Wellington  - A tourist from the Czech Republic was airlifted to hospital on Wednesday after being trapped by falling rocks during a guided tour on New Zealand's Fox Glacier, police said.

The man, in his mid-20s, was seriously injured. Three others with him on the tour organised by the Fox Glacier Guiding company escaped injury.

Hamilton (New Zealand), Mar. 18 : India was 29 without loss in their first innings in reply to New Zealand''s 279 at stumps on day one of the first cricket test at Hamilton's Seddon Park today.

Virender Sehwag (22) and Gautam Gambhir (6) safely negotiated the seven overs available before stumps, the Waikato Times reported.

Captain Daniel Vettori top scored for his side with 118 - his third test century - while Jesse Ryder brought up his maiden test ton the ball before his dismissal for 102 ended the innings.

Ishant Sharma was the leading Indian bowler with four for 73 from 19.2 overs.

Ryder had a few nervous moments on 98 as number 11 batsman Chris Martin had to bat out five balls from spinner Harbhajan Singh.

Auckland (New Zealand), Mar. 18: The Auckland home the legendary mountaineer Sir Ed Hillary has been sold at an auction for 1.9 million dollars.

Auckland property developer Graham Wall purchased the home in which Hillary lived in for over 50 years.

Wall told media he was not buying the property for himself but on behalf of a client, who he refused to identify.

He said he had "no idea" what the new owner would do with the property.

Wellington  - New Zealand Customs officers seized drugs worth millions of dollars on the illegal street market when they arrested three travellers from Hong Kong as they flew into Auckland over the weekend, a spokesman said Wednesday.

The three were carrying more than 15 kilograms of Contact NT, a pseudoephedrine-based cold remedy used to make methamphetamines, known as crystal ice or P, a spokesman said.

Wellington  - New Zealand's biggest retail variety chain, The Warehouse, will start charging 10 New Zealand cents (about 5 US cents) for plastic shopping bags next month to protect the environment, according to news reports Wednesday.

The company, which has 128 variety and discount stationery stores, says it wants to take 20 million bags out of circulation in the next year.

Wellington  - A German tourist died when he was hit by a truck in New Zealand a week before flying home after a three-year cycling trip around the world, according to news reports on Wednesday.

Police said that Stephan Stoermer, 38, had a ticket to fly back home in Frankfurt on Friday after travelling through 26 countries in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia since early 2006.

He died on the way to hospital after his bicycle was hit by a logging truck near Te Puke, in the Bay of Plenty, on March 12.

He was not wearing a cycle helmet, which is compulsory in New Zealand, at the time he was hit, the Bay of Plenty Times reported. It was hanging on his handlebars.