Stuff's most-read stories last week ranged from disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong and the newly-knighted Sir Paul Holmes to a giant crocodile's head.

1. Lance Armstrong confesses to doping

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/other-sports/8178347/Armstrong-confesses-to-doping-report

Lance Armstrong has ended a decade of denial by confessing to Oprah Winfrey that he used performance-enhancing drugs to win the Tour de France.

2. Wild weather for North Island

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/8189154/Wild-weather-forecast-for-North-Island

A southerly front, forecast to bring thunder, lightning and even hail, arrived spectacularly in Wellington last week.

3. Sir Paul, the rebel with a title

http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/tv/8183571/Sir-Paul-the-rebel-with-a-title

Just call me Sir - Paul Holmes said after he was knighted at his Hawke's Bay home today.

4. Kawhia cop bashing: Town divided

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/8177121/Kawhia-cop-bashing-Town-divided

About 200 worried residents gathered at a Kawhia hall to discuss the violent attack on community constable Perry Griffin.

5. 'Jet-lagged' John Key faints at restaurant

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/8194265/Jet-lagged-John-Key-faints-at-restaurant

Prime Minister John Key's collapse at a Christchurch restaurant last week may have been due to jet lag.

6. Brothers choose death over blindness

http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/europe/8178942/Brothers-choose-death-over-blindness

Two identical and deaf Belgian brothers have been euthanised after the inseparable middle-aged pair found out they were going blind and would never see each other again.

7. Rapist devastates family

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/8192900/Rapist-devastates-family

The sister of a 13-year-old rape victim helped bring her attacker to justice with her own cunning plan.

8. Whale washes up on Paraparaumu Beach

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/8183142/Whale-washes-up-on-Paraparaumu-Beach

A 15-metre sperm whale has washed up on Paraparaumu Beach north of Wellington last week.

9. Giant crocodile head found on beach

http://www.stuff.co.nz/oddstuff/8175143/Giant-crocodile-head-found-on-beach

The reported discovery of a giant crocodile's head on a South African beach has locals fearing a huge great white shark is on the prowl.

10. London helicopter crash 'absolute madness'

http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/europe/8187020/London-helicopter-crash-absolute-madness

British police say it was "something of a miracle" that many more people were not killed when a helicopter crashed into a crane on a construction site in central London while trying to avoid bad weather. 

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