A police spokeswoman said a person called police at 4.30am to say they had heard a group of people "talking about a bomb".

A man who lost his five-week-old daughter and partner in the Christchurch earthquake has been sentenced under the Harmful Digital Communications Act.

The search for missing two-year-old Emily Saunders has been put on hold until river conditions change.

The family of missing toddler Emily Saunders thanked the community for their support, calling the community's response to their family's tragedy "incredible."

Masked men raid Dunedin petrol station.

A would-be car thief in Invercargill met his downfall after crashing into a wheelie bin.

Opera star Anna Leese Guidi - a new mother for just over a month - is struggling with the news that her Italian husband Stefano has only two years to live.

At last, the ski world has caught up with The Jetsons.

INTERACTIVE: Explore map of assaults, sexual assaults and robberies to see how your neighbourhood compares with the rest of the country.

The search for two people whose vehicle plunged into a river near Hari Hari on the West Coast was suspended last night due to poor weather.

A fertiliser spreading company has been ordered to pay $150,000 after a worker was killed on the job.

A Greymouth pest controller says he is having to deal with double the number of rats around the district compared to two years ago.

Fifty years ago, Annie McGregor's husband died - along with four others - in one of NZ's worst mountaineering tragedies.

Police have described the actions of a motorcyclist who drove at more than 200kmh as "suicidal'' and "unbelievable''.

Two people suffered serious burns in a shed fire in Christchurch last night.

Police are appealing for any witnesses to the armed robbery at KFC Riccarton, about 8.07pm on Tuesday.

Two men involved in a high-speed car chase in Central Otago which was stopped by a flock of sheep on the road have each been sentenced to 10 months in prison.

A four-car collision near Christchurch Airport has caused a lane of traffic on SH1 to close.

The quake struck 30km west of Te Anau at 2.55pm, according to GeoNet.

Roof of Risingholme Community Centre collapses after blaze rips through it.

It might have been an out-take from Reservoir Dogs or Point Break, but facing a well-dressed masked robber was far from Hollywood make-believe for a teen dairy worker.

First person to lose their life over holiday weekend was passionate about 1937 Ford Cabriolet convertible.

The Queen's Birthday road toll is now up to seven following the death of a man involved in a crash yesterday.

Alarm after tuberculosis-positive cow discovered at his farm.

A week of planning and two days of hard graft using a bulldozer was what it took to free 13 4WD vehicles stuck in the snow for a fortnight up the Old Man Range.

A man wearing the odd combination of a hoodie, formal pants and shoes ran down a main Christchurch road with a till after robbing a dairy this evening.

A false killer whale that had stranded north of New Brighton in Christchurch has now disappeared from sight - giving rescuers high hopes it will survive and rejoin its pod.