New Zealanders are being urged to avoid non-essential travel to Sri Lanka as the country's crisis deepens - on Tuesday the Sri Lankan government ordered troops to open fire on anyone looting.

Government agencies are under pressure to act after the court found children as young as six were employees toiling for long hours on farms and in factories doing difficult and sometimes dangerous work.

A jury has found a Piopio father and son not guilty of an attack that saw the tip of a teen burglar's little finger chopped off in a bungled home invasion.

Aotearoa's average house price may be dipping, but in some corners of the country, the climb continues.

A flock of 52 pōpokotea whiteheads have been reintroduced to a Whanganui predator-free sanctuary.

Rotting material in Christchurch's fire-damaged wastewater plant will start to be removed from tomorrow. But there's about the volume of 10 Olympic swimming pools worth to get rid of.

Officials in Wairoa say they will need more government funding to recover from flooding over the last two months.

A couple has challenged police allegations that they failed to provide prescribed antibiotics to a 90-year-old dementia sufferer after his discharge from hospital after a bout of pneumonia.

Residents at a Christchurch seaside suburb might be getting the flagpole they have been asking for since the 2011 earthquakes.

There have been 7970 new cases of Covid-19 in the community and 28 further deaths reported today.

Police say six search warrants were executed as part of an investigation into the April burglary.

The Southland District Council has voted to start charging people more money to visit Stewart Island.

A former Gloriavale member who won a legal victory after being used as child labour says he hopes state agencies will investigate further.

A mental health patient says the Southern DHB's decision, which was made without her consultation, has upended her life.

Police in Masterton are appealing for the driver of a vehicle which hit and killed Lawziah Karaitiana in the early hours of last Saturday morning to come forward.

The group's founder hopes it will create visibility around rainbow members of the Indian community and ensure they feel accepted and celebrated.

While local elections are still five months away, the fight for the top job in Hamilton is heating up with the current mayor being challenged by her deputy.

Daniel Luff was sentenced in 2002 for the murder of Detective Constable Duncan Taylor and the attempted murder of another officer.