APNZ

The mother of a 12-year-old girl who died after a road crash north of Auckland will appear in court next week charged with causing death while driving under the influence of drugs.

A prominent dentist and academic has been ordered to pay more than $11,000 and told he can only practice under supervision after he made money by pretending to provide Dunedin patients with two sets of false teeth instead of one.

Phil Goff spent the morning trying to shore up support in south Auckland, one of the Labour Party's metropolitan strongholds, with just two weeks left until the election and what must seem like a mountain still to climb.

Good conditions have enabled salvage teams to continue pumping what remains of the oil off the stricken cargo ship Rena.

Split Enz might have thought history never repeats but the Wollongong Hawks proved it does with their 81-63 upset over the Breakers tonight.

A Napier jury has been unable to reach a verdict in the trial of 25-year-old Kerry Charles Ratana, who denies sexually violating his former girlfriend's five-year-old daughter.

The 13-year-old girl whose body was found inside a burning house in Christchurch yesterday was home sick from school at the time.

National would stop thousands of people sitting for years on their learner and restricted licences.

Christchurch Police have launched a homicide inquiry into the death of a 13-year old girl in a house fire yesterday.

Former Pike River Coal boss Peter Whittall says he is being made a scapegoat after being charged over the deaths of 29 miners in the West Coast mine last year.