The US says it has made significant progress on crafting a plan to end the war in Ukraine during talks on Sunday but no agreement was reached on how to guarantee Kyiv's security amid concerns about the threat posed by Russia.

Police wanted a trucker, who was jailed for three years for manslaughter on Thursday, to lose his operating licence years before his dodgy truck rolled backwards, fatally hitting a roadworker.

A Christchurch woman with dozens of dishonesty convictions stole thousands of dollars from a Pacific healthcare provider - then tried to blame it on a colleague.

A former soldier who attacked a taxi driver in a drunken rage says the NZ Defence Force (NZDF) failed to get him desperately needed help after a traumatic stint training Ukrainian civilians for war.

Prolific documentary and filmmaker Costa Botes - who found fame creating mockumentary Forgotten Silver alongside Peter Jackson - has died after living with cancer for nearly a decade.