Gun laws to change in wake of attacks: New Zealand PM

New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that she will discuss with the cabinet about the changes to the country's gun laws. She reiterated that the laws need to change after there was an attack on two New Zealand mosques in which 50 people were killed.

Wellington: New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Sunday reiterated her promise that there will be changes to the country's gun laws in the wake of the Christchurch mosque attacks.

Ardern said that laws need to change and "they will change" as she used some of her strongest language yet about gun control.

New Zealand has fewer restrictions on rifles or shotguns than many countries, while handguns are more tightly controlled.

Ardern declined to confirm more details until she had discussed the issue with her cabinet, the group of top lawmakers that sets the government's agenda.

The New Zealand leader said she was one of 30 recipients of an email which contained the attacker's perceived manifesto nine minutes before the shooting started, but explained it did not contain any details that could have been acted on, such as a location.

Ardern also confirmed that a senior Turkish government delegation will visit Christchurch to meet with the Muslim community and lay flowers and wreathes at makeshift memorials across the city.