A computer gamer who bashed and critically injured his baby boy has been sentenced to jail for the act described as "a complete horror story".

Animals scurried for cover as a blaze ripped through scrub near Rotorua Airport -- one of three big blazes to keep firefighters in the North Island busy this weekend.

An elderly woman has died while walking her dog at Perfume Point, Ahuriri in Napier this morning.

The heroic actions of a teen who swam to shore to raise the alarm during a family fishing tragedy were last night lauded by her relatives.

Flaxmere streaker Rose Kupa says she's knocked off one task on her bucket list, but the All Blacks are not impressed.

All Blacks captain Richie McCaw is expecting a tight test against Argentina in Napier tomorrow, saying his side will have to show patience against an improving team.

A man who indecently abused young boys over nearly a decade has narrowly avoided a sentence of preventive detention.

A young Hastings woman has been found not guilty of fatally stabbing her boyfriend.

A judge has told a mother caught driving with seven unrestrained children that she did something "a large number of families would do" thirty years ago.

A woman was killed and a cyclist seriously injured in two serious crashes in the central North Island early this morning.

Ports of Auckland, Napier Port and cold storage specialist Icepak have formed a joint venture to develop a new $20 million inland port and freight hub at Longburn, near Palmerston North.

Police are investigating why two men separately drove themselves to a Napier clinic with serious injuries overnight, one with stab wounds to the head.

She wove a stylish thread through NZ history. Now, the sartorial contributions of trail-blazing politician Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan will go on show.

Evidence from a cell phone has been used for the first time to convict a person of possession and making a copy of objectionable material.

Angus Veitch spends eight hours commuting every week - but he believes it's a fair trade-off for being able to live in the city of his choice while doing a job he loves.

"It wasn't me." Napier's Labour candidate Stuart Nash has denied the PM's accusation he's the party source who criticised David Cunliffe's ski holiday break.

A 2-year-old boy has died after he was hit by a car in the carpark of a KFC in central Napier this afternoon.

A 55-year-old man, described as a "serial fraudster" has been sentenced for impersonating a lawyer and now holds 184 convictions, including impersonating a pilot.

Bringing up the next generation with community spirit has gained Napier woman Gabby Allen a Pride of NZ nomination.

A man died after what police describe as a "highly modified trike" crashed in Napier yesterday.

A Napier City councillor's son has been jailed for three years and three months for "disfiguring" a woman during an attack at a New Year's Eve party.

Two Hawke's Bay police officers were assaulted during a scuffle outside a Napier bar last night.

A Hastings engineering firm will pay fines and compensation of $130,000 for failing to take all reasonable steps to protect the safety of worker.

Armed Offenders Squad members and Napier police with a dog team were conducting house to house searches for a man who held up a Kiwibank/Postshop outlet in Marewa this morning.

A man who severed his fingers with a skillsaw near Napier last night is having surgery this morning.