Joe Karam's defamation action against members of Justice for Robin Bain was back in court in Auckland today.

Two German men who admitted travelling to New Zealand to steal rare native geckos have been jailed after they pleaded guilty to separate charges of hunting protected wildlife and possessing four rare jewelled geckos.

Emma Neale is a poet, novelist, teacher and anthologist living in Dunedin. Her latest novel, Fosterling, is the sort of book that can only come from multiple roles and experiences.

Dunedin police say it could take days to establish what happened when a man was attacked by a large group of people.

Join us at nzherald.co.nz for live scoring of tonight's Super 15 and NRL matches.

The Easter holiday road toll stands at five after a single-vehicle crash in Taranaki last night.

Tens of thousands of New Zealanders turned out at dawn services across the country.

A Dunedin man who sparked a police manhunt after he fired a shotgun during an argument with his partner has turned himself in.

Police are hunting a 50-year-old Dunedin man after he fired a shotgun during a domestic incident in Central Otago.

A car found burning in the western suburbs of Dunedin may hold clues to the "gruesome" murder of an unemployed man.