The Dunedin City Council’s reputation as ‘‘divided and dysfunctional’’ is scaring off potential amalgamation partners, a councillor says.

The new Dunedin hospital will have a neurosurgery-equipped operating theatre and the city’s neurosurgery services will remain unchanged, Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora (HNZ) says.

He has never been to Spain, does not speak the language and has never seen La Roja, the Spain national football team, play live before.

There are fears New Zealand’s poultry industry and native bird population could be decimated, following the arrival of H5N1 bird flu.

Dunedin residents have the rare opportunity to soar through the cosmos without leaving the comfort of Earth.