Former Green Party chief of staff Tory Whanau is stepping out from behind the scenes of politics in a bid to become a politician herself.Tonight she is officially announcing she’s running for Wellington’s mayoralty.Whanau has…

Two women charged in relation to the death of a 5-year-old from Te Puna can now be named.Michaela Barriball, 27, and Sharron Barriball, 37, appeared in the Tauranga District Court in person today before Judge John McDonald.Michaela…

Supermarket giant Aldi is recalling two types of Snackers Market Little Pickers snack packs that have been available in its stores across Australia.

The products are believed to be contaminated with Listeria, which can cause pregnant women and their unborn babies, elderly people and people with low immune systems to get sick.

The specific items being recalled are Snackers Market Little Pickers Cubed Tasty Cheese and Mini Crackers (35g) and Snackers Market Little Pickers Cubed Tasty Cheese and Pretzels (40g) which are marked with the use by date 03.02.22.

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Customers are being advised that they should not eat the products and should return them to an Aldi store for a full refund.

Anyone concerned about their health after eating the products should seek medical advice.

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The ALDI Food Recall Hotline can be reached on 1800 709 993 or customers can visit www.aldi.com.au.

About half of all mental health-related callouts in the past year were not attended by police, as they were called out to other higher priority situations.Police’s 2020/21 annual report warns that unmet demand for mental health…

The first batch of AstraZeneca vaccines has arrived in the country as the Government tries to boost vaccine rates by offering a second option to those who cannot or will not take the Pfizer vaccine.A 100,000 doses of the AstraZeneca…

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The motor industry says more time is needed to implement clean car standards designed to slash carbon emissions it says are the “most aggressive anywhere in the world”. Meanwhile American electric vehicle and clean energy company…

The longest partial lunar eclipse in 600 years will be visible from Melbourne tomorrow night.

The eclipse will be visible in regions in North and South America, Australia, North/West Africa, Pacific, Atlantic and parts of Europe and Asia.

It will be the longest partial eclipse since the 15th century.

According to NASA, a lunar eclipse occurs when the sun, earth and moon align, causing the moon to pass into the earth's shadow.

During a partial lunar eclipse, the earth's shadow only covers a part of the moon.

The partial eclipse will be visible in Melbourne will begin at 8.09pm on Friday, hitting its maximum at 8.12pm and ending at 11.03pm, giving it an expected duration of 2 hours and 54 minutes.

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The moment the partial eclipse reaches its greatest magnitude may not be able to be seen, as the moon will be below the horizon at that time.

People are recommended to go to a high viewing point to watch the eclipse for the best view.

The Government has approved nearly $50 million to boost Māori vaccination rates as concerns grow around exposing vulnerable communities to Covid-19 once Auckland’s borders reopen. Just over 91 per cent of the general population…

Detectives are using ground-penetrating radar to examine a slab of concrete at William Tyrrell's foster grandmother's home in the search for the missing boy's remains.

The Australian Federal Police is part of the latest search for William, who disappeared from the house on the NSW Mid North Coast in 2014.

Two sites are the focus of the latest probe – the property and a piece of bushland about a kilometre away from the home.

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Two items were seized that looked unusual have been sent away for testing.

Officers have returned to the area and are sifting through the topsoil.

Earlier, a forensic pathologist said modern techniques and technology will likely find any evidence of William's fate – if it is there to be found.

Professor David Ranson told Today investigators have access to top scientific resources.

"We can work with incredibly small amounts of trace material these days that can really start to give information to piece back as to what happened at the time," he said.

"I think the forensic technology these days has become tremendously good at detecting very, very small quantities of material and being able to analyse it.

"We are far more able to apply sensitive techniques today than even seven years ago."

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But he admitted the length of time since William's disappearance worked against the police.

"Materials degrade over time," Professor David Ranson told Today.

"Evidence can disappear, be washed away, be altered by the environment, and so on."

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Detectives are investigating whether William fell from the balcony of his foster grandmother's home and have used luminol – a chemical to detect the presence of blood – and a cadaver dog during the search.

Australian Federal Police officers also joined the investigation yesterday, bringing ground-penetrating technology and X-ray devices in their search for William's remains.

Police also confirmed yesterday they had seized a car in Sydney last week relating to the investigation.

The car had previously belonged to William's foster grandmother, who died in March this year.

It emerged yesterday that William's foster mother, who cannot be identified, is considered the person of interest in his disappearance.

She has not been arrested or charged.

WILLIAM TYRRELL'S DISAPPEARANCE: WHAT WE KNOW

• William Tyrrell vanished from his foster grandmother's house on the NSW Mid North Coast on September 12, 2014
• His foster mother is being treated as a person of interest in his disappearance
• Police are investigating a theory whether William fell from a second-storey balcony at the home
• Detectives used a substance to detect blood and a cadaver dog to scour a garden at the property
• Another search is underway in bushland about 1km from the property
• Detectives have confirmed they are looking for William's remains
• A grey Mazda previously owned by the now-deceased foster grandmother has been seized