And now for something completely different: the Adam Thomson phenomenon
Highlanders flanker Adam Thomson throws himself at the Waratahs defence during a Super Rugby game in Dunedin in 2012. Photo: Peter McIntoshAdam Thomson was always a bit different. Difference can be a good thing — and Thomson was one mighty good rugby player. Thomson went on to play 29 tests and was part of the World Cup-winning side in 2011. He had stints in Japan, returned to Super Rugby with the Reds and Rebels, and played for both the Chiefs and Waikato in his final season, 2020.
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 24, 2026 21:38 UTC
War softening sheep prices, farmers say
PHOTO: SHAWN MCAVINUEStrong demand for sheep is pleasing but the war in the Middle East is softening prices, Taieri farmers say. Romdale wether lambs fetched between $169 and $180 each, Romdale ewe lambs between $158 and $166 each and terminal cross lambs between $154 and $170 each. The conflict in the Middle East was softening sheep prices. Romney wether lambs fetched between $169 and $207 each, Romney ram lambs $180 each, Romney ewe lambs between $161 and $168 each, Blackface mixed sex lambs between $173 and $200 each, Texel cross male lambs between $169 and $185, Texel cross ewe lambs $164 each and Texel ewe lambs $140 each. The prices were good and on par with expectations, as sheep prices had softened due to shipping challenges as a result of the conflict in the Middle East.
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 24, 2026 21:37 UTC
Kim lauds nuclear deterrent
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends an event celebrating the first session of the Supreme People’s Assembly in Pyongyang yesterday. PHOTO: VIA REUTERSNorth Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country would permanently strengthen its nuclear forces and treat South Korea as its most hostile state, as he set out policy priorities in a speech to parliament, state media KCNA reported yesterday. Kim said Pyongyang’s status as a nuclear-armed state was irreversible and expanding a "self-defensive nuclear deterrent" was essential to national security, regional stability and economic development. He rejected the idea nuclear disarmament could be exchanged for economic benefits or security guarantees, saying North Korea had already proven maintaining nuclear forces while pursuing development was the correct strategic choice. Nuclear weapons had deterred war and allowed the state to focus resources on economic growth, construction and living standards, he said.
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 24, 2026 21:37 UTC
Warnings issued: 33 hours of rain in store for Northland
Some heavy rain watches forecasted for the upper North Island have been upgraded to an orange heavy rain warning. The heavy rain watch which was in place for Northland is now an orange warning from 7pm Wednesday until 9am Friday. The chance of wet weather due to a deep subtropical low has now also spread with a heavy rain watch issued for other parts of the Upper North Island including Auckland. An orange heavy rain warning is in place for Northland. In the South Island Tasman west of Motueka is under a heavy rain watch from Thursday until Friday.
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 24, 2026 21:23 UTC
Celebrated composer retires from academia but music will continue
Prominent composer and University of Otago music Emeritus Professor Anthony Ritchie will retire from academia next week. The 65-year-old emeritus professor of composition, conducting, New Zealand music, contemporary music and music theory, will retire next week after 23 years in the music department. For a man who had spent most of his life immersed in music, a life without it was inconceivable. One of the greatest things about working at the university was that it surrounded him with musical inspiration for his compositions, he said. "The expectation is that you’ll still be involved with the university and its activities when you’re an emeritus professor, and I’m more than happy to do that."
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 24, 2026 21:02 UTC
Fuel prices keep drivers off roads
Photo: ODT FilesRising fuel prices appear to be keeping some travellers off the roads in the main centres. Simplicity chief economist Shamubeel Eaqub helped RNZ compile NZ Transport Agency data showing traffic at sites throughout the country. "I think prices have risen even more since then and high prices discourage people from driving, so it's not surprising." "Some people will still be burning through the remaining fuel they might have purchased beforehand. But he said the drop in crude oil prices in recent days should help to stop prices from increasing as quickly.
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 24, 2026 19:56 UTC
Price of fuel keeps drivers off roads
Photo: ODT FilesRising fuel prices appear to be keeping some travellers off the roads in the main centres. Simplicity chief economist Shamubeel Eaqub helped RNZ compile NZ Transport Agency data showing traffic at sites throughout the country. "I think prices have risen even more since then and high prices discourage people from driving, so it's not surprising." "But I think probably too early to make it definitive that you're seeing an absolute switch in activity." But he said the drop in crude oil prices in recent days should help to stop prices from increasing as quickly.
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 24, 2026 19:56 UTC
Breakfast briefing: Escalations show off-ramp options fade
Their 1-5 curve is steeper at +23 bps (+3 bps) and the 3 mth-10yr curve is now at +70 bps (+2 bps). The Australian 10 year bond yield starts today at 5.03%, down -2 bps from yesterday. And the NZ Government 10 year bond rate starts today at 4.86%, down -4 bps. That all means our TWI-5 starts today down -30 bps at just on 61.9. The bitcoin price starts today at US$69,569 and down -1.4% from this time yesterday.
Source:Stuff
March 24, 2026 19:46 UTC
NZ Post apologises after 8000 undelivered items of mail found in Kaitāia
“We would like to assure customers this was an isolated issue, related to the actions of an individual who no longer works for NZ Post,” an NZ Post spokesperson said. He wondered how it had been possible for the mail to remain undiscovered for the past four years. His undelivered mail was a letter from Specsavers dated April 2022. People can pick their delayed mail up from the Kaitāia Box Lobby, on North Park Drive, using ID. “We encourage customers to use our letter as evidence with any organisation they may have been delayed in responding to, so they are able to take these exceptional circumstances into account,” NZ Post said.
Source:New Zealand Herald
March 24, 2026 19:06 UTC
Married at First Sight expert Mel Schilling dies from cancer
Instagram / @mel_schilling1Australia's Married at First Sight expert Mel Schilling has died of cancer, aged 54. She announced her terminal diagnosis in March, saying her cancer had spread to the left side of her brain. In a post on Instagram in March, Schilling said her oncology team told her "there's nothing further they can do". "To most of you, she was Mel Schilling — matriarch of MAFS and queen of reality TV. In honour of Schilling, her husband said: "live life to the full, love your people well, and try not to sweat the small stuff."
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 24, 2026 18:50 UTC
The Warehouse fined $230K over choking hazard toy
The Warehouse has issued a recall notice for the Roo Crew Take-Apart Vehicle, saying its small parts pose a choking hazard for children under three. Photo: The Warehouse / SuppliedThe Warehouse has been fined more than $200,000 for selling a toy that was a choking risk for children under three. The Commerce Commission said the "Roo Crew Take-Apart Vehicle Toys" were potentially dangerous because they contained multiple small parts and had failed several safety tests. "Multiple parts came off each variation of the toy, and they failed small parts testing." The Warehouse previously issued a voluntary recall notice for the toy.
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 24, 2026 18:30 UTC
Beckenridge mystery: Plunge off cliff ruled murder-suicide
The disappearance came after Family Court proceedings between Ms Lu and Mr Beckenridge, which saw Mike placed in his mother’s care. The covert conversations continued until March 13 when Mr Beckenridge abducted Mike from his school. Photo: suppliedBorder alerts were immediately arranged in relation to Mr Beckenridge and there was already one in place for Mike. Mike Beckenridge. The coroner said it was indicative of a trial run by Mr Beckenridge followed by the final plunge.
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 24, 2026 16:16 UTC
Drunk assaulted two women in Queenstown bar
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.
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 24, 2026 16:16 UTC
Emails give insight into desperation
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.
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 24, 2026 16:10 UTC
Support buddy now needing help himself
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.
Source:Otago Daily Times
March 24, 2026 16:10 UTC