Alex Binns turns 70 on Wednesday but instead of celebrating, his family are pleading for help to find him.

A young woman who has accused a former Hastings jockey of repeated rape, sexual and physical abuse from the age of six, told a court today he began plying her with alcohol when she was about eight.

The wine festival and vineyard concert season is in full swing, with the next date for your diary the Hawke's Bay Wine and Food Festival on January 29.

The MetService's severe weather warning for most of the North Island remains in place today, and Bay of Plenty civil defence emergency workers are on standby after heavy rain pelted the region overnight.

Campers across the upper North Island are tonight preparing to cope with torrential rain.

What do you get when you combine fashion's young in-crowd with sumptuous food and great wine in a stylish Hawkes Bay lodge? A chic alfresco party. Viva was there.

Police have charged a 21-year-old man with the manslaughter of a five-month-old baby who died in Hawkes Bay last week.

You'll rarely hear "subtle" and "Marlborough sauvignon blanc" in the same sentence.

Owners and management of Te Aute College have taken the rare step of seeking a Commissioner to help save the historic Hawke's Bay school from extinction after 156 years as a stalwart of Maori education in New Zealand.

The family of a girl, 5, found dead last month had to be restrained when the man accused of sexually violating her appeared in court today.