When Blenheim couple Pat and Pam Heagney heard the jury verdict "guilty" in the High Court at Wellington this afternoon, they dissolved into loud sobs.

The family of a schoolgirl fighting for her life after falling under a truck has told the distraught driver not to 'beat himself up'.

An ex-policeman convicted over an accident which seriously injured two motorcyclists has been found guilty of driving a moped while disqualified.

A New Zealand wine company has become the first in the world to declare its carbon footprint for each glass.

A surly swan is terrorising a stretch of Nelson's Maitai River - chasing kids, harassing a woman with a pram and having a hissy fit at a kayaker.

Making wine without chemicals and other processing techniques is slowly catching on here.

An attack on two firefighters was an isolated incident despite a rise in assaults on emergency workers, the Fire Service says.

A severe weather warning has been issued as heavy rain and gales are expected to hit areas across the country.

A volunteer firefighter was kicked in the head by drunken party goers when emergency services went to a false report of a car crash in the Marlborough Sounds this morning, say police.

This year, Marlborough's Cloudy Bay Winery celebrates its 25th anniversary. Viva speaks to winemaker Nick Lane about the rise and rise of New Zealand's wine industry.