New Zealand Prime Minister John Key surprised his country, announcing that he would be resigning in a week's time. Key, who is also leader of the National Party, made his decision public at a press conference on Monday local time.
A strong new earthquake with a magnitude of 6.2 rattled New Zealand's South Island on Monday, hours after a more powerful quake killed at least two people, damaged roads and buildings and sent thousands fleeing to higher ground. Emergency response teams were already flying by helicopter to the region at the epicenter of the original 7.8 magnitude quake, which struck just after midnight some 91 km northeast of Christchurch in the South Island, amid reports of injuries and collapsed buildings.
China has agreed to review contracts signed with Argentina, which need modifications, for the sake of transparency, according to Buenos Aires sources, but the overall strategic relation between the two countries and a raft of accords in different fields stands and is expected to continue to grow.
New Zealanders have voted to keep their existing flag after a national referendum, preliminary results show. The referendum asked whether the flag which includes the Union Jack should be replaced by a design called Silver Fern, which won an earlier ballot. The results show 56.6% voted for no change, while 43.1% opted for the new design. Just over 2.1m votes were cast.
New Zealand has revealed plans to turn an area of the South Pacific about the size of France into a marine reserve. The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary lies north of the mainland and includes a chain of islands and underwater volcanoes.
New Zealand's government has stepped up efforts to contain the fallout from a scare over contaminated products made by dairy giant Fonterra. Officials have been sent to Fonterra facilities in New Zealand and Australia to oversee the flow of information.
The Prime Minister of New Zealand, John Key, says emergency teams in Christchurch are now focusing on recovering bodies, rather than finding survivors of the earthquake.
He has confirmed that 98 people are known to have been killed in the recent earthquake, and more than 200 others are still missing.
Rescuers dug frantically for bodies and people trapped after a major 6.3 earthquake caused “multiple” deaths in New Zealand's second city of Christchurch Tuesday, crushing buildings and vehicles.