Two men have been accused of a "hate crime" for allegedly kidnapping two men before ordering them out of town.

The man charged with the murder of NZ nurse Michelle Beets has attempted to take his life in an Australian prison.

Two youths were remanded in custody when they appeared in Wanganui District Court today after a police officer was brutally attacked with a machete over the weekend.

The Police Minister will meet the Police Commissioner today to discuss a report on whether to give officers easier access to firearms following the brutal machete attack on a policeman on Saturday morning.

American student Amanda Knox, in an Italian prison for murder, has launched an appeal against her conviction.

Tributes have poured in for senior constable Bruce Mellor, who was last night in emergency surgery to rebuild his face.

The plot in Manukau Memorial Gardens cemetery where George Tipene Harris was laid to rest in 2004 still awaits its headstone.

The woman saved by "Good Samaritan" Austin Hemmings says she blames herself for his death.

The mother of a murdered Bay of Plenty teenager said today she was unable to describe how she felt about her son's "brutal, absolutely senseless death". A Mongrel Mob member ran down Jordan Herewini in Murupara last year.

The family of 'Good Samaritan' Austin Hemmings has been "torn to shreds" by his murder, a court heard today. Mr Hemmings' killer was this morning sentenced to at least 16 years in jail.

The man who admitted fatally stabbing "good Samaritan" Austin Hemmings has been sentenced to a minimum of 16 years' imprisonment, with the sentencing judge questioning whether he was truly remorseful.

An injured man broke a police officer's nose as the officer tried to help restrain him in an ambulance.

A jury has been unable to reach a verdict in the case of a police officer accused of covering up the circumstances leading to the death of a man fleeing custody.