Vanessa Thorpe reports on the extraordinary comeback of comedian Robin Williams, who endured a relapse into alcoholism, a divorce, and heart surgery.

A young cannabis dealer slain with a hammer had told his father that some boys had threatened to kill him, the High Court heard.

A fugitive from the law showed exceptionally violent, confident and calculating behaviour.

A senior judge has vowed to crack down on a violent crime wave, which he says is sometimes "little more than sheer sadism".

Over 50 people in the lower North Island face a combined 200 charges following a police operation targeting drug offending.

Asian crime syndicates are using foreign students in some of Auckland's best high schools to receive illegal shipments of the drugs used to produce methamphetamine.