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WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — New Zealand lifted a snap Covid-19 lockdown in its largest city Auckland on Wednesday, with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern expressing confidence the outbreak was contained. The stay-at-home order for the city of almost two million was issued on Sunday after three community cases emerged, the first lockdown in Auckland for almost six months. Ardern said close contacts of the three cases, all members of the same family, had all since […]
AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AFP) — Two new coronavirus infections which sent New Zealand’s biggest city into lockdown Monday are due to the UK variant of the disease, the first to be detected in the country, officials said. The Health Ministry said genomic sequencing identified the infections in Auckland as caused by the highly-contagious strain first found in the UK and said there was no link to any other positive cases detected so far in […]
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — New Zealand announced the suspension of high-level military and political contacts with Myanmar Tuesday, the first major international move to isolate the country’s ruling junta following a coup. Unveiling the measures, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called for the international community to “strongly condemn what we’re seeing happen in Myanmar”. “After years of working hard to build a democracy in Myanmar, I think every New Zealander would be devastated to see […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Brazil’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic has been ranked the world’s worst, while New Zealand topped the class, according to research published by a leading Australian think tank on Thursday. Sydney’s Lowy Institute assessed almost 100 countries on six criteria, including confirmed cases, deaths and testing metrics. “Collectively, these indicators point to how well or poorly countries have managed the pandemic,” according to the report by the independent body. Aside […]
WELLINGTON, United States (AFP) — New Zealand confirmed two new cases of the more virulent South African Covid-19 strain in the community Thursday, as investigators scrambled to determine how the virus breached border controls. Health officials said the pair, an adult and child, caught the virus in the same quarantine facility as a woman who tested positive over the weekend, ending a run of more than two months with no cases in the community. They […]
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — New Zealand’s borders are likely to remain closed for much of the year as health officials assess global vaccine rollouts, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern warned Tuesday. Ardern said the emergence over the weekend of New Zealand’s first case of community transmission in more than two months showed the danger Covid-19 still posed to a nation hailed for its response to the coronavirus. She said her government would not re-open its […]
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — New Zealand’s first case of coronavirus in the community for more than two months has been identified as the South African variant and was likely contracted in hotel quarantine, health minister Chris Hipkins said Monday. The 56-year-old woman, who recently returned from Europe, tested positive on Saturday, 10 days after she completed her compulsory two weeks in isolation. New Zealand has been widely praised for its handling of the pandemic, […]
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was sworn in for a second term Friday, as final election results showed her landslide victory was even bigger than previously thought. The charismatic leader and her ministers made their oaths of office in English and Maori during a ceremony at Wellington’s Government House. “I would say simply that sitting at this table is Aotearoa New Zealand,” Ardern said, gesturing to her gathered team, […]
by Andrew BEATTY / with Holly Robertson in Brisbane Agence France-Presse SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia’s ANZ became the country’s last major bank to walk away from thermal coal investments Thursday, delivering a fresh blow to a sector facing export market upheaval and widespread public hostility. The bank said that from 2030 it would no longer finance thermal coal mines or coal-fired power stations, joining Australia’s other “big four” banks who have already made similar […]
by Neil SANDS Agence France Presse WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern won a landslide victory in New Zealand’s general election Saturday, leveraging success battling Covid-19 to gain an unprecedented outright majority and the chance to implement her reform agenda. With two thirds of the vote counted, Ardern’s centre-left Labour Party was on 49.2 percent and forecast to take around 64 seats in the 120-member parliament. No leader has achieved an […]
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — Firefighters in New Zealand battling a blaze that razed much of a small alpine village said they were making “good progress” Wednesday as high winds finally eased. The wildfire erupted in a mountain forest on the South Island in the early hours of Sunday morning and swept through the popular tourist spot of Lake Ohau, forcing residents to flee for their lives. Officials said it was miraculous no one was […]
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — Wildfires have destroyed up to 50 homes in New Zealand, authorities announced Monday, saying it was a miracle no one was hurt as “a wall of orange” razed most of a remote South Island village. The blaze began in a mountain forest early Sunday morning and, fanned by strong winds, swept through the village of Lake Ohau, forcing residents to flee for their lives. Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) […]
