A late lunch at Egmont Street Eatery and a cheeky pic on social media captioned "birthday boy".

The child, who died in hospital after being found unresponsive at home on Sunday, had been living with approved caregivers.

The house has views over Oriental Bay in Wellington and is worth $4m, but neighbours say it has been all-but-empty for the past 17 years.

Dakota Cross was a typical teenage boy in Timaru who liked running and parkour. But he had a rare condition which ended his life abruptly.

Chris Sargent was taking his daily walk along a beach near his home when he discovered the footprints and bones of the now extinct flightless NZ bird.

The boss of the country's newly formed mega polytech, Stephen Town has resigned after weeks on paid leave, the organisation has announced.

One neighbour heard shouts while walking his dog. Fifteen minutes later, a police helicopter and armed officers appeared.

A 60-year-old woman has been charged with operating a vehicle carelessly causing death after Sean Dickey was killed while riding his motorcycle.

The paddle is described as is a lightweight, black double-ended paddle with Kaituna written on it in red with white outlines.

A man has been charged five days after allegedly hitting a pedestrian with his van and fleeing the scene.

There are 496 people with Covid-19 in hospitals around the country on Wednesday, including 13 in intensive care.

Officers have not yet confirmed the identity of the deceased and tests are still pending, police say.

It was safer for both residents and emergency services to evacuate in daylight, rather than at 2am or 3am, Buller Civil Defence controller Al Lawn says.

Loud banging and cracking sounds could be heard from inside the premises as flames up to six-storeys high could be seen from several suburbs away.

“They got us in a big yellow raft and floated us up the driveway.”

Auckland candidate Viv Beck's full transport plan comes with councillors set to vote on a climate-focused version.

Defence force personnel will patrol the evacuated area overnight after relentless rain flooded streets. Meanwhile, parts of the West Coast have prepared for more flooding, with evacuations and sandbagging under way.

Between emergency jobs and training on new areas of expertise, Auckland Central's fire station is constantly active.

Stuff’s journalists and readers have been out capturing the extreme weather in Nelson-Tasman and the West Coast. Here are some of their best images.

“This has been a very difficult decision for us but one we collectively deem necessary to maintain the health of the band."