A farmer has suffered serious injuries after he was attacked by a cow in Opotiki.

Some 22 whales that had restranded on a beach near Ohope overnight have all died - some of natural causes and the remainder after being euthanised.

Exclusive: The Warriors are caught up in an investigation into a Maori tourism qualification involving alleged overpayments of $6 million of taxpayers' money.

The two front-runners for the Waiariki seat say there are no hard feelings as they battle for the crucial electorate that could determine any Maori political gains.

A spate of small earthquakes around White Island today is not unusual and is nothing to worry about, seismologist John Ristau says.

A symbolic koikoi (sharpened stick) given to the Hon Michael Cullen by Tame Iti to help negotiations between Tuhoe and the Crown has been returned to Tuhoe.

Southland saved the best until last to fend off Bay of Plenty by 34 - 23 in Invercargill.

The battle for the body of James Takamore may be heading back to court after a planned exhumation in the Eastern Bay of Plenty was blocked by protesters.

The family of James Takamore are vowing to remain vigilant after an unsuccessful attempt by authorities to remove his body in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.

A New Zealand tourist brutally attacked in a Malaysian hotel room believed he was going to die after being slashed and nearly suffocated.

Pinepine Savage holds proof in her own life that it is possible to turn around a town that everyone had written off.

Three Kawerau men have been jailed for 12 and a half years for their part in the shooting of two men in the township in September.

If the Chiefs can match their fast finishes with stronger starts then it will take a "special" team to upset the defending champions.

A Kawerau man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering a relative by plunging a knife into his neck at the dinner table.

Whakatane diners had their meal interrupted tonight when a vehicle ploughed into six cars in the main street.

A fundraising appeal for the 7-year-old girl who was mauled by dogs has already raised $65,000.

A young solo mother was left with no money after a bank fault cleared her account and left her having to borrow money for her baby's nappies.

The 5-month-old baby who died after the car she was in crashed head-on into an oncoming truck in Bay of Plenty has been identified by police.

The youngest of two children injured in a serious crash near Whakatane yesterday has died at Auckland's Starship Hospital.

A Kawerau man has admitted plunging a knife through a relative's neck as he sat eating dinner.