Severe weather is continuing to batter the top of the North Island as Cyclone Tam brings heavy rain and strong winds. Towards Friday, the storm will begin to arrive in Coromandel, Bay of Plenty and ...

The 66-year-old has served more than 23 years in jail since he was arrested for the murders of his wife and daughter in Palmerston North in 2000.

More than 11,000 properties have been without electricity overnight in Northland, 8500 of those in the Far North.