6 h. ago 'It's my favourite thing to do': Young pianist charms shoppers

Isaac Horwood, 10, of Dunedin, plays the keyboard for shoppers at the Otago Farmers Market on Saturday. Photos: Peter McIntosh A Dunedin 10-year-old wowed listeners at the Otago Farmers Market yesterday, even drawing a tear or two from some weary Christmas shoppers. 

Politics

3 d. ago Invercargill Harness Racing Club all ready for Christmas meeting

Preparations are almost complete for the Invercargill Harness Racing Club’s big Christmas meeting at Ascot Park Raceway in Invercargill tomorrow.

Politics

4 d. ago 300 hours of work gone: Vandals destroy town's craft Christmas tree

The handmade sustainable Christmas tree in central Featherston after it was destroyed. Photo: Supplied Vandals have destroyed a prominent Christmas tree in a Wairarapa town, casting a cloud over what should have been a time of celebration.

Politics

5 d. ago Sailing to Antarctica ‘exciting, terrifying — but in the best way’

Royal Albatross Centre guide and educator Libby Manning is about to take a month off work on the wind-swept cliffs of Otago Peninsula to sail a 1911 tall ship, Barque Europa, across the Drake Passage to the wind-swept cliffs of the Antarctic Peninsula. PHOTO: GERARD O’BRIEN Going to Antarctica in the comfort of a modern-day vessel is one thing, but to do it on a historic, 1911, three-masted sailing ship, in some of the coldest and roughest seas on the planet, is quite another.

Politics

6 d. ago 'Just running for our lives': Queenstown woman recounts Bondi shooting terror

Mark Blundell, Donna Corbel, Tahlia Blundell and Jake Blundell, pictured during an earlier trip to Melbourne, were in a restaurant 40m away from where the shooting occurred. Photo: Supplied A Queenstown woman caught up in the mass shooting at Sydney's Bondi Beach says her family are still very much on edge the day after the tragedy.

Events

9 d. ago Formal observation not needed for festive season to have deep meaning

Yes they know it’s Christmas time. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES Christmas is a time of meaning for Muslims, Abdullah Drury writes.

Politics

1 week ago Fugitive father Tom Phillips was not fit to hold firearms licence

One of Tom Phillips' campsites he and the children lived at. Photo: NZ Police By Kirsty Johnston of RNZ  Police records show fugitive father Tom Phillips' firearms licence was suspended just weeks after his first disappearance in 2021, and later revoked when he was deemed "not a fit and proper person" to hold a gun.

Events

1 week ago 'An environmental hazard': Park users say plastic plant guards contaminating waterways

From left - Jo Greig, Barbara Taylor, Honey Anderson, Heather Gordon with Rura among the plastic plant guards on the banks of Mill Creek in Argyle Park. PHOTO: DELLWYN MOYLAN By Dellwyn Moylan The use of plastic guards to protect plants along the bank of an Ashburton creek has raised concerns with residents.

Politics

1 week ago Unexpectedly high property revaluations boost council coffers

Photo: File image By Jonathan Leask, Local Democracy Reporter Selwyn District Council is on track to collect millions more in rates than planned this year due to continued growth and unexpectedly high property revaluations.

Politics

2 w. ago 'Rob didn't need to die': Dunedin man jailed for causing partner's death

Andrew Jayden Mercer has been sentenced to two years and ten months’ imprisonment. Photo: Gregor Richardson A Dunedin man has been jailed for causing the death of his partner and shattering a family’s lives.

Events

2 w. ago Christmas spending plans pared back as cost of living bites: survey

Only 15 percent of those surveyed expected to spend more than last year on the holiday season, while 42 percent expected to spend less. Photo: RNZ Consumers are cutting back on holiday gift-giving and vacations as cost-of-living expenses take priority.

Economics

2 w. ago Deputy PM accuses Chch principal of being media 'frequent flyer'

Some of the rancid lunches had already been eaten by students. Photo: Supplied By Jessica Hopkins of RNZ Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour has labelled the principal of the Christchurch school where children ate mouldy school lunches a "frequent flyer in the media".

Politics

3 w. ago Falling trees blamed for 85% of PowerNet’s outages during storm

Trees falling on lines caused more than 85% of the power outages from last month’s wind event in the South and the lines industry — which spends $67 million a year annually on the issue — says it is time for a change.

Events

3 w. ago Christmas spirit to shine at South City Community Christmas Party

South Invercargill’s Christmas Party is back.

Politics

3 w. ago 'Early Xmas present': Dunedin gets another direct flight to Australia

From March next year, Monday flights will be added to Jetstar’s existing schedule along its Dunedin—Gold Coast route. Photo: ODT Files Christmas has come early for Dunedin Airport with Jetstar increasing to four the number of weekly flights direct to the Gold Coast.

Politics

3 w. ago Regime change may be coming to Iran as drought continues to bite

The Amirkabir dam, almost dry following a drought crisis in Iran. PHOTO: VIA REUTERS Twenty years of strict sanctions on Iran by both the United States and the United Nations did not bring down the regime of the ayatollahs. Half a dozen major waves of non-violent protest involving several thousand deaths have not brought it down either.

Politics