Auckland City Missioner Diane Robertson has said her staff have reported a rise in clients showing symptoms of solvent abuse.

High pollution readings indicate air at the bottom of Auckland's Queen St valley risks failing World Health Organisation standards designed to prevent respiratory and heart disease.

An alleged kidnapper who escaped police custody in Auckland has appeared in court this morning handcuffed and flanked by two police officers.

Police hunting a suspected kidnapper who escaped custody are door-knocking his known associates.

Dozens of residents in pockets around Auckland remain without hot water following last week's bruising storm, while 500 homes on the West Coast still have no power.

Auckland residents who went without hot water for four days can finally take warm showers again, but some remain upset at how the issue has been handled.

Some Auckland residents have made a cold and dirty start to the long weekend, after being without hot water since Thursday night.

Blue skies and sunshine greeted the thousands of happy visitors who streamed into the Coca-Cola Easter Show yesterday.

It's costing $1.4b and by 2017 should help give drivers from Manukau to Albany with an alternative to SH1 and the harbour bridge. So how's it going?

A 28-year-old chef has appeared in court over an attack on woman in a central Auckland cemetery.

With over 10 volcanic craters and cones, Mangere is packed with adventures, writes Diana Clement.

A downtown Auckland shopping centre was shut down as emergency workers worked to stem flooding from a burst water pipe.

Dionne Christian joins tourists on the Breeze for a trip back into Auckland's coastal trading history.

An Auckland doctor has accepted he breached appropriate professional boundaries, but denies misconduct and forming a sexual relationship with a patient.

Most parts of the country are in for a dry but cloudy few days as a week of wild weather comes to a close.

Two students at AUT's cooking school were being treated after the oven they were using exploded during class this morning.

Elisabeth Easther, paddle in hand, checked out Waitawa Bay, Auckland's newest regional park.

We've rounded up some interesting facts about Auckland's lovely parks.

Two people were rescued after their boat caught fire in the Hauraki Gulf this morning.

A ranking of 800 international universities by discipline has placed five New Zealand universities in its top 50.

An online tracker to follow the steady progress of New Zealand's biggest dig is about to be revealed.

A norovirus case at Auckland's Baradene College has prompted a warning to parents, but the school says no further cases have been reported.