Central Hawke's Bay District Council is anticipating an expensive bill as it prepares to clean up from heavy rain that has hit the area over the past two days.

Police and ambulance responded to reports of a man drowning at Whangamatā Beach about 4.45pm today.

Customers have been queuing to get their hands on a coveted Costco membership months before the country's first store officially opens.

Health officials are reporting 13 more people with Covid-19 have died, with 15,871 new community cases reported today.

The government will tell teachers how to teach the basics as part of a major overhaul of maths and literacy teaching.

Auckland's Covid-19 case numbers are now a third of what they were, but 100 people are being admitted to hospitals each day, health authorities say. Watch the latest media briefing here.

Universities are facing their toughest year of the pandemic yet as domestic and foreign student numbers slump.

With so many Covid-19 deaths being recorded, how are they measured and reported? And how will the coming weeks look in terms of reported deaths? RNZ is here to clear it all up.

The East Coast of the North Island is assessing the damage left by severe weather overnight with even more downpours yet to come.

Police are warning Christchurch residents to take caution after receiving several reports of a young man indecently assaulting women.

Police are seeking information about the movements of black Suzuki Swift in relation the death of a man in Raglan in January.

Questions are being raised whether hospitals are accurately reporting their massive spending on often highly paid contractors.

An increased interest in connecting with neighbours has continued two years on from the first lockdown.

The government promising more support for teachers and a new system of tests to measure children's abilities.

With rain still falling in the Gisborne area after severe flooding, roading contractors are trying to repair routes to areas where residents are cut off, and detours round closed highway.

Wellington Hospital bosses and non-clinical staff have been pitching in to help as staffing shortages hit.

Tokomaru students had been back in flood-repaired classrooms for just weeks, while two residents lost a campervan they were living in while their house was fixed after last year's floods.

Some of the country's most at-risk people say the government is trading off their safety by easing restrictions so soon.