Eden Park Trust is hoping the first large crowd at the stadium since the Four Nations rugby league debacle last month will be well-behaved.

New claims emerged last night that the nine-year-old girl allegedly tortured by her parents was also sexually abused while in Child Youth and Family care.

A field hospital has been set up in the heart of London's financial district to treat blind-drunk corporate revellers.

At $240 an hour, the job offers one of the best pay rates in Auckland - and any bloke could do it lying on his back.

The pit bull puppy found in a Tauranga shopping area with his ears chopped off will head to a loving new home today.

A 9-year-old girl found by police hiding in a wardrobe had suffered so much abuse that almost every part of her body was covered in injuries, including part of her scalp torn off her head as she was dragged down the hallway.

'I love you I'll see you in heaven,' a 15-year-old girl wrote in a text message to her married, 27-year-old lover.

A South American drug syndicate appears to be targeting New Zealand, with the amount of seized cocaine this year increasing more than 10-fold on two years ago, says Customs.

The Netherlands' free-wheeling dope days may soon be over if the country's new centre-right coalition government has its way.

Christmas is the busiest time for counselling service Lifeline Auckland, which sees a sharp increase in the number of calls it receives.