A sprinkler system has saved a Christchurch bedding factory from severe damage after a chemical explosion overnight.

A Govt package for displaced homeowners is the 'first really positive thing' since the Canterbury quake, a resident says.

Cantabrians forced out of their earthquake-damaged homes are set to get financial assistance and help finding accommodation from the Govt.

Fifteen people in the Auckland region are now confirmed to have measles since an Emirates flight arrived in Auckland from Brisbane in mid-January.

Middle distance legend Sir John Walker will become the first New Zealander to present an Olympic medal on home soil next week.

An 18-year-old student says he was distracted and agitated by his passengers when he crashed, killing one of them.

Gerry Brownlee has rejected claims he told Canterbury residents that selling their quake-damaged homes would be the best way to withdraw equity.

Suppression orders have been lifted on Malcolm George Chaston's guilty plea to a charge of murdering Christchurch woman Vanessa Anne Pickering, whose body was found down a bank near Godley Head a year ago.

Founders of a website aiming to make divorces easier have hit back at claims their site is tacky and destructive to families.

Nelson's Richard Ussher relished near perfect racing conditions to win the 254km Coast to Coast one-day multisport event in Christchurch.

Kevin Barry, a talented boxing trainer who prepared hundreds of young men for careers in the ring, has died in Christchurch.

Recognising a good structure in a former rental A-frame was the first step for a new family home.