Category Archives: New Zealand

SYDNEY, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Websites of a number of financial institutions in New Zealand and its national postal service were briefly down on Wednesday, with officials saying they were battling a cyber attack.

The country's Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) said it was aware of a DDoS (distributed denial of service) attack targeting a number of organisations in the country.

It was "monitoring the situation and are working with affected parties where we can," CERT said on its website.

Some of the affected websites affected by the attack according to local media reports included Australia and New Zealand Banking Group's (ANZ.AX) New Zealand site and NZ Post.

In a Facebook post, ANZ told customers it was aware some of them were not able to access online banking services. "Our tech team are working hard to get this fixed, we apologise for any inconvenience this may cause," the post said.

Representatives for ANZ did not immediately return requests for comment.

NZ Post said the "intermittent disruptions" on its website were due to an issue at one of its third-party suppliers.

Several customers resorted to social media to report outages at Kiwibank, a small lender partly owned by the NZ Post. Kiwibank apologised to customers in a Twitter post and said it was working to fix "intermittent access" to services in its app, internet banking, phone banking and website.

In DDoS attacks, the servers of high-profile institutions are crowded out by incoming traffic from superfluous requests that try to overload the system and drown legitimate requests.

In January, a cyber-attack led to a serious data breach at New Zealand central bank, which followed several attacks on the operator of New Zealand's stock exchange a year ago.

A group of hackers also targeted hospitals in May. read more

Reporting by Paulina Duran in Sydney; Editing by Lincoln Feast.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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New Zealand banks, post office hit by outages in apparent cyber attack - Reuters

UNDATED -- The resurgence of COVID-19 this summer and the national debate over vaccine requirements have created a fraught situation for the United States' first responders, who are dying in larger numbers but pushing back against mandates.

Its a stark contrast from the beginning of the vaccine rollout when first responders were prioritized for shots.

The mandates affect tens of thousands of police officers, firefighters and others on the front lines across the country, many of whom are spurning the vaccine. That is happening despite mandates consequences that range from weekly testing to suspension to termination even though the virus is now the leading cause of U.S. law enforcement line-of-duty deaths.

According to the Officer Down Memorial Page, 132 members of law enforcement agencies are known to have died of COVID-19 in 2021. In Florida alone last month, six people affiliated with law enforcement died over a 10-day period.

Despite the deaths, police officers and other first responders are among those most hesitant to get the vaccine and their cases continue to grow. No national statistics show the vaccination rate for Americas entire population of first responders but individual police and fire departments across the country report figures far below the national rate of 74% of adults who have had at least one dose.

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MORE ON THE PANDEMIC:

European Union regulator pondering whether to recommend Pfizer booster shots for 16 and older

Two anchors of COVID safety net ending, affecting millions in US

Volunteers help poorest survive Thailands worst COVID surge yet

Hospitals in crisis in Mississippi, the least-vaccinated US state

Want to attend Hamilton? Not unless you meet virus protocols

Find more AP coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronvirus-vaccine

HERES WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

AMSTERDAM The European Medicines Agency says it has started an expedited evaluation on whether to recommend use of a booster dose of the coronavirus vaccine made by Pfizer-BioNTech.

In a statement Monday, the EU drug regulator says it is considering whether a third dose of the vaccine should be given six months after people over age 16 have received two doses to restore protection after it has waned.

EMAs experts are carrying out an accelerated assessment of data submitted by Pfizer and BioNTech, including results from an ongoing research trial in which about 300 healthy adults received a booster dose about six months after their second dose.

Pfizer has already submitted an application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administer for authorization of a third dose and the U.S. government said last month boosters would likely be available in late September. Israel has already started administering booster doses and the plan is under consideration in other countries for vulnerable populations, including France and Germany.

The Amsterdam-based agency said it expects to make a decision in the next few weeks.

DETROIT Five federal courthouses in eastern Michigan will fully reopen Tuesday for the first time since COVID-19 restrictions were put in place in March 2020.

Lawyers, news reporters, jurors and court spectators will be required to answer questions about their health and have their temperature checked at courthouse entrances. Masks will be required.

Courthouse employees who have not been vaccinated will be required to share the results of two weekly COVID-19 tests at their own expense.

The court is doing everything in its power to make sure that everyone who uses our facilities are protected, said Chief U.S. District Judge Denise Page Hood.

The main courthouse is in downtown Detroit, but there are other federal courthouses in Flint, Bay City, Ann Arbor and Port Huron. Remote video access will be provided for some hearings in civil lawsuits. But nearly all criminal cases will be conducted in person at the courthouses.

SANTIAGO, Chile Chiles Public Health Institute has approved the Chinese-developed Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine for children older than 6, though the health minister must approve the plan before shots enter arms.

The panel of senior physicians, including presidents of the associations of pediatrics and infectology, analyzed a Chinese study of 500 children aged 3 to 17, all of whom produced antibodies. A similar study of 4,000 children is being organized in Chile.

Brazils health regulatory agency, however, recently rejected a similar request by Sinovac, and asked for data involving a larger study.

Chile already had authorized vaccinations for children as young as 12, though only with the Pfizer vaccine. Supply shortages have stalled that effort.

Chilean officials plan to vaccinate 15.2 million of the countrys 19 million people. So far they have given a full double dose regimen to 86% of those now eligible. The country last month also began giving AstraZeneca booster shots to fully vaccinated people people older than 55.

ROME Life expectancy for men in some of Italys worst-hit provinces in the pandemic dropped by more than four years.

ISTAT, Italys national statistics bureau, in a report on Monday said that compared with 2019, nationwide life expectancy for those born in 2020 dropped by 1.2 years.

In 2020, the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the sharp increase in the risk of mortality that derived from it abruptly interrupted the increase of life expectancy at birth that had marked a trend up to 2019, ISTAT said.

The pandemic first erupted outside Asia in northern Italy, and much of the north reeled with confirmed COVID-19 deaths in the initial wave of cases. In the northern provinces of Bergamo, Cremona and Lodi, life expectancy for men decreased by some 4.3 to 4.5 years. For women in those provinces, the reduced expectancy ranged from 3.2 to 2.9 years.

For a child born in 2020, male life expectancy nationwide is 79.7 and female life expectancy is 84.4, ISTAT said.

PHOENIX -- A program announced by Arizonas Republican governor last month giving private school vouchers to students whose parents object to school mask requirements has seen a surge of applications.

More than 2,700 applications have been started or completed in less than two weeks. Thats twice as many as can be funded with the $10 million in federal coronavirus relief cash earmarked for the program.

Gov. Doug Duceys plan will give $7,000 a year to each student to pay for private school tuition.

School voucher opponents worry they will permanently get vouchers and some Republican lawmakers say they hope thats the case.

ROME Italys health minister says a two-day meeting of his G-20 counterparts yielded resolve to help poor nations obtain more COVID-19 vaccines.

Minister Roberto Speranza told reporters in Rome on Monday that achieving that includes vaccine production in less developed nations. The goal is to bring vaccines to every corner of the world, said Speranza. He described the meetings unanimous final document as a departure point.

Stronger nations, starting with the G-20, are committing to more resources and to sending vaccines to the more vulnerable countries, he said, adding that efforts like COVAX need to be strengthened.

We want to build on conditions so that production can be brought to the countries. Its not enough merely to transfer doses, Speranza said.

COVAX is an international mechanism created in part to share vaccines so that poorer wouldnt have to rely on donations. But in some cases, wealthy nations have received doses through COVAX.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark Danish health authorities say they are offering jabs in supermarkets as they are aware of differences in the vaccination pattern even though more than 80% of people over 12 have had two shots of vaccine.

It is especially young people who have not received the first jab, said Soeren Brostroem, head of the Danish Health Agency.

On Saturday, vaccines will be offered in two of Denmarks largest supermarket chains, Bilka and Foetex, No appointments are needed.

We want to ensure that the offer of vaccination is as accessible as possible, so that, for example, it is possible to get a shot while shopping, Brostroem said, adding there are many young people working in retail.

Denmark has a target of reaching 90% of people above the age of 12 by Oct. 1.

As of Sept. 10, the digital pass a proof of vaccination or a negative test which was required to enter nightclubs becomes the last COVID-19 safeguard to fall.

PRISTINA, Kosovo --- Kosovos Health Ministry said it has received half a million Pfizer vaccines Monday sent from the United States.

Kosovos 1.8 million people have faced a surge in new infections during the last month. On Monday there were 28 deaths and 489 new cases.

The ministry said it had received 503,100 Pfizer shots from the United States through the COVAX program. It strongly called on people older than 16 years old to take the jabs as the only way to prevent further spread of the coronavirus.

About 17% of Kosovo's people have gotten both shots of the vaccine so far.

SEOUL, South Korea South Koreas daily increase in coronavirus infections has exceeded 1,000 for the 62nd consecutive day as officials are raising concerns about another viral spike during this months Chuseok holidays, the Korean version of Thanksgiving.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said more than 940 of the 1,375 new cases reported Monday were from Seoul and the nearby metropolitan region, where a rise in infections have been linked to the reopening of schools and people returning from summer vacations.

While the virus has slowed outside the capital area in recent weeks, KDCA official Kim Ki-nam said transmissions could worsen nationwide during the Chuseok break, which starts on Sept. 20, a time when millions usually travel across the country to meet relatives.

Officials are enforcing the countrys strongest social distancing rules in the greater capital area, where private social gatherings of three or more are banned after 6 p.m. unless all are fully vaccinated.

A slow vaccine rollout has left less than 35% of South Koreans fully vaccinated as of Monday.

HANOI About 23 million Vietnamese students have started a new school year, most of them in virtual classrooms, amid a COVID-19 lockdown to contain a virus surge in the country.

Since April, when the latest wave of the virus spread in the country, Vietnam closed down schools and education institutes in pandemic areas and move learning activities to online platforms.

Millions of students spent their summer break at home as more than half of the country is in lockdown. In hard-hit provinces, schools have been converted into quarantine facilities and field hospitals.

In Ho Chi Minh city, the epicenter of Vietnams worst virus outbreak, teachers and students observed a minute of silence to pay tribute to those who died of COVID-19 and honor front-liners before opening classes Monday.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand Most of New Zealand will move out of lockdown Tuesday except for the largest city of Auckland, which will remain in the strictest type of lockdown until at least next week, the government announced Monday.

The nation has been battling an outbreak of the delta variant of the coronavirus since last month. All recent cases have been found in Auckland, including 20 that were found on Monday.

There have been a total of 821 cases found in the outbreak. The government is pursuing an unusual strategy of trying to eliminate the virus entirely.

JERUSALEM -- Israel says it will soon reopen its gates to foreign tour groups even as it battles one of the worlds highest rates of coronavirus infections.

The countrys Tourism Ministry on Sunday said it will begin allowing organized tour groups into the country beginning Sept. 19.

Tourists will have to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, present a negative PCR test before their flight and undergo both PCR and serological testing upon arrival. Visitors would have to quarantine in their hotels until the test results come back -- a process expected to take no more than 24 hours.

Tourists from a handful of red countries with high infection rates -- including Turkey and Brazil -- will not be permitted to visit for the time being.

Israel launched a similar program in May after vaccinating most of its population early this year. But the program was suspended in August as the delta variant began to spread.

In recent weeks, the country has begun administering booster shots to anyone who was vaccinated over five months ago.

See original here:

The Latest: Most of New Zealand to end virus lockdown - ABC News

New Zealand corrections officers say that during the time an Islamic State-inspired extremist was incarcerated, he was moved to a maximum security prison after punching officers and repeatedly throwing feces and urine at them

By NICK PERRY Associated Press

September 7, 2021, 7:43 AM

3 min read

WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- During the time an Islamic State-inspired extremist was incarcerated in New Zealand, he was moved to a maximum security prison after punching officers and repeatedly throwing feces and urine at them, corrections officials said Tuesday.

Ahamed Samsudeen, 32, was shot and killed by police Friday after he grabbed a knife at an Auckland supermarket and began stabbing shoppers, injuring seven.

Some 30 officers had been following Samsudeen around the clock for 53 days since his release from prison, worried he was primed to launch a terror attack at any moment.

Since the attack, the condition of his victims has improved each day. Police said Tuesday that two victims remain hospitalized in intensive care units while two more are in general wards, and all are now in stable condition. The other three victims are recovering at home.

This is really encouraging and positive news, said assistant commissioner Lauano Sue Schwalger.

Samsudeen arrived in New Zealand ten years ago from Sri Lanka on a student visa and later claimed refugee status. He was first jailed in 2017 after he tried to fly to Syria to join the Islamic State insurgency.

He was held on various charges including fraud and distributing restricted material after police found Islamic State videos and a hunting knife at his apartment. He pleaded guilty to five charges in June 2018 and was released because of the time he'd already served.

Six weeks later, he was jailed again on new charges and remained in prison until July of this year. He spent his final year in the maximum security Auckland Prison with a small number of other prisoners identified as posing extreme risk.

Rachel Leota, the national commissioner at the Department of Corrections, said Samsudeen would often abuse staff and there had been multiple times when hed thrown feces and urine at them or threatened violence.

At first, Samsudeen was housed at a general prison, the Mt. Eden Corrections Facility. He was shifted to the maximum security prison after an incident in June 2020 when staff tried to move him to an exercise yard.

He argued with staff about which yard he was going to and his behavior escalated, Leota said. He was directed to return to his cell and he struck two officers.

She said he later assaulted another staff member.

Leota said they identified Samsudeen as having potentially violent extremist views but he refused help. She said he did meet twice with an imam from the local Muslim community but didn't engage with him in a meaningful way.

Samsudeen was eventually released from prison in July, and moved to an Auckland mosque after a leader there agreed to take him in.

He was a very, very difficult person to manage, and was increasingly openly hostile and abusive toward probation staff, Leota said.

The case has highlighted shortcomings in New Zealand's counterterrorism laws, especially the difficulty in prosecuting plots. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said she plans to pass new laws, which were already in the works, by the end of the month.

The case has also raised questions about why Samsudeen wasn't deported sooner after immigration officials in 2019 cancelled his refugee status on the basis he'd used fake documents. Samsudeen had been appealing a deportation ruling at the time he carried out his attack.

Read more from the original source:

Extremist abused and attacked officers in New Zealand prison - ABC News

More than half the country have now had a single dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, with tens of thousands getting a jab every day. But those numbers dont tell the full story. Kate Newton and Henry Cooke dig into the roll-out.

We have enough vaccines.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern isnt releasing details until Thursday, but was happy to say earlier in the week that a looming supply problem caused by huge demand for vaccines had been sorted. On Wednesday, new numbers showed the stockpile of jabs kept in reserve had also recovered.

RYAN ANDERSON/Stuff

A drive-through vaccination clinic.

But as our vaccine roll-out races ahead, massive inequities remain both across regions and ethnicities. And even with a world-beating speed, New Zealand remains behind much of the rest of the developed world.

Here's a deep look into the vaccine roll-out across New Zealand, and how it compares with the rest of the world.

Lets get these overall numbers out of the way if youre looking for how this compares with other countries, scroll down.

At midnight on Tuesday 2.7 million Kiwis have had at least one jab.

READ MORE:* Covid 19: Novavax expected to be first Covid-19 booster vaccine in New Zealand* Covid-19: The 1pm update review - where some vaccines fell off the back of a truck* Covid-19 NZ: Government 'finalising arrangements' for extra vaccines to maintain fast pace through September

Thats just over half the entire country: 52 per cent. But we have to remember that about 15 per cent of the country are aged under 12, and wont get the vaccine any time soon. So if we look at the 4.4 million people aged 12 or over, 61 per cent have got a single jab.

However, one jab gives only partial protection. New Zealand is focusing on these first jabs, while leaving a six-week gap before second jabs. The Government has only been giving out about half as many second jabs every day.

Just 1.4 million Kiwis have had both jabs and are considered fully protected. Thats 32 per cent of that 12+ population or 27 per cent of the entire population.

New Zealands vaccination story varies wildly based on where you live.

Three-quarters of those aged 12+ have had a jab in Nelson Marlborough, the best-performing district health board (DHB). For context thats a vaccination rate better than the United States.

Its closely followed by the Southern DHB who has also cracked 70 per cent.

But those rates compare with just over half of the 12+ population for Taranaki, the worst-performing DHB.

But the South Islands good fortune has not come to its major centre: Canterbury is the worst-performing of New Zealands three main cities on first doses, with 56 per cent of its population jabbed. Wellingtons DHBs are on top, with over two thirds (68 per cent) receiving at least one dose. Auckland is in the middle with 63.8 per cent of the 12+ population having had a jab so not far off the national rate.

Things are a bit different when it comes to second doses, which provide fuller protection.

Once again Taranaki is in last place, with 23 per cent of its 12+ population double-dosed. And again Nelson Marlborough are on top with 42 per cent of its 12+ population double-dosed.

Canterbury is again the worst of the main centres, with just 27 per cent fully protected, but Wellingtons DHBs are not far ahead of them with just 28 per cent of its 12+ population fully protected. Aucklands DHBs are a bit ahead of the national curve, with 33 per cent of its 12+ population double-dosed.

Funnily enough, Taranaki has generally been meeting its own self-set plans. But as of this week there are no more plans: The Ministry of Health says the unprecedented demand because of the outbreak means the plans are of no more use, and will not return until October.

New Zealands speed has dropped slightly from the past few weeks, when we were going faster than most of the world ever managed.

It is still going very fast, however, with over half a million doses doled out over the week to Tuesday. At 74,000 doses a day about 1.5 per cent of the country have been getting a jab every single day.

Thats faster than Australia who are sitting at about 1.1 per cent and rivals Korea and Japan at their peaks, while easily outstripping the peak rate of other Western nations. But it is a (slight) drop-off from heights of 1.6 per cent reached the week prior.

We know that this rate won't be maintained forever, because eventually New Zealand will run out of people who are motivated to get the vaccine and run into those who aren't so keen. But as a point of illustration, if that pace was maintained, the entire roll-out would be finished on November 9. Before that, 80 per cent of the 12+ population would have had a first jab by September 23, 90 per cent by October 1, and 100 per cent by October 10.

New Zealand is no longer at the bottom of the developed world. But its not far from it.

With the countrys huge first dose campaign, the Government has now partially protected more of its population than several other nations, including Australia and Poland. The lead is slight, however: 52 per cent of our entire population has at least one jab, compared with 51% of Australia. If the vaccine roll-out keeps going at its current speed, we will likely pass several other nations on this statistic in the next week or so, including the United States.

Yet on second doses, we remain behind every country in the OECD other than Costa Rica.

You can blend these two figures to get a slightly better idea of how our overall vaccine roll-out is going compared with other nations, by looking at the overall number of doses doled out per 100 people.

New Zealand remains behind Australia on this measure, with about 79 doses per 100 people compared with 82 in Australia. And while we may be ahead of countries like Mexico, were far behind the countries we traditionally compare ourselves with such as Canada, the UK, the USA, and the EU, who have all doled out more than 100 doses per 100 people.

New Zealands vaccination campaign was staged by priority groups, with healthy young people intended to get the vaccine last.

The Government set up four different priority groups to manage this, with the first (border workers) being the most important and the last (the general population) the least.

But while the Government has basically vaccinated everyone connected to the border, it hasnt finished vaccinating its two other priority groups, yet is marching ahead with the general population.

Lets go through each of these in turn.

Group 1 border workers does appear to be mostly complete. The Government estimated there were 50,000 of these people earlier this year, but there was clearly more: 64,000 have now had a first jab, while 60,000 of them have had their second.

Group 2 is frontline health professionals and people in rest homes. The Government estimated there was 480,000 of these people, but again this must have been an undercount: 552,000 have had at least a first dose, while 456,000 have had a second. If we assume that the actual ceiling for this group is 550,000, that still leaves 100,000 frontline workers or rest home residents with only partial protection.

But the real gap is in group 3, an amorphous group that takes in everyone aged 65 or over and everyone with a health condition that could make a Covid-19 infection a particularly bad time, from pregnancy to asthma.

The actual size of this group is very tricky to work out: We know there is 750,000 people aged 65 or over, and then the Ministry of Health estimate there is anywhere between 700,000 and 1.2 million people with a health condition that makes them eligible.

But it is clear that not all in this vulnerable group are protected, and that they are falling behind the general population who are vaccinating at pace.

Just 689,000 people in group 3 have had at least one dose, while 524,000 have had both. Given we know the group has to be at least 750,000 just to cover the over-65s this suggests many vulnerable people are unprotected.

And group 4 - the general population under-65 are racing ahead of them. A total of 1.36m in group 4 have had a first jab, and 331,000 have had a second.

Stuff has asked the Ministry of Health for an explanation of group 3s laggardly pace. Covid-19 Minister Chris Hipkins has noted in earlier weeks that many people technically eligible for group 3 may just be saying they are in group 4 when turning up for a jab.

Its also worth noting that when group 3 were first allowed to book vaccines, there were far fewer slots than there are now meaning many people booked a first jab for late-September or October. Since then a huge slew of clinics has opened up, meaning those in group 4 have often been able to just get a walk-in vaccine, or book an appointment for the next day.

Another lens we can look at for vulnerability is ethnicity, particularly as we know Mori are far more likely to be hospitalised and die if they are infected with Covid-19.

Mori continue to lag the general population while close to a third of the 12+ population (32 per cent) is now fully protected, just 21 per cent of Mori are. Around four in ten Mori have had a first dose, compared to six in ten of the full population.

Some of this is explainable by age structure, as Mori people are typically younger and thus werent eligible for the vaccine as early as older populations. But not all of it: Mori aged 20-34 are about half as likely as the rest of the population to have had a first or second jab.

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Covid-19: New Zealand's vaccine roll-out explained in 10 charts, and compared with the rest of the world - Stuff.co.nz

Issued on: 08/09/2021 - 11:06

London (AFP)

England will play home Test series against world champions New Zealand and South Africa in 2022, cricket chiefs announced on Wednesday, unveiling a packed schedule.

Joe Root's Test team will begin their home summer with a three-match series against New Zealand, starting at Lord's on June 2, before games at Trent Bridge and Headingley.

The Black Caps beat England 1-0 in a two-match series in June before defeating India in Southampton to win the first-ever World Test Championship final.

England will also host South Africa for a three-Test series, with the first match starting at Lord's on August 17 before games at Edgbaston and the Oval.

India, who are currently touring England, return for a three-match Twenty20 series and three one-day internationals in July.

South Africa kick off their tour with three ODIs and three T20 matches later in July before the start of the Test series the following month.

England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive Tom Harrison said: "It has been a scintillating summer of cricket and so good to see crowds back packing out venues later this summer.

"For next summer, I am pleased to be able to confirm three high-quality men's international touring teams for 2022."

Root's side currently trail India 2-1 with one match remaining in this year's five-match Test series. The final match starts at Old Trafford on Friday.

2021 AFP

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England to host New Zealand, South Africa for Tests in 2022 - FRANCE 24

New Zealand has recorded 75 new cases of Covid-19, a bounce upward after two days of seeing cases decline.

The director general of health, Dr Ashley Bloomfield, said on Tuesday the increase was not unexpected and noted that during New Zealands previous outbreak, case numbers did move up and down somewhat day-to-day, while still tracking down overall.

Bloomfield said that the governments modelling gave 90% certainty that the reproductive rate or average number of new people that each case infected was still below one, indicating that the number of cases will continue to decline, and we are successfully breaking the chains of transmission.

The current outbreak is now at 687 cases total. Of the 75 new cases, one was in Wellington and the remainder in Auckland. Thirty-two people are currently hospitalised in Auckland, eight of whom are in intensive care, and three of whom are on ventilators. Contact tracers have identified 34,832 contacts in the outbreak so far.

Auckland, the centre of the outbreak, and the regions north of the city remain in a level 4 lockdown the highest level of restriction in New Zealand. The rest of the country moved into level 3 on Wednesday , which allows more businesses, such as takeaway restaurants, to open while practicing social distancing.

As the outbreak continues, New Zealand is racing to vaccinate its population. On Wednesday the country hit a new milestone, with just over 50% of its eligible population people aged over 12 - having had at least one shot. So far, 1.21 million of those are fully vaccinated, or 27% of the eligible population.

As of today, vaccination appointments are open to all people aged 12 and over. Until now, New Zealand had been staggering its vaccine rollout by age group.

Covid-19 response minister Chris Hipkins also announced that the government would pause access to its Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ) system the government-managed quarantine facilities that all those re-entering the country must pass through.

Spaces in MIQ are allocated using a voucher system that overseas New Zealanders must book in advance. Those vouchers are hotly in-demand, and spaces are typically snapped up within moments of release.

While people who have already booked spaces will still be able to enter the country, the pause means no additional vouchers will be released until further notice. New Zealanders based overseas have struggled for months to secure spots, with some reporting it is forcing people to violate visa conditions, and causing extreme psychological distress.

I do acknowledge its difficult when families are being separated, but I also just want to say and I do want to reiterate this: people do have to adjust your expectations a little bit at the moment, Hipkins said.

The ability to travel for family events like weddings and birthdays is a lot more restricted in the global pandemic than it would be in normal times, and so people need to be realistic about that, he added.

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New Zealand records 75 cases after two days of falls - The Guardian

New Zealand has recorded its warmest ever winter, and scientists say that climate change is driving temperatures ever higher.

For the three months through to the end of August 2021, the average temperature was 9.8C, according to New Zealands National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research.

The figure was 1.3C above the long-term average and 0.2C higher than the previous record posted in 2020. Scientists have been keeping records since 1909, but most of the warmest winters have been recent.

Nava Fedaeff, a meteorologist at the institute, said that on top of a background of global warming, this year there were more warm winds than usual from the north and warmer sea temperatures.

She said the underlying warming trend could be tracked through carbon dioxide concentration, which had increased in New Zealand from 320 parts per million 50 years ago to about 412 parts per million today.

Fedaeff said snowfall at lower elevations was well below average this winter as it was often replaced with rain, which could make for lower river levels later in the year because there would be less snowmelt. That could impact irrigation for farms, she said.

There were also more extreme weather events, Fedaeff said, including severe flooding in some places and dry spells in others.

Prof James Renwick, a climate scientist at the Victoria University of Wellington, said that in the short term at least, some New Zealand farmers with cow or sheep herds might benefit from a longer grass-growing season.

But he said the changes were also putting pressure on natural ecosystems and that over time more species would face extinction. It was imperative for humans to slow the rate of greenhouse gas emissions, he said.

If we dont get on top of warming soon, there is going to be grief for large sections of the world.

Renwick said New Zealand had talked a lot about climate change but had so far done little to curb its emissions. But he said there were now good government policies in place, including a pledge to become carbon-neutral by 2050.

He said there were plenty of natural resources like wind, sun and water that could provide renewable power for the nations energy needs.

New Zealand could become world-leading in green energy and a green economy.

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New Zealand records its warmest ever winter with average temperature of 9.8C - The Guardian

Michael Steele/Getty Images

Former All Blacks coach Sir Steve Hansen.

Sir Steve Hansen has shot down suggestions the proposed new World 12s competition could hurt New Zealand Rugby, claiming it could even stop key players departing on Japanese sabbaticals.

The former All Blacks coach is an ambassador for the freshly announced 12-a-side competition, which is being touted as the rugby equivalent of the IPL, and is set to launch with a mens tournament in England next year, followed by the inaugural womens tournament in 2023.

New Zealand Rugby plan to work alongside World Rugby in the coming days to get to terms with the proposed competition but, in a statement, general manager of professional rugby and high performance Chris Lendrum made it clear they would not support any competition that impacts domestic rugby, among other factors.

However, Hansen was quick to dismiss the suggestion the proposed competition could hurt the sport in New Zealand, from NPC level to the All Blacks.

READ MORE:* Why Steve Hansen believes World 12s will be irresistible* Steve Tew and Steve Hansen in World 12s rugby evolution * Mark Reason: It's to our eternal shame neglected Ngani Laumape has gone into exile * Ex-All Blacks coach Steve Hansen says NZ Rugby don't owe Aussies anything

No, I dont believe so. The people that are going to be going, the majority are going to be world-class players playing Super Rugby and international rugby, he told Stuff.

There is a lot of negotiating to go on...its not about trying to have a rebel competition, its about trying to have something that fits in for all.

Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images

Former All Blacks coach Steve Hansen, left, and former New Zealand Rugby boss Steve Tew are both involved in World 12s, Hansen as an ambassador, and Tew as a non-executive director.

Using All Blacks Damian McKenzie and Patrick Tuipulotu as examples, two players who are taking Japanese sabbaticals and will miss Super Rugby next year, Hansen said World 12s could result in players staying put.

If these two guys were to be selected in a 12s team, the money would be good enough for them not to have to go away, leave New Zealand, leave their family, leave their franchises. So, I think there are benefits for the domestic game, as well.

World 12s is targetting 192 players for eight franchises. They will play an abbreviated format of the game in teams involving six forwards and six backs, contesting 30-minute matches, with new rules aimed at improving problem areas such as the breakdown and scrum.

It has a goal of generating around $500 million over its first five years, handsomely rewarding all those involved.

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Its that money, and the prospect of rubbing shoulders with the best players in the world, which Hansen believes will make the best players in the world come running.

I think anyone who gets asked will be pretty keen to go, Hansen said, maintaining the new concept would not be gimmicky, and 15s rugby would always be king.

Hannah Peters/Getty Images

Sir Steve Hansen believes World 12s could stop players like All Black Damian McKenzie taking up sabbaticals in Japan.

Administrators will have to listen. It's a really good catalyst to try and get a global season, so we can fit things in properly, and give the players a good rest. Player well-being has been something we've talked a lot about within this group, and leading up to this so far, that's certainly going to be one of the high priorities.

The prospect of finally getting a global season across the line was one factor behind Hansen jumping on board with the concept, as was freshening up the game he believes has lost its way.

Much of that comes down to the way its being officiated, with overcomplicated rules making life difficult for referees, he said.

We need to change what were doing. The officiating of the game is so complex that were not getting any consistency.

We still cant give a coach, a fan, a player one sheet of paper that says this is what the three officials are going to do today. We cant do that. To me, thats diabolical. We keep adding to the rule book, and we should be taking away and making it a simpler game.

World 12s will largely follow the laws of 15s, but with these adaptations:

12 players in a team six forwards and six backs

15-minute halves

Conversions will be drop goals only

Only one scrum reset, followed by a free kick

Scrum infringements are penalised by a differential penalty (a penalty that cannot be kicked at goal)

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Steve Hansen shoots down suggestion World 12s could hurt New Zealand Rugby - Stuff.co.nz

Instead, the US rewarded supporters of the Iraq War with free trade agreements with Australia and Singapore at the top of the list.

At the time, the differences over Iraq made it seem that any improvement New Zealand-US relations had again stalled.

The nuclear ship issue was once again seen as the main roadblock to the full restoration of ties.

The issue gained particular prominence in 2004 when Don Brash, then the National Party leader, was noted by officials as saying the ban would be "gone by lunchtime" under a future National-led government.

But there were advantages to the diametrically opposed positions over Iraq.

With the US position seemingly crystal clear, New Zealand's wider foreign policy agenda was largely freed up for other matters.

The focus moved to negotiating free trade agreements with other countries following a 2001 model agreement with Singapore and amidst World Trade Organization's ill-fated Doha round of negotiations.

New Zealand's free-trade efforts first bore fruit in 2005 when an agreement was signed with Thailand.

Even more interesting was an agreement signed later that year as a grouping of Pacific Rim countries called the "P4".

The agreement with Brunei, Chile and Singapore was the genesis for what ultimately became the 11-country Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

But New Zealand's biggest prize came in 2008, when it became the first Western country to sign a free trade agreement with China which rapidly became New Zealand's biggest trading partner.

In hindsight, the fallout from the 9/11 attacks and the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq did New Zealand foreign policymakers a favour.

Afghanistan gave New Zealand an opening to show the US what it had to offer, while Iraq clearly showed New Zealand the limits of that engagement.

Without Iraq, New Zealand might have continued to put even more effort into repairing its US relationship which could have prevented it from moving on to a more diversified trade focus.

But what is even more remarkable is that New Zealand ultimately ended up almost having its cake and eating it too.

Against the backdrop of New Zealand's commitment in Afghanistan, but also with the simple passage of time, the nuclear ship issue that had once seemed so central essentially faded into the background.

Significantly, then Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called New Zealand an ally in 2008, and diplomatic cables from Wikileaks revealed that US quietly resumed full intelligence sharing with New Zealand in 2009.

New Zealand's defence ties with the US have also largely been restored. Since 2014, New Zealand ships have again fully participated in US-led 'Rim of the Pacific' military exercises.

And in 2016, New Zealand even came within a whisker of securing a free trade deal with the US as part of the CPTPP until Donald Trump withdrew from the arrangement shortly after taking office.

Despite this setback, it is probably only a matter of time until New Zealand concludes a free trade deal of some kind that involves the US.

After all, the US is now taking a much greater interest in New Zealand and its neighbourhood as part of its Indo-Pacific vision that seeks to challenge China's perceived dominance.

Ultimately, the September 11 attacks triggered a chain of unforeseen actions and decisions.

The impact of the tragedy changed the course of US foreign policy.

It changed the trajectory of New Zealand's foreign policy too.

Democracy Project

Geoffrey Miller is the Democracy Projects international analyst and writes on current New Zealand foreign policy and related geopolitical issues. He has lived in Germany and the Middle East and is a fluent speaker of German and Arabic.

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9/11 anniversary: How the attacks changed New Zealand's foreign policy - Newshub

Jacinda Ardern used very specific language in her description of the terrorist attack in Auckland last week:

It was carried out by an individual not a faith, not a culture, not an ethnicity but an individual person who was gripped by ideology that is not supported here, by anyone, by any community.

The New Zealand prime ministers message was clear our security will not benefit from vilifying a religion or a religious community.

At the same time, Ardern showed that the way Aotearoa New Zealand now talks about terrorism and counter-terrorism aligns with its objectives of enhancing social cohesion and inclusion.

However, there is a risk that such neutral or generalised language might obscure important truths and even make the job of combating terrorism harder.

Before the 2019 Christchurch attacks, counter-terrorism was not a major public concern. But the events of March 15 shifted the focus to national security and raised our collective consciousness about Muslims and Islam.

This was reflected in the 44 recommendations of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Christchurch attack, in various new government policies and institutions, and in a growing concern with social cohesion.

Read more: New Zealand's latest terror attack shows why ISIS is harder to defeat online than on the battlefield

Similarly, the Ministry for Social Development commissioned a rapid evidence review of social inclusion after the Christchurch terrorist attack. Currently available for public review, it proposes six ways to help make New Zealand more socially cohesive.

By describing the Auckland terrorist attack the way she did, Ardern sought to reinforce a vision of Aotearoa New Zealand as a place where all people can feel safe, have equal access to opportunities and do not experience discrimination.

In the wake of March 15, then, we can see how the official discourse on counter-terrorism has become more closely linked with concepts of social cohesion and inclusion.

Appearing before parliaments Intelligence and Security Committee recently, Security Intelligence Service (SIS) director-general Rebecca Kitteridge noted a deliberate change in her organisations counter-terrorism language.

A new terrorism framework has done away with the term Islamist extremist terrorism in favour of categorising terrorist acts as being violent extremism motivated by political beliefs, identity, faith or a single issue.

Adapted from a framework developed by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the new terminology focuses on ideology and should make specific communities feel less securitised, according to Kitteridge.

Read more: New Zealand needs to go beyond fast-tracking counter-terrorism laws to reduce the risk of future attacks

But while these changes appear to support social inclusion in Aotearoa New Zealand, we should also ask how counter-terrorism is served by describing the Auckland attack as faith-motivated violent extremism rather than radical Islamist terrorism.

The 2020 SIS annual report included a fifth category in the framework white identity extremism (WIE).

Given the ideological profile of the Christchurch terrorist, its not surprising the SIS received numerous leads about possible WIE threats after March 15. But WIE is not a separate category in the latest framework. It is now included in the identity-motivated category of violent extremism.

How do we begin to understand the racism and radicalisation of the Christchurch terrorist without acknowledging his identity as a white supremacist?

Europe has also trialled different terms to describe terrorist threats. The European Union (EU) law enforcement agency Europol used Islamist terrorism between 2006 and 2010, then moved to religiously inspired terrorism between 2011 and 2014.

Since 2015 it has employed jihadist terrorism, ethno-nationalist and separatist terrorism, left-wing and anarchist terrorism, right-wing terrorism and single-issue terrorism.

Read more: The Christchurch commissions call to improve social cohesion is its hardest and most important recommendation

The 2020 EU report on terrorism carefully defines jihadist terrorism as a violent sub-current of Salafism (a revivalist movement within Sunni Islam) that legitimises violence against non-Muslims by drawing on classical Islamic doctrines of jihad, and against Muslims by using takfir (an act of declaring Muslims apostates or infidels).

The term was widely used in the wake of Islamic States territorial successes in Iraq and Syria in 2014, and in relation to Islamic State-inspired terrorism in Paris (November 2015), Nice (July 2016), Brussels (March 2016) and the Manchester Arena (May 2017).

On the face of it, the Christchurch and Auckland terrorist attacks share similarities, such as the role of online radicalisation and that both terrorists were lone actors.

But does it serve our understanding of the terrorist threat to conflate the actions of a white supremacy extremist and a radical Islamist extremist?

Its true that terminology needs to adapt to changes in the political environment. What was fit for purpose before the Christchurch attack is not necessarily relevant today.

New terminology, however, does not replace the need for public education and knowledge. Nor should we assume well-informed New Zealanders cannot distinguish between a religion and an ideological construct simply because some populist politicians conflate Islam and radical Islamism.

Read more: Treating NZs far right groups as terrorist organisations could make monitoring extremists even harder

The prime ministers description of the Auckland attacker as an aberrant individual influenced by a foreign and unacceptable ideology supports ideas of social inclusion.

This is particularly important at a time when populist political movements present Islam as a civilisational threat. Social inclusion and counter-terrorism both foster a more resilient and safe Aotearoa New Zealand.

But there are dangers in conflating the two concepts, and we should not shy away from specifically and accurately naming terrorists for who they are and what they stand for.

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Social inclusion is important in Aotearoa New Zealand but so is speaking honestly about terrorism - The Conversation AU