A witness to the accident in which a truck driver was impaled by a canoe says it was "swinging out on to the oncoming lane like a jousting pole".

The suspension of 15 striking laboratory workers in the North Island this morning was an attempt to intimidate them, their union says.

Auckland scored 32 unanswered second half points to down Manawatu 32-6 in their ITM Cup match in Palmerston North tonight.

Brendon Hartley will race with Italian team Coloni Motorsport in the final two rounds of the GP2 series, which is regarded as the strongest Formula One feeder category.

Slips and surface flooding are causing havoc for motorists in the lower North Island as heavy rain and gale force winds sweep the region.

After a year of rock'n'roll adventures in the USA, Gin Wigmore returns to stake her claim in this year's New Zealand Music Awards and play a national tour. She talks to Scott Kara.

Police have been cleared of any wrongdoing over the death of a 22-year-old motorcyclist after a pursuit last year, the IPCA has found.

The Green Party wants to bring our most elite troops home from Afghanistan following reports of links to the torture of prisoners.

In a warehouse packed with dignitaries and military officers, mourners today heard how NZ had lost a fine young leader, 28-year-old Lieutenant Tim O'Donnell.

The death of Lieutenant Tim O'Donnell in Afghanistan was a tragedy on a number of levels, the Governor-General told the slain soldier's military funeral today.

Lieutenant Tim O'Donnell was described as a striking example of a young man with positive and irrepressible energy at his funeral today.

An earthquake has been felt in Palmerston North and other parts of the Manawatu as well as in northern Wairarapa and southern Hawkes Bay.