PHOTO: GETTY IMAGESHealth New Zealand Southern staff are asking former patients to return overdue equipment — no questions asked. It costs HNZ thousands of dollars every year and many patients have to wait for suitable equipment. Unit manager Kristen Dickson said she understood people intended to return the equipment but sometimes did not get around to it. — In Mosgiel, Mosgiel Health Centre. — In the Queenstown Lakes district, Lakes District Hospital.

ODT GRAPHICOvernight closures are scheduled for parts of State Highway 1 in Dunedin from next week for roadworks. NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) said crews would excavate parts of the road surface and replace it with new asphalt. Work would begin this Sunday on the southbound lanes of Castle St, between St Andrew St and Stuart St. Similar work would happen on the southbound lanes of the Dunedin Southern Motorway at Fairfield from Monday next week. Resurfacing of the motorway’s southbound lanes at Green Island was due to start on Sunday, January 18.

Sarmad Milhim has been denied parole after being in jail for filming his sex attack on a woman as her child protested. PHOTO: ODT FILESA refugee who filmed himself sexually abusing a woman as her child protested has been declined parole. Parole Board panel convener Judge M. Crosbie said the facts of the case were "as serious as they are troubling". Judge Crosbie said the Otago Corrections Facility inmate’s comments around his level of intoxication and belief in consent were very concerning. The board heard Milhim intended to get back together with a former partner but it was clear that person had not been informed of the reason behind his incarceration.

The Hendl, Roy, McMillan, Cunninghame and Clark families from Southland are enjoying their summer holiday in Alexandra, including playing on the water at Lake Dunstan. PHOTO: STEPHEN JAQUIERYThe long-awaited summer in the South is taking its time arriving, especially in Dunedin, where cloud and a lack of sunshine marked the peak holiday period. In the period from Christmas Eve to January 1, when most of us are on holiday, sunshine was a rare occurrence in the South. Things were slightly more promising in Alexandra, which was just above the long-term average for sunshine hours though there was just over four hours of sunshine on December 30. MetService recorded just 1.6 sunshine hours on Christmas Day, New Year’s Day had 3.8 hours and there was just over an hour on January 2.

The driver of this vehicle sustained minor injuries after someone threw a brick at their vehicle from a bridge. Melbourne motorist lucky to be alive after brick hurled at her vehicle from motorway overbridgeThe driver of this vehicle sustained minor injuries after someone threw a brick at their vehicle from a bridge. Photo / Victoria PoliceA Melbourne woman was left with glass fragments in her eyes after a large brick was thrown at her vehicle from a motorway overbridge. Police said three young people seen atop the bridge from which the bricks were hurled remained at large. Attending paramedics treated one female passenger at the scene after glass from a smashed windscreen entered her eyes.

His family had booked rides with the shuttle service, Wana Taxi, in the past and had no issues. After asking around other local taxi companies, Josh said nobody had heard from the owner of Wana Taxi in months. The group had to fork out another $40 per person to get bus tickets to and from the festival instead. The Herald has attempted to contact Wana Taxi, but the company’s phone number appears to be disconnected. The group had prepaid money so they could get to Rhythm and Alps in Cardrona Valley.

The woman arrived at Auckland International Airport from Singapore. File photo: RNZBy Finn Blackwell of RNZA woman has been charged with bringing more than 20 kilograms of meth into the country in her checked luggage. The 33-year-old was arrested at Auckland International airport on Sunday. Court documents claim she arrived on a flight from Singapore with roughly 22kg of methamphetamine. Court documents show the woman was both unemployed and had no fixed abode.

The Dunedin City Council’s staff-only social club has been allowed to keep selling alcohol despite its drink prices being deemed "at the low end" by its own licensing committee. The committee understood Mr Stucki’s argument the club should be overseen by agencies other than council-employed licensing inspectors. While there was an ability for regulatory agencies to monitor premises, the committee understood premises were visited based on risk. A lot of premises, particularly club premises such as bowling and bridge clubs, were not visited because they were considered very low risk. Neither police, the medical officer of health delegate nor the council’s chief licensing inspector opposed the renewal of the club licence.

The owner of Queenstown’s Hydro Attack wants to add two more semi-submersible ‘‘shark’’ boats to Lake Wakatipu, one of which is proposed for staff training. Watersports Holdings Ltd Partnership, a company associated with Silicon Valley entrepreneur Iraj Barabi, has applied to the Queenstown Lakes District Council to add a fifth Seabreacher craft to the lake for paying customers, and a sixth for staff training, safety and maintenance purposes. At present, Hydro Attack operates from the council-owned Lapsley Butson Wharf in Queenstown Bay. The proposal became more urgent after the pair learned their company would cop a massive rent hike on its existing wharf. Watersports’ application said once the new wharf was constructed, Hydro Attack would operate from there.

A specialty at Suite Bar - sorbet cocktail made with liquid nitrogen. Photo / FileA Russian man was rushed into emergency surgery last week after his stomach ruptured when he drank a deadly cocktail containing liquid nitrogen. Several cocktails at the event reportedly used liquid nitrogen, a substance sometimes used by mixologists to create dramatic smoky effects. Attendees later claimed they were not warned about the dangers of consuming the extremely cold liquid before it had fully evaporated, according to the Daily Mail. Witnesses said Sergey was goaded by the chef to drink the cocktail immediately, which he did.

Disney parks have experienced a run of tragic deaths in recent months. Disney parks have experienced a run of tragic deaths in recent months. Photo / 123RFA man has been found dead at Disney World in Orlando, Florida this weekend, marking the sixth death at a Disney-owned property in three months. The man’s body was discovered about 9pm on Friday local time at Disney Springs Orange Garage, a shopping and entertainment complex within the Disney World resort, according to the New York Daily News. The United States-based Disney parks have experienced a run of deaths in recent months, most of them in Florida.

Kiyomura Co President Kiyoshi Kimura poses with a 243kg bluefin tuna sold at auction for a record 510 million yen at Tokyo's Toyosu fish market. Photo: ReutersA Japanese sushi restaurant bid 510 million yen ($NZ5.64 million) for a single bluefin tuna on Monday, by far the highest price ever paid at the annual New Year auction at Tokyo's Toyosu fish market. The Takaichi administration pledged to work, work, work, so Sushizanmai will work, work, work too," said Kiyomura chief Kiyoshi Kimura, referring to the four-month-old government of Sanae Takaichi, Japan's first female prime minister. The eye-popping bid beat Kiyomura's own previous record of 333.6 million yen in 2019. The tuna dishes would be sold to customers at the usual price, Kimura said.

Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards in Santa Monica, California, on Monday. Kylie Jenner and Timothée Chalamet at the 2026 Critics Choice Awards in Santa Monica, California, on Monday. Hollywood heart-throb Timothée Chalamet has proclaimed his love for girlfriend Kylie Jenner after winning best actor at the 31st annual Critics Choice Awards today. “I’ll just say thank you to my partner of three years,” Chalamet said. Thank you so much.”An emotional Jenner was seen mouthing “I love you” from her seat in the audience.

Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro on Monday rejected threats by his US counterpart Donald Trump, who also accused him of being a drug trafficker. US forces attacked Caracas on Saturday, bombing military targets during a shock snatch-and-grab raid to remove Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro from power and assert Washington’s control over the oil-rich South American nation. Speaking to reporters on Air Force One on Sunday, Trump made similar threats of military action against Colombia, saying the South American country is “very sick too” and “run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States”. “He has cocaine mills and cocaine factories and is not going to be doing it very long,” Trump said. When asked whether military intervention similar to Venezuela was on the cards for Colombia, the Republican leader said: “It sounds good to me.”

The flags of Venezuela (left) and Cuba. The Cuban Government says 32 of its nationals were killed during the US attack on Caracas that ended in the capture of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro. The Cuban Government says 32 of its nationals were killed during the US attack on Caracas that ended in the capture of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro. Photo / Ringo Chiu, AFPA total of 32 Cuban nationals were killed during the US attack on Caracas that culminated in the capture of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, the Government in Havana said Monday. “As a result of the criminal attack carried out by the Government of the United States” against Venezuela, “32 Cubans lost their lives in combat operations”, the Cuban Government said in a statement read on national television.