New Zealand reopens its doors for tourists

New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announces that the country is heading for a three-day lockdown after identifying a single case of locally transmitted Covid-19 suspected to be the Delta variant. New Zealand had not recorded any infections in the community for six months.

An attacker inspired by the Islamic State group stabbed six people at a New Zealand supermarket on Friday before police - who had the man under surveillance - shot him dead, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says.

The tightest restrictions will remain in place in the country's largest city, Auckland, however. Meanwhile, a new Vietnamese school year has started with most students still in a virtual classroom. DW has the latest.

"We have an independent foreign policy", says New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, after confirming that New Zealand would not lift a ban on nuclear-powered vessels entering its waters in the wake of Australia's decision to develop a nuclear submarine fleet.

A retired Boeing passenger jet has been hauled to the top of a seaside cliff in Bali to lure tourists to Indonesia's popular holiday island, which has been hard hit by Covid-19. More than a dozen workers used cranes to assemble parts of a Boeing 737 on a cliff near the Nyang Nyang beach this week. Felix Demin, the plane's new owner, is planning to convert the aircraft into tourist accommodation and expects it will become a popular photography spot.

The famed Malecon seafront promenade in Havana, Cuba, reopens as well as the beaches and pools in the capital, after being shut for nine months due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Peru has the world's highest number of Covid-19 deaths compared to its population. The figures have kept the country's potential tourists at bay for months. But little by little, travellers are starting to return, attracted by iconic sites like Machu Picchu or the former Inca capital Cuzco. Our correspondent Thomas Nicolon reports on how many people working in Peru's tourism industry are finally starting to hope for better days.

The stunning azure waters of the Band-e Amir lakes are once again attracting Afghan tourists, who brave bumpy roads to experience the so-called 'Grand Canyon' of Afghanistan.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announces a comprehensive in-principle free trade agreement with the UK, arrived at after 16 months of talks. London said the deal ends tariffs on British exports such as clothing, footwear, ships and bulldozers. It estimated that trade between the two countries last year was worth £2.3 billion ($3.2 billion, 2.7 billion euros).

Australia reopened its borders Monday, permitting citizens to return and exit the country. Foreign workers in Australia remain unable to do so though.

The two countries join the ASEAN nations, China, South Korea, and Japan. The pact will cover 30% of the world's population and 53% of last year's exports.