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New Zealand

The latest news, analysis and opinion on New Zealand. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.

Capital

Wellington

Head of State

King Charles III

Head of Government

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon

Representatives of the “Pax Silica” signatories hold signed documents at a summit held in Washington on December 12. The initiative is America’s new vision for the international AI supply chain. Photo: Getty Images/AFP

US-China trade war

Explainer | Will US-led ‘Pax Silica’ be a new dawn for the international AI supply chain?

Trump administration aims for deeper technology cooperation on new AI infrastructure with allies.

25 Dec 2025 - 1:05AMvideocam

Indonesia

Rafflesia flower rediscovery in Indonesia revives push to drop colonial name

23 Dec 2025 - 7:04PM

China-EU relations

China slaps tariffs on EU cheese and cream amid trade row

22 Dec 2025 - 11:26PMvideocam

India

‘Pax Silica’: America’s new AI inner circle and Asia’s chosen few

Japan, South Korea and Singapore made the cut, leaving key partners like India and Vietnam – and even New Zealand – on the sidelines.

22 Dec 2025 - 8:00AM

Representatives of the “Pax Silica” signatories hold signed documents at a summit held in Washington on December 12. Photo: Getty Images/AFP

Social media

Editorial | Curbs on children’s social media use and screen time must strike a balance

The digital world is part of young people’s lives; there is a need to limit risks without depriving children of the benefits of being online.

10 Dec 2025 - 7:15AM

China-New Zealand relations

7 Chinese warships followed our navy vessel in East Asia, New Zealand says

Wellington says ship was to carry out surveillance and deterrence activities to bolster UN Security Council sanctions against North Korea.

9 Dec 2025 - 10:18PMvideocam

Australia

Australian bushfires destroy homes in 2 states as firefighter killed

More than 50 bushfires are burning across New South Wales as a massive blaze is contained in Tasmania.

8 Dec 2025 - 12:18PM

Firefighters work to put out a bushfire spreading through the Koolewong area on the Central Coast, New South Wales, on Saturday. Photo: EPA

Australia

TikTok will block under-16s in Australia to comply with ‘upsetting’ new law

Australia’s world-first legislation banning under-16s from social media platforms and websites comes into effect on December 10.

9 Dec 2025 - 4:22PMvideocam

Crime

Swallowed Faberge pendant exits suspect after 6-day wait

The US$19,000 diamond pendant inspired by the film James Bond film Octopussy was recovered naturally by New Zealand police.

5 Dec 2025 - 5:24PM

Crime

Call of duty: New Zealand police wait for evidence after Faberge pendant theft

The 32-year-old man is accused of eating an ornate Faberge octopus pendant inspired by the James Bond film ‘Octopussy’.

3 Dec 2025 - 3:46PM

A Faberge x 007 Special Edition Octopussy egg surprise locket. Photo: Faberge

Pacific nations

How sanctioned Russian oil flows freely via a tiny Pacific island nation

Some 20 tankers registered in the microstate allegedly smuggled Russian and Iranian fuel between 2024 and 2025 amid lax oversight.

2 Dec 2025 - 12:50PMvideocam

An oil tanker called the Eagle S (left), which flies under the flag of the Cook Islands, sails in the Gulf of Finland last year. Photo: AFP

Law

Legal Tales | A new test for consent: reforming Hong Kong’s approach to sexual crimes

Efforts to update the city’s sexual offence laws aim to reflect evolving views on consent and improve prosecution outcomes.

28 Nov 2025 - 12:49PM

Electric & new energy vehicles

Chinese EV makers step on gas abroad amid weakening mainland sales

A growing export drive by Chinese EV makers aims to soak up overcapacity and secure better profits as incentives fade.

28 Nov 2025 - 7:30AM

South Korea

Korean mother sentenced to life in prison for New Zealand’s ‘suitcase murders’

Lee Hak-yung killed her son Minu Jo and daughter Yuna Jo, aged six and eight, with an overdose of prescription medication.

26 Nov 2025 - 7:32AMvideocam

Lee Hak-yung looks down during her sentencing to life imprisonment for the murder of her two children at Auckland High Court in New Zealand on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

Australia

Snapchat makes Australian teens verify age as social media ban looms

From December 10, social media platforms in Australia must remove users aged below 16 or face fines, in one of the strictest bans globally.

24 Nov 2025 - 5:27PM

Bianca Navarro, 10, looks at a screenshot of herself using a Snapchat filter at her home in Sydney on October 30. Photo: AFP

Mainland China

China’s No 3 official Zhao Leji calls for closer New Zealand trade ties

Zhao is in Australia after four-day trip to New Zealand, the first such visits by China’s top lawmaker since 2005.

23 Nov 2025 - 5:02PM

China-New Zealand relations

Top NZ diplomat visiting China for US$337 million ferries contract

Winston Peters says deal with state-owned Guangzhou Shipyard International is ‘significant’ and a boost to economic ties.

19 Nov 2025 - 6:16PM

Australia

Asbestos in play sand forces over 70 school closures in Australia, New Zealand

While respiratory asbestos fibres are unlikely to be released unless the sand is crushed, the risk is still there, Australian watchdog says.

17 Nov 2025 - 11:45AM

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has published a recall notice over children’s play sand that may contain asbestos. Photo: ACCC

Women and gender

China’s LGBTQ community loses key lifeline as Blued, Finka apps vanish

Purge of popular same-sex dating sites from app stores fuels fears about shrinking digital spaces for the country’s LGBTQ community.

16 Nov 2025 - 7:15PMvideocam

Crime

New Zealand woman jailed for 2 years over in-flight indecency, burglary

The court said the in-flight indecency was part of a broader pattern of drug-fuelled offending by Bronte LeLievre over the past year.

14 Nov 2025 - 6:28PMvideocam

SCMP Highlights

How Mongol rule changed China; a clumsy K-drama: 7 Lifestyle highlights

From a Chinese-New Zealander artist’s heritage to a thrilling new Samurai Netflix drama, here are seven stories from SCMP’s recent reporting.

13 Nov 2025 - 3:15PM

A statue of Kublai Khan, China’s first Mongol emperor, in the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar. The Yuan dynasty brought about big changes in China, but also a big increase in the country’s influence across Eurasia. Photo: AFP

Asean

Opinion | Manila’s biggest challenge as next Asean chair? Staying neutral

The Philippines’ challenge, given its assertive South China Sea policy, is to keep the bloc out of great power politics.

9 Nov 2025 - 9:37PMvideocam

Extreme weather

40 hikers rescued in New Zealand amid out-of-control wildfire

The blaze has already burned through around 4.2 square miles of national park in the country’s central North Island.

9 Nov 2025 - 8:00PM

Chinese culture

New Zealand artist Ant Sang on his Chinese heritage, ‘loyalty’ to Cantonese

New Zealand artist and illustrator Ant Sang is connecting with his Chinese heritage with a Cantonese-phrased Cantotees T-shirt collection.

8 Nov 2025 - 7:31AM

Taiwan

Beijing hits out at New Zealand MPs for attending ‘unacceptable’ Taiwan reception

Embassy complains the event breached the one-China policy, but Foreign Minister Winston Peters describes the criticism as a ‘mistake’.

6 Nov 2025 - 4:00PMvideocam

Beijing said the event had breached the one-China principle. Photo: Handout

Asean

Asean summit: world’s No 1 trade bloc holds ‘pivotal’ meeting in face of tariffs

The ‘strategic importance’ of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership is ‘clearer than ever’, Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim says.

28 Oct 2025 - 1:27PMvideocam

Participants attend the 20th East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur on Monday. Photo: AP

China-Australia relations

Call for ‘Pacific Eyes’ intelligence body to offset China’s growing presence

Think tank proposes dedicated alliance – initially with Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Fiji – to avoid being ‘blindsided’.

21 Oct 2025 - 10:08PMvideocam

Art

They filmed their own sex tape, then turned it into an art exhibit

Kiwi artists Alexandra Batten and Daniel Kamp, recently returned to Hong Kong, explain why the city ‘is like crack’ to them.

21 Oct 2025 - 5:30PM

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New Zealand

.css-sioo19{color:#c79a00;}Explainer | Will US-led ‘Pax Silica’ be a new dawn for the international AI supply chain?

Trump administration aims for deeper technology cooperation on new AI infrastructure with allies.

Rafflesia flower rediscovery in Indonesia revives push to drop colonial name

China slaps tariffs on EU cheese and cream amid trade row

‘Pax Silica’: America’s new AI inner circle and Asia’s chosen few

Japan, South Korea and Singapore made the cut, leaving key partners like India and Vietnam – and even New Zealand – on the sidelines.

.css-1m2rp1p{color:#34b8b5;}Editorial | Curbs on children’s social media use and screen time must strike a balance

The digital world is part of young people’s lives; there is a need to limit risks without depriving children of the benefits of being online.

7 Chinese warships followed our navy vessel in East Asia, New Zealand says

Wellington says ship was to carry out surveillance and deterrence activities to bolster UN Security Council sanctions against North Korea.

Australian bushfires destroy homes in 2 states as firefighter killed

More than 50 bushfires are burning across New South Wales as a massive blaze is contained in Tasmania.

TikTok will block under-16s in Australia to comply with ‘upsetting’ new law

Australia’s world-first legislation banning under-16s from social media platforms and websites comes into effect on December 10.

Swallowed Faberge pendant exits suspect after 6-day wait

The US$19,000 diamond pendant inspired by the film James Bond film Octopussy was recovered naturally by New Zealand police.

Call of duty: New Zealand police wait for evidence after Faberge pendant theft

The 32-year-old man is accused of eating an ornate Faberge octopus pendant inspired by the James Bond film ‘Octopussy’.

How sanctioned Russian oil flows freely via a tiny Pacific island nation

Some 20 tankers registered in the microstate allegedly smuggled Russian and Iranian fuel between 2024 and 2025 amid lax oversight.

Legal Tales | A new test for consent: reforming Hong Kong’s approach to sexual crimes

Efforts to update the city’s sexual offence laws aim to reflect evolving views on consent and improve prosecution outcomes.

Chinese EV makers step on gas abroad amid weakening mainland sales

A growing export drive by Chinese EV makers aims to soak up overcapacity and secure better profits as incentives fade.

Korean mother sentenced to life in prison for New Zealand’s ‘suitcase murders’

Lee Hak-yung killed her son Minu Jo and daughter Yuna Jo, aged six and eight, with an overdose of prescription medication.

Snapchat makes Australian teens verify age as social media ban looms

From December 10, social media platforms in Australia must remove users aged below 16 or face fines, in one of the strictest bans globally.

China’s No 3 official Zhao Leji calls for closer New Zealand trade ties

Zhao is in Australia after four-day trip to New Zealand, the first such visits by China’s top lawmaker since 2005.

Top NZ diplomat visiting China for US$337 million ferries contract

Winston Peters says deal with state-owned Guangzhou Shipyard International is ‘significant’ and a boost to economic ties.

Asbestos in play sand forces over 70 school closures in Australia, New Zealand

While respiratory asbestos fibres are unlikely to be released unless the sand is crushed, the risk is still there, Australian watchdog says.

China’s LGBTQ community loses key lifeline as Blued, Finka apps vanish

Purge of popular same-sex dating sites from app stores fuels fears about shrinking digital spaces for the country’s LGBTQ community.

New Zealand woman jailed for 2 years over in-flight indecency, burglary

The court said the in-flight indecency was part of a broader pattern of drug-fuelled offending by Bronte LeLievre over the past year.

How Mongol rule changed China; a clumsy K-drama: 7 Lifestyle highlights

From a Chinese-New Zealander artist’s heritage to a thrilling new Samurai Netflix drama, here are seven stories from SCMP’s recent reporting.

Opinion | Manila’s biggest challenge as next Asean chair? Staying neutral

The Philippines’ challenge, given its assertive South China Sea policy, is to keep the bloc out of great power politics.

40 hikers rescued in New Zealand amid out-of-control wildfire

The blaze has already burned through around 4.2 square miles of national park in the country’s central North Island.

New Zealand artist Ant Sang on his Chinese heritage, ‘loyalty’ to Cantonese

New Zealand artist and illustrator Ant Sang is connecting with his Chinese heritage with a Cantonese-phrased Cantotees T-shirt collection.

Beijing hits out at New Zealand MPs for attending ‘unacceptable’ Taiwan reception

Embassy complains the event breached the one-China policy, but Foreign Minister Winston Peters describes the criticism as a ‘mistake’.

Asean summit: world’s No 1 trade bloc holds ‘pivotal’ meeting in face of tariffs

The ‘strategic importance’ of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership is ‘clearer than ever’, Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim says.

Call for ‘Pacific Eyes’ intelligence body to offset China’s growing presence

Think tank proposes dedicated alliance – initially with Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Fiji – to avoid being ‘blindsided’.

They filmed their own sex tape, then turned it into an art exhibit

Kiwi artists Alexandra Batten and Daniel Kamp, recently returned to Hong Kong, explain why the city ‘is like crack’ to them.

Explainer | Will US-led ‘Pax Silica’ be a new dawn for the international AI supply chain?

Editorial | Curbs on children’s social media use and screen time must strike a balance