Around 70 million litres of untreated wastewater leaked into waters off Wellington after a failure at the Moa Point treatment plant, and local authorities have advised people to avoid coastal waterways while repairs continue.
Authorities report 35 people have died and almost 400 were injured after record snowfall in northern Japan; officials warned that melting snow could increase avalanche and slip risks.
South Australia Police have declared the disappearance of four-year-old Gus Lamont a major crime and say a person who lived at the family's Oak Park station is now considered a suspect; two of his grandmothers have engaged lawyers and said they will not be giving interviews.
Mountbatten Hampshire will open a new charity shop at 36 Jewry Street in Winchester this spring to help raise funds for its end-of-life care services; the charity says demand for its services has grown 71% over the past three years.
Opinion polls this week suggest the ruling LDP and its coalition partner could secure a two-thirds lower-house majority, and much of the party’s momentum is linked to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s high public profile and social media reach.
At a rain-soaked London premiere of Wuthering Heights, Jacob Elordi held an umbrella for co-star Margot Robbie, keeping her gown dry while his suit became wet; the pair later laughed and posed for photos. The film is scheduled to open in Australia on February 12.
Investigators found 189 human remains at the Return to Nature facility and owners Jon and Carie Hallford pleaded guilty; Jon is due to be sentenced Friday and Carie is scheduled for sentencing in April, and relatives are preparing to testify.
A Lancet review of trials involving more than 120,000 people found few side effects linked to statins and reported similar adverse-event rates in placebo groups; serious liver disease was not increased.
Jesy Nelson has announced an Amazon Prime documentary and is campaigning for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) screening to be added to the newborn heel prick test after her nine-month-old twins were diagnosed with SMA1.
Kyiv and Moscow completed a major prisoner exchange during a US-brokered two-day round of talks in Abu Dhabi. Negotiators agreed to resume negotiations soon, while US special envoy Steve Witkoff said significant work remains.
