A knife was embedded in a man's head after a gruesome stabbing at a party early this morning.

Ewan McDonald enjoys a few reds and Blacks in one of the country’s burgeoning food and wine regions.

Two teenagers have told how they leapt into a river and saved an unconscious motorist whose head was underwater in his semi-submerged ute.

The New Zealand dollar fell by more than half a US cent today after labour data showed that the employment rate fell to its lowest point in 10 years.

New Zealand's unemployment rate fell from a 13-year high in the last three months of 2012 as people stopped looking for work and the participation rate shrank.

A three-year-old boy is in critical condition following a hit-and-run in South Auckland this morning.

Police are investigating a series of rural mail thefts in North Canterbury after a $100 cheque intended as a donation to a charity was cashed for more than $10,000.

Expert earthquake engineers will be trained in Christchurch to help with the $30 billion rebuild, it was announced today.

Police have released the name of the man killed in a crash near Kaiapoi on Friday.

Farmers and landowners of "tinderbox dry" land on the outskirts of Christchurch should soon receive a reprieve with rain due to sweep in tomorrow.

Photos of the aftermath as scrub fires destroyed cars, farms and properties near Prebbleton in Christchurch.

The building sector has taken off and Canterbury earthquake repairs are one of its biggest drivers.

The number of consents issued for new homes continued a 20-month growth trend by rising again in November, show figures out today.

A twenty-year-old who was missing for 24 hours on a mountain battered by severe storms has been found "walking, talking and cold", police say.