APNZ

Why the body of a coalminer showed no sign of damage from the massive explosion that tore through the Pike River Mine was one of two enduring puzzles scrutinised at the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the disaster today.

Six houses were evacuated after workers ruptured a gas pipe north of Auckland this afternoon.

A body found at a popular Wellington beach yesterday has been confirmed as that of an elderly woman who had been missing for several days.

New Zealand No 1 Danny Lee was in a share of the lead after the first round of the AT & T Pebble Beach National Pro Am after his best score on the PGA Tour.

A large fire that tore through an unoccupied downtown Auckland building is being treated as suspicious.

The Government's decision to rezone another 255 orange zone homes in quake-ravaged eastern Christchurch has come as a "huge relief'' to many homeowners, a residents' society said.

Sonny Bill Williams will miss the Chiefs second pre-season match against the Highlanders in Queenstown tomorrow but will suit up for their final hit-out against the Hurricanes next weekend.

The five-year-old boy killed while playing near a stack of logs on the grounds of a Motueka school last night was Glen Eric Takaro Temiha-Barlow.

The Government today rezoned another 255 orange zone homes in quake-ravaged eastern Christchurch.

A woman has been sentenced to 18 months in jail for stealing more than $170,000 worth of apples from the Hawke's Bay company that had employed her for 15 years.