1. Dotcom 'upset, angry'
Mona Dotcom's estranged husband Kim Dotcom, 40, has lashed back following her interview in a women's magazine this week.
Kim, who was not informed about the interview before publication, made contact with his estranged wife on Monday about her story which he felt should have remained private. Two nights earlier, to celebrate the All Blacks' victory, he had invited 20 random strangers to an all-night pool party at his Coatesville mansion, where his five children slept soundly.
Mona, 25, was reluctant to divulge what he said, but when asked by The Diary if her husband was offended, she came clean.
"Yes, he was very upset and angry ... but I have the right to express my opinion. I don't need his permission. I'm not his princess any more."
2. Teens left parentless after father crushed
Three teenagers must now cope without their parents, after their father died on Monday morning in a truck yard in West Auckland.
Simon Melgren, 56, died after being crushed between two trucks at his workplace, Lupton Carriers, in Henderson early on Monday.
He leaves behind his children Elliot, 19, Janelle, 18, and Jarrod, 17, of whom he took sole care when their mother Rhondda died in June 2009, aged 43.
Yesterday the operations manager and keen kayaker was described as a "very special" person by his grieving family.
3. Spooky surprise in Dunedin skies
A Dunedin student received a "spooky'' surprise when he took a closer look at a pair of photos he took of the Otago Harbour.
Terence Huang (25), originally from China, and two friends took the photos from the jetty at Glenfalloch late on Monday.
Mr Huang said he sat his camera on a chair to steady the shot, but paid little attention to the sky while the camera snapped about 20 photos.
It was not until yesterday morning, when he uploaded the images to his laptop, that he spotted two mysterious objects in two of the shots.
4. Passing motorist realised fatal crash car was wife's
Mac Robinson drove past a fatal crash in Matamata on Monday night before glancing back and realising the car involved was his wife's.
Horse-racing enthusiast Joy Robinson, 58, died when the car she was driving collided with a horse at 6.20pm on Hopkins Rd, south of Matamata.
The car hit the horse before travelling across a driveway and stopping at a tree.
Mrs Robinson's husband, Mac, had been dropping a friend home who lived around the corner from the crash when he saw the accident.
"I didn't realise it was her until we were just driving past and I glanced back and saw the back of the car ..," Mr Robinson told the Herald. He said his heart dropped once he realised.
5. Donghua Liu's new statement on Labour donations
Controversial businessman Donghua Liu has issued a new statement to the Herald confirming "close to" $100,000 in total payments to Labour and its MPs - including anonymous donations - but clarifying that the money was not for one bottle of wine.
Liu, to whom Labour gave permanent residency against official advice, says his earlier signed statement on the wine auction was "capable of two meanings" and after repeated inquiries from the Herald he says he wants to clarify what he spent the $100,000 on.
- nzherald.co.nz, NZ Herald, APNZ, Otago Daily Times