Otago Daily Times News Feed

A 9-year-old girl has drowned at a South Auckland house.

Civil Defence staff continue their work in South Otago as it enters clean-up mode after heavy flooding.

mt_tongariro_photo_nz_herald_501ffc1cdb_jpg_50245a05c0.jpg Mt Tongariro in the Central North Island. Photo: ODT files Four trampers have spent a night in freezing conditions, after getting lost on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing.

Damian McKenzie takes aim at Newlands. Photo: Getty Images Fullback Damian McKenzie landed four penalties and wing Shaun Stevenson scored a try late on as the Chiefs claimed a hard-fought 17-11 victory over the Stormers in their Super Rugby quarter-final in South Africa.

Dunedin remains under a state of emergency, but the focus is now on recovery and clean-up efforts after the severe storm.

Jack Vernal with his mum Kathryn at their Pine Hill home. PHOTO: BRENDA HARWOOD Little Jack Verna smiles as he "commando crawls'' around the living-room floor, making a beeline for mother Kathryn and a big cuddle.

Sandra Lawn stands in front of a poppy she placed next to the name of Private James Cooney on a remembrance wall in Tyne Cot Cemetery, in Belgium. PHOTO: SUPPLIED A Dunedin woman has praised the "kindness'' of a Star reader who placed a poppy next to the name of a fallen soldier on a war memorial in Belgium.

Snow blankets Dunedin last week. PHOTO: DAVE HAY Dunedin ratepayers have made good use of the Dunedin City Council's Warm Dunedin initiative, leading to 1200 warmer, drier homes in the city.

Looking over the space are (from left) Cargill Enterprises chief executive Geoff Kemp, DCC arts and culture group manager Bernie Hawke, project manager Jane Nevill and artist Aroha Novak. PHOTO: BRENDA HARWOOD The housie hall at the Cargill Enterprises site on Hillside Rd will do double duty as the Dunedin City Council's South Dunedin Pop-Up Hub from next month.

Halfway Bush Walking Group members (from left) Judy Sapsford, Pauline McLeod and Pat Garth get into their stride. PHOTO: JOSHUA RIDDIFORD A long-standing walking group provides good support for its members.

Dunedin City Council solid waste manager Catherine Irvine holds the coloured cards that will be attached to recycling bins after inspection in the next three months. PHOTO: BRENDA HARWOOD Even the most dedicated recyclers can sometimes get it wrong.

Volunteers muck in at the Sinclair Wetlands' final "plant and learn'' day last week. PHOTO: SUPPLIED Planting trees can be rewarding for newcomers, a Sinclair Wetlands Trust trustee says.

The victim of the Kinloch shooting has been identified by police as 48-year-old man Scott John Henry.

A man has been seriously hurt after the car he was in crashed into sheep on the Kaipara Coast Highway, north-west of Auckland.

Simon Mannering of the Warriors is tackled by Te Maire Martin and Kane Linnett of the Cowboys. Photo: Getty Much, much better - but still not good enough. The Warriors have fallen 24-12 to the Cowboys in Townsville, in a result that probably ends their finals hopes.

Photo: Reuters British transport minister Chris Grayling, one of Prime Minister Theresa May's closest cabinet colleagues, has predicted she will remain in the job until at least 2020 and could even fight another national election.

#SonnyLiew's achievements are helping to put Singapore on the comic book map - https://t.co/q1LXRuOr9g pic.twitter.com/NBm3gDisPu— Geek Crusade (@geekcrusade) May 7, 2017 Singaporean graphic novelist Sonny Liew dominated the comic industry's equivalent of the Oscars, scooping three Eisner Awards for "The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye" - a wry alternate history of tightly-controlled Singapore.

.@jpatto12 VALE The Aboriginal elder and activist, Yami Lester OAM died in Alice Springs at the age of 75. @NACCHOAustralia pic.twitter.com/RN8oF5Gpih— AMSANT (@AMSANTaus) July 22, 2017 Yami Lester, who was left blind by the Maralinga atomic tests and went on to become a tireless campaigner for Aboriginal rights, has died aged 75.

Toiroa Tahuriorangi of the Hurricanes makes a line break. Photo: Getty On a chilly night in Canberra, the Hurricanes felt the early heat from the Brumbies, but pulled away in a strong second stanza winning 35-16.

bird_host_shut_in333.png Oamaru Poultry, Pigeon & Canary Show secretary Trevor Hill. Photo: Shannon Gillies The organisers of this weekend's Oamaru Poultry, Pigeon & Canary Show are making plans to hold on to the competing birds whose owners may not collect them after the show ends today due to flooding which has struck Otago and Canterbury.