A magnitude 3.1 earthquake, centred 30 kilometres south of Gisborne, struck just after 10pm last night.

Gisborne and Northern Hawke's Bay were rocked by a series of earthquakes on Monday between magnitude 4.2 and 3.3 at a relatively shallow depth, but no damage has been reported.

A fake NZ doctor hailed as a hero after London's 2005 bombing lied about her role in helping the victims, an inquest has been told.

Another weekend and meh, another cyclone.

Campers across the upper North Island are tonight preparing to cope with torrential rain.

Police are disgusted after a crashed driver stole a car belonging to an elderly couple who had stopped to help him.

New Zealand could face strong winds and rain from a tropical cyclone battering the Pacific Islands with winds of up to 225km/hr.

Roads and vehicles must be "more forgiving" to curb a road toll which averages more than one death a day, the AA says. Figures released by the Ministry of Transport today show 371 people died on the roads over the past year.

A senior member of Whakatane's Maori university, Mark Laws, drowned yesterday at the East Cape settlement of Te Kaha.

Crowd control at Gisborne's Rhythm and Vines festival is being improved after boisterous partygoers forced organisers to shut down bus services last night.

The two men arrested for attacking a police officer on the East Coast are facing more serious charges of threatening to kill him after appearing in Gisborne District Court today.