“I feel like I am doing the thing I was put on Earth to do.” Dunedin man Rupert Denton is referring to his startup Spellcaster, a literacy platform targeting children and teens who have become disengaged from mainstream schooling. Mr Denton, who moved from Melbourne to Dunedin with his family…

A body believed to be that of a missing diver has been found at west Auckland’s Whatipū Beach. Emergency services were called to Whatipū Beach in west Auckland early yesterday morning following a report a diver was missing. In an update today, police said the body found near Paratutae Island…

An Auckland man has been jailed for distributing and possessing child exploitation material.Mark Wayne Price was sentenced to 30 months in prison in the Papakura District Court on July 10 after facing a total of 41 charges following an investigation by the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA).It marked the 44-year-old’s…

It’s now feared a man reported missing was “swept away” after his car crashed into the Whanganui River last week, police say.The man, 20-year-old Kahukura Dilpreet Wati Woods Gill, also known as Kahu, was last seen on Friday, June 27.Police said a car matching the description of one owned by…

A red heavy rain warning has been issued for the Tasman District about and southeast of Motueka and north of Lake Rotoroa.It will be in place until at least 11pm today.”Expect a further 80 to 120mm of rain on top of what has already fallen. Peak rates of 10 to…

Pat Conlon, grandson of decorated war veteran Elmer James Conlon, says it was “gut-wrenching” to have his grandfather’s war medals stolen moments before he was due to be reunited with them after more than 40 years.The medals had been lost to the family for decades but, after a long search,…

A 14-year-old boy has been jailed for killing Enere McLaren-Taana at Dunedin’s bus hub.The then-13-year-old, who has permanent name suppression, was charged with murder after stabbing the 16-year-old Trinity Catholic College student with a large kitchen knife in May last year.He was acquitted of murder but found guilty of manslaughter…

The jury in the murder trial of Julia DeLuney has heard she questioned her uncle at the funeral about whether any money was hidden in the kitchen.DeLuney is accused of murdering her 79-year-old mother Helen Gregory at her home in Khandallah, Wellington, in January 2024, a crime which she denies.Giving…

Police have released the name of a teenager who died after a car crashed into a house near Kumeū.He was Elliot Ellis New, aged 16, of Whangamatā. Police said he was a passenger in the vehicle when it crashed on the Coatesville-Riverhead Highway at 8.20pm on June 27.At the time,…

A fourth case of measles linked to overseas travel has been confirmed in Wairarapa.Health NZ said the latest person who had fallen ill had been isolating to prevent any spread of the disease.Anyone who visited the Masterton Pak’nSave and the Carterton Library from July 1 to July 3, should monitor…