Wild weather continues to blast much of Aotearoa tonight, with dozens of MetService warnings.

Microbiologist Siouxsie Wiles says with the new Omicron subvariants now in New Zealand the question is when the next wave of Covid-19 cases will hit.

A man who abducted a five-year-old girl off the street in Palmerston North and indecently assaulted her in 2016 has yet to begin psychological treatment in prison.

Flooding is threatening homes in Porirua, and has closed roads, while MetService warns of widespread storms, including the possibility of tornadoes in some areas.

A Mongrel Mob leader says poverty is at the heart of gang violence, and has accused the National Party leader of dog-whistle politics.

Finn Batato, one of the men who was facing extradition with Megaupload entrepreneur Kim Dotcom, has died.

Firefighters are launching industrial action on Monday, in a push for safer working conditions and higher wages.

There have been nine further deaths and 4402 community cases of Covid-19 reported in New Zealand today.

A woman who would be prevented from visiting her daughter's grave if she was deported to New Zealand is one of dozens of "501s" managing to overturn being kicked out of Australia.

An investigation into a big double-trailer truck losing half its heavy load on a highway shows it was not a one-off accident.

Reefton has bucked the trend with a 40 percent increase in visitor spending during the pandemic.

Four people have died on the country's roads since Friday - exceeding the Queen's Birthday long weekend road toll.

Mementoes from the most iconic rock band in history went up for sale in Auckland this morning.

The Crown work safety watchdog says it was not aware of roadworks audits failed by a major contractor, but would not expect to be made aware.

The Secondary Principals' Association is unhappy that schools must apply to Immigration New Zealand for accreditation to employ teachers from overseas.

Fire and Emergency is having to buy $160,000 of new hose to replace lightweight hoses that firefighters refuse to use.

The public will be able to check near real-time snow conditions at 10 alpine sites in the South Island for the first time this winter, as a result of a tool developed by NIWA.

Western parts of the country have been urged to brace for severe thunderstorms tomorrow, with forecasts predicting heavy rain, hail and potentially a few tornadoes.