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International rugby's most experienced referee Wayne Barnes has announced his retirement after 111 tests.

His retirement comes just days after the Rugby World Cup final, where he cited online abuse, including death threats, in his reasoning for stepping down.

A must-win game for the Black Caps in Bengaluru against Pakistan.

The Black Caps have lost their last three in a row, and need a win to all but secure their spot in the Cricket World Cup semifinals.

Weekend Sport host Jason Pine joined Andrew Dickens.

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David Seymour says he's confident he will be able to work alongside Winston Peters.  

The final Special Votes count has confirmed National and ACT will need NZ First to form a government. 

He says he has reached out to the New Zealand First leader but hasn't heard back yet.  

Seymour told Andrew Dickens they will need to put aside their differences. 

“This is a relationship that’s gonna work basically because the voters are keen and green in any election – they have asked us to work together and that we will do.” 

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Last Monday when I was hosting afternoon talkback I got a pithy little text that said "We've got rid of the clownshow and here comes the 3-ring circus." 

It's pretty funny because it's pretty true and it's happened. 

The counting of the special votes has confirmed that Luxon and Seymour need Winston and as we all know Seymour and Peters are not BEST friends. Critics warn of a conservative coalition of chaos. That won't be so but only if it's a coalition of compromise.

It could be worse. Labour, the Greens, New Zealand First and Te Pāti Māori together have 63 seats. In a parliament of 123, that means they could have theoretically stolen the election. So thank Chris Hipkins for ruling Winston Peters out before the election. 

Now the horse-trading begins and the fight for influence between ACT and New Zealand First and the question exists as to who National will owe more to. The larger party, ACT, or the smaller party, New Zealand First, that gives them the final vital votes to form the government. 

It's the age-old question of coalitions — the saga of the tail and the dog. 

Meanwhile, the special votes have no good news for Labour. The final upshot is that just 26.9 per cent of New Zealand voted for the party. A sad result after over 50 per cent supported the party a short 3 years ago. 

The ultimate sign of the disaffection is Mt Albert where Helen White has held on but with an even smaller majority than on election night. In 2020 the majority was 20 thousand votes. Now it's just 20. A brutal swing which shows the verdict on the party, the policies and the candidate. There is no way that Helen can continue to say she's done well. 

And despite all the concessions Labour made to their Māori caucus and the policies that gave many New Zealanders conniptions, Māori have turned around and given their seats to Te Pāti Māori. The ultimate snub was to Labour's deputy leader Kelvin Davis, who has lost his seat. And if he's true to his word then he'll have to resign. Which can I say might be a blessing for Labour as it tries to rebuild. 

So here we are with a parliament of 122 seats about to become 123 under the bizarre vagaries of MMP. Certainly, if we had First past the Post this would have been a more clearcut process of government formation. But we don't. 

We have what we have and it's now over to our political leaders to show the maturity to stitch together a stable government to lead us through a period of time that becomes more complicated as time goes by. 

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After years in the making, the Beatles are set to release their musical farewell to the world.

'Now and Then' features all four members on the track, and will be the last song credited to Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr.

The song is being released Friday and the video debuts on Saturday.

UK correspondent Enda Brady says this song has been 45 years in the making, with AI enhancing the final product.

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Tonight on The Huddle- Sam Johnson, Projects Director at Still and Capital director Neale Jones joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more!

MPI has ordered 'brain drink' creators Ārepa to publish a notice saying some of its claimed health and performance benefits are unsubstantiated. Is this marketing misleading- or should consumers have known better?

A search is underway at Erin Patterson's house in Victoria months after she cooked a deadly mushroom meal for her family. Patterson has been arrested- what happens next? Is there any way she can get a fair trial?

The public service costs have continued to increase- up 4.5 percent on last year. The average annual salary for a public servant is $92,000- Will this probably reinforce the incoming Government's view that a trim is needed?

Tomorrow's final election results are in- how do we think this will play out?

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The economic outlook in the United States is looking up.

GDP in America has increased at an annual rate of 4.9 percent in the third quarter in 2023, according to recent data.

Their inflation is currently at 3.7 percent and consumer spending is surging.

Sam Dickie from Fisher Funds recaps the less-than-stellar market reaction to the ongoing US quarterly result season.

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Shareholder confidence in New Zealand's primary sector listed companies has fallen to an eight-year low and dropped 22 percent on the 10 months since January.

The S&P/NZX Primary Sector Index dropped to 10,000, a low not seen since January 2016.

The Country's Jamie Mackay says only the Fonterra Shareholders Fund has managed to stay positive all year.

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The incoming National-led Government will soon have to make headway on their plans for the economy.

The sector has already reported increased confidence, with data from Auckland's Business Chamber showing confidence levels are up 11 percentage points from before the election.

NZ Herald business editor at large Liam Dann says the incoming Government will want to begin by clearing up the short-term economic issues.

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The nervous wait is almost over for a number of MPs on the cusp of losing their spot in Parliament.

The much-anticipated final results - including special votes - will be released tomorrow at 2pm.

ZB political editor Jason Walls says a lot's riding on the last 570,000 votes to be counted.

"On current numbers, National and ACT can form a slim majority. But it's likely the centre-right bloc will lose at least one or two seats- that means they'll need NZ First to form a Government."

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Homes have been destroyed and tens of thousands of hectares of pasture have been burned up, as wildfires tear through Queensland.

Conditions have eased today, but dozens of bushfire warnings are in place as firefighters struggle to bring the disasters back under control.

Australian correspondent Murray Olds says firefighters are working to build containment lines around dangerous areas, as it's only a matter of time until temperatures flare up again.

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