Wellington - Social media giants must crack down on anti-vaccination posts that are fuelling Samoa's deadly measles epidemic from afar, UNICEF's Pacific islands chief said Thursday.

Wellington - Samoa entered a two-day lockdown Thursday to carry out an unprecedented mass vaccination drive aimed at containing a devastating measles epidemic that has killed dozens of children in the Pacific island nation.

Wellington - The World Health Organisation warned of a "slide back" in global efforts to eliminate measles Tuesday, as the death toll from an outbreak that has killed dozens of children in Samoa continued to climb.

Wellington - New Zealand moved to ban large foreign political donations and misleading social media advertisements Tuesday amid concerns about offshore interference in next year's general election.

Wellington - Samoa ordered a government shutdown to help combat a devastating measles outbreak Monday, as five more children succumbed to the virus, lifting the death toll in the tiny Pacific nation to 53.

Wellington - Measles infections continued to climb steeply in Samoa Thursday as a mass vaccination programme fails to reach the infants most vulnerable to the deadly epidemic.

Wellington - A measles epidemic in Samoa has now claimed 25 lives, with children bearing the brunt of the deadly outbreak, official data in the Pacific island nation showed Monday.

Wellington - A New Zealand man was found guilty Friday of murdering British backpacker Grace Millane in Auckland last year after a jury rejected his defence that she was accidentally choked in a sex game gone wrong.

Wellington - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has turned tour guide for US talk show host Stephen Colbert, driving him from Auckland airport to a barbeque at her home in a stunt hailed as a coup for the Kiwi travel industry.

Wellington - A leading Pacific journalist who has been barred from returning home to Vanuatu from Australia on Monday blamed his treatment on government unease at his coverage of China's growing influence in the Pacific nation.

Wellington - Samoa finalised plans for a compulsory measles vaccination programme Monday, after declaring a state of emergency as a deadly epidemic sweeps the Pacific nation.

Wellington - An Iranian asylum seeker and award-winning author held in an offshore Australian detention camp for more than six years said Thursday he had arrived in New Zealand, and was celebrating "freedom".

Wellington - New Zealand lawmakers voted Wednesday in favour of making euthanasia legal, paving the way for the issue to be put to voters in a referendum next year.

Wellington - New Zealand's plan to reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2050 became law on Thursday, when it cleared its final hurdle in parliament.

Wellington - With the quickfire putdown "OK, boomer", a 25-year-old New Zealand politician dismissed a heckler during a speech about climate change -- highlighting the generation gap between herself and other MPs in a clip that has gone viral.

Wellington - New Zealand lawmakers narrowly backed a plan Wednesday to hold a referendum on legalising euthanasia alongside next year's general election.The proposal to put the issue to a public vote passed 63-57 during a heated late-night debate in parliament.

Wellington - A massive fire at the Auckland venue being built to host the 2021 APEC forum raged for a second day on Wednesday, as New Zealand officials insisted the event would go ahead.

Wellington - A huge fire at a construction site sent clouds of acrid black smoke billowing over Auckland on Tuesday, forcing large parts of the downtown area to be cordoned off as firefighters battled the blaze.

Wellington - Air New Zealand has offered Irish rugby fans some tongue-in-cheek "safety tips" before the countries face off in the quarterfinal of the Rugby World Cup in Japan on Saturday.

Wellington - New Zealand will establish a team of investigators dedicated solely to tackling online extremism, as it moves to address failures exposed by the Christchurch mosques massacre, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Monday.