Wellington - New Zealand's annual inflation rate reached 4 per cent in the 12 months ending June 30, sharply up from 3.4 per cent in March, according to official figures on Tuesday.
Wellington - Indonesia has lifted a week-old ban on imported beef from New Zealand, Trade Minister Phil Goff said on Monday following talks in Wellington with visiting officials from Jakarta.
The ban, reportedly introduced because Indonesia claimed that package labelling and halal certification did not comply with its regulations, took effect on July 7.
Goff said he had expressed concern to the visiting trade officials that the ban was imposed without notice and prior dialogue.
He said he was confident that New Zealand could resolve any legitimate Indonesian concerns, adding, "Ongoing suspension of the meat trade would have been damaging both to New Zealand exporters and Indonesian consumers.
Wellington - More than 30 Indian youths have disappeared in New Zealand, where they were in transit to go to Sydney for World Youth Day, a spokeswoman for the Catholic Church said on Monday.
Lyndsay Freear told Radio New Zealand that a party of 220 Indian Catholics who arrived in Auckland a week ago were due to fly to Sydney on Tuesday, but 32 of them had disappeared.
All were billeted with church members in Auckland under a so-called Days in the Diocese programme before going to Australia, where Pope Benedict arrived on Sunday for events associated with World Youth Day.
Wellington - New Zealand will protest to Indonesia about a sudden and "completely unwarranted" ban on its beef exports, Trade Minister Phil Goff said on Friday.
