New&nbsp;Zealand will lift COVID-19 vaccine&nbsp;mandates&nbsp;and social distancing measures&nbsp;after&nbsp;the&nbsp;Omicron&nbsp;peak has passed, Prime Minister Jacinda&nbsp;Ardern&nbsp;said on Monday, as protesters occupying the parliament grounds again clashed with police.

Inspired by truckers' demonstrations in Canada, thousands of protesters have blocked streets near the parliament in the capital Wellington for two weeks with trucks, cars and motorcycles, piling pressure on the government to scrap vaccine&nbsp;mandates.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/remote-but-connected-new-zealands-jacinda-ardern-talks-about-covid-climate-change-and-peace-at-unga-415736">'Remote, but connected': New Zealand's Jacinda Ardern talks about Covid, climate change and peace at UNGA</a>

Ardern&nbsp;refused to set a hard date, but said there would be a narrowing of vaccine requirements after Omicron reaches a peak, which is expected in mid to late March.

"We all want to go back to the way life was. And we will, I suspect sooner than you think,"&nbsp;Ardern&nbsp;said at a weekly&nbsp;news conference.

"But when that happens, it will be because easing restrictions won't compromise the lives of thousands of people – not because you demanded it," she said, addressing protestors.

The demonstrations began as a stand against the vaccine&nbsp;mandates&nbsp;but have since spread to become a wider movement against&nbsp;Ardern&nbsp;and her government.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/a-covid-pill-from-merck-showed-more-promise-in-reducing-the-risk-of-hospitalisation-454773">A Covid pill from Merck showed more promise in reducing the risk of hospitalisation</a>

On Monday, eight people were arrested for disorderly behaviour and obstruction, with human waste thrown over some police officers.

New&nbsp;Zealand has reported about 16,000 cases of COVID-19 and 53 deaths since the pandemic began, relatively low by global standards, but an&nbsp;Omicron-fuelled outbreak has pushed the current seven-day average of&nbsp;new&nbsp;infections to more than 1,600 cases daily.

About 94% of eligible people are vaccinated, with shots mandatory for some staff in front-line jobs.

The parliament stand off is testing&nbsp;Ardern, who garnered plaudits for keeping the country virtually virus-free over the last two years but is facing criticism for continuing strict restrictions and delaying order reopening plans.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/canada-justin-trudeaus-government-fires-a-woman-for-donating-100-to-protesters-454906">Canada: Justin Trudeau's government fires a woman for donating $100 to protesters</a>

"What we are seeing outside parliament, and the reaction to it, is the culmination of underlying issues that have been rumbling along in our communities for some time," main opposition National Party leader Christopher Luxon said on Monday, calling for vaccine&nbsp;mandates&nbsp;to be phased out and borders reopened.

"It's driven by Covid and vaccine&nbsp;mandates, yes, but the frustrations shared by many Kiwis are also driven by a Government that seems to be stalling," he said.

New Zealand will lift COVID-19 vaccine mandates and social distancing measures after the Omicron peak has passed, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday, as protesters occupying the parliament grounds again clashed with police.

New Zealand will lift COVID-19 vaccine mandates and social distancing measures after the Omicron peak has passed, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday, as protesters occupying the parliament grounds again clashed with police. Inspired by truckers' demonstrations in Canada, thousands of protesters have blocked streets near the parliament in the capital Wellington for two weeks with trucks, cars and motorcycles, piling pressure on the government to scrap vaccine mandates. Also read | 'Remote, but connected': New Zealand's Jacinda Ardern talks about Covid, climate change and peace at UNGA Ardern refused to set a hard date, but said there would be a narrowing of vaccine requirements after Omicron reaches a peak, which is expected in mid to late March. "We all want to go back to the way life was. And we will, I suspect sooner than you think," Ardern said at a weekly news conference. "But when that happens, it will be because easing restrictions won't compromise the lives of thousands of people – not because you demanded it," she said, addressing protestors. The demonstrations began as a stand against the vaccine mandates but have since spread to become a wider movement against Ardern and her government. Also read | A Covid pill from Merck showed more promise in reducing the risk of hospitalisation On Monday, eight people were arrested for disorderly behaviour and obstruction, with human waste thrown over some police officers. New Zealand has reported about 16,000 cases of COVID-19 and 53 deaths since the pandemic began, relatively low by global standards, but an Omicron-fuelled outbreak has pushed the current seven-day average of new infections to more than 1,600 cases daily. About 94% of eligible people are vaccinated, with shots mandatory for some staff in front-line jobs. The parliament stand off is testing Ardern, who garnered plaudits for keeping the country virtually virus-free over the last two years but is facing criticism for continuing strict restrictions and delaying order reopening plans. Also read | Canada: Justin Trudeau's government fires a woman for donating $100 to protesters "What we are seeing outside parliament, and the reaction to it, is the culmination of underlying issues that have been rumbling along in our communities for some time," main opposition National Party leader Christopher Luxon said on Monday, calling for vaccine mandates to be phased out and borders reopened. "It's driven by Covid and vaccine mandates, yes, but the frustrations shared by many Kiwis are also driven by a Government that seems to be stalling," he said.

COVID-19: New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern signals mandates will ease after Omicron peaks

Triggering a storm on Twitter, Tesla CEO Elon Musk compared Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with Adolf Hitler in a tweet that apparently expressed support for truckers protesting vaccine mandates.

The tweet was sent by Musk just before midnight on Wednesday in California and was deleted by noon on Thursday, with no explanation. Musk is yet to comment on the whole incident.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/elon-musk-donated-tesla-shares-worth-57-billion-to-charity-last-year-453478">Elon Musk donated Tesla shares worth $5.7 billion to charity last year</a>

Founder and CEO of Tesla Inc. Elon Musk tweeted support for Canadian truckers who had shut down roads and bridges in late January, drawing international attention to their opposition to Trudeau's health policies.

Musk responded to a tweet that described how Trudeau's government had ordered banks to cut funding to protesters by posting a meme of Adolf Hitler, with "Stop comparing me to Justin Trudeau" written over his head and "I had a budget" below it.

<img alt="Musk tweet" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="302af5e3-f29a-4902-9ddf-7f51070484a2" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/image-5-300x445.png" />

The tweet came as Tesla and Musk accused the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday of conducting an "endless" investigation as a punishment for Musk's criticism of the US government.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-investigates-416000-tesla-vehicles-over-unexpected-braking-reports-454070">US investigates 416,000 Tesla vehicles over unexpected braking reports</a>

74 million people follow Musk on Twitter, making him one of its most prominent users. For electric car maker Tesla, that's often seen as a marketing boon.

Many Twitter users considered Musk's comparison of Trudeau with Hitler, who led the Nazis to genocide millions of Jews and started World War Two, to be too extreme. Musk is known for his edgy humour and blunt assessment, but many users found his comparison of Trudeau with Hitler to be far-fetched.

"@elonmusk making a disgusting comparison of Trudeau to Hitler. Don’t do this kind of stuff. You just look dumb," wrote @ElliotMalin. At midday on Thursday, in place of the original tweet was the notice "This Tweet was deleted by the Tweet author."

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@elonmusk</a> making a disgusting comparison of Trudeau to Hitler. 
 
Don’t do this kind of stuff. You just look dumb. <a href="https://t.co/a3mcTai2Gw">https://t.co/a3mcTai2Gw</a>
— 𝔼𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕠𝕥 𝕄𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕟 (@ElliotMalin) <a href="https://twitter.com/ElliotMalin/status/1494319255461904385?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 17, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Francois-Philippe Champagne, Canada's Minister of Industry, responded to Musk on Twitter, saying his reported comments were "quite frankly shocking".

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
To <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@elonmusk</a>: 
 
Some of your comments &amp; comparisons reported in the media today are quite frankly shocking. 
 
Let me remind you what Canada &amp; Canadians stand for. 
 
Canadians value stability, predictability &amp; respect for the rule of law. We will always uphold these values.
— François-Philippe Champagne (FPC) 🇨🇦 (@FP_Champagne) <a href="https://twitter.com/FP_Champagne/status/1494408547928522752?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 17, 2022</a></blockquote>
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In response to Musk's tweet, the American Jewish Committee called for an immediate apology.

However, before the deletion Musk's tweet was liked by more than 35,000 people, retweeted nearly 9,000 times, and received many positive responses.

Watch |&nbsp;SpaceX's Elon Musk shares simulation video 'Starship to Mars' depicting his plans for the red planet

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/spacexs-elon-musk-shares-simulation-video-starship-to-mars-depicting-his-plans-for-the-red-planet-454103/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

(With inputs from agencies)

Triggering a storm on Twitter, Tesla CEO Elon Musk compared Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with Adolf Hitler in a tweet that apparently expressed support for truckers protesting vaccine mandates.

Triggering a storm on Twitter, Tesla CEO Elon Musk compared Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with Adolf Hitler in a tweet that apparently expressed support for truckers protesting vaccine mandates. The tweet was sent by Musk just before midnight on Wednesday in California and was deleted by noon on Thursday, with no explanation. Musk is yet to comment on the whole incident. Also read | Elon Musk donated Tesla shares worth $5.7 billion to charity last year Founder and CEO of Tesla Inc. Elon Musk tweeted support for Canadian truckers who had shut down roads and bridges in late January, drawing international attention to their opposition to Trudeau's health policies. Musk responded to a tweet that described how Trudeau's government had ordered banks to cut funding to protesters by posting a meme of Adolf Hitler, with "Stop comparing me to Justin Trudeau" written over his head and "I had a budget" below it. The tweet came as Tesla and Musk accused the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday of conducting an "endless" investigation as a punishment for Musk's criticism of the US government. Also read | US investigates 416,000 Tesla vehicles over unexpected braking reports 74 million people follow Musk on Twitter, making him one of its most prominent users. For electric car maker Tesla, that's often seen as a marketing boon. Many Twitter users considered Musk's comparison of Trudeau with Hitler, who led the Nazis to genocide millions of Jews and started World War Two, to be too extreme. Musk is known for his edgy humour and blunt assessment, but many users found his comparison of Trudeau with Hitler to be far-fetched. "@elonmusk making a disgusting comparison of Trudeau to Hitler. Don’t do this kind of stuff. You just look dumb," wrote @ElliotMalin. At midday on Thursday, in place of the original tweet was the notice "This Tweet was deleted by the Tweet author." .@elonmusk making a disgusting comparison of Trudeau to Hitler. Don’t do this kind of stuff. You just look dumb. https://t.co/a3mcTai2Gw — 𝔼𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕠𝕥 𝕄𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕟 (@ElliotMalin) February 17, 2022 × Francois-Philippe Champagne, Canada's Minister of Industry, responded to Musk on Twitter, saying his reported comments were "quite frankly shocking". To @elonmusk: Some of your comments & comparisons reported in the media today are quite frankly shocking. Let me remind you what Canada & Canadians stand for. Canadians value stability, predictability & respect for the rule of law. We will always uphold these values. — François-Philippe Champagne (FPC) 🇨🇦 (@FP_Champagne) February 17, 2022 × In response to Musk's tweet, the American Jewish Committee called for an immediate apology. However, before the deletion Musk's tweet was liked by more than 35,000 people, retweeted nearly 9,000 times, and received many positive responses. Watch | SpaceX's Elon Musk shares simulation video 'Starship to Mars' depicting his plans for the red planet (With inputs from agencies)

'You just look dumb': Elon Musk compares Trudeau to Hitler, later deletes the tweet. Here's what he said

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked emergency measure for the first time in country's history. Trudeau invoked measure to give his govt more power to respond to ongoing anti-govt trucker protests. Emergencies Act allows federal govt to take 'special temporary measures' for 30 days during national emergencies. Trudeau has invoked the Emergencies Act to quell the protests by truckers. The Canadian government is being urged to do more to disperse protests which have led to incidents of harassment and violence in Ottawa.

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau invokes emergency powers amid truckers protest. All you need to know

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COVID-19: New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern signals mandates will ease after Omicron peaks

'You just look dumb': Elon Musk compares Trudeau to Hitler, later deletes the tweet. Here's what he said

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau invokes emergency powers amid truckers protest. All you need to know