Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comWELLINGTON, April 14 (Reuters) - The mass shooter who killed 51 people in New Zealand in 2019 has launched a legal challenge seeking a review of his prison conditions and his status as a "terrorist entity".White supremacist Brenton Tarrant was sentenced in August to jail for life without parole for the murder of 51 people and attempted murder of 40 others at two mosques in Christchurch on 15 March 2019, the worst mass shooting in the country's history.Tarrant, an Australian national, is the only person in New Zealand to be designated the...…Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comWELLINGTON, April 14 (Reuters) - The mass shooter who killed 51 people in New Zealand in 2019 has launched a legal challenge seeking a review of his prison conditions and his status as a "terrorist entity".White supremacist Brenton Tarrant was sentenced in August to jail for life without parole for the murder of 51 people and attempted murder of 40 others at two mosques in Christchurch on 15 March 2019, the worst mass shooting in the country's history.Tarrant, an Australian national, is the only person in New Zealand to be designated the...WW…

By WELLINGTON (Reuters) -New Zealand on Thursday temporarily suspended entry for all travellers from India, including its own citizens, for about two weeks following a high number of positive coronavirus cases arriving from the South Asian country.The move comes after New Zealand recorded 23 new positive coronavirus cases at its border on Thursday, of which 17 were from India.“We are temporarily suspending entry into New Zealand for travellers from India,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in a news conference in Auckland.India has recorded 12.8 million COVID-19 cases, the most after the...…By WELLINGTON (Reuters) -New Zealand on Thursday temporarily suspended entry for all travellers from India, including its own citizens, for about two weeks following a high number of positive coronavirus cases arriving from the South Asian country.The move comes after New Zealand recorded 23 new positive coronavirus cases at its border on Thursday, of which 17 were from India.“We are temporarily suspending entry into New Zealand for travellers from India,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in a news conference in Auckland.India has recorded 12.8 million COVID-19 cases, the most after the...WW…

AdvertisementWELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND --Small tsunami waves triggered by a series of powerful earthquakes hit the east coast of's North Island on Friday and authorities said thousands of residents who had evacuated to higher ground could now return to their homes.Officials had warned that waves could reach three meters (10 feet) above high tide levels after the quakes - the strongest a magnitude 8.1 - but the largest waves have now passed, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said as it downgraded the threat level."All people who evacuated can now return," the agency said.Video...…AdvertisementWELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND --Small tsunami waves triggered by a series of powerful earthquakes hit the east coast of's North Island on Friday and authorities said thousands of residents who had evacuated to higher ground could now return to their homes.Officials had warned that waves could reach three meters (10 feet) above high tide levels after the quakes - the strongest a magnitude 8.1 - but the largest waves have now passed, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said as it downgraded the threat level."All people who evacuated can now return," the agency said.Video...WW…

By WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand will use its platform as host of an Asia-Pacific trade group in coming months to seek a global approach to coronavirus vaccinations that would eliminate tariffs on goods needed to fight COVID-19.Amid concerns that smaller nations may be left behind in vaccinating their populations, New Zealand - one of the most successful countries in curbing the pandemic - will make the proposals at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, which it will host virtually this year.“Our message is that to deal with a global pandemic like this we need more global...…By WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand will use its platform as host of an Asia-Pacific trade group in coming months to seek a global approach to coronavirus vaccinations that would eliminate tariffs on goods needed to fight COVID-19.Amid concerns that smaller nations may be left behind in vaccinating their populations, New Zealand - one of the most successful countries in curbing the pandemic - will make the proposals at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, which it will host virtually this year.“Our message is that to deal with a global pandemic like this we need more global...WW…

By WELLINGTON (Reuters) - A New Zealand Maori leader who was ejected from parliament this week for refusing to wear a necktie in the chamber said forcing him to a Western dress code was a breach of his rights and an attempt to suppress indigenous culture.Speaker Trevor Mallard twice prevented Rawiri Waititi from asking questions in the debating chamber on Tuesday, insisting that MPs could only ask a question if they were wearing a tie.Waititi, 40, who became an MP for the first time in the election last October, was wearing a taonga, a Maori greenstone pendant instead.When Waititi continued...…By WELLINGTON (Reuters) - A New Zealand Maori leader who was ejected from parliament this week for refusing to wear a necktie in the chamber said forcing him to a Western dress code was a breach of his rights and an attempt to suppress indigenous culture.Speaker Trevor Mallard twice prevented Rawiri Waititi from asking questions in the debating chamber on Tuesday, insisting that MPs could only ask a question if they were wearing a tie.Waititi, 40, who became an MP for the first time in the election last October, was wearing a taonga, a Maori greenstone pendant instead.When Waititi continued...WW…

By WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand said on Friday it will start receiving refugees again this month, nearly a year after it shut its borders to stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.A group of 35 refugees will arrive in February, with about 210 refugees expected to enter the country by June 30, Immigration New Zealand and officials said.“With health protocols in place and safe travel routes, we are ready to welcome small groups of refugee families as New Zealand residents to this country, to begin their new lives,” Fiona Whiteridge, general manager for refugee and migrant services at...…By WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand said on Friday it will start receiving refugees again this month, nearly a year after it shut its borders to stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.A group of 35 refugees will arrive in February, with about 210 refugees expected to enter the country by June 30, Immigration New Zealand and officials said.“With health protocols in place and safe travel routes, we are ready to welcome small groups of refugee families as New Zealand residents to this country, to begin their new lives,” Fiona Whiteridge, general manager for refugee and migrant services at...WW…

By WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand health officials said on Sunday they were investigating what they said was probably the country’s first community coronavirus case, in months in a woman who recently returned from overseas.The 56-year-old, who returned to New Zealand on Dec. 30, tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19 days after leaving a two-week mandatory quarantine at the border where she had twice tested negative.“We are working under the assumptions that this is a positive case and that it is a more transmissible variant, either the one identified first in South Africa...…By WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand health officials said on Sunday they were investigating what they said was probably the country’s first community coronavirus case, in months in a woman who recently returned from overseas.The 56-year-old, who returned to New Zealand on Dec. 30, tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19 days after leaving a two-week mandatory quarantine at the border where she had twice tested negative.“We are working under the assumptions that this is a positive case and that it is a more transmissible variant, either the one identified first in South Africa...WW…

By , SYDNEY/WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Pacific island nations are turning to the China-backed AIIB development bank to plug funding gaps in their pandemic-ravaged budgets after exhausting financing options from traditional western partners, stoking fears the region is becoming more dependent on Beijing.The Cook Islands, a tiny country of around 20,000 people in the South Pacific, turned to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) late last year after a loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and a grant from close ally New Zealand fell short, two sources with knowledge of the talks...…By , SYDNEY/WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Pacific island nations are turning to the China-backed AIIB development bank to plug funding gaps in their pandemic-ravaged budgets after exhausting financing options from traditional western partners, stoking fears the region is becoming more dependent on Beijing.The Cook Islands, a tiny country of around 20,000 people in the South Pacific, turned to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) late last year after a loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and a grant from close ally New Zealand fell short, two sources with knowledge of the talks...WW…

By WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand promised its public sector would become carbon neutral by 2025 as it declared a climate emergency on Wednesday, a symbolic move that critics said needed to be backed with greater actions to reduce emissions.Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the climate emergency declaration was based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s findings that to avoid more than 1.5 degree Celsius rise in global warming, emissions would need to fall by around 45% from 2010 levels by 2023 and reach zero by around 2050.“This declaration is an acknowledgement of the...…By WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand promised its public sector would become carbon neutral by 2025 as it declared a climate emergency on Wednesday, a symbolic move that critics said needed to be backed with greater actions to reduce emissions.Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the climate emergency declaration was based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s findings that to avoid more than 1.5 degree Celsius rise in global warming, emissions would need to fall by around 45% from 2010 levels by 2023 and reach zero by around 2050.“This declaration is an acknowledgement of the...WW…

By WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was unflustered by an earthquake that struck the capital Wellington on Monday while she was doing a live TV interview, and calmly continued with the programme.Ardern, who became prime minister in 2017, is hugely popular in New Zealand for her handling of several crises - a mass shooting in Christchurch last year, a volcanic eruption in December and the recent coronavirus pandemic.Wellington and nearby areas were shaken by a 5.8 magnitude earthquake with the epicentre 30 km (20 miles) northwest of Levin, a city close to the...…By WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was unflustered by an earthquake that struck the capital Wellington on Monday while she was doing a live TV interview, and calmly continued with the programme.Ardern, who became prime minister in 2017, is hugely popular in New Zealand for her handling of several crises - a mass shooting in Christchurch last year, a volcanic eruption in December and the recent coronavirus pandemic.Wellington and nearby areas were shaken by a 5.8 magnitude earthquake with the epicentre 30 km (20 miles) northwest of Levin, a city close to the...WW…