The fire on Signal Hill in Dunedin has been contained, but about 40 firefighters and three helicopters are continuing to fight the blaze.

Four kayakers have made it back to shore safely after getting into trouble near Ruby Island on Lake Wanaka.

A Christmas Day assault in Christchurch has been upgraded to a homicide investigation after the victim died.

The holiday road toll has risen to 10 after a motorcyclist died in a crash at Pukerau near Gore.

The man got separated from his three hunting companions yesterday evening.

Bad weather is starting to hit the South Island.

A Christchurch mother who shed 20kg in nine months simply by slashing sugar from her diet is today launching a recipe book to help others.

A former Dunedin bus driver "wrongly branded as a thief and a fraudster" after being dismissed over a $2.90 fare has won nearly $20,000 in compensation.

An armed man brandishing a machete and wearing a bandana robbed a South Island dairy on Christmas night.

Queenstown and Wanaka are expected to be the hottest.

Police have caught a man in Canterbury after earlier warning he was dangerous and should not be approached.

Police are hunting for a man in Canterbury, and are warning people not to approach him.

Nearly a year ago, Craig Hickford was on life-support and close to death. Today, he is back on his feet and looking ahead to Christmas with family.

The best spots for enjoying a Christmas hamper outdoors will be in the Bay of Plenty, Nelson and Central Otago tomorrow.

Steve Braunias looks back on a year of thinking dangerously.

Three people have been arrested thanks to a group of brave Colac Bay residents who helped police foil a bid to burgle a holiday home.

Hokitika will see out one of its wettest years in 150 years of records, with the equivalent of two months of additional rain.

Wet weather today will clear throughout the country making way for a mainly fine Christmas weekend.

After extensive fire damage the Greymouth fishing boat Te Aroha has risen from the ashes and is back trawling off the West Coast.

A downed line that sent a high-voltage current down an electric fence on a Port Chalmers property yesterday could have been deadly.

Christmas Day should be fine but be ready for thunderstorms in the coming days.

It's the biggest cruise ship to visit and likely the most valuable machine to call at New Zealand.

GRAPHIC WARNING: A calf has been brutally shot at least five times and left to die a slow painful death in the South Island.

Burglars snuck into the destroyed two-story house and stole the only salvageable items including a TV, a cabinet and food.

Ross pensioner Sam Viney already has the NZCC Rescue Helicopter to thank for saving his life - more than once - and now he has 10,000 more reasons to thank the rescue service.

A person has been injured at a Dunedin trampoline park and is being flown to hospital.

Two men have been arrested in relation to alleged methamphetamine and cannabis offences following a raid at a Westport house this morning.

A Sydney conman who fleeced $500,000 out of a Christchurch man in a vending machine scam has today been jailed for 15 months and will

The owner of the mysterious object found washed up on a Southland beach has come forward.

A solo paraglider was seriously injured after plunging about 9m to the ground near Arrowtown last night.