The body of a woman has washed up on a private beach in the Hawke's Bay this afternoon.

The MetService is forecasting rain for much of New Zealand today, perhaps ruining plans for post-party barbecues and sunbathing.

To the sound of 200-300 voices chanting "live, live, Israel, resolution go to Hell", Hawke's Bay pastor Nigel Woodley stood outside

In protest at an "outrageous" United Nations resolution, busloads of Hawke's Bay residents will travel to Parliament today to condemn

Boxing Day crash victim remembered as one of the "most amazing people" .

Road toll now equal to last summer's following death of motorcyclist.

A weak cold front will bring cloud, drizzle and showers to the country over the next few days but should clear in time for New Year celebrations.

Emergency services were not called immediately after attack.

Carving, planing and knocking in. With the summer of cricket upon us, James Laver demonstrates the craft that goes into a hand-made cricket bat. Made with funding from NZ On Air.

This festive season the Hawke's Bay Community Choir is doing the rounds visiting local retirement villages to help spread the Christmas spirit through song. Made with funding from NZ On Air.

This festive season the Hawke’s Bay Community Choir is doing the rounds visiting local retirement villages to spread the Christmas spirit through song. Made with funding from NZ On Air.

Workers have been forced to return and fix a Hawke's Bay road up to half a dozen times in four months. Contractor Russell Roads

Wet weather today will clear throughout the country making way for a mainly fine Christmas weekend.

At $74.2 million in the first two weeks of December, Hawke’s Bay has topped the country with the biggest increase in Christmas spend, according to the latest Paymark figures.

What will the weather be doing on Sunday for Christmas?

There was a record downpour in Auckland, a tornado in Taranaki and "quake lights" above Wellington. Oh, and 2016 was likely also New Zealand's hottest year on record.

Almost 600 undersized paua have been returned to the sea near Napier after several large-scale paua busts in one day. Ministry for

Rotorua's Redwoods Treewalk will now be lit up at night by 30 bespoke David Trubridge lights. The partnership between New Zealand Tourism and Mr Trubridge's design allows the country to be marketed in innovative new ways.

Final repairs were made this morning to high voltage lines which were brought down when a light plane crashed, killing the two people on board.

An area of Napier Port has been cordoned off while firefighters deal with a chemical spill.

It was Hawke's Bay's only known fatal shark attack, and 120 years on the death of Bright Cooper is still shocking.

A group of three men armed with knives stormed a store in Napier.

A government inquiry chairman has thanked two councils for their efforts which resulted in Hawke's Bay Regional Council dropping its

Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule says without a prosecution, councils can focus on finding the cause of the Havelock North water contamination

Hawke's Bay Regional Council has backed down from prosecuting Hastings District Council over water breaches relating to the gastro

Hearings on the Hastings District Council's intention to use a Brookvale bore to augment Havelock North's water supply in coming months

GNS Science says the probability of a big quake has increased following the Kaikoura earthquake.

A joint summit on Heretaunga Plains water issues is an opportunity to start changing the way people think about water, says Green

A man and two female friends were lucky to all return to shore relatively unscathed after getting into trouble in choppy seas about a kilometre off Napier port.

Karl Henderson found himself locked outside his burning shop when he realised his dog Stella was stuck inside. Wife Tracy had woken