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A sign seen outside construction supply company in Auckland, where New Zealand's current outbreak first emerged

NZ questions Covid-19 approach as Delta outbreak grows

Officials in New Zealand have said the country's ambitious 'zero Covid' elimination strategy may no longer be viable, as an outbreak of the virulent Delta variant spread further.

World • 22 Aug 21

A sign urging people to wear facemasks before entering a shopping mall in Christchurch

New Zealand lockdown extended as outbreak widens

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has urged New Zealanders to adhere to her strategy to eliminate the fast-spreading Delta variant as she extended as trict lockdown amid a surge in infections.

Coronavirus • 20 Aug 21

Police direct queues of people waiting for Covid-19 testing in Auckland, New Zealand

New Zealand says it has solved Covid outbreak 'puzzle'

New Zealand has reported a breakthrough in tracing the source of a Covid-19 outbreak that plunged the nation into lockdown, with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern saying it should help "stamp out" the virus.

Coronavirus • 19 Aug 21

People queue at a Covid-19 test centre in Wellington

Ardern warns New Zealand Covid outbreak will grow

New Zealand's city streets were largely deserted as the country returned to life in lockdown for the first time in six months in a bid to halt any spread of the infectious Delta variant of Covid-19.

Coronavirus • 18 Aug 21

Jacinda Ardern and Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield address the media

Four further Covid cases in NZ as snap lockdown ordered

Officials in New Zealand have said that an additional four cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in the country overnight, including an Auckland hospital worker, after its first locally transmitted case in six months was recorded earlier.

Coronavirus • 17 Aug 21

People arriving at a mass vaccination centre in Auckland

New Zealand plans phased border reopening next year

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said that the country is not ready yet to fully reopen, but border restrictions can be eased in a phased manner from early next year.

Coronavirus • 12 Aug 21

Temperatures are 'alarming', warn scientists (file image of Bark Bay in Nelson, New Zealand)

Hottest June in New Zealand since records began

Daily temperatures in New Zealand in June averaged 10.6C - this is 1.9C above average despite a cold snap late in the month, the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research has said.

Environment • 06 Jul 21

The device restricts a person to a liquid diet without limiting breathing or speech (stock image)

Weight loss device that clamps jaw shut trialled

New Zealand researchers have created a weight-loss device that uses magnets to clamp a patient's jaw together - hailing it as a new tool against obesity despite critics likening it to an instrument of medieval torture.

Health • 29 Jun 21

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern

New Zealand economy's faster than expected growth

New Zealand's economic growth swept past forecasts in the first quarter on the back of a housing boom and strong retail spending, avoiding a second recession and bringing forward expectations for tighter monetary policy.

Business • 17 Jun 21

A war veteran is assisted as he walks down Elizabeth Street during the ANZAC Day parade in Sydney

Crowds gather in Australia, NZ to mark Anzac Day

Thousands of people gathered across New Zealand and Australia to honour military personnel on Anzac Day, a year after the Covid-19 pandemic forced people to commemorate privately in driveways and on balconies.

World • 25 Apr 21

Passengers arriving at Auckland airport after a flight from Australia

NZ confirm airport virus case, travel bubble unaffected

New Zealand authorities have revealed an Auckland airport worker had tested positive for Covid-19, although Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said it would not affect a newly opened travel bubble with Australia.

Coronavirus • 20 Apr 21

The system, which isolates new arrivals to prevent the spread of Covid-19, has been in place in other countries for over a year

'It was surreal' - Irish abroad on hotel quarantine

Mandatory hotel quarantine has started today for passengers arriving in Ireland from 33 countries considered "high risk".

Coronavirus • 26 Mar 21

Ginny Andersen (L) said a stillbirth should be recognised with dedicated bereavement leave

New Zealand approves paid leave after miscarriage

Working mothers and their partners will be allowed to take paid leave after suffering a miscarriage or stillbirth in New Zealand.

World • 25 Mar 21

A worker walks past the graves of Covid-19 victims at the Nossa Senhora Aparecida Cemetery in the Brazilian city of Manaus

Bolsonaro tells Brazilians to stop 'whining' over Covid

President Jair Bolsonaro has told Brazilians to stop "whining" and move on, in his latest remarks attacking distancing measures and downplaying the gravity of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Coronavirus • 05 Mar 21

Authorities have ordered people in coastal areas of the North Island to move immediately to the nearest high ground (Pic: United States Geological Survey)

NZ lifts tsunami evacuation orders after Pacific quakes

New Zealand has lifted tsunami evacuation orders covering large swathes of its coastline, declaring "the largest waves have now passed" after a swarm of powerful offshore earthquakes.

World • 05 Mar 21

Auckland's busy waterfront area - the city will go into lockdown after Covid case confirmed

Auckland to go into lockdown as Covid case confirmed

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said Auckland will enter a seven-day lockdown after a new case of Covid-19 was confirmed.

Coronavirus • 27 Feb 21

Farewell Spit has been the site of numerous mass strandings in the past 15 years, such as here in 2017 (File pic)

Dozens of whales stranded at New Zealand bay

Rescuers are racing to save dozens of pilot whales that beached on a stretch of New Zealand coast notorious for mass strandings, wildlife officials said.

World • 22 Feb 21

Period poverty occurs when women and girls lack the money for sanitary products

New Zealand to issue free period products in schools

New Zealand will distribute free sanitary products in schools to combat "period poverty" among the disadvantaged, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said.

World • 18 Feb 21

A policeman patrols on a motorcycle in Melbourne after authorities ordered a five-day state-wide lockdown

Melbourne orders snap Covid lockdown

A five-day lockdown has been ordered in the Australian state of Victoria, which includes the city of Melbourne, to control an outbreak of the highly infectious strain of Covid-19 first detected in the UK.

Coronavirus • 12 Feb 21

Rawiri Waititi said the tie row showed race relations still needed to improve

NZ parliament ejects Maori MP over refusal to wear tie

New Zealand's parliament has backed down after ejecting a Maori politician because he refused to wear a tie, allowing him to speak without an accessory he labelled a "colonial noose".

World • 10 Feb 21

A group performs a haka during the commemorations at Ruapekapeka Pa

New Zealand plans syllabus on Maori, UK colonisation

New Zealand's government has proposed that all children learn the history of Maori people and British colonisation in a set course that teachers must follow, ending a system where schools choose how those subjects are taught.

World • 03 Feb 21

A Covid-19 test centre in Auckland (File pic: Getty Images)

New Zealand confirms two more Covid cases in community

New Zealand has confirmed two new cases of the more virulent South African Covid-19 strain in the community, as investigators scrambled to determine how the virus breached border controls.

Coronavirus • 27 Jan 21

Health officials are currently investigating a probable case of Covid-19 in the Northland community

NZ detects first community transmission in two months

New Zealand health officials have confirmed the first case of Covid-19 in the community for more than two months, sparking urgent contract-tracing efforts north of Auckland.

World • 24 Jan 21

Waihi Beach promotes itself as 'one of New Zealand's safest surf beaches'

New Zealand woman dies in suspected shark attack

A woman has died after an apparent shark attack at a popular New Zealand beach, police have said.

World • 07 Jan 21

Jesse Kempson was allowed to keep his name secret through court proceedings

NZ backpacker killer convicted of further rape, attack

The man who murdered British backpacker Grace Millane after meeting her on a dating app has also been convicted of two other violent offences against women.

World • 22 Dec 20