As New Zealand celebrates its annual Māori language week, the government is ramping up initiatives to remove recognition of Indigenous people and language from public policy and law.

A New Zealand lawmaker says the government will overhaul the gun laws tightened after the mass shooting by a white supremacist five years ago.

After almost five years of engagement and a postponement due to the coronavirus pandemic, former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has married longtime partner Clarke Gayford in a private ceremony.

Conservative former businessman Christopher Luxon will be New Zealand’s next prime minister after winning a decisive election victory.

New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins is facing an uphill battle to woo voters less than three weeks before an election.

Doug Emhoff, the husband of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, met with former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern Friday to discuss ways to combat online hate and extremism.

Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is writing a book that will focus on leadership.

Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has received one of the country’s highest honors for her leadership during a mass shooting and pandemic.

Months before an election, New Zealand’s government is offering some modest financial relief to many people by making most prescription medicines free and increasing subsidies for childcare and public transportation.

Former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will be temporarily joining Harvard University later this year.

In her final speech to New Zealand’s Parliament, Jacinda Ardern describes in emotional terms how she navigated a pandemic and a mass shooting during her tumultuous five-year tenure as prime minister.

After stepping down as New Zealand’s prime minister in January, Jacinda Ardern is starting an unpaid role combating online extremism.

New Zealand’s new Prime Minister Chris Hipkins says he is axing or delaying many of his government’s more contentious policy plans as he looks to refocus on priorities like the rising cost of living.

Chris Hipkins has been sworn in as New Zealand’s prime minister, following the unexpected resignation last week of Jacinda Ardern.

Jacinda Ardern has made her final public appearance as New Zealand’s prime minister, saying the thing she would miss most was the people, because they had been the “joy of the job.”.

Chris Hipkins has been confirmed as New Zealand’s next prime minister and he chose Carmel Sepuloni as his deputy, marking the first time a person with Pacific Island heritage has risen to that rank.

New Zealand's education minister is set to become the island nation's next prime minister after the surprise resignation of Jacinda Ardern.

When Jacinda Ardern announced she was stepping down as New Zealand’s prime minister, speculation began almost immediately about what she might do for a second act.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has decided to leave office.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is leaving office after nearly six years in which she was praised globally for her empathetic handling of the nation’s worst mass-shooting and health-driven response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Sitiveni Rabuka has been sworn in as Fiji’s prime minister more than two decades after the former military commander first held the office in a term lasting nearly seven years.

When New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was caught on a hot mic using a vulgarity against a rival politician last week, it seemed the nation’s politics could be taking an ugly turn heading into an election year.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has been caught on a hot mic using a vulgarity against a rival politician.

Reflecting on her five years as New Zealand’s leader, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says China has undoubtedly become more assertive in the region over that time, but cautions that building relationships with small Pacific nations shouldn’t become a game of one-upmanship.

New Zealand is launching a wide-ranging inquiry into whether it made the right decisions in battling COVID-19 and how it can better prepare for future pandemics.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is assuring Asian leaders “the United States is here to stay” as she pitches Washington as a reliable economic partner committed to the region and its prosperity.

Russia and China have again blocked plans supported by the European Union, the United States and 23 other nations to protect three vast stretches of ocean around Antarctica from most fishing.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern this week is making a rare visit by a world leader to Antarctica.

Delegations from Russia and Ukraine are among those meeting in Australia this week to decide the future of Antarctica’s pristine waters.

For the first time in New Zealand’s history, a majority of lawmakers are women.

Is Shakespeare still relevant to today’s students.

New Zealand’s government on Tuesday proposed taxing the greenhouse gasses that farm animals make from burping and peeing as part of a plan to tackle climate change.

New Zealand has commemorated Queen Elizabeth II with a public holiday, a moment of silence and an official memorial service.

This year’s U.N. General Assembly meeting of world leaders comes on the heels of another event that reverberated internationally — the death of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says her government will not pursue any moves to change the country into a republic following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

Australia’s new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he will take advice on whether to accept President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's invitation to visit Ukraine during an upcoming European trip.

Harvard University President Lawrence Bacow has announced that he plans to step down next year.

President Joe Biden is praising New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern for her success in curbing extremism and guns following a 2019 mass shooting there.

The leaders of California and New Zealand have signed a pledge agreeing to help fight climate change.

New Zealand’s government says it will hand out an extra few hundred dollars to more than 2 million lower-income adults to help them navigate what it describes as “the peak of the global inflation storm.”.

New Zealand will help pay for lower-income families to scrap their old gas guzzlers and replace them with cleaner hybrid or electric cars as part of a sweeping plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

A New Zealand man on Thursday was sentenced to one year in prison for threatening to kill Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

New Zealand will remove many of its COVID-19 pandemic mandates over the next two weeks as an omicron outbreak begins to wane.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says her nation is “ready to welcome the world back” with most tourists allowed to return by May as the nation continues to ease its coronavirus restrictions.

New Zealand police say they will review hours of cellphone footage taken by themselves, the media and the public to identify lawbreakers.

Thick black smoke billowed across the grounds of New Zealand’s Parliament and sirens blared as retreating protesters set fire to tents, mattresses and chairs.

New Zealand is ending a requirement that incoming travelers isolate themselves.

The number of cars and trucks blocking the streets outside New Zealand’s Parliament was thinning Friday, but more protesters were expected to arrive for the weekend, including some by boat.

Police in New Zealand's capital say a protester drove a car toward a police line, narrowly avoiding officers, and other protesters sprayed officers with a stinging substance.

New Zealand’s prime minister says protesters who oppose coronavirus mandates are using “intimidation and harassment,” as the convoy of demonstrators continues to disrupt the capital of Wellington.

Hundreds of people protesting vaccine and mask mandates drove in convoy to New Zealand’s capital and converged outside Parliament as lawmakers reconvened after a summer break.

New Zealand’s government will end its quarantine requirements for incoming travelers and reopen its borders.

Many countries that have been especially hard-hit by the coronavirus are easing their tough and often unpopular restrictive measures to fight COVID-19.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says she is self-isolating after coming into close contact with a person infected with the coronavirus.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is postponing her wedding after announcing new COVID-19 restrictions following the discovery of nine cases of the omicron variant in a single family that flew to Auckland to attend a wedding.

New Zealand is among the few remaining countries to have avoided any outbreaks of the omicron variant.

New Zealand will send up to 65 military and police personnel to the Solomon Islands in the coming days after rioting and looting broke out there last week over several issues, including concerns about the country's increasing links with China.

The emergence of the omicron variant isn’t changing New Zealand’s plans to ease restrictions in Auckland and move the nation into a new, more open phase of its pandemic response.

Bars, restaurants and gyms can reopen in Auckland from early December but customers will be required to show proof they’ve been fully vaccinated.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says people have a duty to get vaccinated against the coronavirus to protect others.

Young people living in Pacific Rim countries want to see more ambition from their leaders when it comes to tackling climate change and to see money devoted to a shared fund to prepare for future pandemics.

U.S. President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping will have a rare virtual encounter this week as they gather online with other Pacific Rim leaders to chart a path to recovery out of the crisis brought on by the pandemic.

The lockdown of New Zealand’s largest city is likely to end later this month, with some coronavirus restrictions being eased Tuesday.

New Zealand’s government has set an ambitious target of fully vaccinating 90% of all eligible people to end coronavirus lockdowns.

Britain and New Zealand have agreed to a trade deal that eliminates tariffs on a wide range of goods as the U.K. expands economic links around the world following its exit from the European Union.

New Zealand health care workers have administered a record number of vaccine jabs as the nation holds a festival aimed at getting more people inoculated against the coronavirus.

Most of New Zealand’s health care workers and teachers will soon be legally required to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Afghanistan's first 2001 post-Taliban president Hamid Karzai marked the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on America with a meeting of tribal elders at his high-walled compound in the Afghan capital.

The state of Hawaii is launching a program that will allow people to use their smart phones to prove they have been vaccinated against the coronavirus.

New Zealand authorities say they shot and killed an extremist after he entered a supermarket and unleashed a knife attack that wounded six shoppers.

A man from the Las Vegas area has won the $1 million grand prize to cap an eight-week coronavirus vaccination jackpot program.

New Zealand’s government says it's extending a strict nationwide lockdown until at least Friday as it tries to extinguish a growing coronavirus outbreak.

An Australian state leader is warning that Melbourne may be losing control of a COVID-19 delta variant outbreak that began in Sydney and has also spread to the New Zealand capital.

New Zealand’s government has taken drastic action by putting the entire nation into a strict lockdown after finding a single case of coronavirus infection in the community.

Hong Kong will tighten entry restrictions for travelers arriving from the United States and 15 other countries beginning Friday, extending the quarantine period to 21 days.

New Zealand plans to begin a cautious reopening of its borders to international travelers early next year.

A lockdown of Australia’s third-largest city Brisbane was extended until Sunday because of a growing COVID-19 outbreak.

New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has formally apologized for a racially charged part of the nation’s history, known as the Dawn Raids.

New Zealand has agreed to repatriate an alleged Islamic State militant and her two young children, who have been detained in Turkey since February.

New Zealand has suspended its quarantine-free travel bubble with Australia for at least eight weeks due to a growing COVID-19 cluster in Sydney.

Leaders of Asian Pacific nations have agreed to step up coronavirus vaccination sharing efforts.

U.S. President Joe Biden, China's Xi Jinping, Japan's Yoshihide Suga and Vladimir Putin of Russia are among Pacific Rim leaders gathering virtually to discuss strategies to help economies rebound from a resurgent COVID-19 pandemic.

New Zealand’s government is formally apologizing for an immigration crackdown nearly 50 years ago in which Pacific people were targeted for deportation, often after early-morning home raids.

Tentative plans for a movie recounting the response of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to a gunman’s slaughter of Muslim worshippers drew criticism in New Zealand for not focusing on the victims of the attacks.

The leaders of New Zealand and Australia have minimized their differences over China and urged more investigation into the origin of the coronavirus after their first face-to-face meeting in more than a year.

Growing friction with China and how to reopen borders after the pandemic will be among the topics discussed by the leaders of Australia and New Zealand in their first face-to-face meeting since the coronavirus outbreak prompted both countries to close their borders.

Cindy Kiro says she hopes to inspire Maori girls after becoming the first Indigenous woman appointed as New Zealand's governor-general.

Two years after a white supremacist in New Zealand livestreamed the slaughter of 51 Muslim worshippers on Facebook, French President Emmanuel Macron says the internet continues to be be used by terrorists as a weapon to propagate hate.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern plans to marry her longtime partner during the southern summer.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern took a tougher stance on China’s human rights record by saying it was getting harder to reconcile differences as China’s role in the world grows.

Elation marked the opening of a long-anticipated travel bubble between Australia and New Zealand.

Australian authorities have identified a second case of a rare blot clot likely linked to the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine.

New Zealand will open a long-anticipated travel bubble with Australia on April 19.

Temel Atacocugu, right, who survived being shot nine times during the attack on the Al Noor mosque, cries as he speaks at a National Remembrance Service, Saturday, March 13, 2021, in Christchurch, New Zealand. The service marks the second anniversary of a shooting massacre in which 51 worshippers were killed at two Christchurch mosques by a white supremacist. (Kai Schwoerer/Pool via AP)WELLINGTON – New Zealand on Saturday marked the second anniversary of one of its most traumatic days, when 51 worshippers were killed at two Christchurch mosques by a white supremacist gunman. Several hundred people gathered at the Christchurch Arena for the remembrance service, which was also livestreamed. After the attacks, New Zealand quickly passed new laws banning the deadliest types of semiautomatic weapons.

New Zealand has opened its first large vaccination clinic as it scales up efforts to protect people from the coronavirus. (New Zealand Ministry of Health via AP)WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand has opened its first large vaccination clinic as it scales up efforts to protect people from the coronavirus. Gordon cites Wyoming’s declining number of COVID-19 cases and its success in distributing vaccines as reasons to lift the restrictions. AdThe nation of 1.3 million has seen a rapidly increasing number of COVID-19 cases n the past few weeks. Italy’s total virus cases surpassed 3 million last week, with a new surge powered by the highly contagious variant that was first identified in Britain.

All times Pacific Standard Time:9:15 p.m.Oprah Winfrey's explosive interview with Prince Harry and Meghan reached an estimated 17.1 million viewers in the United States on Sunday. In the interview, Meghan said she considered suicide, while Harry said he and his family were “trapped” in an oppressive institution. Ad___1:10 a.m.Tennis star Serena Williams says she's “proud” of Meghan Markle following her interview with Oprah Winfrey. “You are strong- both you and Harry.”Meghan revealed in the interview that she experienced suicidal thoughts after joining the royal family. But ultimately, all she’d ever want is for us to be happy.”___6:20 p.m.Meghan and Harry say their second child is a girl.

Monday marked a decade since the quake struck, killing 185 people. Hundreds of people attended an outdoor service in Christchurch, which continues to rebuild from the magnitude 6.3 quake that destroyed much of its downtown. A separate service was also held in the northern Japanese city of Toyama, home to 12 students who died in the quake. Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel talked about the 28 Japanese citizens who died, the largest number of victims from any country outside of New Zealand. The 12 Japanese students were having lunch at King’s Education, an English language school for international students, when the quake struck, destroying the building.

New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern talks to media in Wellington, New Zealand Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. As people in Auckland adjusted to a new lockdown on Monday, health officials said they'd found no evidence the coronavirus had spread further in the community, raising hopes the restrictions might be short-lived. (AP Photo/Nick Perry)WELLINGTON – As people in Auckland adjusted to a new lockdown on Monday, health officials said they’d found no evidence the coronavirus had spread further in the community, raising hopes the restrictions might be short-lived. New Zealand's largest city was hurriedly placed into a three-day lockdown Sunday after three unexplained virus cases were found. AdPrime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the three community cases were of the more contagious variant first found in Britain and that genome testing hadn’t linked them to any previous known cases.

New Zealands largest city of Auckland is being placed into a three-day lockdown Sunday following the discovery of three unexplained virus cases. (AP Photo/Nick Perry)WELLINGTON – New Zealand's largest city of Auckland has begun a three-day lockdown following the discovery of three unexplained coronavirus cases in the community. It has also forced a delay in the America's Cup sailing regatta. AdThe country has been hosting the America's Cup sailing regatta. The winner will then take on Emirates Team New Zealand for the America's Cup.

(AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)SYDNEY – Australia’s medical regulator has approved use of its first coronavirus vaccine, paving the way for inoculations to begin next month. Residents and workers at aged-care facilities, frontline healthcare workers and quarantine workers are among the groups being prioritized for the first doses. Australia has an agreement for 10 million doses of the two-dose Pfizer vaccine and an option to buy more if supplies allow. Under a three-way agreement, it plans to buy 30 million doses from the Serum Institute of India in phases. — Sri Lanka's government says it will start administering a coronavirus vaccine this week.