Animal rights advocates have condemned a ''disturbing'' rise in the number of forced animal drownings this year.

The woman who died in a car crash in Otago on Friday has been named.

Six people have been injured this morning after a van carrying a shearing gang skidded on black ice and crashed in South Otago.

Police are expecting a quieter morning in Canterbury with less ice to make the roads treacherous.

The mother of a man who died in Otago Prison is considering a private prosecution or civil action against those responsible.

The role of police in the death of a man in an Otago Corrections Facility four years ago should be investigated, a coroner has ruled.

A slip near the Otago-Southland boundary in the Catlins has closed the Southern Scenic Route between Papatowai and the Niagara-Tokanui Highway.

A driver had to escape from a submerged car after it went off the road and into the Otago Harbour this morning.

Police are looking for the owner of a box of firearms found in a military ammunitions box on a Central Otago cycle trail.

The winter storm that brought snow and heavy rain to many parts of the South is moving north, but many roads in the region remain affected in its wake this morning.

Snow is falling in the South Island this afternoon as temperatures plunge to freezing in some areas.

State-owned weather bureau the MetService is looking for a site near Dunedin where it can build a $3 million weather radar.

Owner's of terrier swept out to sea near St Clair says she'd "never seen waves like this before" as climate experts warn that NZ coast at is at risk to extreme weather.

Passers-by watched in horror as a ''rogue wave'' surged up to engulf a woman and her dog walking on a Dunedin beach yesterday.

Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull has rubbished claims a state of emergency should have been declared after this week's one-in-100-year flood.

A civil defence response has been activated in Dunedin after torrential rain caused widespread flooding.

Panic set in for the woman living closest to the epicentre of the quake which shook Otago on Monday night.

A person has died following a crash involving a car and truck outside of Hampden, North Otago.

A Dunedin professor who invented the first drainage device for glaucoma has been honoured at a function at the Otago Museum.

The blaze that gutted two Queenstown homes was yet another caused by the poor disposal of hot ashes, a fire safety officer says.

Danielle Wright snowshoes cross-country in Wanaka.

The Otago Rugby Football Union says it is up to rugby to take a stand in the wake of recent abusive and racist behaviour at some matches.

Residents are weighing up their next move after consent was given for a child-care centre which they fear will ruin their quiet Dunedin street.

Two of Dunedin's biggest student bars have shut suddenly, and their owner has pointed to Dunedin's ''utterly conservative'' councillors as the cause.

University of Otago PhD researcher Hazem Zohny has warned about myths and "hype" involving so-called "smart" drugs.

Emergency services assess the scene of a Delta truck, which came off McMeeking Rd, on the Otago Peninsula, and rolled yesterday.