Police say they have serious concerns for 30 children at the Wellington anti-mandate protests, and are now urging parents to take them home.

Analysis - Another week of protest politics, with Primie Minister Jacinda Ardern describing National leader Christopher Luxon's comments as "dangerously close to sympathy".

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has been met with despair and anger in New Zealand at protests today.

Education Minister Chris Hipkins has warned that nearly every school and early childhood centre will have contact with Covid-19 in the next few weeks.

New Plymouth retailers say the CBD resembles a "ghost town" as the Omicron wave makes its presence felt around the country.

There are 12,011 new community cases of Covid-19 reported in New Zealand today, with five further deaths reported.

Seven of the dead dolphins were calves, and the most recent discovery was a Hector's dolphin with its tail end missing at a beach near Mikonui, south of Hokitika, last week.

In a ruling released today, Justice Cooke agreed the vaccine mandate infringed on parts of the Bill of Rights Act.

How do we prepare ourselves for the inevitable? New Zealanders who've lived through an Omicron wave elsewhere in the world have some advice.

With the beginning of Phase 3 of the government's Omicron response, new locations of interest are no longer being announced.

The proposed development has already met fierce opposition from a group of locals, who want it relocated, redesigned or downsized.

Health officials are concerned about an outbreak of Covid-19 in the Northland town of Dargaville.

Taranaki police are warning anti-vaccine mandate protesters that they will be trespassed if they attempt to camp at Puke Ariki Landing in New Plymouth.

The threat to global peace sparked by the invasion of Ukraine bears chilling similarities to Germany's actions early in WWII, former NZ prime minister Helen Clark says.

The prime minister says New Zealand joins its international partners in condemnation of the attack and has taken a range of measures against the Russian government.

Frontline health workers are feeling the pressure as the Omicron outbreak rapidly escalates in Auckland.

International Cochlear Implant Day is being celebrated today by industry leaders who had a significant funding boost.

A Ukrainian woman in New Zealand has spent all morning on the phone to her family at home, who are sheltering underground as shockwaves rattle the bunker.