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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

Jacinda Ardern announced the inquiry in 2018 saying the country needed to confront 'a dark chapter' in its history

NZ child abuse inquiry finds 250,000 harmed in care

Up to a quarter of a million children, young people and vulnerable adults were physically and sexually abused in New Zealand's faith-based and state care institutions from the 1960s to early 2000s, a public inquiry has revealed.

World • 16 Dec 20

Jacinda Ardern attended a memorial ceremony at the meeting house of the local Maori tribe

New Zealand marks volcano eruption anniversary

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has paid an emotional tribute to victims of the White Island volcano eruption on the first anniversary of the disaster that claimed 22 lives.

World • 09 Dec 20

The attacks on two mosques in Christchurch left 51 people dead

NZ mosque attack report faults focus on Islamist threat

A report into the Christchurch mosque massacre in New Zealand has found security agencies focused almost all their resources on potential Islamist extremism, and failed to enforce proper checks on firearm licences.

World • 08 Dec 20

Unilever said all 81 staff members at its offices across New Zealand will be able to participate in the four day working week trial

Unilever to try out 4-day working week in New Zealand

Global consumer goods giant Unilever said today it was poised to try out a four-day working week for all its New Zeland employees.

Business • 01 Dec 20

New Zealand navy personnel in search and rescue operations after the 2019 eruption on White Island

New Zealand lays charges over volcano deaths

New Zealand's workplace safety watchdog has announced criminal charges against 10 organisations and three individuals over last year's White Island volcanic eruption that claimed 22 lives and left dozens more injured.

World • 30 Nov 20

97 whales and three dolphins died in the strandings

100 whales and dolphins die after mass stranding in NZ

About 100 pilot whales and bottlenose dolphins have died in a mass stranding on the remote Chatham Islands, about 800km off New Zealand's east coast, officials said today.

News Lens • 25 Nov 20

Constable Zeena Ali had the opportunity to trial several versions of the hijab before she began her police training

New Zealand incorporate hijab in police uniforms

The New Zealand Police force has incorporated a hijab into its official uniform, with the first officer to wear it reporting that it "feels great".

News Lens • 19 Nov 20

New Zealanders have rejected the idea of legalising marijuana

Proposal to legalise marijuana defeated in New Zealand

New Zealanders have narrowly rejected a proposal to legalise recreational marijuana, according to official referendum results released today.

World • 06 Nov 20

The referendum was held on 17 October, the same day as the general election

New Zealand backs euthanasia, Electoral Commission says

New Zealand has voted to legalise euthanasia but is on course to reject recreational marijuana use, the country's Electoral Commission has said.

World • 30 Oct 20

No leader has achieved an absolute majority since New Zealand adopted a proportional voting system in 1996

Ardern wins landslide in New Zealand general election

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has won a landslide victory in the country's general election, leveraging success battling Covid-19 to gain an unprecedented outright majority.

World • 17 Oct 20

Polling booths open on election day in Auckland, New Zealand for the 2020 general election

Polls open in New Zealand as election gets underway

New Zealanders have started voting in a general election that could see Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern strengthen her left-of-centre hold on government.

World • 16 Oct 20

Advanced New Zealand co-leader Billy Te Kahika said the takedown occurred while he was addressing followers online

Facebook shuts NZ party's page ahead of election

Facebook has shut down the page of conspiracy-embracing political party Advance New Zealand just two days out from a general election, accusing it of spreading misinformation about the coronavirus.

World • 15 Oct 20

The shuttering of bars and cafes - seen by many as the essence of Parisian life - have been described as 'breaking measures'

Paris cafes to shut as Europe fights second virus wave

Paris bars and cafes will shut for two weeks after the city and its region were placed on maximum alert this morning.

World • 05 Oct 20

With 859 cases per 100,000 people the Madrid region is the worst Covid-19 hotspot in Europe

Madrid to close borders for almost 5 million residents

Madrid's regional authorities will publish a decree later today to put the Spanish capital and nine nearby towns under partial lockdown, with immediate effect, a source from Madrid's regional government has said.

Coronavirus • 02 Oct 20

Japan's coast guard said it had rescued one crew member

42 missing as cattle ship capsizes in East China Sea

A ship carrying 43 crew and nearly 6,000 cattle from New Zealand to China capsized after losing an engine in stormy weather in the East China Sea, the only crew member rescued so far told Japan's coastguard.

World • 03 Sep 20

People wearing masks walk past a 'hey Williamsburg, wear a mask' sign in Brooklyn, New York

US passes six million Covid-19 cases

The United States has charted its six millionth case of Covid-19 according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University, adding one million new infections in less than a month.

Coronavirus • 31 Aug 20