A 10-year-old Hamilton girl has died after cycling down a flight of stairs. The girl had been cycling to the dairy with her aunty and cousin when the accident happened.

Three boaties who spent the night in Cook Strait could have been rescued much sooner.

Both of the men missing after their small boat capsized off Wellington's south coast last night have been found alive.

A would-be robber fled empty-handed after an attempted aggravated robbery at a Wellington Post Shop today.

Christchurch's Boxing Day aftershocks and the recent wet weather have seen more than 1000 claims lodged with the Earthquake Commission.

Police are looking for two men who held up a dairy with an axe in Wellington this afternoon.

Police have urged motorists travelling north from Wellington to exercise patience in 'extremely heavy' traffic today. Two people have so far been killed on NZ's roads since the official start of the holiday road toll period.

A 2-year-old boy has been flown to hospital with head injuries after plunging two metres from a bridge near a remote cafe in Golden Bay.

Former PM Helen Clark says concerns by the US Embassy over the screening of Michael Moore's film Fahrenheit 9/11 for a Labour Party fundraising event showed "outright bullying" and "unprofessional" conduct by officials.

Rebecca Barry meets a group of New Zealanders for whom life means much more than material possessions.

Auckland Airport handled 3.8 per cent more passengers in November than a year ago, and airports it has invested in experienced even stronger growth.

A selection of Christmas church services in the main centres.