Effort to cap rates didn't quite work out as planned this year.

Firefighting operations could continue at Port Hills for up to a month.

A FedEx package was sent from Venezuela to Rakaia in Canterbury which police believed was full of cocaine.

Two US passengers from the cruise ship remain in Christchurch Hospital.

Courtney Whitaker steps back into Christchurch's history and sees its future.

These sisters will grow up wondering what their big brother would have been like.

People affected by fires may be entitled to free doctor visits.

COMMENT: Yesterday our nation paused just before one o'clock to remember.

Burned vegetation clear in satellite images of Christchurch Port Hills.

Firefighters are pulling back from the Worsleys area, as the situation in Christchurch continues to improve.

Watch: The bus, carrying more than 30 people, collided with a car just after 5pm and crashed down a bank.

Justice Minister Amy Adams' passionate plea to Bruce Springsteen went unanswered - the closest she got to him was on the big screen.

A swimming pool - and quick thinking - helped save the Port Hills last week.

Watch live: The names of the 185 people who died have been inscribed along 40m of the 121m long wall that sits next to the Avon River.

Watch live: For the sixth anniversary of the February 2011 earthquake the new Canterbury Earthquake Memorial wall is being unveiled today.

By Ruth Keber HARD TIMES: Paul Hilliam remembers the Christchurch earthquakes six years after the devastated the South Island city

Reporter Georgina Campbell was sent down to Christchurch to help cover the Port Hills fires. Here she tells what she saw.

Bruce Springsteen dedicated My City Of Ruins to those who suffered the recent earthquakes as well as emergency services personnel fighting the Port Hills fires.

Residents will have to show ID before being allowed to cross cordons on fire-ravaged Port Hills roads.

It may be wondered whether a country of NZ's size and population is well served by such a fragmented civil defence organisation.

While firefighters are making progress with the Port Hills fires, the fire area remains at 2075ha this afternoon.

Pressure is mounting for the Government to reconsider the plea for lifelong visitor visas from Chinese parents who lost their only child in the Christchurch quake.

While stories of chopper pilot's courage in fighting the Taliban were shared, mum Leslie spoke about true heroes making a difference in people's lives.

A group who lost their only children in the Christchurch quake feel failed by two Govts.

Experts fear homes on the devastated Port Hills fire may be at risk of a new threat.

Aaron Keown still has the $100 he promised to give to the person who could identify a worse intersection than the Harewood, Gardiners and Breens Rds junction.

The family of the helicopter pilot killed while fighting the Port Hills' fires have given him a final gift.

Despite the progress, there was still a high risk of flare-ups and forecast weather conditions may present challenges.

Christchurch's Bishop Victoria Mathews called an emergency media standup in Cathedral Square this afternoon to refute Gerry Brownlee's claims this week of a $25 million deal to restore the church.

The central Christchurch landmark formerly known as Market Square will be fenced off on February 27 to repair damage caused in the February 2011 earthquake.