Staff at a Canterbury medical centre are seeing an increase in verbally abusive behaviour from patients - and the clinical director fears they "will have no choice but to close" if it continues.

The Gaza Strip ceasefire should begin on Sunday as planned, despite the need for negotiators to tie up a last-minute "loose end", the US says.

Evacuees from the LA wildfires have been told to stay away from homes for at least another week, as emergency responders remove toxic waste from incinerated neighbourhoods and cut off electricity and gas lines posing a hazard amid ruins.

When Northland ear specialist Marg Hunt was driving to work this week, she wasn't surprised to hear on the radio there are hundreds of ACC claims relating to cockroaches in ears.

A union is mulling whether stab-proof vests and personal alarms should be rolled out for nurses after one was stabbed while on the job.