A man police shot dead after he took a woman hostage at gunpoint at a Taranaki Hotel overnight was released from jail last week. Police this afternoon named him as Anthony Ratahi, 46, from Stratford.

Rotorua police have charged a teenager after a woman was allegedly kidnapped in the city early today.

Police have released images of two men suspected of trying to kidnap a 22-year-old community probation worker.

There are calls for the Australian government to strengthen laws against parents who take children overseas without permission.

The missing children's group that last week reconnected American kidnap victim Carlina White with her real parents says calls to its helpline doubled after the news made headlines.

A man will appear in court tomorrow in connection with an alleged assault and abduction on Great Barrier Island.