was excited to bring the world-class tournament and teams to the US fanbase.

“With the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2033 now one year closer, these multi-match events act as building blocks towards our goal of record success in 2033.

“Last year was a historic year for women’s rugby, we’re ready to continue that momentum this spring with a strong collective of host cities, partners and players.”

The Black Ferns will end their Pacific Four Series run when they meet the Wallaroos in a historic match at Sunshine Coast Stadium on Anzac Day as previously announced.

Black Ferns Pacific Four Series 2026 Schedule:

Black Ferns v USA

Saturday, April 11, 4.00pm PT (Sunday, April 12, 11.00am NZT) kick-off

Heart Health Park, Sacramento, California

Black Ferns v Canada

Friday, April 17, 5.15pm CT (Saturday, April 18, 10.15am NZT) kick-off

CPKC Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Black Ferns v Australia

Saturday, April 25, 7.45pm AEST (9.45pm NZT) kick-off

Sunshine Coast Stadium

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

An inquest into the death of a special forces trooper during a training exercise in south Auckland hopes to find out what went wrong.

Lance Corporal Nicholas Kahotea fell to his death in May of 2019 while training to dismount from a Blackhawk helicopter onto the edge of a building.

Kahotea was leading his SAS regiment through what should have been a routine training exercise.

The men were excited to perform their first bump landing, a helicopter manoeuvre meant to get soldiers onto the roof of a building as quickly as possible.

It was part of a joint exercise with the United States military, using its top-of-the-line Blackhawk helicopters to train for counter-terrorism operations.

One of Kahotea’s fellow soldiers, whose identity is suppressed and can only be referred to as call sign 63, said the team was enthusiastic.

“I’m not sure whose decision it was but we were told the next [exercise]’s going to be a bump landing. And we were pretty excited about it,” he said.

“When we got told we were going to do a bump landing at nighttime it didn’t matter to us, we do training at night all the time. We were excited to get another skill under our belt.”

A bump landing involves setting just one wheel on the edge of a building and hovering steady while the troops step off.

Call sign 63 was first off the helicopter.

“I could see the dispatcher giving me the signal to go … I looked down and confirmed it was safe for me to drop,” he continued.

“I simply managed to step onto the roof, no worries.

“As the first man off the helicopter my job is to ensure the area at the front is clear and protect the people still on the helicopter. The threat to me and my team is out to my front. In this training exercise my main threat was the stairs off the roof, so that’s where I was looking.”

Two more soldiers dropped from the helicopter, and the exercise continued as call sign 63 moved to the stairs.

“When I got to the stairs I felt a tap on my shoulder, this indicated to me we were ready to proceed,” he said.

“I can’t recall if the next thing I heard was over the radio or if it was one of the guys behind me. It was saying man down, man down. No duff. One of your men is down on the other side of the building. No duff means it’s a serious situation.”

CCTV footage of the exercise shows the helicopter sway, as the gap between it and the roof inches wider.

That gap was the distance between life and death.

Kahotea fell several metres, sustaining catastrophic injuries. He later died in hospital.

This week, almost seven years later, a coronial inquest will recount the tragic event in detail and make recommendations to avoid similar accidents in the future.

Kahotea’s partner, Dr Sophie Walker, criticised the Defence Force’s approach to the exercise.

“A bump insertion is not a static or benign manoeuvre,” she said.

“This is a dynamic and inherently unstable balance. From a physics perspective, the Black Hawk’s mass means very small changes in altitude create very large force transfers that promote tail movement.”

She hoped the inquest would lead to answers and accountability.

“Our hope is that the findings of this inquest will ensure no other family will encounter the consequences of systemic risk assessment failure,” she said through tears.

“Loss is not something that just happened in May of 2019 … It is something that I wake up to every day. It is having to accept over and over that this is my life.”

Defence Force lawyer Sally McKechnie admitted it did not fully appreciate the risks of the manoeuvre at the time.

She said the NZDF had thoroughly investigated its processes since Kahotea’s death and had made improvements.

The inquest will continue through to Friday.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

The insiders dubbed it ‘Project Underground’.

In February last year, a group of senior cricket figures, private investors and sports marketing experts gathered around the boardroom table within the bunker-like office of the New Zealand Cricket Players’ Association (CPA) underneath Eden Park’s eastern stand.

The group was there to discuss whether a privatised Twenty20 franchise league might have legs in New Zealand.

At the time, the name was more of an in-joke – a self-aware nod to both the location and the speculative nature of the conversation. A blue-sky discussion held beneath the stands.

But in light of what was to follow over the back half of the year as NZ Cricket descended into open conflict and institutional paralysis, Project Underground would come to sound less tongue-in-cheek and more conspiratorial.

The bid by a consortium of high profile cricket figures, pulled together by CPA boss Heath Mills, to launch a T20 competition became a flashpoint in a much wider struggle for control of the sport’s future, culminating in the resignation of NZ Cricket chief executive Scott Weenink days before Christmas.

Last Friday marked the end of Weenink’s reign with the national body, bringing to a close a tenure defined by ongoing tensions with key stakeholders including the players, the six major associations, and eventually, his own board.

In a statement accompanying the announcement of his resignation, Weenink cited fundamental differences with the game’s stakeholders as a driver.

“After careful consideration, it has become clear that I hold a different view from several Member Associations, and the [CPA], on the future priorities for NZC, including the long-term direction of the game and the best role for T20 cricket in New Zealand,” Weenink said.

“I do not wish to create ongoing instability by continuing without the support of some key stakeholders.”

Weenink declined to be interviewed by RNZ about his time with the national body, maintaining his silence throughout the dispute.

It has been a common theme of the saga.

Few of the central players are willing to talk openly on the record about the tensions. Instead, much of the disagreement has played out in the media through leaked documents and correspondence.

Beneath the personality clashes and brinkmanship lies a more consequential argument – one that long predates NZ20 and will outlast Weenink’s departure. At its core was a dispute over how New Zealand cricket should be organised, funded and governed in a rapidly changing global game.

The central question facing the sport remains the same – whether the existing domestic structure can meet those pressures, or whether a privatised T20 league represents a necessary evolution.

The pitch

For years, the conventional wisdom was that New Zealand was simply too small a market to sustain a privately backed T20 franchise competition.

That assumption has been steadily eroded as T20 leagues have sprung up around the cricketing world. Since the Indian Premier League (IPL) launched in 2008, franchise cricket has taken hold in England, Australia, the West Indies, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and South Africa, with newer ventures emerging in the UAE and the United States.

As the franchise game boomed, anxiety crept in back home. New Zealand’s top players and coaches plying their trade in overseas leagues began to worry the country was isolating itself from the rest of the world. Supporters of NZ20 point to a curious anomaly: New Zealand is the only test-playing nation without a franchise T20 league.

“We’ve become an island in international cricket,” says one advocate.

When the consortium began sketching out plans for a competition, they did not chase the scale of the IPL or Australia’s Big Bash League. Instead, they found inspiration in a more unlikely success story – the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

The CPL was built across a scatter of small, cricket-mad islands with limited commercial clout. By doubling down on local colour, a party-style presentation and sprinkling in global stars, the league turned a high-risk idea into one of the most recognisable and resilient properties in world cricket.

Official documents frame the NZ20 in similar terms: a “boutique, city-based cricket festival”, designed to fuse sport with tourism and trade, and to deepen strategic ties between India and New Zealand.

RNZ understands the consortium has briefed several senior government figures about the competition and plans for Indian investment.

Under the proposal, franchises would not align directly with the six major associations. Instead, teams would be based in the main population centres and seasonal tourism hubs, including Mount Maunganui and Queenstown.

However, the major associations – Auckland, Northern Districts, Central Districts, Wellington, Canterbury and Otago – still stand to benefit financially, which has helped secure their support for the concept. It is understood the proceeds from the sale of franchise licences would be directed into a capital fund to be distributed among the associations.

Supporters of the model argue that private ownership would allow the league to operate with a clearer commercial focus than the Super Smash, which has come to be seen as more of a development league. They contend that separating those functions would allow the proposed league to prioritise broadcast appeal, sponsorship and fan engagement.

Don Mackinnon, chair of the NZ20 establishment committee, declined to be interviewed by RNZ while discussions with the national body remain delicate. In previous media appearances, however, he has outlined what he sees as the advantages of keeping the league at arm’s length from New Zealand Cricket and the major associations.

“It’s driven out of private investment and so you get the ability to be very innovative,” Mackinnon told ESPN in November. “You have greater capital to invest in the fan experience – at the ground, on television and online. And if we get this right, we believe we’ll attract the very best New Zealand players back into our domestic competitions.”

By September, the consortium believed it had secured sufficient international and domestic investor interest, including a group of six “high net-worth Kiwis”, to formally present the proposal to the NZC board. Among those rumoured to have expressed interest are Xero founder Rod Drury, and Zuru co-founder Anna Mowbray and her husband, former All Black Ali Williams.

For all the ambition and investor interest, NZC still holds the keys.

To get the league off the ground, the consortium needs the national body to sanction the league and commit to providing a protected four-week window in January free from international commitments.

The proposed scheduling has led to concerns from some within NZC about how a privately run league would fit alongside existing commercial and broadcast agreements, which are built around NZC’s control of the domestic and international calendar.

In hindsight, however, one person briefed on the board presentation believes the main sticking point came during discussions about potential investors. They believe the suggestion that former players such as Stephen Fleming, Daniel Vettori and Brendon McCullum could leverage their overseas connections, particularly in India, to attract investors and possibly take ownership stakes themselves, shifted the mood in the room.

“There was a definite change after that,” the source said. “Suddenly, [that was interpreted as], ‘oh, they’re all on the take’.”

This would become a focal point for public critics of the proposal.

Much of the resistance that followed was shaped by a broader unease about private ownership – specifically, who would stand to benefit, and what control the game in New Zealand might lose in the process.

The letter-writing campaign

The proposal’s arrival at NZC marked the point at which a philosophical debate became a governance crisis.

The organisation was already grappling with its own future by the time the NZ20 consortium approached the NZC board. In parallel with discussions around a private league, NZC had begun examining options to rejuvenate its domestic T20 competition through an external review dubbed ‘Project Bigger Smash’.

The review, led by Deloitte, examined four separate pathways to revitalise T20 cricket, including private ownership and the option of entering a New Zealand team into Australia’s Big Bash League. The latter was widely understood to be Weenink’s preferred path.

In the months that followed, the board effectively attempted to pursue two tracks. It continued work on the Deloitte review, while appointing two directors – Bill Birnie and Anna Campbell – to the NZ20 establishment committee to further develop the consortium’s proposal.

That dual approach, however, soon began to fray.

Competing narratives took hold both inside and outside the organisation. Critics of the proposal portrayed NZ20 as a “rebel” league engineered through a hostile takeover by the players’ association.

Supporters countered that elements within NZC were posturing as open-minded regulators while quietly entrenching opposition behind the scenes.

Internal correspondence illustrates how quickly trust in the boardroom deteriorated.

In an email to fellow directors in October, then-NZC president Lesley Murdoch warned recent decisions had promoted “distrust and disunity”.

“A decision determined by a casting vote suggests to me that more thought should be given to that decision and perhaps be revisited to ensure all the relevant information has been revealed, discussed and understood,” Murdoch wrote, while not directly referencing the specific vote.

She also questioned whether members of the board were acting in self-interest, cautioning that the sport “deserves a board that operates as one team, not a collection of individuals with competing agendas”.

At the same time the Murdoch letter was leaked, another piece of correspondence surfaced in the media – one that hinted at a widening rift between Weenink and his board.

NZ Cricket chairperson Diana Puketapu-Lyndon wrote to the head of the International Cricket Council (ICC), Jay Shah, to reject claims of a rebel league or player coup.

“We are deeply concerned about the origin of any messaging that has the potential to undermine the reputation of cricket and cricket governance in New Zealand,” the letter, which was also signed by the chairs of each of the major associations, stated.

According to one source, the letter reflected concerns from some officials that Weenink was perceived to be actively undermining efforts to establish a private league – a perception that placed him increasingly at odds with the major associations and the Players’ Association.

Weenink’s supporters believed he was simply urging the sport’s leaders to take time to do their due diligence on a decision with long-term consequences for the game.

Pressure from the major associations soon became explicit in correspondence. On 16 October, the chairs and chief executives of the six organisations wrote to the NZC board, stating their relationship with the chief executive had become “irretrievable” and that they had lost “respect, trust and confidence” in Weenink.

The same source said concerns about Weenink’s leadership style and approach had been raised directly with Puketapu-Lyndon earlier in the year, and again by follow-up letter in July – well before the NZ20 concept was formally presented to NZC.

As the dispute escalated, Weenink’s position became increasingly untenable, leading to reports the chief executive was “fighting for survival”. The response was more letter writing.

In early December a group of four NZC life members wrote to the board and directors of the national body, the major associations, the Players’ Association and the NZ20 establishment committee to express their “dismay” at what they described as a campaign to remove the chief executive.

“We urge all those involved to stop ‘playing the man’ and, instead, focus solely on ‘playing the ball’,” the letter said.

By that point, however, the relationship between Weenink and sections of the board had fractured. Weenink was increasingly sidelined from key meetings and decisions, and in December he abruptly went on leave ahead of mediation over his future.

His resignation followed days before Christmas, leaving NZC seeking a new leader amid unresolved questions about the future of the domestic game.

Projecting unity

While the immediate crisis has been defused, New Zealand Cricket is now seeking to steady itself and project a more unified front as it weighs decisions that will shape the game’s future.

Publicly, the message is one of alignment and patience. The NZ20 consortium, which was initially reluctant to engage with the Deloitte-led review, is now participating in the process as the board awaits the full findings before determining the long-term direction of domestic Twenty20 cricket.

In a statement, NZ20 establishment committee chair Don Mackinnon said the group was working closely with NZC “as the next stage of the concept is considered”.

“We have also engaged fully with representatives from Deloitte, who have been appointed to independently assess all options for the future of domestic T20 cricket in New Zealand,” Mackinnon said. “We support this process, and will continue to do so.”

Asked when the review might be completed, NZC referred RNZ to a statement issued in December, saying it was committed to running an “independent and objective process” but was limited in what it could say publicly due to “sensitivities and confidentiality requirements”.

Privately, however, tensions remain close to the surface. A number of figures across the game, including senior staff at the national body, remain loyal to Weenink and are said to be deeply unhappy with the manner of his departure.

There is unease that the mistrust sown during last year’s dispute has not been resolved, but merely contained.

Those concerns have been heightened by the need to repair relationships beyond New Zealand’s borders.

NZC chair Diana Puketapu-Lyndon travelled to India and Dubai last month alongside director Roger Twose and newly installed president Mark Greatbatch, a trip described by one source as a “diplomatic mission” to reassure international stakeholders and potential investors unsettled by the public stoush.

NZC has played down the travel, with public affairs manager Richard Boock describing the visits as “a regular part of NZC’s stakeholder management approach”.

Mackinnon, meanwhile, insists investor interest in NZ20 remains strong and says the consortium continues to be approached by prospective backers.

But one source involved in the proposal says there is growing anxiety around the length of time it is taking to land on a decision. There is currently no broadcast deal in place for New Zealand’s domestic competitions beyond this season, with the new agreement with Sky excluding domestic cricket.

While domestic cricket will likely still be streamed on NZC’s platforms, there are concerns that a sub-standard broadcast product could devalue the competition in the eyes of potential investors and weaken New Zealand Cricket’s negotiating position at a critical moment.

Several figures involved say that urgency sits awkwardly alongside a process that is designed to inform the decision, not make it.

The Deloitte review is expected to stop short of recommending a single preferred model, instead providing a cost-benefit analysis of the available options.

Ultimately, the decision will rest with the board – the same body whose divisions brought the organisation to a standstill just months earlier.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

The foreign minister has denounced Israel for expanding control over settlements controlled by Palestinians in the West Bank.

The measures passed by the Israeli security cabinet also pave the way for more settlements in the occupied territory.

Posting on social media, Winston Peters says Israel’s decision was a ‘major setback for any chance at a two-state solution’.

He says the International Court of Justice was clear Israel’s continued presence in the West Bank is unlawful, and it should reverse course immediately.

His criticism joins that of the United States, Britain, the European Union and a number of Arab nations.

Israel’s decision to expand its control over the West Bank is a major setback for any chance at a two-state solution. The International Court of Justice was clear in its conclusion that Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful. These actions…

— Winston Peters (@NewZealandMFA) February 11, 2026

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

BEIJING, CHINA – Media OutReach Newswire – 11 February 2026 – As China marks Xiaonian, or Little Chinese New Year, there is growing evidence of its ancient traditions evolving into global lifestyle trends. CGTN published an article analyzing how this prelude to the Year of the Horse – from the folk ritual of “sweeping the dust” to the cross-cultural fusion of the Spring Festival Gala – illustrates China’s growing global cultural resonance.

As the lunar calendar turns its final pages, China enters a period of joyful anticipation known as Xiaonian, or Little Chinese New Year. Often celebrated as the Festival of the Kitchen God, it marks the official start of the “busy year” – a traditional term for the intense, joyful period of preparing food, cleaning homes, and shopping for the upcoming Spring Festival.

The Spring Festival is a deeply significant time for family reunion. In 2024, UNESCO inscribed the “Spring Festival, social practices of the Chinese people in celebration of the traditional Chinese New Year” onto the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

While daily routines continue to evolve, they remain anchored in rituals that provide a sense of normalcy and meaning. It is perhaps no wonder that in a climate of uncertainty, traditional Chinese lifestyles are finding a new audience beyond the country’s borders, with the Spring Festival chief among those unique traditions that are fast becoming a shared human experience.

Diverse traditions, shared aspirations

In a prelude to the broader celebrations, Xiaonian, observed on February 10 and 11 this year, kickstarts a focused period of preparation. According to ancient lore, families offer Zaotang, or sticky “Kitchen Candy,” to the Kitchen God to ensure he delivers a favorable report on the household’s conduct before he ascends to the heavens. This lighthearted tradition marks the beginning of several symbolic rituals aimed at welcoming a fresh start.

A key element of this transition is donning new clothes. In Chinese culture, the New Year represents a moment when “all things are renewed,” and wearing new garments symbolizes shedding the “dust” or misfortunes of the past to embrace auspicious energy for the year ahead. Alongside this personal renewal, families nationwide engage in “sweeping the dust,” a deep-cleaning ritual to purify the home and prepare it for new blessings.

Whereas these practices are universal, celebratory flavors vary by geography. In the north, families traditionally gather over steaming plates of dumplings, whereas in the south, the menu often features sweet rice cakes (Niangao) and glutinous rice balls (Tangyuan).

As Mao Qiaohui, a researcher at the Institute of Ethnic Literature at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, explains, these variations highlight the inclusive nature of Chinese civilization.

“Although folk customs differ between different regions across China, this diversity reflects the cultural pluralism within the Spring Festival tradition,” she notes. “Different regional identities contribute to a shared pursuit of harmony and reunion.”

The vitality of these traditions is also evident in local craftsmanship. In northern regions like Shandong and Henan, artisans are currently making Huamo, decorated steamed buns, featuring horse designs for the upcoming zodiac year. Meanwhile, in Shuozhou, Shanxi Province, intangible heritage inheritors are carving spirited stallions onto traditional gourds. These creations reflect the regional diversity of the festival and a collective desire for progress in the year ahead.

Cultural dialogue: From global stage to daily life

The festive atmosphere is reflected further in preparations for the Spring Festival Gala (Chunwan), produced by China Media Group.

Recent rehearsals show performances meshing traditional Chinese culture with international artistry. One performance piece combines the wooden clog dance of the Hani and Lisu ethnic groups with the rhythmic tap of Spanish Flamenco and Hungarian folk dance. And with global stars like Jackie Chan and Lionel Richie on the bill, the Gala’s stage is set to become a stage for the world to come together.

The reach of the gala has expanded far beyond a domestic audience. Through the “Spring Festival Gala Prelude” events held in the United States, Russia, France, Italy, and several African nations, the program has become a gateway to Chinese New Year customs and cultural exchange.

This interest extends beyond art and into the lives of people worldwide, as seen in the #BecomingChinese trend. This phenomenon features international social media users adopting elements of Chinese daily life – such as keeping a thermos of hot water handy, wearing quilted indoor slippers or practicing mindful movement with Baduanjin exercises.

The festival is no longer a distant event but a gateway to Chinese lifestyle, rooted in ancient wellness wisdom and constantly updated by modern convenience, and the first step to a journey of exploration into a culture that values ritual, safety and hospitality.

Whether through global broadcasts or shared daily habits, the Spring Festival increasingly strengthens a sense of cultural empathy between China and the rest of the world.

For more information, please click here:

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2026-02-10/Little-New-Year-opens-big-window-to-China-s-soul-1KEhJjMX2fe/p.html

Hashtag: #CGTN

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

Luca Harrington has claimed New Zealand’s second medal at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics in Italy, taking bronze at the men’s freestyle skiing slopestyle event.

Norway’s Birk Ruud took gold, while silver went to American Alex Hall.

Harrington – one of the youngest competitors at 21 – was fourth on course, followed by fellow New Zealander Ben Barclay in sixth. Each had three runs to post their top score.

Barclay was the first competitor to land a complete run, earning a solid first run score of 69.40. Harrington came out swinging and was lacing together a super stylish run, but came unstuck on the switch triple cork 16 on jump two.

Run two was a throwaway for both Kiwis, with the triple cork 1620 continuing to give Harrington trouble, and Barclay coming off a rail early at the top of the course.

That left Barclay sitting in fifth place and Harrington in ninth going into the third and final run.

Harrington managed to clean up in run three, this time stomping his landing on the triple cork 1620 and finishing off with a clean 1440 on the third and last jump.

His score of 85.15 took him to third place, and earned New Zealand’s second medal of the games.

Barclay dropped in for his third run but once again came off a rail too early, finishing eighth overall.

Harrington said the day had been “a battle” for all competitors.

“We didn’t get perfect conditions, but that’s part of our sport. I was feeling a lot of pressure, a lot of crazy emotions going on being here at the Olympics, being in the finals and wanting to do everyone proud. Putting something down that you’re proud of was hard. I did not land my first two runs, which made that even tougher, but on that final run, I took a step back and kind of embraced the moment and managed to gain that confidence and managed to go through my full run clean,” he said.

“Standing at the top, representing New Zealand, representing my family, wearing an Olympic bib in the finals, that was such a special moment. I think that’s what motivated me to really embrace that and land that last run. To get rewarded with a haka from my team was such an honour.”

Barclay had been hoping to put down cleaner runs based on the tricks he had trained, but was happy enough with the outcome, adding that he was “over the moon to see Luca Harrington on the steps at the end”.

“To get a front row seat the last few years to the amount of hard work, dedication and sacrifice that Luca and his coach Hamish MacDougall have both put in with the sole goal of this, to see it pay off for them – I can’t even describe how that feels. They worked so hard, put so much blood, sweat and tears and true mahi into it. He really clutched up in the end and he got it. I genuinely don’t think anyone deserves it more.”

Birk Ruud of Norway earned the gold medal after an impeccable first run. Alex Hall, the gold medallist four years ago in Beijing, won silver under cloudy skies on the slopes in the mountain town of Livigno to extend Team USA’s remarkable run in the event over the years.

The slopestyle event features skiers who slide across rails and perform aerial tricks to impress the judges with difficulty and originality. The best score from each skier’s three runs determines the rankings. Ruud’s superb first run put him at the top of the leaderboard from the start. Hall tried to catch him but fell backward after coming off a rail in his third run.

Final scores came in at 86.28 for Ruud, 85.75 for Hall and 85.15 for Harrington. Ruud, 25, pumped his fists and hugged the other medallists as he took the podium. Hall, 27, clapped his hands and smiled. Team USA have earned a slopestyle medal in every Olympics since the event was introduced to the schedule in 2014. Jesper Tjader, the bronze medallist in Beijing, was in medal contention going into his third run of the day but crash-landed off a rail, sending one of his skies flying.

Zoi Sadowski-Synnott earlier claimed New Zealand’s first medal of the games, taking silver in the Big Air event on Tuesday.

It was a record third medal in the event for Sadowski-Synott, who took silver in Beijing in 2022 and bronze in Pyeongchang in 2018.

Like Harrington, she was also honoured by her teammates with a haka following her win.

– RNZ / Reuters

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

New Zealand snowboarder Zoi Sadowski-Synnott has joined an elite club of Olympians – those who will be bringing home broken medals.

After a rough start, Sadowski-Synnott earned her second consecutive silver medal in the Big Air event at the Winter Olympics in Italy, matching her result from four years ago.

“You set goals and you dream about it, and when it actually happens, you still can’t really believe it,” the 24-year-old told Morning Report.

“But yeah, I’m really grateful that I was able to put it down when it mattered and just thankful for all the support from back home and grateful to have my family out here too.”

There have been reports of medals from this year’s Games breaking easily – including from American downhill skiing champion Breezy Johnson, Swedish cross-country skier Ebba Andersson and United States figure skater Alysa Liu.

Asked if she had kept hers safe, Sadowski-Synnott admitted “not exactly”.

“Mine actually broke. But it’s chill. It whacked my snowboard and fell off the thing, but it goes right back in. It’s all good.”

It was suspected the fault stemmed from the medal’s clasp and ribbon, which are designed to split if pulled with force to prevent strangulation.

Organisers on Thursday (local time) said they had found a fix.

Sadowski-Synnott, who has won five Olympic medals in her career, was going to cherish her latest prize regardless.

“It’s pretty sick. It’s pretty special, so beautiful and can’t really believe that I’m holding another Olympic medal.”

She next competes in slopestyle, where she will be defending the gold she won in Beijing in 2022.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand