Auckland is heading into its first weekend in alert level 3 this Friday evening - and it's also the first time in weeks that daily case numbers have dropped to single figures, among other updates.

The search for the missing King Country family is being suspended after a 12-day operation that has not produced any sign of them.

Almost 300,000 people from throughout the world have watched a Waipā District Council Zoom meeting on YouTube, many pretending they're actually in a busy meeting to avoid family, workmates or chores.

The man charged with murdering and sexually violating Lena Zhang Harrap in Mount Albert this week has entered no plea and will remain in custody, but has been granted interim name suppression.

A report to the Wellington City Council shows the city needs to reduce more carbon than previously anticipated by the end of this decade.

Police are appealing for help after a violent incident in Kaikohe in which a teenager was stabbed and also run over by a vehicle.

Police made several arrests at Southern checkpoints yesterday, including a woman wanted for burglary and a man who is now facing a firearms charge. See how the rest of the day's Covid-19 news unfolded with RNZ's live blog.

An incident in which a police officer was injured by shattered glass and another had a hammer thrown at them has now been wound up.

The government spy agency says it's aware of international reports some Chinese-made cellphones are censoring content.

A person has died following a crash between a light truck and a van on SH57 in Manawatū this afternoon.

After a false start involving some poor weather in Antarctica, the first lot of Scott Base summer staff have flown out of Christchurch today.

The number of new community cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand has dropped to single figures for the first time in weeks, with nine new cases, the Ministry of Health has reported.

A 57-year-old man has been charged after the fatal assault of a woman at a flat in Hamilton.

The Upper Hauraki area will join most of New Zealand in alert level 2 after no further positive results, the deputy prime minister has confirmed. Watch the government's latest Covid-19 briefing here.

Christchurch Airport's Tarras farmland can support an international airport, an investigation has found.

Another long lockdown in Auckland is making it harder for seniors to avoid loneliness - and social isolation was already a major problem before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Few people who upload their drawing to the internet expect their work to be picked up by a Donald Trump fundraising committee.

A marketing professor and ultra-marathon runner is running non-stop for 24 hours in Wellington to support the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation.