Wellington - A British nurse weighing 134 kilograms has been refused permission to live in New Zealand because she is too fat, according to news reports on Thursday.

The 51-year-old nurse, who had been offered a job in a hospital for the elderly, was turned down by immigration officials because her body mass index of 55.2 made her morbidly obese.

Medical assessors said the woman would probably cost the country 25,000 New Zealand dollars (11,200 US dollars) over four years in health treatment.

The woman, who has a 131-centimetre waist, said she was physically fit, had no history of cancer or chronic disease in her family, and her weight did not stop her working more than 60 hours a week.

Wellington - Ten swine flu cases were confirmed Tuesday in New Zealand as public health authorities throughout the Asia-Pacific region went on high alert to contain the outbreak. New Zealand was the sixth country to report confirmed cases of the swine flu H1N1 virus, which broke out in Mexico and has now spread to the United States, Spain, Canada, Britain and Israel.

Thailand and South Korea reported suspected cases of the mutated virus.

Wellington, Apr 28 : A new study has revealed that young business owners and managers are more likely to suffer from work-related stress than their older colleagues.

The survey carried out by community well being company WellbeingWorks on 58 Marlborough business owners, managers and self-employed people, showed those aged between 26 and 45 identified four times the amount of stress their older counterparts, aged between 46 and 65, did.

Wellington  - Nearly 70 New Zealanders may have contracted swine flu following recent visits to Mexico or the United States, health officials announced Tuesday.

Another 56 people who had developed flu-like symptoms were being tested to see if they had the influenza A strain, which has been linked with the outbreak of swine flu, H1N1, that the World Health Organization said was evolving rapidly.

Wellington - New Zealand Prime Minister John Key rejected Monday a call by one of his government ministers for a referendum on ditching Queen Elizabeth as head of state and turning the country into a republic.

"My view is that New Zealand is likely one day to become a republic, but it's unlikely to occur under my watch," Key, whose conservative National Party was elected in November for a three-year term, told a news conference.

He said the country faced a number of challenges ahead "and becoming a republic is just not a high priority for me."