The Labour leader told the world the news in an Instagram post this afternoon.

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One of the strains detected in Christchurch has been linked to an Auckland cluster.

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He boasted: ‘Everyone will fall for it … One day we’ll write about it in a book.’

Donald Trump has resumed his social media siege against the late night television industry – and comedian Seth Meyers is his latest target.

The US president took to his platform Truth Social to call for Meyers to be fired after the Late Night host described Trump as the "most unpopular president of all time" while discussing the Republican Party's declining support.

"Trump is losing support among Republicans. Not all or even most of them, but enough to make a difference," Meyers said during his November 14 show.

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"Republicans losing faith in Trump is a meaningful and real development, and it's not coming out of thin air.

"He's done a bunch of very specific things to pi– off MAGA lately."

Recent poll numbers found Trump's approval rating among Republicans has dropped by 13 points since March 2025, according to the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Meyers also took aim at Trump's support for the H1B visa program in the US to bring skilled foreign workers into America to boost manufacturing, after the president claimed US citizens in the "unemployment line" can't be trusted to work in factories.

He joked that Trump would also be in the "unemployment line" if he didn't come from wealth.

"If you didn't have a rich dad, that's where you'd be, my man," Meyers continued.

"I mean, without a million bucks you inherited from your father, you'd be a guy in Queens who lost his job selling vacuums door to door."

In a fiery response on Truth Social, Trump accused Meyers of suffering from "an incurable case of Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS)".

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The president also called on NBC to fire Meyers.

"He was viewed last night in an uncontrollable rage, likely due to the fact that his 'show' is a Ratings DISASTER," he said.

"Aside from everything else, Meyers has no talent, and NBC should fire him, IMMEDIATELY!"

Trump's Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Brendan Carr reposted the message onto his X account.

Meyers has not publicly responded to Trump's fiery social media post.

He is not the first host to become ensnared in the president's retaliation against anti-Trump messaging on late night TV.

Fellow comedian Jimmy Kimmel was pulled off the air in September following comments he made about Charlie Kirk's assassination.

Jimmy Kimmel Live! was temporarily suspended by ABC's parent company Disney for criticising the MAGA movement's reaction to conservative activist Kirk's death.

Trump celebrated the decison and said Kimmel is "not a talented person", adding he "was fired because he had bad ratings more than anything else".

Kimmel returned to the air after a week.

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It is a debate many hoped would never be revived after the fog of war lifted: compulsory military conscription.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict has triggered several European governments to discuss or reinstate mandatory military service for the first time in decades.

NATO countries are now expected to meet the target of spending 5 per cent of annual GDPs on defence by 2035 as "profound security threats and challenges" threaten the EU.

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This ambitious target has generated an EU-wide drive to increase and fortify militaries.

Germany's government this past week torpedoed a plan to bring back its formerly-abolished system of mandatory conscription following a government stoush over the issue.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz had advocated for bringing back compulsory service because he wanted to build the strongest conventional army in Europe in the face of Russian threats.

But his grand plan was reduced to a new system of voluntary service.

If this does not help strengthen the country's dwindling military numbers, a nationwide conscription, known in German as "bedarfswehrpflicht", may be reconsidered.

https://x.com/NATO/status/1937861780576838025

Compulsory conscription has successfully been reestablished in other EU countries.

Latvia reinstated mandatory service for men in 2024 after 18 years, which forces conscripts to serve 11 months minimum.

And conscription was also brought back in Ukraine in 2014 following the war in Donbas.

Croatian lawmakers recently voted to re-introduce compulsory military service from January 1, 2026.

Despite the country previously abolishing conscription in 2008, the new law sailed through parliament as a response to the Russian war on Ukraine and rising tensions in the Middle East.

"We are seeing a rise in various types of threats … that demand swift and effective action from the broader community," Defence Minister Ivan Anusic said.

Male Australian-Croatian nationals will need to report to the defence authorities of Croatia under the change which will come into effect on January 1 in 2026.

It will see 18,000 men enlisted each year for two months of training as they turn 18.

Failure to report to defence authorities is an offence.

Women are exempt from Croatia's conscription.

Nearby Serbia moved to bring back compulsory military service this year after abolishing it 14 years earlier.

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Serbian men will be made to take part in 60 days of training and 15 days of exercises, the government said in 2024.

Women are exempt from Croatia and Serbia's conscription.

However gender exemption has been scrapped in some EU nations, such as Denmark.

Danish women can be called for up to 11 months of mandatory military service when they turn 18 after new rules were passed in parliament.

Before now, women could join the military on a voluntary basis.

Denmark has a lottery system that decides who gets drafted, which is used after volunteers are recruited.

Neighbouring nations Sweden and Norway also both enshrined mandatory conscription for women.

Sweden introduced it in 2017, while the Norwegian parliament brought in universal conscription for men and women in 2015.

Switzerland, meanwhile, also has a compulsory system for military service, which only applies to men.

Swiss citizens voted overwhelmingly to keep conscription during a referendum in 2013.

However the country appears to be slowly moving towards a gender-neutral model too.

A proposal for changing the military penal codes in Switzerland is under consultation.

The push comes as the Swiss army aims to rebuild ranks.

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Does Australia have compulsory military service?

Conscription during peacetime was abolished in Australia in 1972 as the end of the Vietnam War neared.

However the question of mandatory national service in Australia does arise now and again.

Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott called on school leavers to serve a period of national service while speaking on a podcast in 2022.

"It's about giving as well as receiving and I think we do have to talk more about what we can give back to our country," Abbott said at the time.

Ex-SAS soldier Harry Moffitt also recently began a campaign to convince the government to provide a form of national service for every student finishing year 10.

He claimed it would be nation-building and help to save "the anxious generation".

In 2022, Defence Minister Richard Marles urged young Australians to enlist in the Defence Force amid a worrying shortage.

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The deaths of three children and their father at the scene of a Manawatu house fire in New Zealand are being investigated as a suspected triple murder-suicide, Stuff understands.

Dean Field died at a property on SH1 in Sanson that was consumed by fire on Saturday afternoon, and it's understood police believe he killed his three children – August, Hugo, and Goldie, aged 7, 5, and 1 – and then took his own life.

The bodies of two of the children were removed from the scene yesterday evening and police said today that efforts were ongoing to locate the body of the third.

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Police declined to comment about the circumstances of the deaths when approached by Stuff today.

A New Zealand Ministry of Justice spokesperson said three deaths had been referred to the coroner, and a fourth was expected to be notified.

The investigation was in its early stages, they said, and formal identification of the deceased had yet to be completed.

Stuff previously reported that it was believed police were investigating whether the fire was deliberately lit. They've said they're not seeking anyone else in relation to it.

It's understood Field and the mother of the children, both of whom had lived at the property, were separating.

Manawatu area commander Inspector Ross Grantham family were present to bless the two children's bodies with karakia when they were removed from the scene on Sunday evening.

He said police were completing a "meticulous and "thorough" scene examination at the property.

"This tragedy has shocked not only the local community, but also many people across the country," he said.

"Our investigators remain determined to find answers to as many questions as we can."

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An online fundraiser, titled "A mother's worst nightmare", set up to support the mother of the children, said they "were the light and love of her life, and her entire world has been shattered".

"In the midst of this unimaginable grief, she also lost her home and everything she owned," friends of the woman wrote.

The appeal had raised more than NZ$160,000 ($139,028) by early this afternoon local time, and the friends offered their "deepest gratitude" for the outpouring of support.

They thanked the nation for "the beautiful messages of love, thoughts and prayers, and the community spirit that you all have created for our friend".

"No amount of money will ever be enough to heal the wounds left in her heart and soul, but to have this safety net to rebuild her life, knowing what feels like the whole of Aotearoa is with her, and how you have all contributed to this outpouring of love in so many ways is more than we could've ever hoped for," they wrote.

Police 'ran towards house'

A Sanson man who Stuff has chosen not to name said he drove past the fire at about 2.45pm on Saturday. The house was well ablaze with thick, billowing smoke.

The man said he saw two police officers with "big guns" running towards the house. There were fire engines present.

The police officers were dressed in black with masks on.

'I don't think it gets much worse'

Neighbour Alan Parker spoke of the tragedy that occurred close to his house.

"I don't think it gets much worse. It's really, really bad for the people who are left behind to deal with it," he said.

Parker knew Field as a neighbour and said while they weren't quite friends, the man would help fix up his truck and other mechanical bits and pieces.

Parker did not know the mother or the children, but he had seen them playing on bikes and scooters on the property. Field would take them fishing and into the outdoors.

"Things seemed to be going well for them. They spent a heap of money renovating, he's been painting for the last six months," Parker said.

On Saturday he saw the flames and smoke and thought it was his own house that was alight. Then he realised it was theirs.

"The smoke was so bad I thought my house was on fire," he said.

He didn't know anyone was home until later. The police came to his house looking for the children.

Finding out each new detail was a "ratcheting up" of tragedy, he said.

"There's a hole that's not going to be filled very easily."

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

Readers seeking support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or beyond blue on 1300 22 4636.

This article initally appeared on Stuff and is republished here with permission.