The widow of slain Auckland taxi driver Hiren Mohini wants to ask her husband's murderer, 'why?'.

Staff at the Auckland City Mission have been rushed off their feet and will be cooking Christmas dinner for more than 2000 people tomorrow.

Police have now lifted a cordon blocking off part of Remuera Rd, two hours after someone telephoned a bomb and giving a time.

The person who called in a bomb threat in Auckland today gave a specific time when it would explode, police say.

This time last year, Auckland City mayor John Banks was rubbishing a poll showing Manukau mayor Len Brown 11 points ahead in the race for the Super City mayoralty as "shonky".

Balmoral residents have suffered a further blow in their 3 1/2-year battle to stop a McDonald's restaurant being built on the western edge of the shopping centre, fronting Balmoral Rd and Wiremu St.

Electronic ticket for seamless travel due to debut in March.

A girls' night out to a Newmarket noodle restaurant turned into a "revolting" nightmare before Christmas after a creepy-crawly was found in their soybean dish.

Auckland Airport handled 3.8 per cent more passengers in November than a year ago, and airports it has invested in experienced even stronger growth.

A selection of Christmas church services in the main centres.

Big Day Out songbirds Bic Runga and Kody Nielson share their style secrets and their preference for keeping things simple.

Photos from the Gorillaz concert at Vector Arena, Tuesday December 21st. All photos by Natalie Slade

Santa Claus is coming to town - and the weather is looking fantastic for his long ride down from the North Pole.

The virtual band are beamed on to the giant screen and act out Hewlett's intriguing and twisted stories.

Eden Park Trust is hoping the first large crowd at the stadium since the Four Nations rugby league debacle last month will be well-behaved.

A developer is asking the courts to call off the Tree Council's crusade against him felling an 80-year-old Avondale pohutukawa.

Transport Minister says many questions remain over $2 billion-plus project.