Neil Rendle has his best friend - and a TV ad - to thank for saving his life.

A council worker and volunteer firefighter has admitted sparking four bomb threats after placing suspicious packages in two Hamilton parks.

Women's rights advocates have denounced the defence strategy of Northern Districts cricketer Scott Kuggeleijn, whose rape trial ended yesterday with a hung jury.

No plans to stand Northern Districts cricketer Scott Kuggeleijn down as he awaits another trial after hung jury for the alleged rape of a woman in Hamilton.

A jury deliberating the fate of a Northern Districts cricketer's rape allegation will resume tomorrow after failing to reach a verdict today.

Watch NZH Focus: New Zealand house values have just exceeded $600,000 for the first time while Auckland values climbed towards $1 million.

Labour has selected Jamie Strange to try to win back Hamilton East in 2017.

A silver and white car linked to the shooting of a 14-year-old boy in June has been recovered.

The Northern Districts cricketer on trial for rape has seen claims and counter claims in court today about the events leading up to .

A witness in the rape trial involving a Northern Districts cricketer claims the alleged victim told him that she hadn't been raped and that she only wanted to "scare him".

Witness, who has known fast bowler Scott Kuggeleijn for most of his life, says what he originally told police was "a mistake" or "misinterpreted".

Engine trouble on a light plane prompted a full scale emergency at Hamilton Airport this morning.

Student who claims she was raped by a top cricketer says she didn't know why she didn't yell to her flatmates for help.

The woman who alleges she was raped by a Northern Districts cricket player has no memory of some of the events of the night, a jury has heard.

About 40 households in a remote area of Waikato have been without access to a reliable phone line for weeks.

Tax evader sentenced for repeatedly failing to pay Inland Revenue.

A Whangamata man found guilty of the murder of his friend has been jailed for a minimum of 10 years.

Teacher admits serious misconduct after nine years of complaints.

Super City property buyers snaffle almost 20 per cent of June home sales in Hamilton and hit Tauranga and Whangarei markets.

Aleesha Tait had just finished her morning shift on a farm and was heading home for lunch when her farm bike and a car collided in Waikato.

Nick Marshall's shocked partner has come out swinging against police after officers shot him dead during an armed raid.

Police say the Hamilton man who was shot dead last night picked up a long-barrelled firearm and cocked it "in very close proximity" to officers.

A man shot dead by police during a search in Hamilton last night had presented a firearm police have revealed.

The only survivor of a Hamilton crash which killed four others is home and on the road to recovery.

A checkout supervisor was "shaking" as she put a winning Lotto ticket barcode to the scanner. The machine beeped and the screen read $13.36 million.

A 9-year-old Hamilton boy hid in his room armed with a Nerf gun as a thief took his birthday present while his mum was out.

A man brandishing a metal hammer attacked a woman inside her car after she stopped on the side of the road to adjust her radio, police say.

Hamilton Zoo has welcomed a male white rhino calf following his mother's 16-month pregnancy.

Driving drunk wasn't the only bad decision a Waikato woman made - she also rear ended a cop car at a fast food drive-through before verbally abusing an officer.

First Union assistant general secretary Karl Andersen says the driver of a recycling truck is not to blame for the death of a homeless man.