A 14-year-old boy was jailed for 20 months and his father for two years at the High Court in Gisborne today in an emotional sequel to the shooting of an 11-year-old boy on an East Cape farm in July 2009.

More than 100 workers at Affco's Wairoa meatworks have been laid off, just weeks after returning to work.

Thomas and Leanne Papuni have waited months for the truth about the killing of their 11-year-old son Triston by a 12-year-old relative.

A 13-year-old East Coast boy has become one of New Zealand's youngest killers after admitting a charge of manslaughter today.

Using tear gas, the Armed Offenders Squad today arrested an alleged aggravated robber who has been on the run since June.

Heavy rain has left Gisborne virtually cut off, with surface flooding closing roads and forcing the evacuation of homes.

Heavy rain is lashing the North Island's East Coast, leaving dozens of homes without power and closing rural schools and roads.

Schools have closed, houses are without power and homes have been evacuated as rain continues to lash the Gisborne region.

The icy southerly sweeping up the North Island has brought snow to the hills around Waikato and the Bay of Plenty and in some paddocks.