Otago

A person has died after a serious crash on State Highway 6 near Wānaka Airport.

Police have arrested a man over the aggravated robbery and burglary of a pharmacy in Oamaru two days ago.

Research by a University of Otago student has found huhu grubs have a higher percentage of protein than beef and lamb.

Lighting open air fires is being banned in parts of Otago from today, due to an extreme fire danger forecast over the weekend.

A train and a car have collided in Oamaru's Thames St this afternoon and a person has been hospitalised with serious injuries.

An Australian dad who spent 10 days in managed isolation while his son was fighting for his life in Dunedin Hospital has praised New Zealand's border control.

Police in the Southern District have been kept busy with motorists breaking the road rules.

Incident controller Jason Sarich said they were confident the fire would not spread, with only a few hotspots remaining - although a helicopter is on standby and 15 firefighters are on site if needed.

The fire danger for parts of Otago is expected to rapidly increase this week due to forecast weather conditions.

Firefighters are facing challenging conditions as they try to avoid a flare-up of a contained scrub fire near Wānaka.

The former owners of a Dunedin taxi company may have to pay underpaid staff out of their own pocket after the Court of Appeal ruled ignorance of the law is not a valid excuse.

Firefighters have contained a blaze that has burned through 280 hectares of scrub and regenerating bush near Wanaka.

A Central Otago fire is estimated to be burning through close to 200 hectares of regenerating bush with fire crews expected to remain on site overnight to monitor the fire.

An Oamaru teenager was taken to hospital after being attacked by a shark in Oamaru Harbour this afternoon.

A paraglider has been taken to hospital after crashing near Queenstown.

Dunedin is out of the running for any new facility designed for harness racing, the Forbury Park Trotting Club has been told.

A 10-year-old girl who was missing in Dunedin has been found safe and well this morning.

A video of a body boarder wildly swinging his board at a New Zealand sea lion at a Dunedin beach reveals ignorance of the threatened species, a DOC biodiversity ranger says.

A 39-year-old woman reported missing in the Queenstown area since 31 December was found safe and well last night.