Wellington - New Zealand has protested to Britain about a proposed huge increase in the departure tax charged air passengers, fearing it will hurt the tourist industry, already suffering from a slump in visitor numbers because of the international financial crisis, news reports said on Wednesday.

Prime Minister John Key said he told his British counterpart Gordon Brown the increased tax on long distance passengers was a "significant concern" to New Zealand when the two men had talks in London on Tuesday.

Wellington, Nov 25 : Rihanna has revealed that her new tattoo, inspired by traditional Maori designs, ‘hurt like hell’.

The 20-year-old pop star and her 19-year-old partner Chris Brown both got the new tattoos during their recent New Zealand tour.

The couple reportedly had the tattoos done on their hands and wrists backstage during their two sold out shows at Auckland''s Vector Arena.

"It''s tribal. It represents strength and love," the NZPA quoted her, as saying.

"It''s their traditional way of tattooing. I always wanted (one) ... (But) it hurt like hell," she added.

Wellington - A babysitter who admitted torturing and murdering a 10-month-old girl was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison, news reports said.

Tiana Mary-Anne Odesa Kapea, 30, who was described as a trusted family friend, admitted in the Auckland High Court to swinging the infant by her hair, hanging her in a wardrobe and on a clothesline, and putting her into a freezer several times over a period of six weeks.

The child, named Jyniah Te Awa, died in September 2007 after being kicked, thrown against a wall, shaken and smothered.

"Our baby would be brought home with lollies and bumps and bruises, and every time we'd ask what happened, we'd be given excuses," mother Lisa Cassidy told the court.

Wellington, Nov 24: Students in New Zealand are experiencing Antarctica from the comfort of their classrooms, thanks to virtual field trips provided to them by two explorers.

According to a report in stuff. co. nz, Christchurch-based Learnz team members Darren Atkin and Charmaine Nelson are at Scott Base in Antarctica for two weeks to film and photograph the great southern continent, taking New Zealand children on a virtual field trip.

The explorers hold live audio conferences with schools twice a day and upload diaries, videos and photographs on to their website each night.

Wellington - The former head of New Zealand's immigration service, Mary Anne Thompson, 53, has been charged with fraud, Radio New Zealand reported on Monday.

Thompson appeared in the Wellington District Court on Friday facing three counts of using a document for pecuniary advantage and was remanded to appear again next month, the report said.