A man in an apparent child custody dispute is the suspected shooter at a shelter for mothers and children in Germany that left six dead, officials say.

An ACT candidate has withdrawn from a new Wellington electorate race at November’s election, after failing to declare her previous membership of a Chinese political group linked to the country’s ruling communist party.

Alarm bells are ringing over the coalition's school lunch programme, with the Auditor-General warning the govt has not been able to clearly show the scheme is delivering its aims.

The Health Minister says Te Whatu Ora will carry out a rapid clinical review after a patient died in the waiting room of the Waikato Hospital emergency department.

The prime minister says there is a long way to go before fuel relief payments will stop, as fuel prices finally drop below the $3 mark for the first time since March.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins has promised to scrap the emergency housing target, and "abolish the criminalisation of homelessness" if Labour wins the election.

Italy and the Balkans are feeling the impact of a heatwave that has caused hundreds of excess deaths and disrupted daily life across Europe for more than a week.

Oranga Tamariki took months to respond to an Education Review Office letter raising "serious and immediate concerns" about children at Gloriavale after it was sent to a former staff member whose inbox was no longer monitored.