Police are today still searching for a man who is on the run after cutting off his electronic monitoring bracelet.

In the deep south Elisabeth Easther learns about possibly the most hospitable town in this country, where a new butcher could restore its reputation.

NZ's self-declared "sausage capital" is in danger of losing its claim to fame after its renowned high street butcher shut its doors.

Taxi company Uber says it has no plans to launch its services in Otago and Southland just yet - but that hasn't stopped them offering sweeteners to the public today.

Neglected Campbell Island seems to me like New Zealand's planet Pluto.

When Edendale, Southland, local Lois Heads had to decline involvement in another community service, she cried.

Police and safety investigators are looking into a fatal farm accident in Southland.

A slip near the Otago-Southland boundary in the Catlins has closed the Southern Scenic Route between Papatowai and the Niagara-Tokanui Highway.

Cathedral caves and ringing birdsong - the Catlins astound Jane Jeffries.

Police say they still do not know whether bodies have been found in the car linked to missing Invercargill boy Michael Zhao-Beckenridge.

The vehicle linked to missing Invercargill boy Mike Zhao-Beckenridge has been extracted from the sea and loaded on to a waiting boat, where police can examine it.

A Dunedin commercial pilot stabbed multiple times in a bathroom cubicle will make a full recovery, her mother says.

A truck driver is in serious condition after his truck collided with a utility vehicle in Southland this afternoon.

The body of a kayaker has been found on a beach near the mouth of the Waiau River, Tuatapere.

A search is under way for a missing German woman in the Manapouri Hope Arm area in Southland.

Most of the 25 cats owned by Invercargill woman Averil Gardiner have been rehomed to meet a court's deadline.

'The time has come for reality to sink in,' said a judge as he ordered an Invercargill woman to dispose of 22 of cats.

A novice boatie died in a cold Southland lake after the boat's powerful outboard motor broke free, leaving a hole in the hull.

An Invercargill woman went to great lengths to hide her face yesterday during a court hearing over the 25 cats she keeps on her property.

Northland Police have launched a homicide investigation following a violent incident which left a young man dead north of Whangarei last night.

Both the North and South Islands have had a shaky start to the day, with a moderate quake in Southland and two light ones near Masterton.

An elderly Southland man who suffered burns to most of his body in a house fire on Friday night has died in hospital, police have said today.

A man was trapped in a wreck for over an hour after a crash between a campervan and a car.

Fire crews around the South Island were kept busy with three large and a number of small fires overnight.