Queenstown District Court. Photo: suppliedA man who tried to force his way into a toilet cubicle in a Queenstown bar told the women inside to "go back to your own country". Mikaele Tagicakiverata Railoa, 36, of Alexandra, then assaulted another woman when she tried to intervene. When a third woman tried to intervene, he grabbed her wrist and twisted and squeezed it with such force that she lost feeling in her arm. Railoa was sentenced in the Queenstown District Court on Monday on charges of male assaults female and resisting police.

By late February 2015, the 11-year-old’s emails to his stepfather intensified and provided an insight into their desperation. The pair were on the run in Mr Beckenridge’s Volkswagen, evading police for the next week, setting up camp near Curio Bay. The coroner concluded Mr Beckenridge and Mike must have been sitting on latched seatbelts, but the reason remained a mystery. The coroner acknowledged Mr Beckenridge’s past was "sufficiently mysterious and suggestive to provide fertile grounds for innuendo and speculation". Fiona Lu, mother of Mike Beckenridge, still believes her son is alive and will come back to her one day.

Seventeen-year-old Rudi, one of 14 horses stabled by ESRDA at the Gore A&P Showgrounds and a key member of the ESRDA horse team, fell ill about two weeks ago. Assistant ESRDA coach Carol Dawson said the vet was called after Rudi developed a cough and became lethargic. Riding for the Disabled (ESRDA) horse Rudi and rider Evelyn Jones-Carran make their way around the paddock at the Gore A&P Showgrounds last week. "Rudi has been her support buddy. Ms Chalmers said the now-17-year-old had been coming to ESRDA since she was 7 and was sat her tallest and straightest while riding Rudi.

Changes coming for Lotto will make it less likely people will win the big prize — but more likely they will collect a small one. This reduces the chances of winning Powerball from about one in 38.4 million to about one in 53.7 million for every line on a ticket. Lotto will also add a "division 8" prize, raise the starting Powerball jackpot from $4 million to $5m and increase the maximum jackpot from $50m to $60m. We expect its introduction will lift the total number of weekly Powerball winners by 30%, from about 47,000 winners to 62,000 winners on average." But what you’re selling when you’re selling a Lotto ticket is you’re selling hope.

A patient receives an influenza vaccination in the build-up to the winter season. Photo: Getty ImagesMost people think of the annual influenza vaccination as a way to prevent an unpleasant week of fever, head colds, coughing, aches and pains. "This process can destabilise plaques, triggering rupture and clot formation, leading to a heart attack or stroke," he said. Despite the potential benefits of the influenza vaccination, coverage remained relatively low, he said. "Increasing uptake of the influenza vaccination, particularly among groups at higher cardiovascular risk, represents an important opportunity to improve health outcomes ..." he said.

PHOTO: SHAWN MCAVINUERural Women New Zealand remains relevant today as people need ways to connect in person in a digital age, a daughter of the organisation’s co-founder says. About 60 people attended a high tea to celebrate the centennial of RWNZ in Otago at an event in Waikouaiti last week. The division was launched to improve support systems for their fellow rural women. The people at the centennial high tea at the East Otago Events Centre was Dr Preston’s youngest daughter, Flora Smith, 89, of Christchurch. RWNZ was still needed, as people could communicate in a digital world, rather than face-to-face, and still be isolated.

Rising fuel prices are adding to costs for arable farmers. Photos: Getty ImagesArable farmers labouring under low grain returns and high fuel prices have ruled out a rescue bid for Wattie’s frozen pea and vegetable factory in Christchurch. Federated Farmers Arable chairman David Birkett said that was unlikely to be repeated, as it would make more sense for one of the remaining processors to fill the gap. Arable farmers did not have any spare cash to invest in a co-operative approach. The flow-on effect could come from sheep farmers re-pasturing less and needing less ryegrass seed from arable farmers.

While Orbus patronage in Queenstown continues to increase, numbers have fallen in Dunedin. Latest figures released by Otago Regional Council (ORC) show for the first half of the current financial year — from July to December 2025 — passenger numbers in Queenstown rose by 6%, to 1,031,075. However, ORC transport portfolio co-lead Councillor Matt Hollyer, of Queenstown, said the council was not concerned at the slight drop, given the city had experienced three consecutive years of record patronage. Along with increased patronage in the Wakatipu, fare revenue increased by 19%, to $1,847,171, while in Dunedin fare revenue grew by 11% to $2,200,106. Cr Hollyer said given the increasing cost of fuel — 91 petrol in Queenstown yesterday cost as much as $3.429 per litre — the council expected patronage to grow.

Rural health professional programmes are successfully getting more doctors into rural medical practices, but research has found the programmes need to be expanded if New Zealand’s rural doctor shortage is to be addressed. In a world-first study, University of Otago researchers have analysed what factors increase the likelihood of medical graduates choosing careers in rural medicine. They found being of rural origin, being older than 25 when entering medical school, and participating in an extended rural medical school placement, such as Otago’s Rural Medical Immersion Programme (RMIP), were independent predictors of entering rural practice. "More medical students need opportunities to be exposed to rural medicine, as we’ve found those working in rural practice come from all walks of life." She said the study also found students of urban origin, and those with no rural career intentions at the start of medical school, still made up more than half of the early career rural medical workforce.

PHOTOS: ZENTERAThe New Zealand Merino Company has changed its name to Zentera in a major rebrand. NZM began 30 years ago by merino farmers as an industry organisation and has developed into a sales, marketing and innovation company for merino, halfbred and strong wool. He said this had been based on a data-driven approach as part of a three-year strategic reset to become the worlds leading wool company. Zentera Wool Company chief executive Angus Street is confident the name change for the industry body previously known as The New Zealand Merino Company will be positive for merino farmers. Wānaka-based merino activewear business Mons Royale New Zealand approved of the change as the largest buyer of merino wool by a New Zealand company.

Photo: Getty ImagesA former Commonwealth Games athlete has denied murdering a Clutha vet and can now be named as her partner. Malcolm Boyd Duff, 65 — who represented New Zealand at the Melbourne Games in 2006 — had his case called before the High Court at Dunedin yesterday while he remained in hospital. He was charged with the murder of his partner Jillian Sherie Clark after she was found dead at their Crichton home on January 23. Duff’s identity had been subject to a suppression order since he was charged, but Ms Saunderson-Warner yesterday said she would not apply for an extension of that. At the 2006 Games, Duff competed in skeet shooting, singles and doubles, where he placed 10th and seventh overall.

PHOTO: ROB KIDDA man who flung a dog and shattered a window has been banned from pet ownership for a year. Dakia John Henare, 30, appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday, where he pleaded guilty to ill-treating an animal. The court heard that on March 2, the defendant was at his then-partner’s Mornington home attempting to feed "Molly" the dog outside. When he was unable to wrangle the pet, he threw her into a patio window, causing it to shatter. Henare later admitted to police he had become frustrated with the dog, but had attempted to throw her through a doorway.

PANW has ties to the Israeli Defence Force and government. But Otago University vice-chancellor Grant Robertson said he does not "accept the characterisation of the partnership" as being linked to warfare. Otago Staff for Palestine member Prof Richard Jackson said the agreement with PANW could pose a major "reputation risk" for the university. "This is a company that’s deeply embedded with the Israeli government and it’s deeply embedded with what the Israeli government’s doing. Mr Robertson said the partnership with PANW followed discussions with several technology companies about supporting the university in developing programmes in digital technology.

Simon Berry. Managing director Simon Berry believed it was the first time the same cheese had won back-to-back in the history of the awards. It was the third time Whitestone had won the award, having previously done so with its Windsor Blue cheese. Monte Cristo, named after the Berry family’s old farm at Maheno, also won the original cheese trophy. Increasing imports were in the market and that was a challenge for domestic producers across all primary manufacturing, he said.

The McCain vegetable processing plant in Hastings. Photo: Google MapsMcCain has announced it will close its Hastings vegetable processing plant by January 2027. In a letter to growers, McCain said it reviewed operations at the site but was unable to find a sustainable pathway under the current model. It's not clear how many workers at the plant and growers this will affect. It comes as Wattie's proposes to stop all production of frozen vegetable lines in New Zealand, affecting 220 growers in Canterbury.