APNZ

Wellington have done reasonably well without him of late but they are an infinitely better side with Paul Ifill, and they welcome the influential striker back for the first of two home games in five days.

Police say a sighting of a capsized boat off the coast near Levin was possibly "an optical illusion''.

A young Auckland man had a "close shave with death'' when he was pulled, blue and barely breathing, from a rip at a Coromandel beach.

A young man stabbed and beaten to within an inch of his life was targeted for wearing a red top, police say.

The ASB Classic is still waiting for its first upset after three more seeds progressed comfortably to the second round at Stanley St today.

Workers on remote Raoul Island are struggling with unanswered questions as hopes fade for their missing colleague, feared swept out to sea.

A woman has been killed and two others seriously injured in a head-on smash north of Hunterville this afternoon.

Eastland Group has announced net profit of $4.2 million for the six months to September 30, 2011, down $400,000 on the same period in 2010 due to higher depreciation charges.

A gyrocopter pilot has spoken of walking away unurt from a crash at Whangarei Airport yesterday.

If Netherlands sailor Bart Lambriex's confidence levels are an indication, expect him to be on the podium when the world optimist championships end in Napier next week.