Holiday Breakfast

Weight loss drugs may not be the silver bullet for obesity we hoped they would be.  

The popularity of medications like Ozempic and Wegovy is continuing to rise as more and more turn to the drugs in order to drop weight.  

But patients are reporting that the hunger returns after they stop taking the medications, and many return to their previous weight within a few years. 

The Weightless Clinic Bariatric Physician Dr...

Ukraine President, Volodymyr Zelensky's looking for further commitment on security guarantees after European nations have signed security declarations in Paris.  

The UK and France yesterday made a commitment to defend Ukraine at a meeting attended by 35 nations. 

Ukraine Ambassador to New Zealand and Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko told Andrew Dickens this hinges on the US.  

He says American leadership's instrument...

More details are emerging about data compromised in the Manage My Health portal breach. 

The privately-owned platform has started notifying affected GP clinics. 

College of GPs President Luke Bradford says much of the information is eight to nine years old. 

He told Andrew Dickens Northland appears to be the most-affected region. 

Bradford says although it doesn't have anything to do with Whangārei Hospital, it ...

There are hopes new meth-contamination statistics will quell concerns.   

Meth-testing company Safe and Healthy Home Solutions says it picked up detectable residue in about half of properties it tested between 2023 and 2025. 

Safe and Healthy Homes Solutions Director Miles Stratford told Andrew Dickens most have a very low level of contamination, which won't have much impact on wellbeing. 

He says the most conta...

US taxpayers could be on the hook to subsidise the rebuilding of Venezuela’s oil infrastructure.  

The US launched strikes over the weekend and took President Nicolas Maduro into custody, shipping him back to New York under duress and detaining him on drug-trafficking charges. 

It’s pressuring Venezuela to end drug smuggling and let in American oil companies. 

US President Donald Trump has floated the idea of the US ...

Despite a wobble in the polls last year, Green Party Co-Leader Chlöe Swarbrick thinks the party is in a good place. 

Over this term the party's reached as high as 15% in some surveys, but it dropped to 7% in the last 1News Verian poll of 2025. 

Swarbrick told Andrew Dickens she’s proud of the plans they’ve put on the table and thinks they’re in a really good place going into election year.  

She says New Zealanders h...

Retail New Zealand's Chief Executive says the closure of Australian retailer EB Games would have a wide-reaching impact.  

The Australian video-game retailer's proposing shutting its 38 New Zealand stores and its Distribution Centre. 

Staff reportedly have until Monday to feed back on the plan. 

Retail NZ's Carolyn Young told Andrew Dickens the retail climate's been really challenging over the past few years.  

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A child online safety advocate's calling for stronger restrictions on access to pornography after a coroner's linked a teen's death to content found on the internet. 

The inquest found the teen had probably been attempting to imitate sexual acts seen online in 2024. 

Advocate Holly Brooker told Andrew Dickens New Zealand's done little to regulate the online space.   

She says other countries are moving forward, ...

Conservationists are expecting a lot of breeding action from threatened kakapo over the next month.  

The nocturnal, flightless parrots reproduce in tune with rimu, which have a mast season of extra growth every three or four years. 

The Department of Conservation says there are 83 breeding-aged females this season, up from 55. 

Kakapo Recovery Manager Deidre Vercoe told Andrew Dickens this year's mast is looking gre...

Residents of Venezuelan capital Caracas are avoiding the streets as armed police patrol the city.  

President Nicolas Maduro and his wife are being detained in New York after being captured by US forces over the weekend in a violent attack.  

Vice President Delcy Rodriguez has taken over the reins, with some normality returning to the country 

But France24 Latin American Correspondent Noris Argotte Soto told Andrew D...

The UK Prime Minister is in an awkward position following the US’ action in Venezuela. 

President Nicolas Maduro was taken in a US military operation over the weekend, and is soon to stand trial in New York on drugs and weapons charges.   

Keir Starmer told the BBC he will shed no tears over the end of Nicolas Maduro's regime, but is not prepared to comment on the US military action in Venezuela. 

But UK Corresp...

A Paris court has found 10 people guilty of cyberbullying France's first lady Brigitte Macron with false online claims about her gender and sexuality. 

Their sentences range from cyberbullying awareness training to eight-month suspended prison sentences. 

Some of their posts suggested Macron was transgender, born a man, and were viewed tens of thousands of times. 

Some linked her 24-year age gap with her husband Emma...

Summer has returned to Auckland and with it the ASB Classic. 

The two-week long tennis tournament begins today, and the competition is hot. 

Elina Svitolina, Emma Nacarro, and Stan Wawrinka are some of the world-class names taking to the court this year. 

Tournament Director Nicolas Lamperin told Andrew Dickens it’s the atmosphere around centre court that makes Auckland unique among the tennis tournaments happening a...

New Zealand may be in for a more positive property market in the new year.  

Cotality’s January Home Value Index shows that property values were down 1% in 2025 – a drop of 17% from the 2022 peak. 

Regional performance varied, with Aukland and Wellington remaining weak, but Southland districts and provincial centres such as New Plymouth and Queenstown seeing increases.  

Cotality’s Chief Property Economist Kelvin Dav...

Concern Tourism New Zealand's chasing clicks, with no breakdown available for the millions spent on social media influencers. 

A response to the Taxpayers’ Union shows $9.4 million has been spent since 2023 on 65 influencers across global markets. 

They were engaged to promote campaigns ranging from destination marketing to Minecraft downloadable content and online shopping promotions. 

Taxpayers’ Union Executive Dir...

Venezuela's Vice President, Delcy Rodriguez, has been formally sworn in as acting leader.  

US forces seized President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas in the weekend, who today denied drug and weapons charges in a New York court, alongside his wife  

He told the 92-year-old judge he is an innocent, decent man, and still Venezuela's leader.  

1News US Correspondent Logan Church told Andrew Dickens the US has levelled charge...

Manage My Health expects to start working in coming days through notifying people caught up by last week's data breach. 

The privately-owned health platform has now identified who's affected. 

Health Minister Simeon Brown says it needs to do better at informing the public what's happening. 

But he told Andrew Dickens the notification process will be complex and needs to be quick but accurate. 

Brown says he's sp...