File photo: Babiche MartensA prominent Auckland couple is trapped in Dubai after airspace closures and reported strikes across the city. Restaurateurs Sid and Chand Sahrawat are in Dubai on business, and were due to fly out on Monday to begin a culinary tour in India. Chand Sahrawat said they received a text alert just after midnight and heard explosions soon afterwards. "It just feels very surreal and unreal," Chand Sahrawat said. Chand Sahrawat said the closure of Dubai Airport was particularly worrying.

March 01, 2026 04:29 UTC

One person has died after a serious crash near Clarks Junction, Dunedin, left three people injured on Wednesday, February 18. Emergency services were called to a two-vehicle crash on State Highway 87, between Rocklands Rd and Johnson Rd, at about 2.15pm. One person was airlifted to Dunedin Hospital in a critical condition, however they have now passed away from their injuries, police said in a statement today. Two other people were taken by ambulance, one in a serious condition, the other with moderate injuries. St John said they responded with two ambulances, one helicopter and two rapid response vehicles, and the highway was closed for several hours.

March 01, 2026 04:27 UTC

One person has died after a serious crash near Clarks Junction left three people injured on Wednesday, February 18. Emergency services were called to a two-vehicle crash on State Highway 87, between Rocklands Rd and Johnson Rd, at about 2.15pm. One person was airlifted to Dunedin Hospital in a critical condition, however they have now passed away from their injuries, police said in a statement today. Two other people were taken by ambulance, one in a serious condition, the other with moderate injuries. St John said they responded with two ambulances, one helicopter and two rapid response vehicles, and the highway was closed for several hours.

March 01, 2026 04:27 UTC

The crash happened to the north of Spooners Hill. Sign in hereAccess to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. The crash happened to the north of Spooners Hill. Photo / NZMEState Highway 1 near Taihape is closed following a serious crash. Police said the road is closed to the north of Spooners Hill and that initial indications from the single-vehicle crash are there have been injuries.

March 01, 2026 04:26 UTC

“I acknowledge that, but it is not so much a reflection of remorse, in my view, as a reflection of reality,” Judge Harding said. Judge Harding agreed to the Crown’s proposed starting point, and turned his attention to any discounts available, particularly for Smith’s young age at the time. “You were employed, you had a wife, you had a young child. Judge Harding also said Smith’s health issues could be “actively dealt with within the prison system”. Judge Harding made an order for emotional harm reparation of $20,000, but acknowledged it had already been paid.

March 01, 2026 04:03 UTC

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March 01, 2026 03:52 UTC

Oamaru rowing coach Ivan Docherty with his rowers’ ‘‘lucky socks’’ which have his face on them. The Oamaru Rowing Club has once again punched above its weight on the national stage. The women’s novice crews led the way for the club accounting for four medals. Grace Webster, Matilda Isbister, Summer Brosnan, Hunter McLay and coxswain Isla Kappely won gold in the women’s novice coxed quad sculls. He was incredibly pleased to see the women’s novice coxed eight blitz the A final to win gold.

March 01, 2026 03:03 UTC

Major regional gateways including Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi were closed as countries across the Middle East shut their airspace following the strikes and Iran’s retaliation. Flight maps showed skies over Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Israel and Bahrain virtually empty, while airlines across Europe and the Middle East announced sweeping cancellations. Are you a southerner in Dubai or the Middle East? Dubai Airports suspended all flights at Dubai International and at Al Maktoum International until further notice, urging passengers not to travel. In total, about 24% of flights to the Middle East were cancelled, the data showed.

March 01, 2026 02:18 UTC

On ODT Racing Chat brought to you by Fred's Fencing we are out at Wingatui today and bringing you all the action from the Otago Racing Club's first ever $ million day. We catch up with Matt Smith from Entain to find out why they are investing so heavily into the local racing scene. We talk to some of the characters in the on the ODT lawn. Then we get up close and personal wth the Dakota Boutique Fashion in the Field and talk to all the winners. And if that is not enough we catch up with NZ's best jockey Opie Bosson.

March 01, 2026 01:51 UTC

Hurricanes lose No 10 Brett Cameron for the season after knee injuryHurricanes lose No 10 Brett Cameron for the season after knee injury[Image: The Post]The Hurricanes have confirmed fly-half Brett Cameron will miss the rest of the 2026 Shop N Save Super Rugby Pacific season because of a serious knee injury. The Hurricanes say that Cameron will undergo surgery for a significant knee injury , in what is described as a cruel blow for the 29-year-old, who missed most of last season with a ruptured ACL. Hurricanes coach Clark Laidlaw said in a statement that it is disappointing to lose one of their best players in game one , especially given it comes after an ACL injury on his other knee. The Hurricanes had already lost another first five-eighth, Harry Godfrey, to a season-ending knee injury. The Hurricanes are in fourth place with six points in the Super Rugby Pacific standings and will travel to Sydney’s Allianz Stadium next week to take on the Waratahs.

March 01, 2026 01:19 UTC

Surf lifesavers, police and the Coastguard during the search for the kayaker today. Photo: RNZThe body of a kayaker missing near Auckland's Waiwera has been found. Police officers, the police Eagle helicopter team, Surf Lifesaving NZ lifeguards and Coastguard members responded immediately. A police spokesperson said the man's body was found this afternoon. Police were providing his family with support and the death would be referred to the Coroner.

March 01, 2026 01:14 UTC

Photo: Amir Kholousi/ISNA/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERSAn international relations academic says he does not foresee swift and peaceful regime change occurring in Iran if "the United States and Israel continue to bomb the country". The United States and Israel launched the most ambitious attack on Iran in decades on Saturday, and US President Donald Trump said Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been killed in the operation. Photo: ODT files"The US has struck because it perceives that the regime in Iran was very weak and vulnerable but there's a danger that it will resuscitate the regime by attacking Iran. Many Iranians that hated the Iraqi Saddam Hussein regime in Iraq subsequently participated in an insurgency against American presence." "I'm not sure that's going to happen — and even if they do, they will want to make sure that it's not America calling the shots and determining their future.

March 01, 2026 00:23 UTC

Landspeed New Zealand Association president John Seccombe. Participants’ time is surveyed twice, north to south and south to north. The Landspeed New Zealand Association holds its annual landspeed trials at a closed-off section of Goudies Rd, near Reporoa. The trials’ growthSeccombe said he started the landspeed event on Goudies Rd because he “realised there was a need” after attending the Cliffhanger speed trials for motorbikes in Carterton in 2013. The closest would be those who do skydiving ... maybe a bungee jump.”The next landspeed trials will take place on March 21.

March 01, 2026 00:02 UTC

She resigned her seat in Congress early this year amid a bitter falling out with Trump but remains an influential figure in MAGA circles. Greene called the Iran attack “a lie”. Trump, she said, had been elected on promises of no more foreign wars and “to put America FIRST”, she posted on X. Trump also ordered a spectacular one-off bombing raid on Iran last year that he claimed had destroyed the country’s disputed nuclear programme. But the current Iran operation is vastly more complex and could drag on for weeks.

February 28, 2026 22:44 UTC

Examples of this include health professionals, farm workers, clergy, military personnel and country police officers. To access KiwiSaver for your first home, people have to live in the property for at least six months. And to access KiwiSaver for your first home, people have to live in the property for at least six months. “I think if you can withdraw your KiwiSaver funds to buy a house, you should be able to withdraw them to buy a farm,” Willis said. Simplicity, a KiwiSaver fund manager, estimates 12,000 to 25,000 self-employed or employer farmers are KiwiSaver contributors.

February 28, 2026 22:13 UTC