Wellington - New Zealand's deepening recession was confirmed Friday when official figures were released showing the economy had contracted for the fourth consecutive quarter last year.

Gross domestic product (GDP) was down 0.9 per cent in the December quarter, Statistics New Zealand said, with a 3.8 per cent slump in manufacturing the main contributor.

The one bright feature of the report was a 4-per-cent rise in agricultural output in the last quarter, driven by increased production of dairy products, which account for about

Wellington  - Former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark, 59, the new chief of the United Nations Development Programme is a no-nonsense, political junkie with a lifelong commitment to helping the poor and underprivileged.

Once labelled a radical feminist, she overcame what she dubbed "incredibly sexist" male attitudes in the New Zealand Parliament, where she has served for more than 27 years, to win promotion by "the skills and devotion of a workaholic," as she put it.

New York  - New Zealand's former Prime Minister Helen Clark was appointed on Thursday the administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), which holds the largest purse in the UN system to assist developing countries.

Clark, who will replace Kermal Dervis of Turkey, was selected from a short list compiled by a senior appointment panel headed by Deputy Secretary General Asha Rose Migiro.

Napier (New Zealand), Mar. 26 : New Zealand''s middle order batsmen Ross Taylor and Jesse Ryder put India''s much vaunted pace and spin attack to the sword here on Thursday, the first day of the second Test between the two sides after initial hiccups.

At the draw of stumps, New Zealand were sitting pretty on 351 for four, with Ryder unbeaten on 137 with 17 boundaries and a six and James Franklin on 26 with five boundaries. Taylor had earlier scored a violent 151 with 26 boundaries and a six.

Wellington  - A 15-year-old New Zealand boy was sent to prison for a minimum of 12-and-a-half years on Thursday for beating a Scottish tourist to death with a softball bat as she walked home after a night out in the lakeside tourist town of Taupo on North Island.

Jahche Broughton earlier pleaded guilty to murdering of Karen Aim, 27, on January 27 last year, when he was 14.

Under New Zealand law, murder carries an automatic life sentence, but a judge sets a period of non-parole.

Wellington  - A 29-year-old Samoan woman who gave birth on a flight to New Zealand was charged Wednesday with abandoning her baby girl in an aircraft toilet.

The woman was remanded in custody when she appeared in the Manukau District Court. She faces a maximum seven-year prison sentence for abandoning the baby, who is now in custody of the government's child welfare department.

The woman, whose name was suppressed by the court, faced a second charge of assault on a child, Radio New Zealand reported.