A psychiatrist has told a High Court jury the man accused of lighting the fatal Loafers Lodge fire was insane at the time and had no intention of hurting anyone.

A forensic accountant has told the High Court at Auckland the spending of a woman accused of murdering her children and hiding their bodies in suitcases skyrocketed after her husband's death.

A Dunedin man nearly four times over the limit doing doughnuts in the central city tried to ram a patrol car while fleeing, police say.

The man arrested in the killing of US right-wing activist Charlie Kirk isn't cooperating with authorities, but investigators are trying to establish a motive for the shooting, Utah's governor says.

Israeli forces have destroyed at least 30 residential buildings in Gaza City forcing thousands of people from their homes, Palestinian officials say, as the US Secretary of State arrived to discuss the conflict.

The coroner wants people to heed speed restrictions, after a woman died by hitting a bridge support, while being towed on a ski biscuit by a jetski.