It is important to remember the two incidents were fundamentally different, writes Michael McCarthy in The Independent.

Christchurch's people will be asked for their own ideas on what to add to the city's time capsules.

The cost of household insurance could climb out of the reach of many people.

A powerful 7.1 aftershock off Japan killed three people.

'Both AMI and South Canterbury appeared not to have planned for disaster,' writes Bernard Hickey.

The residential rebuild in Christchurch could require up to 12,500 full time workers and reveal a number of skills shortages in occupations such as concreting and carpentry, Prime Minister John Key says.

Japan started dumping water tainted with low-level radiation into the sea near the Fukushima nuclear plant.

Prime Minister John Key said the Government has more spending to come, pointing at an EQC net cost estimate of $1.5b for the latest quake.

The quake struck at 2.23pm, 10km east of Christchurch at a depth of 10km, GNS Science said.

Police have named a woman who died in Christchurch's February 22 earthquake, bringing the total of number of names released to 170.

The congregation of St Paul's Trinity Pacific Church on Cashel St have come to accept the reality - their 135-year-old church is no more.

The government's finances have taken a $331 million hit, largely due to problems recovering money from failed South Canterbury Finance's tangled set of related party loans.