With so much focus on the World Cup, the test series between New Zealand and Pakistan threatens to be an entree.

Roads and vehicles must be "more forgiving" to curb a road toll which averages more than one death a day, the AA says. Figures released by the Ministry of Transport today show 371 people died on the roads over the past year.

The second step of Brendon McCullum's development as a test opener begins in Hamilton tomorrow.

Police believe they have found the body of a man who has been missing since he leaped from a bridge in Hamilton last Thursday.

The holiday road toll has risen to nine following a crash involving two motorcycles on the Coromandel peninsula this afternoon.

A woman who was allegedly violently assaulted by her partner attacked police officers who came to help her in Hamilton this morning, allowing her partner to get away.

Speed, alcohol and driver fatigue all appear to have been contributing factors in a crash on SH1 at Horotiu, north of Hamilton, today that has left two young men fighting for their lives.

A man was left fighting for his life after a stabbing in Whitianga in the Coromandel early today.

Hamilton police are appealing for help in identifying a limping man who leapt from a bridge into the Waikato River today.

The wife of Ross McSheffrey, who was pinned under his own bus yesterday, has paid tribute to his rescuers.

Residents of the Claudelands area of Hamilton East are being urged to contact Waikato Hospital if they find any medical referral letters in their rubbish.

Two boys aged 14 and 16 have been charged with attempted murder after a police officer was attacked with a knife and a machete.

Hamilton Zoo have had an early Christmas present this year - four meerkats from Auckland Zoo.

Santa Claus is coming to town - and the weather is looking fantastic for his long ride down from the North Pole.