Words can hardly express the harm inflicted on a 9-year-old boy in Hamilton this week by someone who gave him enough alcohol to get very drunk.

Do you remember your wedding day? The birth of your first child?

In the first of a seven-part series, Simon Collins talks to a couple who tried total freedom - but decided they needed to invent their own rules

Closed schools with rateable values of more than $42m have not been sold - amid concerns vandalism and neglect have turned boarded-up grounds into "rotting corpses".

2014 is less than a fortnight old and we've already been given two reasons to gnaw our fingernails over the future of civilisation as we know it, writes Paul Thomas.

A teen with severe chest pains died after an ambulance took an hour to get him to a hospital 10km away - and only after his father insisted he be taken there.

Of 8,001 beneficiaries sent for jobs requiring drug testing, only 22 tested positive or refused to take tests, a result that has been greeted as a victory by the Social Development Minister.

Whatever you do, never, ever attempt to feed a moa, warns Toby Manhire. The domesticated varieties might only bite you. The feral roadside moa, however, can be deadly.

When Dr Benjamin O'Brien invented technology that gave artificial muscle devices lifelike reflexes, he unlocked a world of endless possibilities.

"A hippopotamus would be faster." Auckland Transport is being accused of dragging the chain in its provision of facilities to make cycling safer.

Apartments could be the answer for financially strapped Aucklanders trying to get into the property market as the number of apartment building projects soars.

A $6 million Remuera penthouse could break records as the country's most expensive apartment sale.

Cycling campaigners fear more deaths or injuries in downtown Auckland unless an off-road bikeway being built through Grafton Gully is extended to the waterfront.

"I've heard of other cats taking socks, but he is prolific." Like a real-life Slinky Malinki, Oscar the cat sneaks out each night to steal from his neighbours.

His 12-year tenure as the mayor of New York City has just expired, but 71-year-old billionaire Michael Bloomberg is escaping to New Zealand with longtime girlfriend Diana Taylor.

A blockade at the entrance to Hole in the Rock is being considered as part of a long-running row over money and mana.

Revelations from 3D imaging study may prompt rethink on origins of vast underwater ridge east of Auckland.

The US Coast Guard has sent a heavy polar ice breaker to assist a trapped Russian research ship - and the vessel that attempted a rescue and got stuck in ice itself.

It's a frightening figure - 11 per cent of early deaths in NZ are due to poor nutrition and obesity. So what can be done to reverse the trend?

Last year was New Zealand's second warmest on record and more above-average temperatures are in store this year, says climate scientist Dr Jim Salinger.

Andrew Alderson looks at four ideas to complement a winning formula for the 2015 World Cup.

Hayley Westenra didn't let the rain dampen her big day as she walked down a rose petal trail towards her husband-to-be.

Kim Abraham waited 52 years to call someone Dad. It felt strange at first - now it's the most natural thing in the world, the Perth-based Kiwi says.

Lorde has confessed she has been hurt by social media barbs about her and boyfriend James Lowe, but a man singled out for criticism says she needs to "harden up" and not take it personally.

The partner of a jetboater killed after hitting a tree is traumatised after a shocking high-speed tragedy marred a summer outing on a Hawke's Bay river yesterday.

Not too long ago in Whangamata, locals near the beach might have peered out their kitchen window and seen a little girl walking down the street, lugging a surfboard twice her size.

The Christmas holiday break is a great time to take stock, regroup and think about the shape of your business for the year ahead. Tax risk management should form a part of those reflections.