‘‘She’ll be my moral support for sure.’’Rob Lewis, 29, who’s originally from the UK, will also be out for redemption after having ‘‘a terrible experience’’ during Tarawera’s 100km run last year. He’s also twice run 100km in the Arrowtown Backyard Ultra but never a 100-miler. She’s hoping for under 30 hours and has a local pacer, Dave Pearson, who’s done the run before. Rogers says she and these other runners train with the Arrowtown Ice Breakers Run Club who meet for long runs around Arrowtown every Sunday. Legend has it it got its name when on one freezing day runners had to smash ice to get off the hill.

Photo: Gregor RichardsonTourist arrivals topped 3.5 million for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, driven by a surge in Australian visitors. Stats NZ numbers showed overseas visitor arrivals hit 3.51 million in the year ended December 2025, up 6 percent from the prior year. However, total annual visitor arrivals were 90 percent of 2019 levels, before the Covid pandemic began globally. More than 1.5 million tourist arrivals were from Australia in 2025, followed by 385,000 from the United States, and 262,000 from China. The country's two main international airports both reported additional seasonal flights for the peak summer period for tourism in New Zealand.

Photo: RNZThe Christchurch terrorist made almost 700 complaints about life behind bars but his claims of torturous prison conditions are exaggerated, a court has heard. Australian white supremacist Brenton Tarrant made the 686 complaints from 16 March 2019 until September 2024, amounting to more than one complaint every three days. The terrorist initially pleaded not guilty in June 2019 to 51 counts of murder, 40 of attempted murder and one of committing terrorism. Crown solicitor Andrea Ewing told the court only four of the terrorist's 686 complaints related to accessing a lawyer. The terrorist's lawyers reiterated the conditions their client was confined in were unlike anything else present in the prison system.

Photo: FacebookA winning racehorse that tested positive for methamphetamine was likely contaminated with the drug by its trainer. Now, Ival Brownlee won’t be able to race or train horses for the next 18 months, after also testing positive for the drug, despite denying taking it. The horse won its race and was swabbed and urine tested, and a month later, when the tests were returned, it was found to have methamphetamine in its system. It also noted that the breach occurred on a race day and that the horse won its race. In 2022, both Darren Smith and his horse Tazimoto tested positive for methamphetamine following a race win in Ruakākā.

Meridian spilled from both its Waitaki (pictured) and Waiau schemes throughout December and January. Photo: Meridian EnergyA wet summer has kept Meridian's hydro storage lakes topped up, which could help keep power prices in check down the track. Record rainfall in both the North and South Islands in January saw flows coming into the lakes exceed historical averages. Meridian spilled from both its Waitaki and Waiau schemes throughout December and January, with national storage falling from 135 percent to 117 percent of the historical average. Photo: Meridian Energy"Hydro lakes are fuller than they'd normally be this time of year, which bodes well as we approach winter.

For shinier, sleeker hair, keep reading to find out which ghd chronos model suits you best and how to trade in your current straightener. Shop the ghd chronos straightener rangeChronos Hair Straightener (26mm plate) in black or white $509 at ghd If you want smooth, shiny hair in just one pass, the ghd chronos is a great choice for any hair type. SHOP NOW Chronos Max Wide Plate Hair Straightener (43mm plate) in black or white $529 at ghd If you have long, thick, textured, curly, or frizzy hair, the chronos max is a great fit. Add a ghd Chronos or Chronos Max to your cart at ghd.com/nz. Put your old hair straightener and the flyer in the bag, then attach the prepaid label.

Louie Buskin was jailed for hitting a bar patron with a beer jug, fracturing his skull. PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSONA man who avoided being locked up during the holiday season has now been sent to prison for fracturing a bar patron's skull with a jug. At sentencing, the court heard that on August 24, 2024, Buskin and the victim were drinking at a pub in Blenheim. The defendant was removed from the bar by staff, but reached over the railing to grab the victim’s jug of beer. Buskin swung the jug into the victim’s face, knocking him unconscious, before climbing on to the roof of the establishment to evade security.

File photoOne person is dead and three people are injured after a crash in north Canterbury this morning. Police said they were alerted about 6.40am after a car went off the road on State Highway 7 north of Waikari. At least four fire crews worked to help free people trapped in the car, a Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesperson said. "In addition, one person has been seriously injured and two people have been moderately injured." The highway was blocked for a time between McRaes and Mt Alexander Rds but has now reopened, police advised.

AI strategist and educator Justin Flitter will be presenting a workshop in Timaru next month. PHOTO: SUPPLIEDThe South Canterbury Chamber of Commerce is encouraging local business owners, leaders and professionals to invest in themselves and their businesses by attending an upcoming AI master class. Presented by leading AI strategist and educator Justin Flitter, the practical workshop is designed to demystify artificial intelligence and show businesses how to apply AI tools in meaningful, responsible and profitable ways. In a statement South Canterbury Chamber of Commerce chief executive Wendy Smith said AI was already transforming how businesses operated. The workshop will be held on March 4 and the South Canterbury Chamber of Commerce can be contacted for further information.

“This determination had no basis in fact, had none whatsoever, and no basis in law,” Trump said. Key findingThe 2009 “endangerment finding” was a determination under then-President Barack Obama that six greenhouse gases threaten public health and welfare by fuelling climate change. The Supreme Court has reaffirmed the endangerment finding multiple times – most recently in 2022, when the court’s composition was much the same as today. That report was widely panned by researchers, who said it was riddled with errors and misrepresented the studies it cited. The administration has also leaned heavily on putative cost savings, claiming repealing the endangerment finding would generate more than US$1t in regulatory savings, without detailing how the figure was calculated.

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File photo: Getty ImagesPolice were alerted by a concerned resident who spotted a 12-year-old boy driving what looked like an older man around St Clair. Police located the car and the two occupants at an address in the St Clair area at 6.30pm, and discovered that the passenger was the registered owner of the vehicle. He told police the 12-year-old was his younger brother, and he had been taking him out for a driving lesson around the Victoria Rd carpark at the Ice Rink. The pair were referred to Youth Aid. laine.priestley@odt.co.nz

The Changing Places bathroom being craned into place next to the Dunedin Railway Station yesterday. PHOTO: STEPHEN JAQUIERYA first of its kind in the South, fully accessible, $750,000 bathroom block has been installed in Dunedin. The ‘‘Changing Places’’ bathrooms replace the existing toilet block near the railway walking overbridge, and are designed for those with complex care needs, who are unable to use standard accessible bathrooms or public toilets. Due to the specialist features of the bathroom, access is limited to members registered with Changing Places New Zealand via a key card. As well as the Changing Places bathroom, there will also be one standard and one ambulant bathroom in the block.

"Referred to by some as the holy grail of federal regulatory overreach, the 2009 Obama EPA endangerment finding is now eliminated," he said. It came about after the Supreme Court ruled in 2007 in the Massachusetts vs. EPA case that the agency has authority to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act. The transportation and power sectors are each responsible for around a quarter of US greenhouse gas output, according to EPA figures. Future US administrations seeking to regulate greenhouse gas emissions likely would need to reinstate the endangerment finding, a task that could be politically and legally complex. But environmental groups are confident that the courts will continue their track record of backing the EPA's authority to use the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gases.

A potential buyer is interested in Mercy Hospital. PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSONOtago's biggest private hospital is up for sale, and discussions with a potential buyer are said to be ‘‘advanced’’. Mercy Hospital, which was established in 1936 as a not-for-profit, employs more than 280 staff who cover a range of care over its 10 operating theatres. In a public letter, released yesterday, hospital chairwoman Lauren Semple and Whanau Mercy Ministries Trust chairman Gerald Scanlan said ‘‘staying at the forefront of healthcare requires significant ongoing investment — as we have experienced here at Mercy Hospital with the extensive campus upgrades’’. The 0.39ha site is located a short distance from the University of Otago, Otago Polytechnic and Forsyth Barr Stadium, and had a 2022 capital valuation of $4.7million.