Tag: New Zealand

Scientists set sail to unlock secrets of ‘lost continent’ Zealandia

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Scientists are attempting to unlock the secrets of the “lost continent” of Zealandia, setting sail Friday to investigate the huge underwater landmass east of Australia that has never been properly studied. Zealandia, which is mostly submerged beneath the South Pacific, was once part of the Gondwana super-continent but broke away some 75 million years ago. In a paper published in the Geological Society of America’s Journal GSA Today in February, researchers […]

New Zealand opposition plans to slash immigration

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — New Zealand’s main opposition party Monday announced plans to almost halve immigration numbers if it wins a September election, with the clampdown focused on international students. Labor Party leader Andrew Little said it was “time for a breather on immigration” in the nation, which has experienced record annual net arrivals of about 70,000 in recent years. Little said his center-left party would cut that by up to 30,000 a year, […]

New Zealand launches into space race with 3D-printed rocket

MAHIA PENINSULA, New Zealand (AFP) – Rocket Lab, a Silicon Valley-funded space launch company, on Thursday (May 25) launched the maiden flight of its battery-powered, 3-D printed rocket from New Zealand’s remote Mahia Peninsula. The successful launch of a low-cost, 3D-printed rocket is an important step in the commercial race to bring down financial and logistical barriers to space while also making New Zealand an unlikely space hub. The Los Angeles and New Zealand-based rocket […]

New Zealand navy frigate docks in Manila for goodwill visit

  MANILA, Philippines (Reuters) — A New Zealand navy ship docked in the Philippines on Tuesday (April 4) for a four-day goodwill visit aimed at enhancing cooperation between the navies of the two maritime nations. The Anzac-class frigate ‘Te Kaha’ arrived in Manila to design and execute a passing exercise with their Filipino counterparts upon their ship’s departure on April 7, with the aim being to improve communication capabilities, New Zealand Navy Commander Steve Lenik […]

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is officially welcomed to New Zealand

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (Reuters) — Chinese Premier Li Keqiang was officially welcomed to New Zealand on Monday (March 27) during a traditional ceremony at Wellington’s Government House. Welcomed by New Zealand’s governor-general with a traditional Maori Hongi, or nose rub, Premier Li and his wife Cheng Hong watched a traditional Haka being performed. The Chinese delegation were greeted by New Zealand’s Prime Minister Bill English and his wife Mary English before the Premier inspected the […]

New Zealand in free-trade push ahead of China Premier Li visit

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (Reuters) — New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English on Friday (March 24) announced a renewed push to promote free trade in his first major trade policy announcement since taking over as leader last December. New Zealand’s $180 billion economy depends on exports, and the country lobbied hard in favour of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. It wants to push for an expansion of a free-trade agreement with China at a meeting with […]

N. Zealand part of sunken ‘lost continent’: scientists

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — New Zealand sits atop a previously unknown continent — mostly submerged beneath the South Pacific — that should be recognized with the name Zealandia, scientists said Friday. Researchers said Zealandia was a distinct geological entity and met all the criteria applied to Earth’s seven other continents — elevation above the surrounding area, distinctive geology, a well-defined area and a crust much thicker than that found on the ocean floor. In […]

Fears of exploding whales as New Zealand clears carcasses

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — The grim task of clearing hundreds of washed-up whale carcasses was under way in New Zealand Tuesday, with the beach closed over fears the bodies will fill with gas and explode as they decompose. The sands at Farewell Spit where the nearly 700 pilot whales beached in one of the largest mass strandings ever in New Zealand were closed to the public after authorities declared the rotting bodies a health […]

About 200 beached whales refloat themselves in N. Zealand

Farewell Spit, New Zealand (AFP) — Most of the more than 200 whales who became stranded on New Zealand’s notorious Farewell Spit on the weekend have been able to refloat themselves, conservation officials said Sunday. However they had not left the area and there were fears they could become stuck on the coastline again. About 17 other whales from the pod which beached themselves late Saturday remain on shore near the carcasses of hundreds of […]

World’s longest flight lands in New Zealand

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — The world’s longest commercial flight landed in New Zealand Monday with the arrival of Qatar Airways’s 14,535 kilometers (9,032 miles) Doha-Auckland service, the airline announced. “We’ve officially landed in Auckland,” the airline tweeted as flight QR920 landed at 7.25am (1825 GMT Sunday), five minutes ahead of schedule after a 16 hour 23 minute flight. The long-range Boeing 777-200LR crossed 10 time zones on its marathon flight. Qatar Airways noted the […]

Tennis: Serena shakes off rust for comeback win

AUCKLAND, NewZealand (AFP) — Serena Williams was troubled by windy conditions and some early rust before beating 69th-ranked Pauline Parmentier 6-3, 6-4 to launch her comeback from a four-month lay-off at the Auckland Classic on Tuesday. In her first outing since she was shocked by Karolina Pliskova in the US Open semi-finals in September, the world number two made a sluggish start to a season in which she is seeking a record 23rd Grand Slam […]

Israeli PM, angered by anti-settlement U.N. vote, summons U.S. ambassador

  (Reuters)  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday summoned the U.S. ambassador to Israel to discuss the U.S. abstention in a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding an end to settlement-building. Separately, the envoys of 10 other nations were called in to the Israeli Foreign Ministry to be reprimanded on Sunday, and Netanyahu had more harsh words for Washington over Friday’s U.N. vote. An Israeli spokesman gave no details of when Netanyahu would meet U.S. […]