More than 130 passengers and crew on the first cruise ship to arrive in the country in two years have tested positive for Covid-19.

Tui Shortland (Ngāti Hine, Ngātiwai, Te Rarawa) was today selected by her fellow councillors to head the nine-member council for the next three years in a Te Tai Tokerau first.

The number of suspected suicides has continued to drop year on year, but Māori also continue to be disproportionately negatively affected.

Global rideshare company Uber is to appeal against what's been described as an historic ruling by the New Zealand Employment Court today.

An abusive serial litigant who called a female judge a "lazy cow" and demanded another staff member be turned out onto the streets where she could follow "her true calling of whore" has had his case thrown out of court.

Junior doctor Mourin Das says after spending two years working in the UK and Australia as a registered doctor she thought getting her approval to practice in New Zealand would be a straightforward affair.

Ovation of the Seas sailed in to Napier from Tahiti, and arrived in Wellington on Tuesday.

Pharmac is proposing to widen access to the meningococcal B vaccine to include infants and young adults.

The Defence Force has carried out 16 investigations into extremism among current and prospective personnel in the past two years - but can't say how many found proof.

A jury has not been able to reach a verdict on four charges of rape against a 25-year-old man at Wellington District Court today.

St Bede's College students have shown "bad judgment" after choosing a "Wife Beater Wednesday" dressup theme that was shut down 24 hours before going ahead, the school says.

Four protesters who were arrested while protecting native trees from the axe last year have avoided criminal sentences, but there have been other consequences for their actions.

A flight service between Nelson and Blenheim will be trialled for two weeks while State Highway Six is closed for emergency flood repairs.

A person has died after a car left a highway and plunged into Lake Rotomā in the Rotorua district.

A new robot that can help with orchard jobs, such as spraying and pruning, has been unveiled at a conference in the United States.

A taskforce has delivered 101 recommendations to cut surgical wait times - but no targets for when they will be achieved.

West Coast Regional Council chief executive drops bombshell at inaugural meeting, giving notice of her intention to leave.

There are 16,399 new cases of Covid-19 in the community and 41 new deaths this week, the Ministry of Health has announced.