A woman who died in a mystery house fire on Auckland's North Shore was an English immigrant who had lived in NZ for 20 years.

Police have confirmed they are investigating a homicide after a woman died in a house fire in the North Shore suburb of Glenfield on Saturday.

Police hope to learn today whether there are any suspicious circumstances surrounding a house fire that claimed a woman's life at the weekend.

He didn't win the big one himself but Saurabh Patel is still a very happy man.

An Iraqi immigrant smashed up and set fire to his Auckland home before allegedly attacking several family members.

Police are tonight still hunting four men after a middle-aged woman was brutally attacked in her home on Auckland's North Shore early today.

A woman who suffered serious fractures and cuts to her face in a home invasion early today was not the victim of a random attack, police say.

A $1m Lotto winner says police are picking on him because of his body art, black singlets and souped-up cars.

An orchid grower driven to desperation after losing his entire crop and income to a new spray dumped thousands of his flowers in a public protest.

A high-profile criminal is accused of master-minding mortgage frauds described as NZ's most complicated, costly and cunning.