Wellington  - A narrow majority of traditional chiefs in the South Pacific Cook Islands have tried to take over the country from the elected government, Television New Zealand reported on Friday.

It said eight of the 15 High Chiefs in the House of Ariki, a purely advisory body to parliament established 42 years ago, announced they were dissolving the government elected in September 2006 and taking over leadership of the island nation of just under 20,000 people.

The breakaway group of chiefs is headed by Bruce Mita, a Maori New Zealander and former director of a funeral home in Sydney, Australia, who had held secret meetings to help them get control of the Cook Islands' natural resources, TVNZ reported.

Wellington - Scientists warned tourists against travelling to White Island, New Zealand's biggest and most active volcano, on Thursday following an earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale whi

Wellington  - An Israeli diplomat has accused New Zealand of "acceptance of anti-Semitic behaviour" following controversial billboard advertisements for a television programme, a newspaper reported

Wellington - Two men died while apparently joy-riding on the roof of a freight train in the early hours of Thursday, according to police in New Zealand.

Wellington, June 11 : Live-in relationship has become a dominant part of the cultural landscape in New Zealand and some other Western nations, according to a global study published in the United St