Tag Archives: New Zealand

The New York Times reports: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand announced on Tuesday that her nation would establish a travel bubble with Australia, allowing travelers to move between the countries without needing to quarantine for the first time since the pandemic began. The bubble, which will open just before midnight on April 19, is expected to deliver a …

The Washington Post reports: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Monday that she spoke with President-elect Joe Biden in a “positive and warm phone call” and has offered to share resources, data and experts who can shed light on the country’s successful coronavirus response. Biden “spoke positively about New Zealand’s response to the pandemic,” which has involved a strict …

NBC News reports: Incumbent Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern won a second term in office Saturday in a historic election landslide, viewed by many as an endorsement of her handling of the coronavirus pandemic. In a victory speech in front of hundreds of cheering supporters in Auckland, Ardern, 40, said her party had gotten more support from New …

Al Jazeera reports: A court in New Zealand has sentenced a self-confessed white supremacist who killed 51 Muslims as they prayed at two mosques in Christchurch to life imprisonment without parole, the first time such a sentence has been handed down in the country. Brenton Tarrant, a 29-year-old Australian, pleaded guilty earlier this year to 51 charges of murder, 40 …

The Guardian reports: Donald Trump has called out New Zealand for its recent Covid-19 outbreak, saying the places the world hailed as a success story is now facing a “big surge” in cases. “The places they were using to hold up now they’re having a big surge … they were holding up names of countries and now they’re saying ‘whoops!'” …

The BBC reports: The prime minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, has postponed the country’s general election by a month amid a spike in coronavirus cases. The vote was due to take place on 19 September but will now be held on 17 October instead. Ms Ardern said on Monday that the new date would allow parties “to plan around …

The Washington Post reports: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Tuesday the country had confirmed four new novel coronavirus cases, ending a more than 100-day streak without recording any community transmission. Auckland will move to impose new restrictions Wednesday afternoon though midnight Friday as officials assess the threat, Ardern said, and asked residents to stay home and take precautions. …

Business Insider reports: New Zealand has made it 100 days without a single new local case of COVID-19, the country’s Ministry of Health announced Sunday. The public health milestone comes as coronavirus cases are spiking in other countries, including nearby Australia. The total number of cases in the US surpassed 5 million Sunday — by contrast, New Zealand has only …

The Wrap reports: Talk about not being rattled: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern smiled her way through an earthquake during an interview on Monday — and it was all captured on live TV. Ardern was being interviewed by Newshub host Ryan Bridge when the quake hit. “We’re just having a bit of an earthquake here, Ryan, quite a decent …

The BBC reports: Boris Johnson was just “another patient we were trying to do our best for,” the New Zealand nurse credited with helping to save his life has said. Jenny McGee was praised by the PM for standing by his bedside “when things could have gone either way” while he was in intensive care with coronavirus. She said she …

The BBC reports: A man accused of deadly attacks on mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch a year ago has pleaded guilty to 51 charges of murder. Brenton Tarrant, 29, also admitted the attempted murder of another 40 people, and one terrorism charge. He had previously denied the charges and was due to go on trial in June. …

The Guardian reports: Australia and New Zealand’s borders will be shut to anyone who is not a citizen or resident, in an escalation of both countries’ efforts to tackle the coronavirus. “At no time in New Zealand’s history has a power like this been used, and I recognise how extraordinary it is,” New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern said on …

Stuff New Zealand reports: Religious heckling towards participants of the Auckland Pride march was “quite jarring”, an organiser says. About 7000 members of the region’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) communities took part in the march on Saturday through Auckland’s CBD. They were met with a group of protesters on Queen St, who then followed the participants …

NBC News reports: A volcano open to tour groups unexpectedly erupted off the coast of New Zealand on Monday, killing at least five people, authorities said. Officials were unsure of the exact number of people who were missing or injured. Search-and-rescue operations on the island have stalled because it is too dangerous to approach the island, said John Tims, deputy …

CBS News reports: A 25-year-old New Zealand lawmaker shut down a heckler during a climate change speech with a two-word comeback aimed at older people. Chlöe Swabrick, who belongs to the Green Party, silenced a fellow Parliament member by retorting, “OK, boomer” — a phrase popularized by young people to call out folks from the baby boomer generation. The phrase …

News Now Auckland reports: An American preacher known for his hateful stance against LGBTQI people has been refused entry to New Zealand on character grounds. Steven Anderson of the Faithful Word Baptist Church announced on his YouTube channel that New Zealand had become the 34th country worldwide to refuse him entry. In the video, he displays a letter from Immigration …

NPR reports: New Zealand’s first gun buyback in the wake of the Christchurch shooting attracted more than 150 gun owners on Saturday, according to law enforcement officials. The buyback, which took place in Christchurch, is the first of more than 250 planned nationwide this year. Gun owners turned in 224 recently-banned semiautomatic weapons and more than 200 banned gun parts, …

CNN reports: A New Zealand man has been jailed for almost two years for sharing a video of the Christchurch mosque shootings that killed 51 people. Philip Neville Arps, 44, was sentenced in Christchurch District Court on Tuesday to 21 months in prison after pleading guilty to two charges of distributing objectionable material. Arps sent copies of the footage — …

Reuters reports: The Australian man accused of killing 51 worshippers at two mosques in New Zealand in March pleaded not guilty to all charges in a court on Friday. In an attack broadcast live on Facebook, the lone gunman armed with semi-automatic weapons targeted Muslims attending Friday prayers in New Zealand’s worst peace time mass shooting. Brenton Tarrant, 29, appeared …

Radio New Zealand reports: The Australian teenager who smashed an egg onto the head of Fraser Anning says he has donated more than $100,000 [$70K USD] to the survivors of the Christchurch terrorist attack. Will Connolly, whose act gained him the nickname Egg Boy on social media, said the money was raised through crowdfunding to cover his legal fees after …