T20 at home, White Ferns v Zimbabwe, and abroad with the Black Caps World Cup semi-final. Portia Woodman-Wickliffe retires, again. The Super Rugby weekend ahead and the New Zealand Golf Open underway.

A look at some of the funnier headlines of the past week - including a drunken passenger disrupting a murder mystery train ride in Napier, a mum whose trip to a public toilet ended in embarrassment in front of her son's football team, and a man who accidentally took control of 7000 robot vacuum cleaners.

The future of Southland's outdoor stadium, Environment Southland has asked the Government to delay its local government reform, and Southland is preparing for a major surge in attention - both on the ground and online - as the Gore-based 2026 MAGNIficent Adventure Race takes place from February 28 to March 7.

Roger Christensen of Unity Books Auckland reviews Shadow Thieves by Peter Burns, published by Farshore.

Old clothes that are unfit for resale are being collected from Northland charity shops to be turned into mattresses and insulation for families in need.

Manufacturers are working to create chocolate alternatives that don't rely on cocoa amidst volatility in supply for the product.

Watching his father lead the rebuild of his hometown in Macedonia (now called the Republic of North Macedonia), after it was destroyed by an earthquake, inspired Misko Cubrinovski's 40-year career as an engineer. Professor Misko Cubrinovski is retiring after 20 of those years with the University of Canterbury.

The latest from Asia, including the German chancellor's visit to Beijing ahead of a US diplomatic trip next month, low fertility rates in South Korea and what it means for the region, and why the world has gone bananas for an emotional support toy monkey called Punch who lives at the at the Ichikawa City Zoo in Japan.

New research out this morning has found significant disparities in life outcomes for those New Zealanders who are blind or visually impaired.

It is a buyers market but interest rates tipped to rise, Nick Tuffley joins Kathryn.