The man accused of murdering five people by setting Wellington's Loafers Lodge hostel alight started the blaze because he did not want to live there, a Crown lawyer has argued.
The Education Ministry suspects some schools have been opening for fewer days than legally required, documents obtained under the Official Information Act show.
Two Northland fishermen stumbled on a scene resembling a winter wonderland after a freak hail storm left hundreds of metres of a remote beach blanketed in ice.
Horowhenua's mayor says the recent spate of gang shootings is "causing some real concern" among residents who are worried about ongoing criminal behaviour.
A man who sent a series of sexually explicit photographs and a video of his ex-partner to her brother, in an attempt to humiliate her, told a court he was truly remorseful.
The Education Ministry says 30 suppliers have applied to deliver the government's Healthy School Lunches programme to non-intermediate primary schools next year.