Angelina Jolie became the subject of controversy in China after she labelled film director Ang Lee Taiwanese, not Chinese, inadvertently embroiling herself in complex cross-Strait relations.

Rik Mayall was "happily chatting" to the son of British director Peter Richardson only half an hour before he died.

Robyn Preston is a mother of five and grandmother of seven from a small community near Dargaville. We meet the photographer who now spends at least half the year in Africa.

There may be a perception that cannabis is benign, writes Dr Dale Bramley. But staff running mental health, addiction and emergency services can tell you beyond doubt that it's otherwise.

A fire which sent a man fleeing from a two-storey building in Hamilton is thought to have been caused by an old extension cord

Act MP John Banks will be job-hunting after he leaves Parliament on Friday following last week's guilty verdict.

Celebrity opera singer Teddy Tahu Rhodes is caught up in a sex-tape scandal across the Tasman.

Wellington has been officially declared 'Vampire Friendly' ahead of the June 19 release of vampire mockumentary, 'What We Do In The Shadows'.

Men who keep a mobile phone in their trouser pocket could be inadvertently damaging their chances of becoming a father, according to a new study.

Scientists have called for more research into hair dyes and perming products to assess whether they contain a harmful substance which has been linked to causing cancer.

The Herald's resident Game of Thrones addicts give their thoughts on last night's ninth episode of season four, The Watchers on the Wall.

A life-long rugby fan says she is "completely and utterly ashamed" of some All Blacks supporters after being subjected to abuse at Eden Park on Saturday.

English comedian and actor Rik Mayall died this morning aged 56, sparking an outpouring of tributes from fans of his classic scenes.

As flames engulfed the crashed car, firefighter Buddy Harwood knew an explosion was only minutes away.

A video on YouTube is teaching would-be migrants how to get into New Zealand to work while holding a visitor visa.

A couple who sold their "dark", "sad" and "depressing" Auckland home before they realised there had been a suicide on the property have lost their bid to be compensated.

Fifty youngsters took to the track at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park in Waikato to test-drive a road-safety course which aims to teach vital skills.

Cheeky stickers were sneakily slapped around what were considered men's health hotspots overnight.

For rent: a $220 a week room on Auckland's North Shore complete with a "summer kitchen".

An investigation is under way after a 2-year-old girl nearly choked on two rusty metal rings while eating a McDonald's cheeseburger.

The number of houses, flats and apartments valued under $400,000 in Auckland dropped by a third in the past 12 months.

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce has not ruled out putting extra government money into a new America's Cup challenge - if other sponsors step up.

Kasey and Karena Bird will share their recipes in a new, fortnightly column.

Restricted views at sports stadiums come in all shapes and sizes and so do the people causing them.

On the eve of the opening of her award-winning play on reproduction, Elisabeth Easther looks at the business of fertility and asks why making babies can be so simple for some and so complex, expensive and heartbreaking.

This generation of young people are apathetic. Apathetic young people are a constant of life, like tax and Keith Richards, writes Verity Johnson.

The social media phenomenon known as the Beached Az whale has been killed off by its creators to highlight the plight of marine life ahead of World Oceans Day.