New Zealand
New Zealand welcomes back first cruise ship since COVID hit
New Zealand on Friday welcomed the first cruise ship to return since the coronavirus pandemic began, signaling a long-sought return to normalcy for the nation’s tourism industry.
New Zealand closed its borders in early 2020 as it sought at first to eliminate COVID-19 entirely and then later to control its spread. Although the country reopened its borders to most tourists arriving by plane in May, it wasn’t until two weeks ago that it lifted all remaining restrictions, including those on maritime arrivals.
Many in the cruise industry question why it took so long.
Read: New Zealand's unemployment rate remains low at 3.3 pc
The end of restrictions allowed Carnival Australia’s Pacific Explorer cruise ship to dock in Auckland with about 2,000 passengers and crew Friday morning as part of a 12-day return trip to Fiji that left from Sydney.
“Amazing, isn’t it?” Tourism Minister Stuart Nash said in an interview with The Associated Press. “Its another step in the reopening of our borders and a step closer to resuming business as usual.”
Nash said it would take some time for international tourist numbers and revenue to return to their pre-pandemic levels, when the industry accounted for about 20% of New Zealand’s foreign income and more than 5% of GDP.
New Zealand's unemployment rate remains low at 3.3 pc
New Zealand's unemployment rate was 3.3 percent in the June 2022 quarter, much lower than other developed countries, the statistics department Stats NZ said on Wednesday.
The underutilization rate was 9.2 percent in that quarter, Stats NZ said, adding these rates were relatively unchanged from the March 2022 quarter.
"Measures of spare labor market capacity have fallen over the year and remained low for several quarters, continuing to show a tight labor market," work and wellbeing statistics senior manager Becky Collett said in a statement.
Read: IMF loan would help economy gain stability in reserves, dollar market: Experts
Underutilization and unemployment rates have fallen over the year for Maori, Pacific, and Asian ethnic groups, as well as young people, Collett said.
The labor cost index salary and wage rates increased 3.4 percent in the year to June 2022, up from 3 percent in the year to March 2022, statistics show.
The average ordinary time hourly earnings increased to 36.97 NZ dollars (23.06 U.S. dollars), up 2.2 percent quarterly and 6.4 percent annually, Collett said.
Read: Capitalism culprit for U.S. gun violence: Al Jazeera
On comparable measures, New Zealand's 3.3 percent unemployment rate stands favorably against 3.6 in the United States, 3.8 percent in Australia and Britain and 5.1 percent in Canada, said Minister of Social Development and Employment Carmel Sepuloni.
New Zealand's unemployment rate was much lower than the average of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries, which was 5 percent.
New Zealand secures major FTA deal with EU
New Zealand and the European Union have concluded negotiations on a major free trade agreement (FTA), which covers market access into 27 European countries and removes duties on the majority of products New Zealand exports.
"Our EU-NZ FTA is expected to increase the value of New Zealand's exports to the EU by up to 1.8 billion NZ dollars (1.12 billion U.S. dollars) per year from 2035," New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Friday after the FTA signing in Brussels.
"It's a strategically important and economically beneficial deal that comes at a crucial time in our export-led COVID-19 recovery," Ardern said in a statement.
The deal delivers tangible gains for exporters into a restrictive agricultural market. It cuts costs and red tape for exporters and opens up new high-value market opportunities, she said.
Also Read: Dhaka, Tokyo to explore possibility of FTA
This is the fifth FTA New Zealand has concluded in the past five years and sits alongside upgrades to the existing agreements with China and Singapore, she said, adding that the increase in market access means 73.5 percent of New Zealand's global exports are now covered by an FTA, up from around 50 percent five years ago.
The deal provides duty-free access on 97 percent of the New Zealand's existing goods trade to the EU within seven years, 91 percent from day one, said New Zealand Trade and Export Growth Minister Damien O'Connor.
However, the meat and dairy industries, two of New Zealand's major export sectors, were disappointed as their gains in the trade deal were very limited.
The EU is New Zealand's fourth-largest trading partner with two-way goods and services trade worth 17.5 billion NZ dollars (10.9 billion U.S. dollars).
Brutal Bairstow smashes England to series win over NZealand
Jonny Bairstow smashed England’s second-fastest test century with some brutal hitting to lead his country to a record run chase at Trent Bridge and a five-wicket victory in the second test against New Zealand, clinching the series with one match to spare.
Set 299 to win in a little over two sessions on Day 5, England reached its target in 50 overs with Bairstow falling for 136 off 92 balls just before the victory was sealed.
Thrown together with England in a tough spot at 93-4 in the reply, Bairstow and captain Ben Stokes (75 not out) could have played for the draw to preserve the team’s 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Instead, they went on the attack — following the attacking approach favored by new coach Brendon McCullum, a Kiwi — and it blew the New Zealanders away.
In the first nine overs after tea, which England reached still needing 160 runs off a minimum 38 overs, Bairstow and Stokes hit 102 runs in a savage assault that saw the ball disappear to all corners of the ground that was sold out for the final day.
Bairstow dominated the strike, completing his ninth test century in 77 deliveries — one ball more than Gilbert Jessop’s record for England set in 1902. Stokes was mostly an onlooker at the other end as he struggled with pain in his right knee that meant it was a struggle to run between the wicket.
Bairstow eventually departed to a standing ovation after nicking Trent Boult behind, having struck 14 fours and seven sixes. That left Stokes and Ben Foakes (12 not out) to guide England to the winning post.
Also Read: Yasir Ali ruled out of WI Tests with a back injury
Bairstow said England treated the chase like a one-day game, and he was told by Stokes to “just hit it into the back of the stand.”
“If you go into it with a negative mentality, then all of a sudden you might be a bit apprehensive,” he said. “The positive approach, the brand of cricket we are looking to play, the players in that dressing room are able to play it. Today was very exciting and if this is happening now, let’s see what happens in the next few weeks and the next few months. Wow, it’s going to be a journey.”
England had won one of its last 17 tests before the launch of a new era under Stokes and McCullum for this international summer. The team has won its first two tests under new leadership, with this Trent Bridge triumph backing up England’s five-wicket victory at Lord’s in the first match of the series against the reigning world test champions.
The previous highest successful chase in Nottingham came in 2004 when England’s 284-6 defeated New Zealand. There had been only two others aside above 200 from that.
New Zealand somehow lost a test match having scored 553 in its first innings after being put into bat.
The tourists even looked marginal favorites after adding 60 runs to its overnight score of 224-7, eventually getting dismissed for 284 about 45 minutes before lunch.
But they proved to be massively handicapped by the absence of fast bowler Kyle Jamieson, who was unable to bowl — even though he came out and batted — because of a back injury.
Still, the way England responded was nothing short of sensational.
“Today was set up absolutely perfectly for the way we want to go about things going forward,” Stokes said. “It’s pretty simple — run into the danger and rather than back away, just stand still. That’s definitely what we did today.”
END/AP/UNB
Liton hits ton to guide Tigers
Wicketkeeper-batter Liton Das notched up his third Test ton on the opening day of the Dhaka Test against Sri Lanka on Monday at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
Liton’s last ton came early this year against New Zealand. As of 70th over, Liton scored 122 unbeaten— his best in the format so far.
Bangladesh won the toss and opted to bat first. But they failed to have an impressive start as they lost five wickets just for 24 runs— with three ducks to Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan.
Also read: Early wickets dent Bangladesh in Dhaka Test
In the sixth wicket stand, Liton joined Mushfiqur Rahim and added more than 200 runs in the partnership with more than 20 overs to play.
Liton completed the magical three-figure total during the 63rd over of the innings pulling Asitha Fernando to the backward square area. A fielder picked up the ball and threw it to the stumps and missed. There was no backup to pick up the ball, and thus, the ball reached the boundary for a four.
Also read: BAN vs SL Series 2022: Statistics Favour Spinners to be Game Changers in the Mirpur Test
Along with Liton, Mushifuqr also is doing well hitting 90 as of 70th over of the innings.
Bangladesh to play tri-nation T20 series in New Zealand before T20 WC
Jalal Yunus, chairman of the cricket operation of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), said the Bangladesh team will participate in a tri-nation T20 series in New Zealand ahead of the T20 World Cup later this year.
Along with Bangladesh and New Zealand, Pakistan may take part in this tri-nation series, Jalal added.
Also read:Mushfiqur, Liton grind Sri Lanka after Tamim’s ton
Ahead of this series, Bangladesh will have a practice camp in Adelaide, Australia where they are expected to play against a Big Bash side, though, it’s not confirmed which team Bangladesh will get as their opponent.
“We’ll play around 16 T20I matches ahead of the World Cup,” Jalal told the media. “Since we are going to play many T20Is, we don’t need to have a camp (in Dhaka) ahead of the World Cup.”
Also read:Nayeem shines with 6 wickets to deprive Mathews of double ton
Bangladesh are scheduled to play two Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is in West Indies, and in Zimbabwe, they will play three T20Is.
Currently, Bangladesh are busy playing a two-match Test at home against Sri Lanka.
New Zealand welcomes back tourists as pandemic rules eased
New Zealand welcomed tourists from the U.S., Canada, Britain, Japan and more than 50 other countries for the first time in more than two years Monday after dropping most of its remaining pandemic border restrictions.
The country has long been renowned for its breathtaking scenery and adventure tourism offerings such as bungy jumping and skiing. Before the spread of COVID-19, more than 3 million tourists visited each year, accounting for 20% of New Zealand’s foreign income and more than 5% of the overall economy.
But international tourism stopped altogether in early 2020 after New Zealand imposed some of the world’s toughest border restrictions.
Also Read: New Zealand to remove pandemic mandates as Omicron wanes
The border rules remained in place as the government at first pursued an elimination strategy and then tried to tightly control the spread of the virus. The spread of omicron and vaccinations of more than 80% of New Zealand’s 5 million population prompted the gradual easing of restrictions.
New Zealand reopened to tourists from Australia three weeks ago and on Monday to about 60 visa-waiver countries, including much of Europe. Most tourists from India, China and other non-waiver countries are still not allowed to enter.
Tourists will need to be vaccinated and to test themselves for the virus before and after arriving.
“Today is a day to celebrate, and is a big moment in our reconnection with the world,” said Tourism Minister Stuart Nash.
At Auckland Airport, flights bringing in tourists began landing from early in the morning, coming in direct from places including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore.
The border reopening will help boost tourism ahead of New Zealand’s upcoming ski season. But the real test of how much the tourism industry rebounds will come in December, when the peak summer season begins in the Southern Hemisphere nation.
Also Read: New Zealand reports the 1st Omicron XE variant
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said more than 90,000 people had booked flights to New Zealand in the seven weeks since the reopening was announced and 21 international flights were scheduled to land Monday in Auckland.
“Our tourism industry have felt the effects of the global pandemic acutely, and are working hard to prepare,” she said.
New Zealand to remove pandemic mandates as omicron wanes
New Zealand will remove many of its COVID-19 pandemic mandates over the next two weeks as an outbreak of the omicron variant begins to wane.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Wednesday that people will no longer need to be vaccinated to visit places like retail stores, restaurants and bars from April 4. Gone, too, will be a requirement to scan QR barcodes at those venues.
Read:Fishing boat sinks in New Zealand storm, 4 dead, 1 missing
A vaccine mandate will be scrapped for some workers — including teachers, police officers and waiters — though it will continue for health care and aged-care workers, border workers and corrections officers.
Also gone from Friday is a limit on outdoor crowds of 100. That will allow some concerts and big sporting events like marathons to resume. An indoor limit of 100 people will be raised to 200 people, and could later be removed altogether.
Remaining in place is a requirement that people wear masks in many enclosed spaces, including in stores, on public transport and, for children aged 8 and over, in school classrooms.
Ardern said the government's actions over the past two years to limit the spread of the coronavirus had saved thousands of lives and helped the economy.
“But while we’ve been successful, it’s also been bloody hard," Ardern said.
“Everyone has had to give up something to make this work, and some more than others,” she said.
The changes mean that many restrictions will be removed before tourists start arriving back in New Zealand.
Earlier this month, the government announced that Australian tourists would be welcomed back from April 12 and tourists from many other countries, including the U.S., Canada, and Britain, from May 1.
International tourism used to account for about 20% of New Zealand’s foreign income and more than 5% of GDP but evaporated after the South Pacific nation imposed some of the world's strictest border controls after the pandemic began.
Read: New Zealand to end quarantine stays and reopen its borders
New Zealand continues to see some of its highest rates of coronavirus infections and hospitalizations since the pandemic began, with an average 17,000 new infections being reported each day.
But Ardern said modeling shows that the biggest city of Auckland is already significantly past the peak of its omicron outbreak and the rest of the country will soon follow.
Health experts warned that some countries which had dropped restrictions as omicron faded were now experiencing another surge of cases.
Fishing boat sinks in New Zealand storm, 4 dead, 1 missing
Rescuers on Monday were continuing to search for one person still missing a day after a chartered fishing boat carrying 10 people sank in a storm off the New Zealand coast. A helicopter rescued five people from the sea, and four bodies have been recovered.
The 17-meter (56-foot) boat got into trouble and its emergency beacon was activated at 8 p.m. Sunday off North Cape on the northern coast. A helicopter became the first search and rescue vehicle to reach the remote location at 11:40 p.m., said Nick Burt, spokesman for Maritime NZ’s Rescue Coordination Center.
Read:Shot 9 times at New Zealand mosque, survivor walks for peace
“The weather really hampered the response from the aircraft. There was thunderstorms, dangerous flying conditions, so that was the earliest we could get to the scene," Burt said.
The boat was confirmed sunk at 2:30 a.m., he said. Weather conditions were more favorable for the search Monday, with a navy patrol boat coordinating, helicopters in the air and ground crews scouring the shoreline, Burt said.
Two bodies in the water were recovered by helicopter on Monday morning, and another two were recovered by search vessels, police said.
The five people rescued by helicopter were admitted to Kaitaia Hospital and later discharged.
Luis Fernandes, a meteorologist with New Zealand’s weather agency MetService, said gale-force winds had whipped up rough seas around North Cape at the time the alarm was raised.
But conditions eased in the area later in the night as the search began and the storm system moved south, he said.
The fishing boat had left the northern port of Mangonui on Thursday, the Stuff news website reported.
Read: New Zealand to end quarantine stays and reopen its borders
On board were the captain, a crew member and eight passengers from Auckland, New Zealand’s most populous city, Stuff said.
The captain was among with survivors, the website said. No one else has been identified.
New Zealand passes Russia sanctions bill
New Zealand lawmakers have unanimously passed a bill to impose economic sanctions on Russia.
Unlike many countries that had already imposed sanctions, New Zealand’s laws didn’t previously allow it to apply meaningful measures unless they were part of a broader United Nations effort. Because Russia has U.N. Security Council veto power, that had left New Zealand hamstrung.
Read:Russia-Ukraine war: Shelling and evacuation efforts ongoing
The new law, which was rushed through in a single day, targets those in Russia associated with the invasion, including oligarchs. It will allow New Zealand to freeze assets and stop superyachts or planes from arriving. Lawmakers said it would stop New Zealand becoming a safe haven for Russian oligarchs looking to avoid sanctions elsewhere.