Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta is concerned Russia’s recognition of two breakaway parts of Ukraine could be an attempt by Russia to “create a pretext for invasion”.Russian President Vladimir Putin in the past 24 hours signed a decree…

By RNZ Children’s Commissioner Judge Frances Eivers says the anti-mandate protest on Parliament grounds is no place for children who could be harmed in escalating tension.Now on to the 15th day of the occupation of the parliamentary…

High-profile hospitality boss and mayoral candidate Leo Molloy claims he is negotiating with Team New Zealand to host a world series yachting regatta in Auckland at the end of next year.He and Team New Zealand are in negotiations…

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has described the behaviour of protesters and attacks on police in Wellington as “disgraceful”.Ardern is in Auckland speaking to media after visits in the city.”There are a group that are increasingly…

When a classic car worth more than $140,000 (NZ$150,000) was recovered two days after it was stolen, its gearbox was blown and tape was holding parts of it together.

The 1973 Holden Torana XUI was stolen from a shed in Napier, on New Zealand's North Island, about 5am on Sunday, October 10, last year.

LIVE UPDATES: UN Security Council to hold emergency meeting over Ukraine crisis

READ MORE: Putin orders troops to enter Ukraine territories

Shawn Harding was found in possession of the car in Dannevirke, about 120km southwest of Napier.

The 45-year-old provided police with various accounts of how it came to be in his possession, but said he didn't steal it. He pleaded guilty to a charge of receiving stolen property.

Harding appeared in Napier District Court yesterday, where Judge Barbara Morris sentenced him to 12 months of supervision.

According to a police summary, CCTV showed two offenders entering the shed by kicking in a door.

READ MORE: Murder charge after circular saw allegedly used to cut off man's legs

The thieves tried to take a $158,000 (NZ$170,000) boat, but couldn't find a drawbar pin to tow it.

They then went to the back of the shed.

The summary described the car as "a one of its kind collector's item and is of great interest to motor enthusiasts" and said it was valued between $140,000 (NZ$150,000) and $186,000 (NZ$200,000).

"Indications are that this vehicle has been specifically targeted. Its removal required two vehicles that were blocking its path to be broken into and moved to allow the removal of this car."

Also stolen was a set of mud tyres valued at $2796 (NZ$3000), which have never been recovered.

Two days after the car was stolen it was filmed on CCTV cameras driving through Waipukurau, about 65km southwest of Napier.

The next day, October 13, it was found by police at Harding's address in Dannevirke.

He told police he owned the car, giving various accounts of how he purchased it, including buying it for $18,600 (NZ$20,000) and swapping a Harley Davidson motorbike for it.

The car had suffered extensive damage to the steering column and the interior "with tape and metal braces used to keep it together".

The car's gearbox was believed to have been blown.

READ MORE: Solar eruption captured in an unprecedented image

Police found a methamphetamine pipe in Harding's pocket, and he also pleaded guilty to a charge of possessing drug utensils.

Harding had a long history of violent offending and was the subject of a month-long police hunt in 2017.

In 2005 he was sentenced to seven years' jail for stabbing his former partner in front of his two young children and for assault with a weapon relating to the road rage incident, in which he threatened a TV3 employee whom he chased with an axe while in a drug-induced rage.

In 2019, a 1972 Holden Torana XU1 sold at auction in Australia for $183,000 (NZ$194,000).

This article originally appeared online at Stuff NZ and has been republished with permission.

The Federal Government has today unveiled an $800 million package which will be used to bolster Australia's strategic claims in the Antarctic.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the new funding during his visit to Tasmania.

The money will be spent on scientific research, but also a fleet of surveillance drones to further support Australia's security in the region and counter potential moves by China.

READ MORE: Putin orders troops to enter Ukraine territories

"It's about … our strategic security interests and our intelligence and defence capabilities," Mr Morrison said.

Australia will also invest in underwater drones and medium-range helicopters, which can be launched from the new Antarctic icebreaker, RSV Nuyina.

When asked if Australia was concerned about powers such as China making moves in Antarctica, Mr Morrison said "not everybody respects" treaties in the region.

"This gives us eyes on Antarctica," he said.

"Because there are others who have different objectives.

READ MORE: Murder charge after circular saw allegedly used to cut off man's legs

Mr Morrison said China "don't share the same objectives as Australia as a treaty nation when it comes to protecting Antarctica".

Without naming nations, Mr Morrison said others may "seek to exploit (Antarctica's) resources".

"Exploitative interests" could include activities like mining, drilling and fishing.

Mr Morrison said the total government spending on its Antarctica program will rise from $2.2 billion to $3 billion over the next decade.

READ MORE: Solar eruption captured in an unprecedented image

The program will also create and maintain jobs in Tasmania, the Prime Minister said.

"This program is going to create 685 direct jobs," Mr Morrison said.

"That's directly in the $800m we're putting in place and an increase of 100 on what we're already doing right now," Mr Morrison said.

WARNING: This article contains images readers may find disturbing

Australian wildlife rescuers are calling on hardware giant Bunnings and online retailers to stop selling glue traps which pose a danger to native animals.

Some types of glue traps are designed to catch rodents, while others target spiders and insects.

Both types have been known to indiscriminately snare other animals such as birds, lizards and small bats.

READ MORE: Putin orders troops to enter Ukraine territories

"It can be days before the creature succumbs to death via dehydration and starvation," Cat Coake, from Wild Animals Australia, said.

"Animals have been known to tear off, or bite through, their own limbs in an attempt to free themselves."

Frustrated animal welfare organisations have started sharing photos of kookaburras, blue-tongued lizards and microbats caught in different types of glue traps.

South western Sydney-based cat rescue group Paws for Love last week shared a post on Facebook about a litter of kittens which were stuck on a glue trap designed to trap rodents. Two survived the cruel ordeal while the third did not.

Veterinary nurse Tayla said the kittens were initially brought into the clinic where she works and staff desperately tried to save them all.

"I have seen some horrible things but I have never seen anything like this," she said.

READ MORE: Solar eruption captured in an unprecedented image

Rodent glue traps are currently banned in Victoria, Tasmania and the ACT but not in other states and territories.

Bunnings do not sell rodent glue traps but offer glue traps to target indoor pests, its general manager of merchandise, Adrian Pearce, told 9News.com.au.

It also retails a commercial fly trap – available only online – which features 120 square metres of glue board and a UV light.

An online petition, started by Ms Coake, demanding Bunnings take all glue traps off its shelves has so far been signed by almost 2000 people.

Ms Coake said it was up to big, bricks and mortar companies such as Bunnings to be a "good corporate citizen" and take the lead when it came to withdrawing the sale of all glue traps.

"We see so many injured animals and it's just agonising – because it is so pointless and can be easily stopped," Ms Coake said.

Mr Pearce, said its stores only offered traps which met government standards in all states and territories.

"Most of the sticky insect traps we offer are designed for indoor use only, and the product packaging clearly reflects this," he said.

Hundreds of glue traps sold online 

Officially, online auction site eBay has banned the sale of glue traps, however, 9news.com.au found hundreds of glue trap products currently advertised on its site, some from Australian-based sellers.

These include rodent glue traps and others for insects.

"eBay is committed to animal welfare. This means a number of animal traps, including glue traps, cannot be listed for sale," a spokesperson for eBay said.

"To ensure compliance with our policies and relevant laws, we work closely with a range of government agencies including the ACCC, TGA and Federal Department of Agriculture." 

The spokesperson for eBay said the company was constantly removing banned items that appeared on its site.

"We have automatic and manual sweeps done by teams around the clock," the spokesperson said.

There are also US-based sellers advertising glue traps on Amazon's Australian website; these include large sheets of glue covered board designed to be hung outside and attract insects, as well as rodent glue traps.

A spokesperson for Amazon Australia said the sale of glue traps was prohibited on its Australian store.

"Our US store is exploring measures to stop shipping these products to Australian customers," the spokesperson added.

Contact reporter Emily McPherson at em********@******om.au.

Authorities in Denmark have been left scratching their heads after a wild kangaroo was spotted hopping through a paddock in the country's south-east.

Local police posted on social media that the Australian marsupial was filmed by a motorist near the village of Oster Ulslev, 16km from the port city of Rodbyhavn.

LIVE UPDATES: US President to impose sanctions on Russia's Ukraine move

READ MORE: Screams as car driven at NZ police advancing on protest crowd

While Rodbyhavn's port is where ferries connect to northern Germany, authorities still can't figure out where the kangaroo came from.

Nobody has reported the animal as missing and the local zoos say it is not one of theirs.

While the original motorist's video is grainy and short, authorities say if anyone else spots the kangaroo in the area, they should call police on the non-emergency line.

The US has written to the top United Nations human rights official that it has "credible information" that Russian forces are identifying Ukrainians "to be killed or sent to camps" if it further invades Ukraine and occupies it.

Bathsheba Nell Crocker, US Representative to the Office of the United Nations and Other International Organisations in Geneva, made the allegations in a letter to Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, according to the Washington Post.

"Disturbing information recently obtained by the United States that indicates that human rights violations and abuses in the aftermath of a further invasion are being planned," Ms Crocker wrote.

READ MORE: US demands Putin withdraw from Ukraine

"These acts, which in past Russian operations have included targeted killings, kidnappings/forced disappearances, unjust detentions, and the use of torture, would likely target those who oppose Russian actions, including Russian and Belarusian dissidents in exile in Ukraine, journalists and anti-corruption activists, and vulnerable populations such as religious and ethnic minorities and LGBTQI+ persons," the letter obtained by CNN read.

"Specifically, we have credible information that indicates Russian forces are creating lists of identified Ukrainians to be killed or sent to camps following a military occupation.

"We also have credible information that Russian forces will likely use lethal measures to disperse peaceful protests or otherwise counter peaceful exercises of perceived resistance from civilian populations," the letter said.

The letter did not say how the US obtained the information.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights confirmed that it received the message.

LIVE UPDATES: Putin orders troops into Ukraine breakaway regions

Ms Crocker added that the aim for sharing this information with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights was to give "an early warning that a further Russian invasion of Ukraine may create a human rights catastrophe".

She said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken raised these concerns to the Security Council on February 17.

"In particular, he stated that the United States has information that indicates Russia will target specific groups of Ukrainians," Ms Crocker added.

The Kremlin denied the claim regarding a kill list and called it "absolute fiction".

READ MORE: Boris Johnson scraps remaining COVID restrictions in England

"This is an absolute hoax, this is a lie," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told CNN.

Pressed on if he is aware of the existence of such a list, Mr Peskov said, "I know that this is absolute fiction, there is no such list, it is fake news."

CNN reported on Friday that multiple US and western government officials confirmed to CNN that the US has intelligence that Russia has drawn up lists of current political figures that it would target for removal in the event it invades Ukraine and topples the current government in Kyiv.

Sources familiar with the intelligence said the target lists are part of Russian planning to replace the current administration in Kyiv with a more Russia-friendly government, bolstering a previous disclosure by the British government identifying pro-Moscow figures it said Russia planned to install.

The most likely outcome for those politicians and public figures whom Moscow has targeted to be ousted in the event Kyiv falls, these sources said to CNN, is jail or assassination.

READ MORE: Australia's remaining diplomatic staff to leave Ukraine

CNN has not seen the underlying intelligence intercepts or the documents that name the targets or the purported collaborators and their supposed positions in a pro-Russia administration.

Mr Blinken said on CBS's Face the Nation over the weekend that the US would continue supporting Ukrainians if there is an invasion and a Ukrainian insurgency is left to fight".

"(President Joe Biden) said that we will, in the event of an invasion, double down on our support for Ukraine, and that means in terms of security assistance, economic assistance, diplomatic assistance, political assistance, humanitarian assistance, you name it," Mr Blinken said.

Tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes and the Federal Government are disputing what will happen to the price and supply of electricity if he pulls off a deal to buy Australia's largest power company and shut down its coal-fired plants.

Just months ahead of an expected federal election, Mr Cannon-Brookes' bold plan to buy AGL in a massive multi-billion-dollar deal caught everyone by surprise, and may prove a headache for Prime Minister Scott Morrison in coal-rich electorates.

Yesterday, the government appeared in no mood to shut down coal plants faster than scheduled, which is what Mr Cannon-Brookes intends should he wrestle control in a shock takeover.

READ MORE: Putin recognises breakaway Ukraine republics, raising fears of war

While on the campaign trail in Tasmania, Mr Morrison claimed a takeover of AGL could threaten power supply, turn off lights, and result in prices rising for Australians.

Mr Cannon-Brookes disputed those claims while revealing he and the Canadian giant asset management company Brookfield have a hefty war chest of $20 billion lined up for the AGL deal.

Yesterday, AGL rejected an opening $8 billion offer.

Mr Cannon-Brookes said his proposed deal would deliver exactly what the Federal Government seemed to want: ensure replacement capacity, bring people's bills down and cash in with $20 billion in capital.

"We will be doing all three of these things," he said.

"So I think we're checking the boxes they have asked us to check and they should be big fans of the plan.

"We have to deliver power to the customers of AGL," he said, playing down concerns of any holes in supply if multiple coal plants are shuttered years ahead of schedule, to lower emissions faster.

"That's the job of the company (to deliver power)," he said, "so that's what we will be doing."

READ MORE: China disputes laser attack, accuses Australia of 'disinformation'

READ MORE: Mount Etna roars again, sends up towering volcanic ash cloud

Addressing any potential AGL deal, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg warned that when the Hazelwood coal plant closed in Victoria's Latrobe Valley, the state lost about a quarter of its energy supply.

"What that saw was a spike of around 85 per cent in the wholesale electricity price," he said, adding Victoria went from being a net energy exporter to an importer, particularly from NSW at times of high demand.

Mr Cannon-Brookes said the Treasurer was correct but "leaving out a few facts".

"When Hazelwood closed, it was very fast. There was no notice given to the market," Mr Cannon-Brookes said.

"Hazelwood disappeared and there wasn't capacity replacement available.

"Demand never met supply and the price went up."

Mr Cannon-Brookes said his and the Brookfield plan allows eight years to transition from coal to green energy.

He said advancements in green tech make clean energy much cheaper to generate, compared to when Hazelwood went offline.

"We can do it cheaper," he said.

Mr Cannon-Brookes said building out infrastructure would involve as many as 12,000 construction jobs and there would be 600 ongoing jobs at the plants.

"We are going to create far more jobs than are lost."

Mr Frydenberg said the government welcomed more investment in renewables but that "Australia needs to maintain the stability of our grid and the affordability of power".

Under the Cannon-Brookes plan, AGL's two major coal generators — Bayswater in NSW's Hunter region and Loy Yang A in Victoria — would aim to shut by 2030.

Bayswater is scheduled to close in 2033 and Loy Yang A in 2045.

AGL's share price jumped as high as 11 per cent yesterday after news of a potential takeover emerged.