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  - 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).

Wellington, Feb 2: Archaeologists have found over 50 ancient rock engravings in Tonga, which may shed some light on the pre-Polynesian Lapita peoples who voyaged across the Pacific.

The petroglyphs, including stylised images of people and animals, were found emerging from beach sand at the northern end of Foa Island, late last year, the Matangi Tonga newspaper reported.

Artist Shane Egan called in archaeologist Professor David Burley, from the Simon Fraser University in Canada, to investigate and document the site.

Wellington, Jan 31: Love can last forever, claims an Otago University professor, who found that adoration consistently improves with age.

According to Amanda Barusch, who teaches social work and community development, twilight love brings lifestyle changes.

To reach the `eternal' conclusion, the professor investigated love and romance among baby boomers aged over 50.

Professor Barusch found that the people she surveyed "consistently reported that love improved with age," the Salt Lake City Tribune reported.

She found a wide range of romantic experience when she interviewed 91 people aged 51 to 97 - most of them widowed, but also including married couples and divorcees, reports the NZPA.