Otago Daily Times News Feed

As Central Otago booms and continues to push growth into outlying areas, the communities in the Waitaki Valley will soon hold "visioning meetings" to learn how ratepayers want to deal with the expected growth in their region.

Volunteer fire crews from across the Wakatipu and beyond were called in to help fight a grass fire on land between Jacks Point and Lake Wakatipu, known as The Preserve, on Friday night. Photo: Tracey Roxburgh A spark from a power harrow — similar to a rotary hoe — caused a large fire near Jacks Point on Friday night which, at its peak, was fought by 30 firefighters on the ground and three helicopters with monsoon buckets.

Elspeth McLean reviews Alt-America: The Rise of the Radical Right in the Age of Trump by David Neiwert. Published by Allen and Unwin/Versio.

Hamesh Wyatt reviews a selection of the latest poetry books.

Photo: Getty Images Geoff Adams reviews The Rise of Consciousness by Oliver Sacks. Publisher: Macmillian.

Dr Lisa Argilla, of the Wildlife Hospital Dunedin (right), holds open the mouth of an injured yellow-eyed penguin so vet nurse Angelina Martelli can give it fluids. PHOTO: CHRISTINE O'CONNOR She was born in South Africa and is the only trained wildlife veterinary doctor working in the South Island. Dr Lisa Argilla tells Bruce Munro what drives her, what angers her and why the  new Wildlife Hospital is so important.

Leith Thomson and his yellow-eyed penguin dog Sniper at their Dunedin home. PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSON Meet one of the team, Sniper the hoiho tracker dog.

The five new Himalayan Trust-funded classrooms at Khumjung Secondary School in Nepal were built to withstand future earthquakes. PHOTO: HIMALAYAN TRUST Ten years after his death, Sir Edmund Hillary's legacy lives on, writes Martin Johnston.

Rocket Lab successfully launched their Electron rocket today from their Mahia Peninsula site. 

Brisbane teenager Riley Adams is now blind in one eye after the sudden and rapid spread of a sinus infection on a cruise to New Zealand. Photo: GoFundMe An Australian family are stuck in Dunedin after their teenage son was left blind in one eye after contracting a freak sinus infection while on a cruise to New Zealand.

1clarke_jacinda.jpg Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern with partner Clarke Gayford. A prominent UK columnist has accused Jacinda Ardern of betraying voters following her pregnancy news.

2018-01-21t001045z_417517158_rc167f8ad8e0_rtrmadp_3_usa-trump-women.jpg People participate in the second annual Women's March in Los Angeles, California. Photo: Reuters Many thousands of women and their male supporters turned out on Saturday for the second Women's March, a nationwide series of protests against US President Donald Trump marking the end of his tumultuous first year in office.

2018-01-20t192031z_571436583_rc18b67816e0_rtrmadp_3_afghanistan-attack.jpg Afghan security forces keep watch near the site of an attack on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul. Photo: Reuters Gunmen attacked Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel on Saturday, seizing hostages and exchanging gunfire with security forces as the building in the Afghan capital caught fire and residents and staff fled.

A motorcyclist injured in a crash near Taupo yesterday afternoon has died in hospital overnight.

gettyimages-907720622.jpg England's Geva Mentor (L) wins the ball from New Zealand's Bailey Mes. Photo Getty With a chance to atone from a 4-0 battering by Australia in October's Constellation Cup, the Silver Ferns looked to stamp their mark on the Quad Series in their opener against England.

British singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran said on Saturday he is engaged to long-time friend Cherry Seaborn, whom he first met at school at the age of 11.

gettyimages-907350522.jpg The bushfire, seen from Royal Randwick Racecourse, burns south of Sydney. Photo Getty Holidaymakers trapped by bushfire had to be rescued by boat from a national park south of Australia's largest city of Sydney and 200 people were evacuated by firefighters as a heatwave struck the eastern seaboard on Saturday.

1tylerfamil.jpeg Tyler Nii, at right, with his brother, Kevin, and parents, Nancy and Bob. Photo: Supplied via NZ Herald The family of missing American skydiver Tyler Nii still want desperately to take him home.

Two people were stabbed and a third injured at a property in Panmure last night, a day after a car ploughed into two people during a street fight at the same address.

Sergio Aguero (L) celebrates his hat-trick against Newcastle United. Photo Reuters A Sergio Aguero hat-trick ensured Manchester City got back to winning ways in the Premier League after a 3-1 victory over Newcastle United at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.