Plans for the future of Carisbrook - now owned by the Dunedin City Council - were debated behind closed doors by councillors yesterday, after a last-minute bid to hold the debate in public was defeated.

A horse fell down a bank into a culvert near Lake Hawea about 4.30pm yesterday, briefly trapping its rider underneath.

A week after a New Zealand couple were expelled from Morocco, they are considering staying nearby in Spain to try and negotiate a return to the Village of Hope orphanage.

Four months of relative stability in the region's services sector was yesterday welcomed by Otago-Southland Employers Association chief executive John Scandrett.

The Government is expected to decide this week whether it will back Auckland's bid to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Thousands of people were last night bracing themselves for a king-hit from two devastatingly powerful cyclones roaring across the Pacific.

The Government may look at opening some conservation land to livestock grazing as a way for the Department of Conservation to generate income.

Macandrew Bay School has posted its healthiest March roll figures in 20 years and is having to look for creative ways to accommodate all its pupils.