The home detention sentence imposed on a young father after he broke his baby daughter's legs does not reflect a sterner approach to child abuse, a court has heard.

A family of two adults and five children escaped their burning house with just the clothes they were wearing.

A live-in caregiver who stole $35,510 from her widowed Napier employer accepted a $2500 severance payment and dinner with her victim's family when she resigned in April

A retired orthopaedic surgeon lay dead in his Napier home for three days before being discovered by his ex-wife, a coroner has found.

Eruption activity has subsided but another eruption could occur at any time with little or no warning, according to Civil Defence. Read the latest.