Firefighters managed to extinguish the blaze by midnight and have left the scene.

An elderly man lay injured and stranded on his bathroom floor for up to a week before being rescued.

As Northland fisherman Philip Wilson watched a 4m great white shark chomp into the decaying carcass of a whale, he was not fearful but in awe of the massive fish.

Christmas was a pretty special time for one Hastings family who celebrated the festive season with all five generations of its maternal side.

Only a handful of Porirua's 134 vacant state houses are fit for Aucklanders to live in as proposed by the Government, says the city's mayor.

Aucklanders are being urged to use a new inorganic rubbish collection service which will cost $22.77 and be added to their rates bill.

Shandelle Battersby checks into the CityLife Hotel, Central Auckland.

Roger Hall climbs aboard a golf buggy to see some isolated, but beautiful, scenery.

Terrified passengers on a White Island tour boat leaped from blazing vessel into rough waters.

A truck carrying a cargo of booze has blocked State Highway 2 between Napier and Wairoa, after it rolled into a ditch.

Friends of the teenager who was killed in a crash in central Auckland have described him as a keen comedian and an aspiring radio broadcaster.

Plans to re-establish an award-winning restaurant on Auckland's Long Bay Beach have been halted "indefinitely" after the discovery of historic human remains.

The 28-year-old man who drowned off the Raglan coast yesterday was attending an unveiling ceremony for a teen who lost his life in a railway accident.

A man has been charged with assault after a woman was allegedly stalked and attacked in South Auckland as she walked home from a railway station.

A serious crash on a State Highway 1 black spot south of Whangarei this morning has seen two people hospitalised with moderate injuries.

A fire broke out among a nest of multi-plugs powering up to 15 appliances in an elderly couple's bedroom.

A new mosaic art installation has been completed and blessed at the Waikumete Cemetery children's sanctuary for the mistaken destruction three years ago.

An Auckland man had his licence and car confiscated after being caught speeding on the Waikato Expressway.

Two people escaped with just minor injuries when the car they were in rolled onto rocks along the Firth of Thames this afternoon.

A 7-year-old who nearly drowned at Palm Springs Thermal Pool north of Auckland yesterday is in a critical condition again.

Around 200 people took part in a run in Auckland today in remembrance of Jo Pert, the jogger fatally attacked in Remuera last week.

A paraglider pilot flown to hospital this morning with leg injuries has been praised for his quick-thinking.

A man threatening to jump off a roof sparked a police callout early this morning.

The Noises island group is under threat from greedy fishers and careless visitors. Geoff Cumming meets the family who care for a piece of paradise.

Residents and local exercise lovers are still reeling a week on from the killing of jogger Joanne Pert in a Remuera street, Cherie Howie reports.

A dog owner at war with her Auckland neighbours has progressed to a new home - and a brand new controversy - a little further south.

Ten people have been injured after a collision involving three cars and a truck near Taupo.

The father of Waikato crash victim Logan Wright had the "longest, most painful, heart-wrenching" drive of his life after his son's tragic death.

Judge declines media applications to photograph award-winning Kiwi entertainer accused of sex offences against four women.

Man accused of attacking two women in two days will be behind bars until next week.