New Zealand

New Zealand economy contracts as exports slump

WELLINGTON, June 16 (Reuters) - New Zealand's economy unexpectedly contracted in the first quarter as a slump in exports swamped strong domestic spending, though analysts said it will dodge a recession as…

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New Zealand to price sheep and cow burps to cut greenhouse gases

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand this week released a draft plan to put a price on agricultural emissions in a bid to tackle one of the country's biggest sources of greenhouse gases,…

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Microplastics found in fresh Antarctic snow

Scientists have for the first time found microplastics in freshly fallen Antarctic snow. Researchers from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand collected samples from 19 sites in Antarctica and…

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Australia, NZ hail Queen Elizabeth as republican question returns

SYDNEY, June 3 (Reuters) - Australia's new prime minister joined more than 50 Commonwealth leaders in paying tribute to Queen Elizabeth amid celebrations of her 70 years on the throne but added…

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New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern tests positive for COVID

May 14 (Reuters) - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern tested positive for COVID-19 with moderate symptoms, her office said in a statement on Saturday. She will not be in parliament for…

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New Zealand to open international borders fully to visitors from end-July

WELLINGTON, May 11 (Reuters) - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Wednesday the country will fully reopen its international borders from 11:59 p.m. on July 31, with cruise ships also…

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New Zealand welcomes Australian visitors as border restrictions ease

WELLINGTON, April 13 (Reuters) - Australians started arriving in New Zealand on Wednesday after it opened its borders to travellers from its neighbouring nation for the first time since mid-2021. New Zealand…

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New Zealand PM Ardern announces border reopening earlier than previously signalled

WELLINGTON, March 16 (Reuters) - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Wednesday said New Zealand will reopen its borders much earlier than expected, with Australians allowed to travel there from April…

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New Zealand’s Ardern signals mandates will ease after Omicron peaks

WELLINGTON, Feb 21 (Reuters) - New Zealand will lift COVID-19 vaccine mandates and social distancing measures after the Omicron peak has passed, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday, as protesters occupying…

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New Zealand capital Wellington shaken by magnitude 5.6 quake

WELLINGTON, Feb 21 (Reuters) - A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck New Zealand near the South Island town of Blenheim on Monday at a depth of 30 km (19 miles), government seismic monitor…

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New Zealand’s Ardern labels anti-vaccine mandate protests ‘imported’

WELLINGTON, Feb 14 (Reuters) - New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday she felt demonstrations against a COVID-19 vaccine mandate now entering their second week were an "imported"…

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WATCH: New Zealand protesters block streets outside parliament

Hundreds of people protesting vaccine mandates and pandemic restrictions blocked streets outside New Zealand's parliament on Tuesday with trucks and campervans, inspired by similar demonstrations in Canada. The "convoy for…

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New Zealand’s Maori Party calls for Queen to be removed as head of state

New Zealand’s Māori Party has called for the Queen to be dropped as the country’s head of state, on the day she marked 70 years since her ascension to the…

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New Zealand PM Ardern urges unity on COVID on Waitangi Day

Feb 6 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern urged New Zealanders on Sunday to unite in their battle against COVID-19, as the pandemic forced the country to celebrate its national…

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Fortress New Zealand delays full reopening until October

WELLINGTON/SYDNEY, Feb 3 (Reuters) - New Zealand on Thursday announced a phased reopening of its border that has been largely closed for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but…

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New Zealand PM Ardern is self isolating after exposure to COVID positive case

WELLINGTON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has gone into self-isolation until Tuesday after being deemed a close contact of a person who tested positive for…

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New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern cancels her wedding amid new Omicron restrictions

SYDNEY, Jan 23 (Reuters) - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden has cancelled her wedding as the nation imposes new restrictions to slow the community spread of the COVID-19 Omicron…

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Casualty reports awaited from tsunami-hit Tonga with comms mostly down

WELLINGTON, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Tsunami-hit Tonga remained largely uncontactable on Sunday with telephone and internet links severed, leaving relatives in faraway New Zealand praying for their families on the…

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Underwater volcanic eruption triggers tsunami warnings across Pacific

Wellington (dpa) - Tsunami alerts were issued across large parts of the South Pacific after an underwater volcano near Tonga erupted on Saturday and sent large waves crashing ashore the island kingdom. The…

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New Zealand reports first Omicron case in Christchurch border facility

WELLINGTON, Dec 16 (Reuters) - New Zealand reported its first case of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 at a state-run isolation facility in Christchurch, the Director General of Health Ashley…

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Hobbit, Sauron and Gollum makeovers in New Zealand as Lord of the Rings turns 20

Middle-earth came to life again this week as New Zealand celebrated 20 years since the premiere of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy with special screenings, costume exhibition and art…

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EXPLAINER-How will New Zealand’s lifetime ban on cigarette sales work?

Dec 9 (Reuters) - New Zealand on Thursday said it will ban young people from buying cigarettes for life, one of the toughest approaches in the world to curbing smoking…

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New Zealand to ban cigarette sales for future generations

Dec 9 (Reuters) - New Zealand plans to ban young people from ever buying cigarettes in their lifetime in one of the world's toughest crackdowns on the tobacco industry, arguing…

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Nightclubs, cafes and casinos reopen in Auckland as marathon lockdown ends

WELLINGTON, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Aucklanders returned to nightclubs, cinemas and cafes on Friday as New Zealand's biggest city exited pandemic lockdown after more than 100 days. Retailers threw open…

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New Zealand main opposition party ousts leader

SYDNEY, Nov 25 (Reuters) - New Zealand's National Party opposition leader Judith Collins has been dumped by the party as it grapples with instability that has helped strengthen Prime Minister…

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New Zealand to reopen to foreign travellers from April 30

New Zealand will keep its borders closed to most international travellers for a further five months, the government said on Wednesday, outlining a cautious easing of coronavirus border curbs that…

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New Zealand to end tough COVID curbs, adopt new virus-fighting system next week

WELLINGTON, Nov 22 (Reuters) - New Zealand will adopt a new system of living with the virus from Dec. 3, which will end tough coronavirus measures and allow businesses to…

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New Zealand PM Ardern hails Merkel as ‘true leader’, ‘very good person’

Nov 12 (Reuters) - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Friday paid tribute to outgoing German chancellor Angela Merkel, commending her 16-year leadership of Europe's largest economy and describing…

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China’s Xi warns against return to Cold War tensions at APEC meeting

WELLINGTON, Nov 11 (Reuters) - The Asia-Pacific region must not return to the tensions of the Cold War era, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Thursday, ahead of a virtual…

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New Zealand mosque shooter considers appealing life sentence

WELLINGTON, Nov 8 (Reuters) - The man who killed 51 Muslim worshippers at mosques in Christchurch is considering appealing against his life sentence, saying his guilty plea after the 2019…

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New Zealand keeps pandemic curbs for another week in Auckland

WELLINGTON, Nov 1 (Reuters) - New Zealand will extend coronavirus curbs for another week in its largest city of Auckland, but ease some after that, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said…

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New Zealand says it will cut greenhouse emissions by 50% by 2030 as COP26 starts

Oct 31 (Reuters) - New Zealand pledged on Sunday to reduce its net greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030, toughening at the start of the United Nations COP26 climate…

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New Zealand to start easing COVID-19 border restrictions

New Zealand said on Thursday it would ease coronavirus border restrictions that have been in place since March 2020, and move to a system of home isolation for fully vaccinated…

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New Zealand reports second-highest daily COVID-19 cases in pandemic

Oct 25 (Reuters) - New Zealand reported 109 new locally acquired coronavirus cases on Monday, the bulk of them in its largest city, Auckland, as the country saw its second-worst…

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New Zealand’s coronavirus outbreak spreads to South Island

New Zealand reported 104 new coronavirus infections on Saturday, including the first community case of the virus in the country's South Island in nearly a year, health officials said. Most…

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New Zealand sets 90% vaccine target for ending COVID-19 lockdown

WELLINGTON, Oct 22 (Reuters) - New Zealand will end its strict coronavirus lockdown measures and restore more freedoms only when 90% of its eligible population is fully vaccinated, Prime Minister…

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New Zealand passes climate change disclosure laws for financial firms in world first

SYDNEY, Oct 21 (Reuters) - New Zealand has become the first country to pass laws requiring banks, insurers and investment managers to report the impacts of climate change on their…

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Britain and New Zealand strike free trade deal

Britain and New Zealand have reached agreement in principle on a free trade deal designed to reduce tariffs, improve services trade, and take London one step closer to membership in…

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New Zealand’s daily COVID-19 cases fall, some classrooms to reopen

Daily COVID-19 cases in New Zealand fell on Wednesday after a record jump the day before, with most infections still in Auckland as the Delta variant of the coronavirus continues…

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New Zealand PM Ardern extends COVID-19 lockdown in Auckland

WELLINGTON, Oct 18 (Reuters) - New Zealand's biggest city of Auckland will retain its lockdown for two more weeks in the battle on the Delta variant of coronavirus, as the…

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New Zealand reports biggest rise in COVID-19 cases in six weeks

New Zealand reported on Thursday its biggest rise in COVID-19 infections in six weeks, with all cases detected in Auckland, raising prospects of a further extension of lockdown restrictions in…

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New Zealand phases out elimination strategy as Delta persists

New Zealand on Monday abandoned its strategy of eliminating coronavirus amid a persistent Delta outbreak, and will instead look to live with the virus and control its spread as vaccinations…

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New Zealand’s Delta outbreak spreads outside Auckland

New Zealand's Delta variant outbreak spread beyond the largest city of Auckland, prompting Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Sunday to put additional regions into a snap lockdown. There were 32…

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Air New Zealand to require COVID-19 vaccination for international travelers

Air New Zealand, the flag carrier airline of New Zealand, said on Sunday it will require passengers on its international flights to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, in what is…

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New Zealand’s Auckland logs more Delta cases ahead of key decision on restrictions

New Zealand logged 19 more cases of the highly infectious Delta coronavirus variant on Friday - all in Auckland, making it highly likely that the country's biggest city will continue…

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New Zealand’s COVID cases jump as its battles Delta variant

New Zealand's daily coronavirus cases jumped to their highest level in weeks on Wednesday, a setback to the South Pacific nation's battle to eliminate the highly infectious Delta variant from…

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New Zealand to pilot home isolation for some vaccinated travellers

New Zealand is to begin allowing small numbers of vaccinated travellers to isolate at home instead of in state-run quarantine facilities as part of a phased approach to re-opening its…

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New Zealand increases fines for COVID-19 rule breakers

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand on Friday announced higher fines of up to NZ$12,000 ($8,400) for individuals breaching coronavirus restrictions amid concerns that the current outbreak may spread beyond Auckland…

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New Zealand eases COVID-19 curbs slightly in biggest city

New Zealand eased coronavirus curbs slightly in its largest city of Auckland on Monday, as the government expressed confidence that there was no widespread regional transmission of the Delta variant.…

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New Zealand sees small increase in daily COVID-19 cases over weekend

New Zealand reported 24 new locally acquired coronavirus cases on Sunday, up from 20 on Saturday, showing an upturn after several days of lower numbers, as the country's largest city…

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New Zealand, Australia travel bubble suspended for longer amid Delta outbreaks

New Zealand suspended quarantine-free travel with Australia for a further 8 weeks on Friday, extending a halt in the so-called travel bubble between both countries, as they deal with fresh…

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Air New Zealand studying how to add low-emissions planes to fleet

Sept 16 (Reuters) - Air New Zealand Ltd said on Thursday it was studying how it could use low-carbon technologies like electric, hybrid or hydrogen powered planes to dramatically reduce…

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NZ says Australia’s new nuclear submarines must stay out of its waters

WELLINGTON, Sept 16 (Reuters) - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Thursday that Australia's new nuclear-powered submarines would not be allowed in its territorial waters under a long…

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New Zealand PM Ardern extends lockdown in Auckland to September 21

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand's largest city Auckland will remain in lockdown to beat the spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday.…

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New Zealand marks downward trend in new COVID-19 cases

New Zealand reported a further fall in locally acquired COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, as the largely coronavirus-free nation looks to eradicate an outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant. New…

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New Zealand’s Ardern promises new counter-terrorism laws by end of month

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday a legal loophole that allowed an Islamic State-inspired militant who carried out a supermarket attack to remain free would be closed…

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New Zealand lifts virus curbs, says Delta elimination in sight

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday said nationwide coronavirus curbs would be lifted, bar in the biggest city of Auckland, as the country gets on top of an…

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