NZ

Eden Park keeps Bledisloe Cup test

It means the second Bledisloe Cup test will be played at Eden Park next Sunday, as fans will be allowed to attend.

The test would have been moved to Dunedin if Auckland remained at Alert Level 2.

NZR general manager professional rugby and performance Chris Lendrum says it's great news.

"Auckland fans missed out on both the North v South match last month and the Blues v Crusaders match so this is positive news that they will be able to enjoy Test match rugby,' Lendrum said.

The COVID-stricken Air India flight that brought 17 cases to NZ

On August 28, the Ministry of Health confirmed seven imported cases of COVID-19; three men in their 30s, a woman in her 60s, a woman in her 20s, and two children.  

They arrived in New Zealand on the flight in question - an Air India flight from Delhi, on August 23. 

Christchurch mosque shooter did not want to appear in person

Terrorist and mass murderer Brenton Tarrant will spend the rest of his life behind bars, after he was sentenced yesterday for killing 51 people and injuring 40 at the Al Noor and Linwood mosques last year.

Court documents which were suppressed until the end of the sentencing show Tarrant applied to appear at his sentencing by way of audio-visual link.

His counsel said it would provide cost-saving and avoid the need for secure transfer from Auckland to Christchurch.

Important to keep Pacific communities informed - minister

Pacific people make up close to 75 percent of the cases in the Auckland cluster.

Commenting on whether he was concerned about the susceptibility of Pacific Islanders to Covid-19, Kris Faafoi said things like the prevalence of non-communicable diseases in the community were concerning.

But he said Pacific people were no more susceptible now than they were during the first wave of Covid-19 and he reiterated that everyone was at risk.

Christchurch mosque attacks: Gunman to represent himself at sentencing

In March, Brenton Tarrant made a late guilty plea to 51 charges of murder, 40 of attempted murder and one under the Terrorism Suppression Act.

He is due to be sentenced on 24 August.

Tarrant appeared via audio-visual link (AVL) in Christchurch High Court this morning where he waived his rights to a lawyer to represent himself for sentencing.

His previous lawyers Shane Tait and Jonathan Hudson withdrew their application to represent him.

NZ won't be hosting IPL

The Times of India has quoted an unamed Indian cricket official saying New Zealand is the latest country after UAE and Sri Lanka which has offered to host the compeition in case the billion dollar league can't be held in India because of COVID-19.

The competition was due to start in March but has been postponed indefinitely although the BCCI is hopeful is of playing it from the end of September-early November.

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EU to allow in visitors from 14 Covid-19 'safe' countries including New Zealand

The United States, Brazil and China are excluded.

Along with New Zealand on the current Covid-19 'safe list' are Algeria, Australia, Canada, Georgia, Japan, Montenegro, Morocco, Rwanda, Serbia, South Korea, Thailand, Tunisia and Uruguay.

The EU is ready to add China if the Chinese government offers a reciprocal travel deal for EU citizens.

Two new cases of Covid-19 in managed isolation facilities - Bloomfield

Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said there are still no cases reported from the community.

Both cases have been in managed isolation since they arrived and are now in the quarantine facility in Auckland, Dr Bloomfield said.

One is a man in his 50s who arrived in NZ from India on 24 June - his result came from day 3 testing.

The second is a woman in her 20s who arrived from the US on 18 June, the wife of a previous case who tested positive on 22 June and was already in quarantine as she was considered a close contact.

Four new cases of Covid-19 in NZ in managed isolation

There are now 20 active cases in this country, none of them are in the community. The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in New Zealand is now 1176.

The first new case is a woman in her 30s who arrived in New Zealand from India on 14 June. The Health Ministry said she is the wife of a previous case who earlier tested positive and had been isolating separately from her husband since his positive test. She tested positive on day 11 of isolation.

NZ report urges more support for Pacific Covid-19 recovery

In documents released today, the government says the Pacific will need significant investment to recover from the Covid-19 fallout.

The foreign affairs ministry says the region is facing an array of uncertainties in a significantly altered international environment.

It says New Zealand will have to do more to help the Pacific's weakened states through serious challenges, even if the coronavirus is kept at bay.

The paper says security risks will rise, with greater opportunities for people smugglers and transnational crime.