As temperatures soar above 30C across parts of the country, so has demand for firefighters as tinder-dry conditions create the perfect environment for forest and scrub fires.

Auckland are two from two and rolling along nicely in the domestic 50-over competition after cleaning up Canterbury at Eden Park yesterday.

Summer Herald The Corner Office: Rory Glass is the managing director of brewer Lion New Zealand.

A passenger who got out of a car after it hit a power pole in Canterbury was electrocuted by fallen power lines, and two others who tried to help were shocked.

Canterbury's favourite cycling son, Hayden Roulston, will be chasing history at the elite road national championships in Christchurch next month.

It was the first time in 40 years Andrew Welch had not been home for Christmas, his brother Jeremy recalls.

Canterbury officials are confident the country's newest test venue will scrub up impressively when New Zealand meet Sri Lanka at Hagley Oval beginning on Friday.

A Canterbury pub has been shut down for a litany of licence breaches, including a bikie doing a burnout inside the public bar.

A man is dead after going on a crayfishing trip in Akaroa Harbour.

An extensive search will be launched at first light tomorrow for a Canterbury man who has not been seen for more than two weeks.

A stalker who terrorised a former female friend destroyed her car by filling its engine and petrol tank with cement that set hard.

A fisherman who was swept 200m out to sea after he slipped and his waders filled up with water, had a lucky escape, says a man who helped get him on to dry land.

A Christchurch street brawl in which baseball bats and pot plants were used as weapons was sparked when a youth "disrespected" gangsters by laughing at their name.

New Zealand’s market watchdog has confirmed it won’t take any action following its inquiry into South Canterbury Finance.

Hosting the opening ceremony and the first match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 early next year will cement Christchurch's position as the sporting capital of New Zealand, Mayor Lianne Dalziel said today.

A search is underway after a French tourist went missing on a mountain hike in Arthur's Pass National Park.

Canterbury's Peter Fulton provided the highlight of Plunket Shield action yesterday, posting a classy double-century against Central Districts.

A strong earthquake rumbled the Canterbury region in the early hours today.

Police have named a man who died following an alleged road-rage incident in Christchurch last month.

A man has died in Christchurch Hospital this morning after he suffered a head injury during a dispute with another motorist in the city last month.

Costs associated with the Christchurch rebuild account for the bulk of $214 million of unauthorised public spending in the past year, according to a new review.