Wellington  - New Zealand Prime Minister John Key was attacked Thursday by two men as he arrived at a Maori meeting house for a ceremonial greeting on the eve of the country's national day celebrations.

One man grabbed the prime minister around the chest and neck and another shouted "Don't believe you are coming on here, mate," as he got out of his car at the Te Tii Marae meeting house grounds in Waitangi, the Bay of Islands, news reports said.

Wellington  - As the economy fell into recession, the number of jobless New Zealanders rose nearly 37 per cent last year, topping 100,000 for the first time since 2002, according to official figures released Thursday.

With 105,000 workers idle, the unemployment rate rose steadily throughout the year to reach 4.6 per cent, Statistics New Zealand said, reporting its quarterly household labour force survey.

Wellington  - A record 35,304 New Zealand citizens migrated to Australia as the economic recession began to bite in their homeland last year, according to official figures released on Wednesday.

This was up from 28,557 the previous year. The figures released by Statistics New Zealand showed the number leaving the country every year for a new start in neighbouring Australia has more than doubled since 2004.

Four out of every 10 migrants were aged 15 to 29, with children under 14 and the 30-44 age group each accounting for 23 per cent of the outflow.

The figures showed that 8,200 New Zealand citizens returned home from long-term stays in Australia while 4,900 Australians moved residence across the Tasman Sea to New Zealand.

Wellington - Two brothers convicted of murdering a 3-year-old girl who was kicked to death after months of abuse, including being hung and spun on a rotary clothesline and put into a tumble dryer, were sent to prison for a minimum of 17 and a half years Wednesday, news reports said.

Wiremu Curtis, 19, and Michael Curtis, 22, were found guilty late last year of the murder of Nia Glassie, who died from severe brain damage in August 2007, 12 days after being taken to hospital.

Wellington  - New Zealand's new conservative government took the axe Tuesday to the country's main environmental protection laws, saying they contained "suffocating red tape" blocking recovery from the year-long economic recession.

Prime Minister John Key, who heads a business-friendly administration elected in November after nine years of social-democrat rule, said the Resource Management Act (RMA) was a "handbrake on growth."

Wellington  - The stars shine in the crystal-clear night sky over Lake Tekapo, at the foot of New Zealand's Southern Alps, more brilliantly than just about anywhere else on earth and the area is already renowned as a stargazers' heaven for tourists.

Now, New Zealand is bidding to have the area declared a "Starlight Reserve" and a world heritage site recognised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).