A professional couple in their late 20s splurged $1.472 million on their first home at the auction of four properties from the reality home-building TV show The Block.

UPDATE: Director admits the footage of a boy rescuing girl is a fake, designed to highlight the plight of children in warzones. The video, which went viral last week, showed the boy braving a barrage of bullets — even playing dead at one point — to save the girl pinned down by sniper fire. Footage:ShaamNetwork S.N.N

When the Stones roll into New Zealand, a 300-strong army will mobilise to stage the greatest rock show on earth.

Tarzan's chimpanzee sidekick Cheetah was never recognised by the Academy Awards, but the clamour is growing for an ape - albeit played by a human - to win an Oscar next year.

Graham Norton crushed a barrel of grapes with his bare feet recently to help Kiwi firm Invivo Wines make a special sauvignon blanc bearing his name.

It's been a busy old week in the world of entertainment. Here are 10 things we discovered over the past seven days ...

We count down the five big must-see sporting events that take place over the next three days.

Redfoo has issued a public apology after a petition was launched calling for him to be sacked from the X Factor over his controversial new song.

The Bad Sex in Literature Award draw attention to poorly written, perfunctory or redundant passages of sexual description in modern fiction and to discourage them.

Lorde has slammed Diplo for having a "tiny penis" after he poked fun at her good friend Taylor Swift's butt.

The English RFU has launched an investigation into allegations of homophobic abuse of referee Nigel Owens during the All Blacks' victory over England last weekend.

The prison where Phillip Smith is being held was two years ago condemned by the UN as it packed in 30 inmates to a cell, was infested with roaches and was leaking.

With tonight's The Block finale looming, some of this season's contestants are loath to farewell the homes they have painstakingly renovated over the last 12 weeks.

Extensive do-ups to an Auckland villa paid off, with the developer pocketing $775k more than he paid for the house just seven months ago.

Residents of a small southern New South Wales town are scared there could be a random killer in their midst.

Richie McCaw took some time out to work on his golf game today, assisted by a legend of the Scottish game.

I don't watch much reality television, but even with my limited experience, I know one thing's for sure: competent people doing competent things does not make great TV, writes Chris Schulz.

NZ's second innings capitulation overnight on the fourth day of the first test suggests the chasm in ability is wide compared to Pakistan.

Forget the wacky theory about a loss being the perfect tonic for the All Blacks' World Cup preparations. What they require is a stonking victory to help pack the 2014 season away in style. Sonny Bill Williams showed against England he is the x-factor who

Two of the Takapuna homes featured on the first season of TV3's The Block have increased in value by more than 50 per cent, according to official figures out this week.

The rebirth of an old market, once teeming with hippy and bohemian traders and curious customers, has lured three Aucklanders back to Victoria Park where they spent happy times as teenagers.

She has many strings to her bow, but one thing Kim Kardashian is particularly famous for is her sizeable derriere.

A ridiculous number of superhero movies will flood cinemas over the next six years. Dominic Corry and Karl Puschmann assemble to assess their worth.

Lucy Lawless says the death of a former Cuban fighter led her to realise she doesn't want to be present at the death of any more hardcore Xenites.

An artist has redrawn classic animated ladies as breast cancer survivors in a bid to raise awareness for those battling the disease.