The Salvation Army is slamming the county’s poverty levels saying that all of the onus shouldn’t just fall onto them and that everyone has a part to play.

Crackdown on forced marriages: "It's hell on Earth for some of them."

North Korea has been secretly training elite special forces to kidnap Westerners.

Teachers are being kicked, punched and stabbed by children of P-addicted mothers.

A joint effort by Herald and World Vision fundraising campaign sees them make $200,000.

COMMENT: Don't panic, housing bubble hasn't popped. But it has released a bit of hot air.

About one in six Kiwis live with a respiratory illness and the number is increasing.

Madison Strempek, 12, talks about what it's like having a parent in prison.

NZ Herald Focus discusses the struggles of the people in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.

First impressions are of an idyllic paradise. But it soon becomes obvious that this village is living barely one step ahead of hand to mouth

Leaving home is the only option for many as the atoll faces the same fate as five islands that have already disappeared.

A teen's recovery from a second bout of TB is rare bright spot in battle to rein in the disease.

Some 60 per cent of Papua New Guinea's population live in areas where malaria is endemic.

A Kiwi scientist meeting in Brazil with world climate experts discusses a new report assessing what an extra 1.5C of warming would mean for the planet.

Each day we report on a particular problem for the Pacific, showcasing how World Vision has helped. Today, fishing to survive.

Clarke Gayford and Mike Scott visit isolated communities in Papua New Guinea as part of a World Vision fundraiser and find scenes straight out of a horror movie.

Just one thing going wrong had a devastating effect on an entire village in Papua New Guinea.

The people of Rarata village in the Solomon Islands were walking up to 7km every day to quench their thirst.

COMMENT: Sometimes, the simplest of statements can touch hearts and change lives, writes Cathy Casey.

The last-surviving member of the trio of women who created the Tino Rangatiratanga flag speaks out about that important time in New Zealand's history. Made with funding from NZ On Air.

Taika Waititi says he is "really happy and proud" to be chosen as New Zealander of the Year.

Treatment of autistic man Ashley Peacock raised in Amnesty International report on human rights concerns.

COMMENT: The mayors of New Zealand's three most impoverished districts have asked the Prime Minister to establish "demarcation zones".

More than 2800 needy children are already being sponsored by the charity Variety's Kiwi Kids scheme, launched in 2013, and a further 600 are on its waiting list.

Students at Papakura High School are striving to change the community's perception of their school, one of the country's most disadvantaged.

Learn more about The Rising Foundation, a charity helping students from schools like those in Under The Bridge, the Herald's documentary project.

Papakura High School has a falling roll, and as far as results go, it's among the worst schools in the country. But there is hope.

In this video, school staff including principal John Rohs discuss the impact of a variety of social issues on the students.

A team of journalists spent a year inside one of the country's most underprivileged schools filming the Herald's first long-form documentary.

NZ is heading "off the track" on housing, child poverty and imprisonment despite dramatic gains on some other social indicators, a new report says.