A powerful typhoon destroyed homes and flooded low-lying coastal villages in the Philippines, forcing a million people to flee to safety and reportedly leaving at least three dead.

A New Zealand exporter has won a $450,000 judgment against the suppliers of "defective" Philippine bananas.

Police are following the money trail left by paedophiles in paying for material and are using the information to shut down rings that include dozens of people across continents.

Police say possibilities of what happened to missing Auckland mother Blessie Gotingco are "limitless".

OceanaGold plans to scale back its operations and is expected to axe more than 100 jobs at the Macraes goldfield in Otago in response to a falling gold price.

At first it's hard to comprehend exactly what it is we're looking at.

A police official says at least 21 people were killed and 20 others were injured when a bus plunged from an elevated highway and onto a van in Manila.

More than 12,000 people displaced by the massive November 8 have made it to the capital. Most are with relatives; those with no family here are in shelters.

A Trade Me bidding war has started over an orange capsicum with a green stalk shaped like the head of a dragon - with bids already topping $200.

Sara Thomson's first trip to the hairdresser was for a good cause - the salon is donating its day's takings to the victims of the Philippines typhoon.

In front of the mansion that Imelda Marcos built to store the glittering keepsakes of her life, workmen were slowly clearing the debris and sweeping away mounds of mud.

Devastation in Philippines highlights urgency of Warsaw summit to pave the way for an agreement to bring down global emissions.

Althea Mustacisa was born three days ago in the aftermath of the killer typhoon that razed the eastern Philippines. And for every one of those three days, she has struggled to live.

Since the typhoon hit, Danny Estember has been hiking for three hours on the round-trip into the mountains each day to obtain what he can only hope is clean water for his five daughters and two sons.

People swept dirt from the pews and wiped clean the mud-covered, ornate tile floors of a church. The sound of hammers hitting nails and the buzzing of chain saws reverberated in the streets. Debris was piled on corners and set ablaze.

Japan is preparing to send as many as 1,000 troops to the storm-ravaged Philippines, and naval vessels and aircraft in what could be Tokyo's biggest postwar military deployment.

International effort picked up pace yesterday, with helicopters buzzing back and forth between Tacloban and the USS George Washington's carrier group, delivering crates of food.