Otago Daily Times News Feed

Stephen Woodhead Long-time Otago Regional Council chairman Stephen Woodhead has made the shock announcement he will leave the council at the end of this term.

elections_160819.jpg Former paralympic swimmer and community board candidate Jenny Newstead gets her paperwork in, just minutes before the close of nominations for local body elections in Dunedin. Photo: Gerard O'Brien A last-minute rush of candidates for Dunedin's local body elections found themselves up against the clock today.

Road snow warnings have been issued for the South Island's alpine passes as another weekend of foul weather looms for the South.

bcadogan.jpg Bryan Cadogan is one of two Southern mayors set to be re-elected after being unopposed in upcoming local government elections. Two southern mayors look set to be re-elected automatically after standing unopposed in this year's local government elections.

elections_160819.jpg Former paralympic swimmer and community board candidate Jenny Newstead gets her paperwork in, just minutes before the close of nominations for local body elections in Dunedin. Photo: Gerard O'Brien The race for the Dunedin City Council's top job is officially under way, as 14 candidates vie to replace outgoing Mayor Dave Cull and wear the mayoral chains.

Learning how to perfect an overhead pass from Kiwi basketball star Steven Adams was an “incredible” experience, one young fan in Southland says.

gettyimages-1167359874_0.jpg RugbyPass chief executive Tim Martin says rugby is growing on the global stage and estimates there are 120 million fans worldwide, many of whom struggle to access content. Photo: Getty Images Sky Network Television shares rose 3.3% as investors welcomed plans to extend its foray into online media and push for a bigger global audience by buying online rugby platform RugbyPass for up to $US40 million ($NZ62 million).

Philip Arps was sentenced at Christchurch District Court on charges relating to the mosque massacre video. Photo: NZME files A white supremacist who shared the Christchurch mosque shooting video, and had it modified to include crosshairs and "kill count", is appealing his 21-month jail sentence.

Golden Princess, the last vessel of the cruise ship season, mirrored in a window at Port Otago. PHOTO: GERARD O’BRIEN Dunedin's cruise ship spending topped $60 million last season, up 26%, as the national figure swelled by 28%.

Tuvalu Prime Minister Enele Sopoaga. Photo: Getty Images Pacific Islands leaders have failed to agree on tough new climate change commitments at an annual summit, agreeing instead to endorse a plan that allows them to opt out of specific measures they opposed.

Police have blocked off a road in rural Waikato near Gordonton. Photo: Number 8 Network via NZ Herald Police investigating a suspected shooting near Raglan have found a body in a stolen van.

ripper_victims.jpg Photo: Reuters A jury has found a man nicknamed the "Hollywood Ripper" guilty of knifing to death two women, including actor Ashton Kutcher's date, and attempting to murder a third victim during a seven-year span.

2019-08-15t113705z_1896843293_rc12f8b6ebe0_rtrmadp_3_russia-airplane-accident.jpg The Ural Airlines Airbus landed in a corn field near Zhukovsky International Airport. Photo: Andrei Nikerichev/Moscow News Agency via Reuters Two Russian pilots safely landed an airliner carrying 233 people in a cornfield outside Moscow after striking a flock of birds, prompting the Kremlin to hail them as heroes who will receive top state awards.

A Dunedin boxer is representing New Zealand at this year's Taipei City Cup International Boxing Tournament.

The ATP has imposed a huge fine on Nick Kyrgios after his second-round loss at the Cincinnati Masters, when the Australian argued loudly with the chair umpire and smashed several rackets.

A significant number of police have descended on Invercargill Airport amid a massive manhunt for a man who allegedly stole a police patrol vehicle and two loaded pistols in Gore.

gettyimages-670895357.jpg Photo: Getty Images From puff, puff, pass, to passing altogether, more young people are staying away from cannabis, with research showing the proportion of teens using the drug each week halving in a decade.

Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his cell. Photo: Reuters A post-mortem of financier Jeffrey Epstein, who died in an apparent suicide while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, found his neck had been broken in several places, two law enforcement sources say.

2019-08-13t100046z_749577060_rc1c89750910_rtrmadp_3_asia-storm-japan.jpg High waves pound a beach in Miyazaki, in the southwest, as the typhoon approached Japan. Photo: Kyodo via Reuters Heavy rains lashed parts of western Japan as tropical storm Krosa made landfall on Thursday, forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights and trains as authorities advised more than half a million people to evacuate.

2019-08-15t101630z_1735332003_rc1d7b9fc430_rtrmadp_3_hongkong-protests-pap.jpg Military vehicles parked on the grounds of the Shenzhen Bay Sports Center across the bay from Hong Kong. Photo: Reuters Hong Kong braced for more mass protests over the weekend, even as China warned it could use its power to quell demonstrations.