Weather & Civil Defence: Wellington has declared a state of emergency and ordered evacuations for waterfront suburbs as Cook Strait swells of up to 10.5m are forecast, with Cook Strait ferry cancellations also announced. Local Governance: Auckland councillors are being urged to back “Scenario B” to wind back Plan Change 120, keeping apartment zoning along bus routes and taller building heights near key rail stations. Rugby Coaching: Tony Brown is set to return to New Zealand Rugby in 2028 as an All Blacks assistant coach through to the end of 2029, after finishing his Springboks role post-2027 World Cup. Sport (Cricket): England’s Bazball reset started with a 115-run win over New Zealand at Lord’s, with Gus Atkinson taking 5-30 and Ollie Robinson winning player-of-the-match. Economy & Markets: NZ shares fell to near a two-week low as hot US jobs data lifted expectations of Federal Reserve rate hikes, dragging utilities and tech-linked stocks. Trade & Industry: The government has ordered a global safeguard investigation into aluminium extrusion imports that could lead to provisional duties within two months. Health & Biotech: Respien has hired Sage Healthcare to run a global partnering process for HI-164, a Phase 3-ready oral biologic for COPD.