Due to the live nature of Tonight, we apologise for the lack of captions for some items. Tonight ` it was all on; now it's anything but. The sale of Crafar farms hits a surprise snag. The inquiry into the Pike River mining disaster gets personal, with a former boss in the firing line. And the monster above an Auckland Harbour, which saw some leave work early. It's been knocked back by the High Court, but the Overseas Investment Office says it's confident the Chinese bid for the Crafar farms will still go through. And they hope to have a new report before the Government within days, after a High Court judge today effectively halted the bid. Simon Bradwell reports. The Crafar farms seen from the sky. Now their sale is also up in the air. Chinese bidder Shanghai Penxin had been given Government approval to buy the 16 farms for a reported $210m. A High Court judge has put that on hold, but for how long? The judge was quite clear in his judgement about that. He said that, having resubmitted the application, there was no reason why the ministers could not come to the same decision as they did previously. A local bid for the farms involving Sir Michael Fay challenged the sale in the High Court. And today Justice Miller found the Overseas Investment Office 'materially overstated' the economic benefits of the overseas investment, treating as irrelevant the likely behaviour of any alternative purchaser and, as a result, the ministers 'misdirected themselves' in law. We didn't read into the act any requirements to make a comparison between the benefits that we would bring to NZ by buying these farms, as opposed to the benefits that some hypothetical person might bring. The deal was signed off by two ministers, John Key forced to defend them during a testy session at Parliament. It's not for ministers to rewrite the law's interpretation by the Overseas Investment Office. But while the Fay camp are celebrating... NZ dairy farmers are the best in the world, so to say that an overseas investor can come in and offer more than you get from NZ dairy farmers is just wrong. ...it's far from game over. We're confident that we can quickly address those issues and provide a revised recommendation to ministers very soon. Possibly even before the weekend. Simon Bradwell, ONE News. With the anniversary of the February quake one week away, demolitions in the Christchurch CBD are now at the halfway stage. But the future of some buildings, like the city's Anglican Cathedral is still uncertain. The red zone was opened up to some media today and reporter Lorelei Mason joined the tour. One year on, it's still a sorry sight ` large tracts of bare land where proud buildings once stood. Those still standing are sad sights of decay. Inside this restaurant, tables are covered in dust. Outside, weeds threaten to take over. No cars, no hum. DEBRIS CLATTERS Just the sporadic sounds of demolition. Here in the red zone, they call it progress. To me, it's almost like spring in the CBD. You've got almost the winter of demolition. On the small buildings, it's largely over. We've got the bigger ones still to go, but there's actually some new buildings starting to occur and that's really positive. A busload of media were taken on today's tour, most local, but some from overseas gathering in the city to mark next Wednesday's anniversary. The site of the PGC and CTV buildings were key stops. Both are now razed bare, but memories, long faded, still adorn the fence line at the CTV building, where 115 lost their lives. The overwhelming feeling you get when you walk these streets now is one of disorientation. Landmarks and buildings that I've grown up all my life with have now disappeared, and the only way I'm able to really get my bearings is to look for the street signs. Over 600 buildings are now down, but there are another 600 more to go. Among them are city icons like the Town Hall and Convention Centre. The pre-Christmas aftershocks have added a further six buildings to that tally. Building reinspections are pushing the date for the city cordon to be lifted from Easter to late June. We're making progress, but it would be lovely` it'd better if it was even quicker. MAN: I understand the Newstalk ZB House is likely to come down now. The cathedral's fate too hangs in the balance. Issued with a CERA demolition notice before Christmas, the December shakes wreaked even more havoc. The strengthened south wall is now too crumbling. The whole cathedral is slowly rocking itself to pieces. But whether it's a part or full demolition is now in the hands of engineers. Their report is due in the next few weeks. Lorelei Mason, ONE News. Safety fences that could have saved at least one life were removed just days before February's earthquake struck. The Royal Commission into the earthquakes heard today that barriers were removed from around buildings in Gloucester St four days before the 6.3 earthquake. Israeli citizen Ofer Mizrahi died in a parked van. Council records appear to indicate that cordons were removed as the result of the letter received from Becker Engineering confirming any potential dangerous features have been removed or secured and that the stability of their structure is sufficient that it does not pose a threat to adjacent buildings or the public that is significantly greater than prior to the earthquake. The Commission was told Winne Bagoes building was recorded in council files as a 'possible earthquake-prone building'. Aucklanders were treated to a spectacular sight this afternoon as monster waterspouts appeared around Auckland Harbour. Some on the North Shore knocked off work early just in case the spouts made landfall and turned into tornadoes. The spouts were formed by the heat and wild air currents that Auckland was experiencing today, but it seems the destructive weather has moved east. The first appeared by Wynyard Quarter, right by Auckland's CBD, with a second reportedly forming near Milford on the North Shore. Details on how police watched and listened to those in a military-style training camp have been revealed as the Crown outlines its case against the Urewera Four. Today members of the highly secretive, elite police squad the Special Tactics Group have given evidence. Donna-Marie Lever's been following the case. Tame Iti, Te Rangi-Kaiwhiria Kemara, Urs Signer and Emily Bailey were being watched in the bushes, unaware they were being filmed. It was the Police Special Tactics Group who planted the devices, then they hid and listened. I could hear someone yelling out, for instance, 'Bang, bang, bang, bang,' > simulating a firing weapon at one stage. Commands like, 'Fall out. Fall out. Go, go, go.' We can't name or show you members of the STG, but today the jury were told about volleys of gunfire they heard. I gauged the shots as coming from a .762-calibre weapon. The shooting continued for approximately one hour. I could also hear what sounded like a suppressed weapon being fired. Under cross-examination, the defence questioned just how the STG knew exactly which weapons were being used when they could only hear and not see what was going on. The Urewera Four face a dozen firearms charges as well as participation in an organised criminal group. The filming of the so-called training camps has again taken centre stage at the trial, with defence lawyers quick to question just what the jury has been shown. Cameras certainly don't capture the totality of what is occurring. Well, there was certainly other activity that was occurring which was out of sight of the cameras. And police were pushed as to why they hid more cameras as Operation Eight unfolded. We had seen the activity of the Molotov cocktails being thrown at the stove, and we could see where we believed persons were assembling. The Crown still has more than 80 witnesses left to call. Donna-Marie Lever, ONE News. Former Pike River Mine boss Peter Whittall came in for scathing criticism at the commission of inquiry into the disaster in Greymouth today. In emails and in a police interview after the mine explosion, a former mine manager lambasted Mr Whittall, calling him a 'dodgy git'. Lisa Davies is covering the inquiry. A tough day on the stand for former mine manager Doug White. Take as long as you like. > He was questioned about wanting out of his job at Pike River and grilled about a scathing email about his boss Peter Whittall, sent just three days before the explosion. In it he told a friend, 'I am now the GM for the whole site...' Does that rather carry the implication > that you'd seen him in that role as a 'dodgy git' for a time? > The short answer is yes. He also wrote he was finding it... At the time I wrote that email, I do recall being fairly... fairly angry. However, earlier he'd told the commission despite the disintegration of his relationship with Peter Whittall, he maintained a professional relationship. It's not as if we were at each other's throats or anything like that. Quite the contrary. Doug White was also asked about another volatile exchange when he witnessed Peter Whittall giving health-and-safety manager Neville Rockhouse a dressing-down at a meeting. Both of them ` and these are my words ` pretty much did get ripped into them, yeah. Ripped into Mr Rockhouse?> Yep. The outburst made Neville Rockhouse want to resign from Pike River, a mine Justice Panckhurst today described as having a revolving door when it came to managers. Lisa Davies, ONE News. A new Australian study suggests smoking while pregnant can not only reduce your baby's fertility, but also their grandchildren's. Scientists have found that damage from cigarette toxins can be passed down for generations. ABC's Sophie Scott has this story. The dangers of smoking while pregnant are well-documented. What hasn't been clear is whether the damage from smoking could be passed on from one generation to another. Now new research by the University of Newcastle suggests it can. It tells us that the effect of smoking is not confined to the person who smoked, but through the germline can be transferred to future generations. Using mice, they found that females who were exposed to cigarette smoke as a foetus or baby had fewer eggs. And those they did have were of inferior quality. In our experiments, when we looked at the ovaries of these mice, we discovered that about a third of the eggs had completely disappeared ` that they'd been killed off by the exposure to the toxin. The findings prompted researchers to look at what effect smoking might have on a female baby's later fertility. It's very significant, because it completely changes the way that we look at cigarette-smoking. Despite public health campaigns, it's estimated that one in five pregnant Australian women still smoke. And fertility rates in this country remain low. The main reason is that women are waiting until they're older to have children. In doing that, they're actually having babies in their 30s, and that's at the time when you're pool of eggs is very severely depleted. And men are not immune. Research published in 2010 found that cigarette-smoking during pregnancy could affect the fertility of male foetuses later in life. Just ahead, Israel threatens to retaliate, saying Iran is behind a terror attack in Bangkok. And why the funeral for singer Whitney Houston will be a private, not a public, ceremony. 1 Israel's threatening retaliation after what it says is another Iranian attack on its diplomatic interests. In Thailand's capital, Bangkok, a suspected Iranian terrorist was critically injured after throwing grenades at police. Steve Marshall reports on what many analysts are calling Israel and Iran's secret war. Hardly a tourist-friendly image ` a Thai explosives expert on a blood-stained Bangkok street. The Iranian suspect hurled grenades at police before an explosion tore his legs off and injured four bystanders. The man was one of three Iranians who only minutes earlier fled this house where they were staying after an accidental explosion tore through its roof. We are concerned about use of terrorism by Iran or by anybody else against Israel or against any other innocents. The blast came after the wife of an Israeli diplomat was injured by a car bomb in Delhi, while police foiled an attack on another Israeli embassy car in the Republic of Georgia. Israel blames Iran for the attacks and is threatening to retaliate. TRANSLATOR: 'We can identify exactly who is responsible for these attacks and who ordered them, 'and if I can put it diplomatically, we will not stand idly by.' Iran rejects the accusations, saying it condemns all terror attacks. I think Iran is not only retaliating for the embarrassment of having its nuclear scientists killed in its own capital, but it's also sending Israel a message that if Israel bombs Iran's nuclear facilities, Iran can retaliate around the world through its terrorist network. Bangkok has been on edge since last month, when Thai police arrested a Lebanese man suspected of planning an attack in the capital. The Thai prime minister is urging people not to jump to conclusions about the Bangkok blasts and is calling for calm after yet another blow to that tourist-friendly image. Steve Marshall, ONE News. America's getting a first-hand look at the man tipped to take the reins of its rapidly rising economic rival, China. ABC's Jake Tapper tells us about a new political giant. This man is likely about to rule 1.3 billion people. So when Chinese vice-president Xi Jinping came to the White House today, he was welcomed warmly,... I hope you have a wonderful visit while you're here. I'm sure the American people welcome you. ...meeting with the President... ...our very special guest of honour. ...honoured at a state department luncheon and visits with the Pentagon, and, later, business leaders. He's shown signs of modernity, married to a famous folk singer in their country ` kind of China's version of Adele. (SINGS OPERATICALLY) Their daughter attends Harvard, and tomorrow vice-president Xi will return Muscatine, Iowa, where in 1985, Xi, then just a mid-level Communist official, visited to learn about hog-raising techniques. He spent two nights in this home with an Iowa family in their college-aged son's bedroom, which was festooned at the time with Star Trek decorations. Sarah Lande helped coordinate that visit. We really welcomed him into our home as one of us. You know, he slept in the kids' room. He sat around our dining room table. We just gave him an Iowa welcome. Xi will soon have a lot on his plate, and the US, while welcoming, is sceptical. We wanna work with China to make sure that everybody is working by the same rules of the road, when it comes to the world economic system. Among the problems,... Check out this Chinese car made to look like a Ford. Tibet was never part of China! And, then, of course, the concerns of these protesters outside the White House today ` human rights. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the visit to China by then US President Richard Nixon, which ushered in a new relationship between the US and China. Plans for the funeral of singer Whitney Houston have been revealed today, with the star's family choosing a private instead of a public ceremony. The songstress will be laid to rest in the New Jersey church she began her singing career in as a child, but fans aren't invited, with family telling them they've 'shared her enough'. The ABC's Jim Avila with more. Room 434 at the Beverley Hilton hotel is out of service indefinitely, security not allowing sightseers on the fourth floor where Whitney Houston died. MAN: Excuse me, sir. This area is off-limits. And the suite, evidence fully gathered, is closed to guests. Outside, a memorial to the troubled singer visited by loyal fans and music royalty. That's Paul McCartney quietly laying yellow roses and softly blowing a kiss. No sign of police or coroner investigators here, as they wait for toxicology results to determine if the small amount of prescription drugs and alcohol ABC News has learned were found in her room had anything to do with Whitney Houston's death. # Didn't we almost have it all? Fans in Newark, New Jersey today found out this may be as close as they get to Saturday's memorial service. Houston's family, lead by matriarch Cissy, who welcomed her daughter's body home last night ` it arrived in a golden hearse ` told fans today through the funeral director, 'There is no room for them.' This is their private time. They have shared her for 37 years with the city, with the state, with the world. The funeral will be by invitation only at the church where Whitney once sang gospel music as a child. # Ooh, Jesus. # Whitney Elizabeth Houston. Among those expected to be invited, Whitney Houston's godmother, Aretha Franklin, who sang her own tribute in Charlotte last night. # I will always love you. # Oh, I will always... # I will always love you. # Just ahead ` Renee's here with another rainy picture? And it's only 10 months till Christmas Day ` will a break-dancing Mickey Mouse be on your wish list? BRIGHT POP INTRO PLAYS # It's all ours now. # I see things clearer. # It's clearer now. # Now. # OPSM's advanced lens technology is here. Finally, you can enjoy prescription sunglasses in almost any style. South Africa has opened its tour of NZ with a T20 win against the Canterbury Wizards tonight in Christchurch. South Africa's attack made a dream start when speedster Lonwabo Tsotsobe picked up a hat-trick with the ball. Matt McEwan and Matt Henry showed some resolve with the bat, but it wasn't enough. The tourists won by 20 runs. South Africa meet the Blackcaps in Wellington on Friday. Now to the weather with Renee. Thanks, Greg. MetService has a heavy rain warning in place for Eastern Bay of Plenty and Gisborne. Our resident trough continues to pester us, but at the same time weakens. The ridge digs in further and we end up with two centres ` one over the central Tasman and one east of the South Island. For now, any frontal activity west and south of the high is kept at bay. Isobars are widely spaced, so this results in not a lot of wind for most places. For weather, see tvnz.co.nz And that's your weather. I'll see you tomorrow. It may seem like Christmas has just ended, but those in the toy industry are already looking ahead for this year's Christmas gifts. This break-dancing Mickey Mouse is already expected to be a hot seller here at the American international toy fair being held in New York City. You're seeing all the creativity, all the innovation, and everything really come together, so this event is huge, cos who doesn't wanna come and play with toys? This year you'll be able to play with your Hot Wheels on your iPad, I DON'T, COS I'M A GROWN MAN. a robot can teach you how to spell, and you can find your own monster doll. That's it from us here on Tonight.