One of the men charged with looting after the earthquake is autistic and has a mental disability that compels him to steal light fittings.

The devoted wife of a soldier is among the missing in the rubble at the Christchurch Cathedral.

Christchurch people are being warned to wear face masks to avoid breathing in earthquake debris dust expected in winds of up to 70km/hr.

As well as the earthquake's human toll, Christchurch's retail heart has been particularly hard hit by the earthquake.

Chris Liddell writes on the future of philanthropy and how we can get involved.

Search teams in the Hotel Grand Chancellor, Forsyth Barr, CTV and PGC buildings are facing a variety of challenges in trying to secure the buildings.

Petrol and diesel prices are on the up - but not in Christchurch.

The Christchurch earthquake has delayed the preliminary hearing of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into last year's Pike River Coal mine disaster, which claimed the lives of 29 men.

Hundreds of mourners have farewelled young father Jaime Gilbert and paid tribute to the selfless actions of two men who tried to save him.

The owners of the Canterbury Television (CTV) building are welcoming a government inquiry into why the building collapsed in the Christchurch quake.

A labour of love is taking shape as the employees of Christchurch earthquake victim Owen Wright craft his coffin from the timbers he loved to turn.

Bellringer John Dunn watched news footage of the earthquake-damaged ChristChurch Cathedral with an overwhelming sense of sadness.

The Govt is not ruling out changes to Working for Families or student loans as it considers how to foot the bill for Christchurch's recovery.

New Zealanders have paid tribute to the victims of the Christchurch earthquake with two minutes' silence marking the moment the disaster struck last week.

Last week's 6.3 magnitude earthquake unearthed a time capsule under the toppled statue of one of Canterbury's founding fathers, Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker said today.

The death toll from the Christchurch earthquake is likely to be about 240, police say.

Andrew Christian Ross Craig, 46, was killed when the bus he was driving was buried by a falling building.

Mr Parkin was working at the Southern Ink Tattoo studio on Colombo St when last week's quake struck. His apprentice Matti McEachen was killed as the building collapsed and another staffer, Bonnie Singh, managed to crawl to safety with

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker says people should not head into the central city to observe the two minutes' silence in honour of the victims of last week's earthquake today. Civil Defence says 154 bodies have now been recovered.

Find out what Kiwis and people overseas are doing to help Christchurch after the earthquake.