Samara Sheppard heads to victory at the New Zealand cross-country mountain biking championships in Rotorua on Saturday. PHOTO: PHOTOGRAPHYBYSAVANNATwo 30-something mountain bike greats showed class was permanent as they dominated the New Zealand cross-country championships in Rotorua on Saturday. Christchurch professional Anton Cooper, 31, claimed his 11th elite national honours, while Australian-based Kiwi Samara Sheppard dominated the elite women at the sport’s spiritual home in the Whakarewarewa Forest. Hamilton rider Fletcher Adams finished 3min 3sec behind the winner to claim third place and the under-23 honours. Cooper had to call on his experience after a puncture in his warm-up some distance away from the start.

Preparing to knit their way to Oamaru while aboard The Seasider train are (from left) Sue Partel, Colleen Lyons, Kay Anderson, Ruth Tansley, Miriam Vollweiller, Sue Walton and Heather McDiamid. PHOTO: PETER MCINTOSHPlenty of yarns were spun when almost 200 knitters clambered into five train carriages destined for Oamaru at the weekend. Crofters Yarn Knitting on the Train return trip between Dunedin and Oamaru was held for the second time on Saturday, after a successful inaugural event in last year. ‘‘We got over 190 people to come — we had five full cabins of knitters,’’ Ms Aitken said. ‘‘This is all about honouring knitting.’’Many knitters on the train were working on baby blankets to donate to the Queen Mary Maternity Ward at Dunedin Hospital.

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PHOTO: JAMES ALLAN PHOTOGRAPHYSwimmers leap off Queenstown’s historic TSS Earnslaw in Frankton Arm on Saturday for the Whakatipu Legend swimming event. Co-organiser Richie Lambert said conditions were near perfect as about 180 people launched themselves into Lake Wakatipu for the 4km swim, which started in Frankton Arm and finished at Queenstown Bay beach. ‘‘There was no wind, no rain and it was mild — you can’t ask for better than that.’’Nearly 300 participants took part in the sixth edition of the event, which also had 2km and 1km out-and-back swims. About 40 people did the ‘‘triple challenge’’, completing the 4km, 2km and 1km swims in succession.

It was no Wānaka, but Strath Taieri’s A&P Show capped off a busy month demonstrating the best of the community, an organiser says. Attendees at the 122nd show enjoyed Middlemarch’s ‘‘always beautiful’’ weather yesterday, show committee secretary Didee Bradshaw said. ‘‘But for us, it's been a really good crowd and all our trade stalls seem to be quite happy. ‘‘We've got photos from 100 years ago of the committee, all the men in their suits, you know, sensible, but it's a bit different now. ‘‘We've got a nice diverse committee.’’She said organisers were already looking ahead to the next big anniversary show — the 125th.

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. PHOTOS: ZENTERANew Zealand Merino Company has changed its name to Zentera in a major rebrand. NZM was started 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. Zentera Wool Company chief executive Angus Street said the company had not taken the name change lightly in an 18-month rebranding process and pressed forward to increase the value of the wool clip. It’s important that our company name and brand is a true reflection of who we are and what we do.’’Omarama Station owner and Zentera director Richard Subtil (left) and Zentera commercial specialist Cassidy Gray in the new Zentera branded clothing for the industry body formerly known as The New Zealand Merino Company.

Kadodo Music, of Dunedin, gets the audience on their feet with a performance of West African rhythmic dance music at the Queenstown Multicultural Festival on Saturday. PHOTO: GUY WILLIAMSMore than 3000 people enjoyed cultural performances and food from around the world while taking the chance to learn about their community’s diversity at the fourth annual Queenstown Multicultural Festival on Saturday. It was poignant the festival was held on International Race Relations Day at a time when everyone could ‘‘see what's happening elsewhere in the world’’, Mr Gloversaid. Also attending was race relations commissioner Dr Melissa Derby, who said New Zealand was not a perfect country, but ‘‘luckier than many’’. ‘‘We have far more in common with one another than what separates us.

Former National minister Alfred Ngaro will stand as a candidate for New Zealand First in this year's election. Photo / RNZIt mightn’t have been the best start to Ngaro’s affiliation with NZ First, but it could have been worse. But what he and Nash offer NZ First is experience, and it’s an issue NZ First is seeking to solve. Asked how Ngaro could appeal to people, Peters first pointed to his experience as a Cabinet minister and later promised more candidate announcements to follow. Adam Pearse is the Deputy Political Editor and part of the NZ Herald’s Press Gallery team based at Parliament in Wellington.

On Saturday night, Coastguard Kaipara said it received an urgent callout at 5.30pm after a vessel had capsized in the water past the bar. “By pure chance, they were picked up after two hours in the water by a passing boat heading home,” it said in a Facebook post. Coastguard Kaipara praised the actions of the boaties after they were unlucky to be hit by a wave. Photo / Michael Cunningham“[They] were wearing lifejackets, stayed together and had attempted to make a bar crossing report. Photo / Coastguard KaiparaThis was an example of how quickly the situation can change on the bar, the Coastguard said.

The New Zealand Alcohol Beverages Council has welcomed the proposed changes to the Bill as this is a common-sense approach to help improve our licensing system. Virginia NichollsDunedin[Virginia Nicholls is executive director of the New Zealand Alcohol Beverages Council. On the other handI write in support of the editorial that proposed law changes to New Zealand’s alcohol laws downplays the harm alcohol does to our society. By making it impossible to easily log on to Manage My Health, those supposed to manage their health have no chance whatsoever, thereby dying perhaps prematurely, and decreasing the expenses of keeping people healthy. Richard HutchisonWānakaAddress Letters to the Editor to: Otago Daily Times, PO Box 517, 52-56 Lower Stuart St, Dunedin.

And increasingly they do it knowing that one crash can bring the entire system to a halt. A crash on Auckland's Northern Motorway, State Highway 1 delays motorists and comes at a substantial cost to the country. Photo / NZTABeginning in the late 1990s and early 2000s, police developed specialist Serious Crash Units trained in forensic crash reconstruction. It would be a nightmare to be wrongly convicted of a serious driving charge when in fact it was the other bugger. Because every time thousands of people sit trapped on a motorway behind a minor crash, it exposes a deeper problem.

A group of motorcyclists have fled after crashing into a car in South Auckland today right in front of a patrol car, who did not pursue the bikes as they were on their way to a higher priority crime. Footage shows a Ford Everest stopped in the middle of the road in Ōtara with a badly damaged bike on the ground, and the rider appeared injured and limping. As the rider went to move the bike, he then dropped it in the middle of the road, right in front of the car before hobbling onto the back of another bike, which sped off as a police car with sirens emerged. There were at least six bikes as part of the convoy and two of them appeared to try to box the police car in, while the bike with the injured rider looked to get further away. But according to New Zealand Police, the car wasn’t chasing after the bikers, instead it was off to a higher priority job.

Andrew Little has released his Triennium Plan for WCC. Create a $50,000 per annum External Legal Advice Fund for representatives to test the council organisation’s legal advice by seeking an external legal opinion. Really important governors can access legal advice directly. So rates increases of under 5% from 27/28 would qualify.”Protect the Council’s ownership stake in Wellington International Airport Ltd.Why? As a minority shareholder you have no real say, and it means you are not independent when dealing with the airport.

Cargo ships in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates. Iran launched two 4000km-range ballistic missiles at the US-British ‌military base Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir said. "These missiles are not intended to strike Israel. Late on Saturday, Iranian missiles hit the southern Israeli cities of Dimona and Arad, injuring dozens of people, including children, in separate strikes. Israeli military spokesperson Brigadier General Effie Defrin said in a post on X that the country's air defences were functioning but did not intercept the strikes.

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