Heather du Plessis-Allan Drive

Auckland businesses have demanded more action on addressing antisocial behaviour in the city centre.

They're calling to adjust a bylaw, which would give the council power to trespass people if they believe they're a risk to public safety.

Fort Street restaurant Vivace is planning on giving safety advice to customers and using private security guards.

Co-owner Mandy Lusk says the unruly behaviour is a nuisance and hurts their businesses.

"But there's also people just out there making a nuisance of themselves- and they seem to get some kind of pleasure out of scaring people and being aggressive."

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An international relations expert doesn't believe New Zealand was too slow to call for a pause to the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Outgoing Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has joined international calls for humanitarian corridors in Gaza and designated safe areas.

Paul Buchanan says our country has done well, considering it has a caretaker Government.

"New Zealand has always tried to straddle defence on conflicts such as this. Recognising the Palestinians' cause on the one hand, recognising Israel on the other- they chose the path of least resistance."

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A Wellington City Councillor says there are ramifications from the Town Hall renovation budget blowout.

The council today voted to pay up to $147 million to cover cost increases for earthquake strengthening the CBD venue.

The total overall cost could end up as high as $329 million.

Councillor Ben McNulty says it'll take a toll on other things.

"We have to be clear that by doing this Town Hall project and the extra money, we won't be doing other things. We will be taking away from other things that we should be doing."

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Dozens of US states are suing Meta and its Instagram platform, saying they've fuelled a youth mental health crisis.

33 states have filed a lawsuit in federal court in California, claiming Meta has repeatedly misled the public about its platforms' danger.

Meta says it's disappointed by the lawsuit.

Auckland University health researcher, Samantha Marsh, says there's strong evidence to support the claims.

"Social media in particular has a really negative impact on youth mental health- so that's things like depression and anxiety."

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World Rugby has announced the details for its new men's competitions.

12 teams are going to compete in the new World League outside of the World Cup, though they haven't decided what the actual name is going to be.

It could be the World League- or it could be something else entirely, we don't know yet.

Anyway, the new competition will put the six nation sides in a tournament alongside the All Blacks, the Wallabies, the Springboks, the Pumas and two other teams.

It hasn't yet been confirmed, but the reports at this stage suggest that Japan and Fiji are likely to take up the final two slots.

There will be a Tier Two competition with promotion and relegation, but that doesn't start for several years after the Tier One.

The other big changes are going to come with the men's Rugby World Cup. The competition will be expanded to more teams, but shortened in terms of its length. So there's going to be a new 16-team knockout round between pool play and the quarter-finals.

There is a central question at the heart of all of these changes- what's the priority?

Is it to make as much money as possible from the game in the short-term, or is it to grow the game into new rugby markets?

Because if you want to grow a game in order for it to have a global footprint, you really need to ensure that teams aren't just playing- they're actually competing.

Turning up isn't enough, they actually have to be kinda good.

And how do teams get good? It's a combination of resources and experience playing stronger opposition.

There is a really good example right now in the Cricket World Cup- with its players steadily increasing their amount of experience playing against tougher opposition. Afghanistan has stunned Pakistan and England in the 50 over format.

I definitely think a shorter Rugby World Cup makes sense and having more teams will benefit the likes of Brazil and the Netherlands and Hong Kong- who are on the cusp of being in the top 24 in terms of the world rankings.

But you have to feel sorry for the better Tier Two teams that are really facing a possibility of even fewer games against Tier One opposition.

What do I mean? Think about Samoa and Tonga, for example. In the islands, rugby isn't an off-Broadway sport like it is in Brazil and the Netherlands. Other countries might squeak their way into a bigger World Cup, and that's great.

But in the islands, it is the sport. And yet, those teams are going to find themselves outside of the World League with very few opportunities to play big teams outside of the Rugby World Cup.

What's that going to mean when they turn up every four years for the likes of Samoa and Tonga? A thrashing, most likely.

World Rugby is caught between conflicting priorities. They want competition structures that reward existing rugby fans and make a lot of money for the dominant teams- but they also want to expand the game.

And for those of us who only care about the All Blacks playing the very best teams- sure the new format might be enjoyable enough.

But if you care about rugby in the Pacific, I don't think this is it.

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Police will receive 'clarified' guidance on addressing hate crimes after chaos broke out at a pro-Palestine rally in London.

A video of a man shouting 'jihad' at the rally has sparked calls for tougher police action on hate speech.

UK correspondent Enda Brady says Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley agreed existing hate crime laws 'needed re-drawing'.

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Tonight on The Huddle, Trish Sherson from Sherson Willis PR and Tim Wilson from Maxim Institute joined in on a discussion about the following issues of the day- and more!  

Sir Wayne Smith predicts new rule changes will be implemented in rugby, with permissible tackle height being lowered to belly-button level. Are the rugby rules too complicated? Are tackles below the belly button the way of the future?

David Seymour wants to make the coalition agreement public, Luxon says he'd be open to it. Do we think Winston would too? Is transparency the way to go when it comes to the coalition?

A piece from Thomas Coughlan indicated David Parker could become the next Labour leader- what do we think of this? What does Labour need?

Residents of Auckland's Ōrākei and Eastern Bay are protesting against McDonald's opening another restaurant in their neighbourhood. Should communities have a say against junk food?

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New data indicates the milk price cycle may be picking up after an earlier downturn.

The latest lift on October 17 saw prices move 4.3 percent, with milk powder up 4.2 percent and the overall average price reaching $3202 USD.

Fonterra has lifted their forecast by 50 cents and ASB and Westpac have since followed suit and increased their forecasts $7.35/kg MS and $7.25/kg MS respectively. 

The Country's Jamie Mackay is confident numbers will pick up after a dismal year for the dairy sector.

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Two warnings from international credit ratings agencies have sparked concern amongst economists.

S&P Global Ratings expressed concern with National's proposed Three Waters policy, as it could negatively impact the debt ceilings for local councils.

Fitch Ratings predicted that the new National-led Government couldn't live up to their promise of producing a budget surplus in 2027.

BusinessDesk managing editor Pattrick Smellie explained the impact of these warning signals.

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Newly released tapes revealed Australian billionaire Anthony Pratt used his wealth to build a relationship with Donald Trump. 

The recordings showed that Pratt had bought his way into Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort, sent money to Rudy Giuliani, and bragged that his wealth was his 'superpower'.

Australian correspondent Murray Olds says Donald Trump also leaked information about private calls with the leaders of Ukraine and Iraq to Pratt.

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