New Zealand

WHAKATANE, New Zealand (Reuters) - Pouroto Ngaropo, standing on an ancient settlement site overlooking the island of Whakaari, recites his ancestry back thousands of years, back to the volcano which erupted there on Monday.

“Whakaari is my connection to the ocean, to the land, and to the environment around me ... we are one and she’s our ancestor,” said the 51-year old Māori spiritual leader whose genealogy is depicted in the tattoo art known as a ‘tā moko’ adorning his face.

WHAKATANE, New Zealand (AP) — A New Zealand island volcano vented more steam and mud Wednesday in an increase of geothermal activity that again delayed the recovery of victims’ bodies from a deadly eruption two days ago.

Volcanic tremors on White Island rose in the morning, accompanied by releases of more steam and mud, the GeoNet seismic monitoring agency said.

WELLINGTON, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern confirmed Tuesday that "no signs of life have been seen at any point" after helicopters and aircraft have undertaken a number of aerial reconnaissance flights over the island since a volcanic eruption.

Five people have been confirmed dead and eight others are still missing, presumed dead, in the volcanic eruption in New Zealand's White Island in the Eastern Bay of Plenty of the North Island on Monday. Thirty-one people are in seven hospitals and three have been discharged so far, according to the police.

WHAKATANE, New Zealand (AP) — Survivors of a powerful volcanic eruption in New Zealand ran into the sea to escape the scalding steam and ash and emerged covered in burns, say those who first helped them.

The accounts Tuesday came as some relatives were forced to continue waiting for news of their loved ones, with authorities deciding it remained too dangerous for crews to land on the island and remove bodies.

WELLINGTON, Dec 9 (NNN-AGENCIES) — About 100 tourists were “on or around” New Zealand’s White Island volcano when it erupted on Monday, and an unknown number are unaccounted for, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.

“It is very much an evolving situation and of course all our thoughts are with those affected,” she told reporters in Wellington, shortly after the eruption.

New Zealand’s White Island volcano erupted suddenly on Monday, prompting fears for a group of visitors seen walking on the crater floor moments before. 

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A volcano on a small New Zealand island frequented by tourists erupted with a large plume of ash and steam Monday, killing one person and leaving others injured or missing.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said about dozens of tourists were on or near White Island when it erupted in the afternoon. Police later said one person had been confirmed killed.

Ardern said at an afternoon news briefing that people who were injured in the eruption were being transported to shore. She said the incident appeared to be “very significant.

WELLINGTON, Dec 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) – New Zealand will phase out more single-use plastics, the government announced today (Sunday).

A report, Rethinking Plastics in Aotearoa New Zealand, was released by the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Adviser, Prof Juliet Gerrard, which highlighted New Zealand’s position in plastics use, and gave recommendations for further changes.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Authorities said Monday that a measles epidemic sweeping through Samoa continues to worsen with the death toll rising to 25, all but one of them young children.

“We still have a big problem at hand,” Samoa’s Director General of Health Leausa Take Naseri said in a video statement.

WELLINGTON, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- The New Zealand Police shot dead a man, who held children hostage for 15 hours, at a property in Bellevue, North Island, on Sunday.

According to the New Zealand Police, local police were called to a property in Oriana Crescent, Tauranga, at around 12:25 a.m. local time, after a man threatened his partner with a knife.

The woman escaped the house and called police from a neighbor's house. Three children were still in the house with the man.

WELLINGTON, Nov 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) – A 5.9-magnitude earthquake hit North Island, New Zealand, on Sunday (this) morning and was felt by thousands of people.

More than 5,000 people reported feeling the earthquake, which happened offshore around 5:34 a.m. local time. There is no report of human casualty yet.