Latest fromTaranaki
'Great deal' done to ensure hostage safety, say police
Police say 'a great deal' of work had gone into ensuring the safety of a woman taken hostage by a her former partner, who had just finished serving time for trying to cut her throat.
Siege gunman a repeat offender
The man shot dead by police yesterday had just got out of jail for trying to cut the throat of the woman he held hostage.
Hostage drama gunman shot dead
A man police shot dead after he took a woman hostage at gunpoint at a Taranaki Hotel overnight was released from jail last week. Police this afternoon named him as Anthony Ratahi, 46, from Stratford.
Bathed in ancestral light
A new book and exhibition by photographer Fiona Pardington examines the historic - and now derided - practice of taking casts of people's heads to study their brains. Some were her ancestors.
Taranaki starts tornado clean-up
Firefighters have been working flat out in New Plymouth today assessing the damage after two tornadoes tore through the city early this morning.
Woman missing in New Plymouth located
Police say an elderly woman who sneaked out of a New Plymouth rest home, checked herself into a motel for the night.
Country singer in smash
A country music singer was killed when his car was sliced in two by a double-decker truck yesterday.
Fatal crash closes section of SH3
One person is dead after a crash involving a truck and a car on State Highway 3 south of Uruti this morning.
Sending a gift horse to the knacker's yard
Apparently, rocking horses around New Zealand have been gradually culled from playgrounds in recent years.