Big dry - nation at risk
Rain forecast for this week is unlikely to offset a soil-parching big dry that has put much of the country at serious fire risk and begun to hurt farmers in hot-spot…
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Leading Headlines
Traffic fine defaulter owes $37,523
Almost $9 million in parking and traffic fines has gone unpaid in Auckland in the past year, and the worst offender owes nearly $38k.
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Updated 1 hour ago
Small child dies after car hits power pole
Emergency services say a small child who was trapped in a car that had hit a power pole south of Tauranga was taken to hospital, but later died.
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Djokovic wins fifth Australian Open
Novak Djokovic has rewritten tennis history with yet another Australian Open final triumph over Andy Murray on a drama-charged night at Melbourne Park.
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Isis: 'Let the nightmare for Japan begin'
Japan says the death of journalist Kenji Goto is an 'atrocious act' as Isis threatens to kill a Jordanian pilot if a female prisoner isn't returned by Friday.
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Toddler loses both kidneys to cancer
Fourteen-month-old Riays Asiata has lost both kidneys to cancer and now she must wait at least two years before she can have a transplant.
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Updated 46 min ago
Thrilling final tops off Nines event
The NRL Auckland Nines ended on a high last night, with crowds treated to a thrilling extra-time final at Eden Park.
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Australian reporter released by Egypt
Al-Jazeera reporter Peter Greste left Egypt overnight after the president approved his deportation following more than a year behind bars.
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Andrew Little's rating best since Clark
Labour leader Andrew Little heads into a two-day retreat with his caucus today, only mildly buoyed by the latest poll results and the shock success of Labor in Queensland…
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Boy, 3, shoots dad, pregnant mum
A three-year-old was able to remove a loaded handgun from his pregnant mother's purse, before shooting his father in the lower backside, mum in shoulder.
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Kiwis' trip more than a Sunday drive
Four Kiwi mates will travel 16,500km together across 20 countries, five mountain ranges and three deserts in a "farcically small" car as part of an international charity…
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Cosmetic surgery's like burqa - Vatican
Women who undergo plastic surgery are wearing a "burqa made of flesh", according to a Vatican document.
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Latest
News
Editors' Picks
Hole-in-heart girl's lost Bunny
Ko's on top of the world
Did Djokovic play-up injury?
Tips for first day at school
Berlinale: Women hold sway
Sideswipe: Time machine?
The Eurotaur
Editorial: UE wake up call
Quizzes
Herald daily quiz: February 2
National
Dunedin-bound flight struck by lightning
''Just out of the blue there was this really loud bang and a flash of light on the right side of the plane."
Air NZ's Dreamliner 787-9 arrives
Video
Laptops, tablets add to cost burden
Nearly four in five Auckland secondary schools now ask or permit students to bring a device such as a laptop or tablet - potentially adding hundreds of dollars to back-to-school…
Farms remain deadliest work sites
Speed matters when it comes to batter
Business
Milk supply dip should lift prices
Reduced dairy production is expected to translate into higher prices at Wednesday's GlobalDairyTrade auction.
NZX looks at conflict after buy
Sharemarket operator NZX is reviewing its governance structures to ensure conflicts of interest - or the perception they exist - do not arise from growth in the company's…
Fonterra, Danone to fight behind closed door
Fonterra will be spared having its multimillion-dollar fight with French food giant Danone spilling back into the public arena this year.
Matakina signs GE Healthcare global deal
Breast screening technology company Matakina has received a boost after it announced the signing of a multimillion dollar global deal with GE Healthcare.
World
Election rout a setback for Abbott
Tony Abbott's address to the National Press Club today is being seen as a leadership make or break event.
Aussie PM: Lessons from election wipeout
Greek leader vows to pay nation's debts
Greek finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis had a tense meeting with Eurogroup leader Jeroen Dijsselbloem in Athens on Saturday, bringing forward a trip to meet his counterparts…
The man who would be a different king
Peace talks stall amid artillery fire
Politics
Little's strong start reflected in poll
Support for both Labour and National has gone up in the latest TV3 poll, the first major poll of the year, which reflects…
Green MP won't reveal any leadership plans
West Coast-based Green Party MP Kevin Hague has not revealed whether he hopes to become his party's new co-leader. Russel Norman announced on Friday that he would stand…
Has Key met his match?
A poll has revealed 55% of voters think Little is potentially a better match for PM John Key than his Labour Party leader predecessors.
Key and Plunket prove Catton's point
Is Eleanor Catton a traitor? Does Sean Plunket have a brain? Has the Prime Minister read The Luminaries? Who would have thought an obscure Indian literary festival could…
196CommentsLife & Style
You're thinking about fitness all wrong
Instead of calling it quits for the year, what if you resolved to change your mindset about fitness?
She used to weigh 122kg - she's now 56kg: Self-motivated mum shares her healthy journey
Anti-flu drug useful, study finds
Controversial anti-flu drug Tamiflu has been found to be useful, in the latest scientific study, at reducing the impact of influenza and keeping people out of hospital…
Study offers hope in obesity fight
French put knife in with own best eatery list
Video
Video
NRL Nines: Warriors lose in thriller
The Warriors have been dumped out of the Auckland Nines at the quarter-final stage, losing 14-12 to the Sharks. The home…
Nines: South Sydney sweep no surprise despite unpredictable tournament format
Video
NRL Nines: Big win for the Warriors
The Warriors have all but sealed safe passage to the quarter-finals, smashing the Tigers 22-8 in a must-win match. Five tries were more than enough for the home side…
Boxing: SBW wins on points
VideoPiano man plays Turning Tables
VideoEntertainment
Wallets out for golden indie haul
This year Sundance has impressed moviegoers, critics and industry buyers alike with a 118-feature selection that suggests…
Jesus' cinematic desert journey
Twenty years since rock star disappeared
The sister of missing Manic Street Preachers lyricist Richey Edwards has revealed her family's battle to come to terms with his disappearance. This Sunday marks 20…
Jesus' new cinematic journey
Dueling narratives surround 'Suge' Knight
Travel
Botswana: Plains of passage
John Coomber meets Africa's most majestic animals in their own environment and is lucky to see elephants following an ancient…
Botswana: Stay healthy on the Okavango Delta
Daytripper: Stand-up paddleboarding at Matakana
It is no wonder stand-up paddle boarding has taken off as a way to enjoy the ocean: it's fun, it's great for you (check out your abs after you've been at it a while)…
Waiheke Island: Wind down on Waiheke
The Netherlands: Time and tide
Opinion
Little captures our attention
The best way to find out what politicians are about is to listen to what they say. That's why this week's State of the Nation…
41CommentsLittle's big speech focuses on jobs
Video
Catton funding money well spent
If Eleanor Catton was a politician she might be in some difficulty today. For it turns out that while she vented her feelings about New Zealand's "very shallow, very…
58CommentsHousing woes: What would Lee do?
67CommentsAchieve, but don't diss us
44CommentsSport
Cricket: NZ takes a squad approach to Cup
It's time to apply some rugby terminology to the cricket World Cup preparations, like thinking in terms of a first XV rather…
Cricket: Crackdown on cruel sledgers
Nines: Warriors found wanting at death
In a tournament designed to promote try scoring and running football, missed conversions proved decisive in the Warriors' drama-charged quarter-final exit.
