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James Hayward, a West Coast painter whose abstractions earned him a loyal cult following among artists, died on April 16. He was 82, according to a brief obituary posted by his studio over the weekend. Hayward may not be among the most well-known names to emerge from the postwar period, but many artists knew and loved his work. Mike Kelley, for example, once praised him as “one of the few truly important West Coast painters.” His process was marked by a certain eccentricity that differentiated his art from a lot of similar work. From the mid-1970s onward, Hayward largely produced monochrome abstractions. But where many single-color canvases from the era were characterized by the smooth, even application of paint, Hayward purposefully left his materials chunky and thick. Referring to the phrase “monochrome abstraction,” Hayward told Artillery of his work, “People ask what does that mean—you know, lay people? I say, well basically I make one-color paintings of basically nothing.” A...

Māngere Bridge and surrounding South Auckland neighbourhoods, where police are responding to repeat family harm and youth offending. Photo: aboutmangerebridge Local Democracy Reporting | Free Public Interest News Service By Taelegalolo’u Mary Afemata of Local Democracy Reporting. Police are raising concerns about repeat family harm and youth crime in Māngere and Ōtāhuhu, with officers returning to the same households again and again. Speaking to the Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board, Inspector Mohammed Atiq, Counties Manukau West Area Prevention Manager, said the pattern is clear and hard to break. “It’s usually the same people over and over again, so it’s not new that we go to new places when we go to somebody we’ve actually been there before, they don’t have their own capability or problem-solving skills to sort their problems out and that’s why they get into that situation,” Atiq said. He said many of these cases involve children, which means police cannot simply step back....

The Northern United and Hutt Old Boys Marist teams in action at Porirua Park on Saturday. Photo: Kinetic Images. A wild Saturday saw most matches played in conditions more akin to mid-July than Mid-April, and a handful spanning at least four grades that didn’t go ahead. The most high profile of these was the Paremata-Plimmerton...

Canada has concluded Operation NANOOK-NUNALIVUT 2026, marking the largest and most comprehensive winter Arctic operation ever conducted under the broader Operation NANOOK framework. Running from February to April, the exercise highlighted the Canadian Armed Forces’ growing focus on northern readiness as international attention on the Arctic continues to intensify. Approximately 1,300 Canadian Armed Forces members took part in the mission, supported by nearly 200 vehicles and pieces of equipment, including two M777 howitzers. Operations spanned Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, British Columbia, Alberta, and Manitoba, combining land, air, and joint activities across some of the country’s most remote and demanding terrain. The 2026 edition also featured military participation from Belgium, Denmark, France, and the United States, reinforcing allied coordination in a region of increasing strategic importance. Among the most notable achievements was a long-range patrol covering ...

Cellula Robotics has appointed Colleen Hahn as Vice President, Technology Transfer and Strategy, reinforcing its senior leadership team as the company expands its footprint in the United States and advances its broader international growth ambitions. Based in Burnaby, British Columbia, Cellula said Hahn’s role will focus primarily on the US market while also supporting the company’s wider global strategy. Her responsibilities will include market intelligence, customer engagement, strategic outreach, and partnership development across Cellula’s subsidiaries and partner network. The appointment underlines Cellula’s continued investment in the relationships, market insight, and strategic direction needed to accelerate growth across both defence and commercial sectors. It also reflects the company’s commitment to ensuring its capabilities remain closely aligned with customer priorities and emerging market opportunities. Hahn joins the business with extensive experience in partnership d...

Canada’s push to strengthen its defence industrial base has gained fresh momentum, with AtkinsRéalis and Hanwha Ocean signing a strategic Memorandum of Understanding aimed at supporting the country’s submarine capability and long-term domestic industrial resilience. Announced in Montreal on April 14, 2026, the agreement aligns with Canada’s new Defence Industrial Strategy and sets out a framework for long-term collaboration between the Canadian engineering and nuclear leader and the global shipbuilding and submarine manufacturer. Together, the two companies will explore opportunities to enhance Canada’s submarine readiness while helping build industrial capacity at home. The partnership brings together AtkinsRéalis’ extensive expertise in submarine infrastructure and lifecycle support with Hanwha Ocean’s established submarine design and manufacturing capabilities. It marks an early but significant step in what both companies describe as an ambitious collaboration. “At a time when ...