Witnesses Farid Ahmed and Ramzan speak about their ordeal inside the Masjid Al Noor mosque near Hagley Park in Christchurch, New Zealand, after a gunman opened fire upon the hundreds of people gathered there.
• Christchurch shooting: multiple fatalities after mass shooting at two mosques
• New Zealand shooting: what we know so far
• 'Multiple fatalities' after gunman opens fire in Christchurch mosque shooting
Forty-nine people have been shot dead and 48 injured in attacks targeting Muslims at two mosques during Friday prayers, in the worst mass shooting in New Zealand’s history. A man in his late 20s has been arrested and charged with murder. He will appear in court on Saturday morning. Two other armed suspects are being held in custody. Police said they were trying to determine how they might be involved
PM Jacinda Ardern says access to politicians could be in doubt after James Shaw was assaulted on his way to Parliament House
The New Zealand climate change minister has been attacked while walking to Parliament House, the first physical assault on a politician in the country in more than 10 years.
James Shaw, who is also the joint leader of the Greens party, was outside the Botanic Gardens in the capital Wellington at 7.30am on Thursday when he was assaulted by an unknown man.
Continue reading...Environmentalists ‘stoked’ by expansion they say will protect blue duck, native kaka bird, bats and giant land snails
A national park in New Zealand has been expanded by 64,000 hectares – the largest gain for a national park in the country’s history.
Kahurangi national park is situated in the north-west corner of New Zealand’s South Island, and is already the second-largest national park in the country.
Continue reading...Fifty-four years after independence, the Cook Islands, is considering a name change. Named after Captain Cook, the Pacific islands, located between New Zealand and Hawaii, comprise 15 Polynesian islands, each with their own pre-colonial names and histories and complicated dynamics in the present. They are not the colonial fantasies of remote island adventures or tropical sexualities, and more than tourist destinations.
If you thought decolonisation in the Pacific was a mid-20th-century moment that ended with political independence, you would be wrong. Decolonisation is a continuing undoing of the legacies of colonialism. It involves re-examining names and categories, but it is not always about going back to the past to claim some authentic identity. Hence, Danny Mataroa, chair of the Cook Islands name change committee, has suggested a name that encompasses Christian faith (which arrived after colonialism) and Māori heritage (which predates colonialism).
Continue reading...Beached hoodwinker sunfish, which is two metres long, baffles locals on California beach
A giant sunfish has washed up on a beach in California, the first time this particular species of the animal has been sighted in the northern hemisphere in 130 years.
The sunfish measuring 2.05 metres (6ft 8 in) and weighing several hundred kilograms, or more than 600lb, was found on the beach of the Coal Oil Point Reserve in California.
Continue reading...People turn to tiny structures that can be placed in the gardens of family or friends’ properties
The sale of portable cabins is booming in New Zealand, where a housing crisis means hundreds of thousands of Kiwis can no longer afford a home, or even a rental.
Soaring property prices in New Zealand’s largest cities and a slow pace of new builds has seen many low and middle income New Zealanders struggling to afford basic housing, with some forced to sleep in shipping containers, tents and cars.
Continue reading...Auckland and Dunedin suspend the two-wheelers after a series of accidents resulting from technical glitch
Lime e-scooters have been temporarily suspended from two New Zealand cities after a technical glitch caused the front wheel of some scooters to lock, throwing riders onto the pavement.
Last week Auckland council gave the company until noon on Friday to present evidence that the scooters were safe, after some riders suffered serious injuries such as broken jaws and collarbones when the scooters malfunctioned.
Continue reading...Transport chief in New Zealand’s biggest city delivers safety ultimatum: ‘We cannot let cool trump safety’
The head of transport in New Zealand’s largest city is threatening to pull every Lime scooter off the footpaths if the company does not address a technical glitch causing scooters to brake suddenly at high speed.
Lime e-scooters hit the streets of Auckland in October last year, followed by mass roll-outs in Christchurch, Dunedin and the Hutt Valley.
Continue reading...A year after it was announced – and more than a month after it was scheduled to begin – there has been little action
Abuse survivors are beginning to lose faith in New Zealand’s nascent royal commission after months of poor communication, delay, at least one privacy breach and one survivor’s details being lost twice.
In February 2018 the New Zealand government announced it would hold a royal commission or judicial inquiry into abuse in state care, which it said would begin in January 2019.
Continue reading...Cyclone delays cleanup after ship runs aground in rough seas near Rennell Island
Solomon Islands authorities are scrambling to clean up an oil spill caused after a bulk carrier came aground about a fortnight ago on a coral reef on the southern coast.
Category 2 cyclone Oma and rough weather had delayed efforts to salvage the ship, MV Solomon Trader.
Continue reading...Collection of writings just released includes references to rape of then-wife Jackie Sturm, herself an acclaimed poet and author
A new collection of letters from one of New Zealand’s most significant poets, James K Baxter, that includes a blunt admission of marital rape is causing shockwaves through the literary community.
Baxter died in Auckland in 1972 but remains one of New Zealand’s literary giants. He achieved international attention in the late 1950s after Oxford University Press published his poetry collection, In Fires Of No Return.
Continue reading...Chinese tech company uses full-page ads to push for inclusion in 5G rollout despite concerns it is a security risk
China’s Huawei has taken out full-page ads in major New Zealand newspapers in which they equate the idea of ban on the company to a rugby tournament without the All Blacks.
The advertisement reads: “5G without Huawei is like rugby without New Zealand”, referring to the upcoming nationwide rollout of the mobile technology.
Continue reading...Week-long blaze engulfs 2,300ha on South Island, leading to largest aerial firefight in country’s history
Strong winds are expected to fan forest fires that have been burning for a week through New Zealand’s South Island, forcing thousands of people from their homes.
Early on Sunday, 155 firefighters were battling the blaze on the ground with air support from 23 helicopters and three fixed wing planes, making it the largest aerial firefight on record in New Zealand.
Continue reading...Goods dispatched in coming days may not arrive until after 29 March deadline
British exporters sending goods to far-flung destinations in the coming days risk being locked out of harbours around the world as a no-deal Brexit looms, business leaders have warned.
Independent trade experts and the UK’s biggest business groups said exporters could be dispatching goods from UK ports imminently that would not arrive until after the 29 March deadline. This raised the prospect of goods being stuck in ports or facing hefty additional costs in the event of a disorderly Brexit.
Continue reading...The national holiday celebrates the signing of the treaty of Waitangi on 6 February 1840 by Māori chiefs and the British Crown that granted the Māori people the rights of British citizens and ownership of their lands and other properties
Continue reading...R&B singer announces tour of Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka after explosive documentary detailing accusations
The R&B singer R Kelly, who is facing multiple accusations of sexual abuse, has announced a tour to Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka, prompting concern from members of the public and some MPs.
The tour, which was announced in social media posts from the singer – but was accompanied by no dates or venues – comes in the wake of an explosive documentary detailing allegations that the artist has been sexually and physically abusing women for decades. R Kelly has denied the allegations, and has faced no criminal convictions.
Continue reading...New Zealand puts out call to find owner of memory stick spotted in frozen poo sample
A functioning USB stick has been found in the scat of a rare Antarctic leopard seal, prompting New Zealand’s national science body to launch a hunt for the owner.
Volunteers at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa) recovered the device while examining the animal’s frozen faeces – which had been sitting in a freezer for over a year.
Continue reading...Two men wielding a crowbar raid wild nests in Napier, possibly to sell the animals into the illegal wildlife trade
Two of the world’s smallest and most vulnerable penguins have been stolen in a brazen overnight raid on their nests in New Zealand.
Little blue penguins – or kororā – are native to New Zealand and are listed by the Department of Conservation (DoC) as an at-risk, declining population. Little blues are the world’s smallest penguin, and are threatened by common predators such as dogs and cats, urban development on their coastal environment and being hit by cars, boats or caught in nets.
Continue reading...Company is accused of adding synthetic chemicals, including one used in tanning lotion, to honey
A mānuka honey company is being prosecuted by New Zealand’s food safety agency over claims it added artificial chemicals to its product.
In the first case of its kind, the company is accused of adding synthetic chemicals – including one commonly used in tanning lotion – to honey it sold as “mānuka”.
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