Concern for a missing 11-year-old Invercargill boy is growing as police continue to search for the boy and his stepfather, who is believed to have absconded with him five days ago.

A couple who were on the run after allegedly assaulting and threatening a woman with a knife and stealing a car have been arrested in Dunedin.

A former meatworks employee, who complained of intimidation by a fellow worker after he cut up animal hearts in front of him, has been awarded $5000.

Most of the 25 cats owned by Invercargill woman Averil Gardiner have been rehomed to meet a court's deadline.

'The time has come for reality to sink in,' said a judge as he ordered an Invercargill woman to dispose of 22 of cats.

An Invercargill woman went to great lengths to hide her face yesterday during a court hearing over the 25 cats she keeps on her property.

A pickaxe-wielding teenager in a disguise robbed a shop early this morning.

"I just wanted to help those innocent ladies," says a 76-year-old man who used a pick axe handle to drive off two large dogs attacking two women.

Two cases of ATM "shoulder surfing" have come before Auckland courts today, covering tens of thousands of dollars of alleged offending.

Blue Sky Meats, whose shares trade on the Unlisted platform, has agreed to acquire Gore-based Clover Export.

A Southland farmer has been ordered to pay $152,000 in fines and reparations after a worker on his farm was crushed to death in August last year.

The body of a missing man whose dinghy was found in an Invercargill river has been recovered.

A 27-year-old Invercargill man has been arrested following an armed robbery of a Southland dairy yesterday.

Devastated family demands answers after heavily pregnant mother of three died two days after she was sent home from hospital still complaining of chest pains.

A police dog handler whose animal bit a suspected criminal, who turned out to be an innocent man relieving himself in a car park, has been cleared of any wrongdoing.

The designer of the Southland Stadium, the roof of which collapsed under heavy snow in 2010, has been expelled from the Institution of Professional Engineers NZ.

The Invercargill woman charged with keeping too many cats on her city property can be now be named.

The Invercargill woman charged with keeping too many cats on her city property is continuing the fight to keep her name secret.

Dangerous black ice is expected on southern roads tomorrow morning, and drivers are being urged to take extreme care.

The weather system that brought heavy snow to Otago and Southland was this morning sitting just north of Christchurch and is heading up the country.

Severe rain and wind warnings and a drop in temperatures have been issued for parts of the South Island and lower North Island this weekend.

Invercargill police used illegal and unjustified excessive force by letting a police dog bite and drag a suspected burglar for almost a minute, an IPCA probe found.