NZ@Noon: Rapist jailed for 17 years

Peter Robert Doyle.

A man is jailed for 17 years after he was found guilty of rape and indecently assaulting young girls, and the Rotorua mayor is proposing free open days at the tip in an effort to prevent illegal rubbish dumping. These are just two of the stories making headlines around the regions today.

A man who raped and indecently assaulted young girls was sentenced to 17 years in prison yesterday.

Rotorua's mayor is keen to see the district's landfill opened up for limited free open days to help stop illegal rubbish dumping in the district.

Two men with gang links are sentenced to more than three years in prison for forcibly taking two cars from a Mangakahia Rd farm.

The hunter who allegedly killed a young soldier in the Ruahine Ranges will not enter a plea until a forensic optometrist has completed a report.

It was one of Tauranga's darkest days, and today local iwi commemorate the lives lost at the Battle of Te Ranga 152 years ago.