The Government has looked outside the country and named a New Zealand government official as the governor of the Central Bank.

The Government has agreed to nominate Gabriel Makhlouf as the new Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland.

The Naval Service could have a new multi-role vessel (MRV) built and operational wthin the next three years.

Ireland’s bid to host the Rugby World Cup in 2023 received a significant boost yesterday from the man who headed New Zealand’s hosting of the tournament.

Supporters of a major free trade deal aimed at boosting trade in goods and services between the US and EU find themselves on the defensive following another big leak of secret documents.

THE all-Ireland bid to stage the 2023 Rugby World Cup will be officially unveiled today in Armagh.

New Zealand rugby legend Sean Fitzpatrick believes Ireland are right to apply to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

Dairy giant Fonterra’s products at the centre of a global contamination scare this month did not contain a bacteria that could cause botulism, and posed no food safety threat, New Zealand officials said yesterday.

Tobacco companies will be forced to remove their logos from cigarette packs in New Zealand – when a challenge to a similar move in Australia is resolved.

The seven Rugby World Cup matches due to be played in earthquake-hit Christchurch will be moved to other venues in New Zealand, tournament organisers have announced.

Jonah Lomu admits a decision to move World Cup games away from earthquake-hit Christchurch “could be the worst thing they could do”.

THE Dutch Dairy Board has reported buyer resistance to fast-rising dairy product prices.

Rugby World Cup chiefs have stressed that all 48 matches of this year's tournament will take place in New Zealand.

Eyewitnesses have been telling of scenes of suffering and damage following the 6.3-level earthquake in New Zealand, which killed at least 65 people.

NEW ZEALAND will remain the home of The Hobbit after the government struck a US$25 million (€18m) deal with Warner Bros and promised labour law changes to stop the film studio from relocating the big-budget movie production.

THE New Zealand government is to clamp down on overseas investors buying large land holdings, due to public concern that foreigners are buying too much farmland.

Former New Zealand government ministers used their official credit cards to buy pornographic movies, Bollinger champagne, flowers for a romantic partner and even an airline ticket, official records showed today.

Australia is to expel an Israeli diplomat after investigators said Israel was responsible for forging four Australian passports used in the killing of a Hamas operative in Dubai, it emerged today.

International Rugby Board officials are confident that preparations for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand are on track despite the financial uncertainties arising from the current global economic crisis.

A Samoan woman who secretly gave birth on an international flight then dumped the baby in a bathroom rubbish bin was convicted today of child abandonment and ordered deported from New Zealand.

NEW initiatives by EU Farm Commissioner Marian Fischer Boel will greatly support the Irish dairy sector, according to Ireland East MEP Liam Aylward.

WITH the obesity time bomb ticking louder than ever people must take more responsibility for their health, warned junior health minister Mary Wallace yesterday.

China’s poisoned powdered milk scandal widened today after liquid milk from three of the country’s leading dairies was found to be contaminated.

China's health minister said today tainted milk formula had killed three babies and made 6,200 ill in a spreading scandal that prompted three additional companies - including the country's biggest dairy - to recall products.

The New Zealand government said it will delay for two years adding liquid fuels such as petrol for cars to a national emissions trading scheme to cut greenhouse gas output because it would add to already skyrocketing prices.

THE All Blacks are on the verge of losing star out-halves Dan Carter and Nick Evans to the northern hemisphere, with Evans in line for a move to Ulster.

A government minister said today Japan’s whaling fleet was heading towards New Zealand-controlled waters in Antarctica, in breach of an agreement to remain in Australian waters during this year’s whale hunt.

Edmund Hillary, the man who conquered Mount Everest, will be given a state funeral, the New Zealand government said today.

Kidnappers snatched a three-year-old British girl from her vehicle as it carried her to school today in Nigeria’s lawless southern oil region, officials said.

THE makers of blackcurrant drink, Ribena, were yesterday fined the equivalent of €117,330 after two schoolgirls found the product contained almost no trace of Vitamin C.

The New Zealand Rugby Union has confirmed it will lodge a bid to host the 2011 World Cup.

RESCUE teams converged on beaches and remote islands in search of the missing yesterday as authorities reported that more than 430 people, including a number of foreign tourists, were killed and 4,100 injured when earthquake-spawned tidal waves devastated idyllic resort areas of southern Thailand.

The New Zealand government pledged tax cuts for businesses to help generate economic growth while warning that the country’s strong economy was beginning to feel the effects of soaring oil prices and other external factors.

The New Zealand Rugby Union has announced the All Blacks will travel to South Africa for their final Tri-Nations match despite the threat of a possible terrorist attack.

NEW ZEALAND’S prime minister launched a blistering verbal attack and slapped diplomatic sanctions on Israel yesterday after two suspected Mossad agents were jailed for six months for illegally trying to obtain a New Zealand passport.

AFTER-TAX profits at APN, the Australian media group 40.5%-owned by Independent News & Media, are set to hit $A120 million (€73.6m) for 2004, up from $A103 in 2003.

Australian authorities have defended their decision to search the New Zealand Prime Minister for explosives at Sydney Airport last month.

Country singer Shania Twain has run into opposition from the New Zealand government over her £5m (€7.3m) bid for a sheep farm.

State-owned carrier Air New Zealand has announced a cost-cutting plan that will cost 1,500 jobs, including around 300 compulsory redundancies, and save an expected NZ$245m (€124m) annually by 2007.

Nine men from the tiny British protectorate of Pitcairn Island have been charged with more than 60 sexual offences, mostly against teenage girls.

Deaths worldwide from severe acute respiratory syndrome reached at least 100 today, as the main casualty China revealed that fatalities have been much more widespread than it had previously reported.

A tribe of indigenous Maori today announced that they have accepted a multi-million dollar settlement and a formal New Zealand government apology nearly 140 years after being stripped of its land after being falsely accused of murdering a missionary.

Lawyers for British, New Zealand, and Fijian military veterans who were exposed to British nuclear test blasts nearly 50 years ago today said they have scientific evidence that shows radiation from the explosions caused cancers among the men.