New ghost shark species with unusually long nose discovered in deep seas off New Zealand

The narrow-nosed spookfish is also found in Australian waters and is distinctive for its elongated snout and whip-like tail

A new species of ghost shark, with an unusually long nose and a whip-like tail, has been discovered in the inky depths of New Zealand waters.

Scientists at New Zealand’s National Institute for Water and Atmospherics (Niwa) initially believed the creature was part of an existing species found around the world, but further investigation revealed it was new, genetically distinct, species.

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Māori language ‘at risk’ as a result of government policies, commissioner says

Prof Rawinia Higgins tells the Guardian that te reo Māori is under threat from the rightwing coalition despite long-running efforts to revive it

New Zealand’s Māori language commissioner has described government policies to limit the use of the Indigenous language in the public service as “a risk” to the half-century effort to revive it.

“Any affront to the efforts that we have been making has to be taken seriously,” the commissioner, Prof Rawinia Higgins, told the Guardian. “We’re seeing a reaction – only from a small corner of people, but enough that we don’t want that to snowball.”

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West Papua rebels propose terms for release of New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens

Announcement comes hours after rebels said the Indonesian army had bombed its headquarters where Mehrtens is being kept

Rebels in Indonesia’s West Papua region have proposed terms for the release of the New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens a year and seven months after he was detained.

It comes hours after the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) released a statement saying the Indonesian army bombed its headquarters in Alguru, which is where Mehrtens is being kept. The statement also said Mehrtens “survived the attack”.

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Rare smelly penguin wins New Zealand bird of the year contest

The hoiho, which means ‘noise shouter’, triumphed in a year free from the usual scandals surrounding the competition

One of the world’s rarest penguins has been crowned New Zealand’s bird of the year, in an unusually sedate year for the competition, free from the foreign interference and voting scandals of previous events.

The endangered yellow-eyed penguin, or hoiho, is the largest of New Zealand’s mainland penguin species and is distinctive for the pale yellow band of feathers linking the eyes.

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Cleared man’s claim to wife’s fortune blocked as judge rules he did kill her

Family of Paula Leeson sued Donald McPherson after criminal prosecution over fatal drowning collapsed

A man who stood to claim a £4.4m estate from his wealthy wife has had his inheritance blocked by a judge who ruled he killed her.

The family of Paula Leeson, 47, who was found dead in a swimming pool in a Denmark holiday home in 2017, sued her husband, Donald McPherson, 51, for unlawful killing after a criminal prosecution collapsed when there was not enough evidence.

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Noel Edmonds to present TV series from his New Zealand country estate

Former gameshow host reportedly signs £1m deal with ITV for show in same vein as global hit Clarkson’s Farm

It seems to be turning into a rite of passage for former Top Gear hosts who have been the subject of public opprobrium.

Noel Edmonds is set to follow in the footsteps of Jeremy Clarkson by presenting a new TV series from his country retreat. The presenter, 75, who began working as a DJ in the late 1960s, has reportedly signed a £1m deal to return to television after a six-year gap by presenting a series from his park and vineyard in New Zealand.

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Māori queen Nga Wai Hono i te po Paki crowned in ‘new dawn’ for New Zealand

Only daughter and youngest child of the former Māori king Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII ascends to the throne in emotional ceremony

The second ever Māori queen in the eight-dynasty reign of the Kiingitanga movement in New Zealand has ascended to the throne in an emotional ceremony attended by thousands at Turangawaewae marae.

On Thursday morning Māori leaders hailed her as the “new dawn”.

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New Zealand to nearly triple tourist tax for international visitors

Australian tourists will be exempt from the NZ$100 levy which critics say will deter travellers

New Zealand will nearly triple entry fees for tourists, the government has said, spurring criticism from the key tourism sector that the higher levy will deter visitors.

The government said in a statement on Tuesday it would increase the international visitor and conservation and tourism fees starting on 1 October to NZ$100 ($61.85) from NZ$35 to “ensure visitors contribute to public services and high-quality experiences while visiting New Zealand.”

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UN chief to push for more climate change action at Pacific leaders’ summit

António Guterres to attend Pacific Islands Forum (Pif) in Tonga with climate crisis and unrest in New Caledonia among issues to watch

The UN secretary general, António Guterres, will attend a Pacific leaders’ summit this week in Tonga with a focus on climate change in the region, one of the world’s most vulnerable to rising sea levels and temperature changes.

The annual meeting of leaders is the top political decision-making body of the region. The week-long summit culminates in the leaders’ retreat, where key decisions are made, which may include an endorsement of a regional policing initiative promoted by Australia. The future for New Caledonia is among other big issues to be addressed at the Pacific Islands Forum (Pif) which began in Tonga on Monday.

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Nearly half of New Zealanders say government policies increasing racial tensions, poll finds

1News Verian poll comes amid growing concern the coalition’s policy direction will wind back Māori rights

Nearly half of New Zealanders believe the government’s policies have increased racial tensions, new polling shows, as pressure mounts on the government over policy changes that many fear will undermine Māori rights.

The 1News Verian poll released on Monday found 46% of voters believed racial tensions have worsened as a result of the coalition’s policies, while 37% said there had been no difference and 10% thought tensions had reduced. Another 7% of respondents said they didn’t know or preferred not to comment.

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Australia news live: Palaszczuk appointed to Australia Post board; Shorten says Dutton ‘implying all Gazans are terrorists’

Palaszczuk, who retired from politics in December after almost nine years as QLD premier, will serve a three-year term as a non-executive director. Follow today’s news headlines live

‘We have to have a constant reminder’

The committee also called for a culturally appropriate and nationally significant recognition and remembrance of murdered and disappeared First Nations women and children. Dorinda Cox said this would be “significant” if the government accepted the recommendation:

It would … have some permanent features to remind us the role that history has played for missing and murdered or disappeared women and children and First Nations women and children in this country, because there’s a story there that needs to be told, and we have to have a constant reminder.

Like we do … with the Australian war memorial of the safety that we have as a country, but also that this part of our history – this is now ingrained in and sketched into. And if we want to continue to work on this and continue to maintain safety for women and children and the most vulnerable, which is First Nations – as we know, we’re in an emergency for all women, but First Nations women and children are at the front of that – we have to have some permanent features, otherwise we become invisible.

What we hear too often is that this is a state and territory problem. States are responsible for their police forces, in particular … We have to centre our approaches and our outcomes in [addressing these issues] and we have to look at the culture of the organisations, such as police.

There’s lots of reporting on the media in relation to the attitudes of police across Australia, and that has to get better, but we have to have a measure against that – we can’t just put in the attorney general [to] have a chat to the police ministers, and nothing changes … Because if we don’t look at this in a way of wanting change, nothing ever changes.

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Kim Dotcom to be extradited from New Zealand to US

Justice minister signs extradition order for Megaupload founder 12 years after FBI-ordered raid over filesharing site

Kim Dotcom, who is facing criminal charges relating to the defunct filesharing website Megaupload, is to be extradited to the US, the New Zealand justice minister says, which could end more than a decade of legal wrangling.

German-born Dotcom has New Zealand residency and has been fighting extradition to the US since 2012 after an FBI-ordered raid on his Auckland mansion. The high court in New Zealand first approved his extradition in 2017, with an appeal court reaffirming the finding the year after. In 2020, the country’s supreme court again affirmed the finding but opened the door for a fresh round of judicial review.

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New Zealand charity unknowingly gives out sweets with lethal levels of meth

Up to 400 people received parcels that could contain the contaminated lolly as police open a criminal investigation

A charity working with homeless people in Auckland, New Zealand unknowingly distributed sweets filled with a potentially lethal dose of methamphetamine in its food parcels, after the items were donated by a member of the public.

Auckland City Mission told reporters on Wednesday that staff had started to contact up to 400 people to track down parcels that could contain the sweets – which were solid blocks of methamphetamine enclosed in lolly wrappers. New Zealand’s police have opened a criminal investigation.

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Papua separatists kill helicopter pilot from New Zealand, say police

Shooting in Indonesia’s easternmost region comes almost 18 months after kidnap of another New Zealand pilot

Separatist rebels in Indonesia’s easternmost region of Papua killed a helicopter pilot from New Zealand, police have said, adding that four passengers onboard the aircraft were safe.

Glen Malcolm Conning, a pilot for Indonesian aviation company PT Intan Angkasa Air Service, was shot to death, said Faizal Ramadhani, a national police member and head of the joint security peace force in Papua. The gunmen were allegedly with the West Papua Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement, Ramadhani said.

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‘Dangerous’ and ‘retrograde’: Māori leaders sound alarm over policy shifts in New Zealand

Experts say policy changes that include scrapping Māori-led programs will harm communities and put New Zealand’s ‘great reputation’ at risk

Leading Māori figures from across New Zealand have sounded the alarm over the government’s changes to policies that affect Māori, after analysis by the Guardian highlighted the far-reaching scope of the proposals.

The policy shifts proposed by the rightwing coalition have been described by experts as “chilling” and “dangerous” and have created a “deeply fractured” relationship between Māori and the crown, or ruling authorities.

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Australia, Canada and New Zealand leaders urge ceasefire in Gaza to end ‘catastrophic’ situation

Prime ministers release joint statement saying they are ‘gravely concerned about the prospect of further escalation across the region’

The prime ministers of Australia, Canada and New Zealand have declared that a ceasefire in Gaza is “needed desperately” and urged Israel to “listen to the concerns of the international community”.

In a strongly worded joint statement issued on Friday, the three leaders said they were “gravely concerned about the prospect of further escalation across the region”, including between Hezbollah and Israel.

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Reality TV contestant apologises for killing and eating protected New Zealand bird

An American contestant on Race to Survive has apologised for eating a weka, a large, brown flightless bird known for its curiosity

Things got a little too real on the reality TV show Race to Survive when one of the contestants killed and ate a protected New Zealand bird species, prompting a warning from authorities.

The contestants had been warned that certain food groups – including protected ones – were off limits. Spencer Jones, who killed and ate the weka, has since apologised, saying, “I made a mistake. It was shortsighted, it was foolish,” according to the website RealityTea.com.

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‘National disgrace’: landmark New Zealand report finds 200,000 victims of abuse in state care

PM declares ‘dark and sorrowful day’ as royal commission details decades of abuse in state and faith-based institutions

The treatment of people in New Zealand’s state and faith-based care institutions has been described as a “national disgrace” after a landmark report revealed the harrowing scale of abuse 200,000 children and adults suffered at the hands of those entrusted with their safety.

New Zealand’s royal commission into the abuse is by far the largest and most complex royal commission the country has held. Out of similar inquiries around the world, it had the widest scope.

In New Zealand: Lifeline Aotearoa’s suicide crisis helpline 0508 828 865; the Mental Health Foundation 09 623 4812; Youthline: 0800 376 633

In Australia, crisis support services can be reached 24 hours a day: Lifeline 13 11 14; Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467; Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800; MensLine Australia 1300 78 99 78; Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636

In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255.

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Director of New Zealand’s pharmaceutical funding agency quits over rollback of Māori rights

The right-wing government had told Pharmac that it no longer needed to consider the Treaty of Waitangi in its funding decisions

A director of New Zealand’s medicine funding agency Pharmac has resigned in protest of a government directive telling the agency that it no longer needed to consider the Treaty of Waitangi, the country’s founding document which upholds Māori rights, in its funding decisions.

In a letter to Pharmac, the associate health minister and leader of the libertarian Act party David Seymour set out his expectations of the government agency, including his thoughts on how the principles of Treaty of Waitangi, or Te Tiriti o Waitangi, should be applied.

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New Zealand’s sea temperatures hit record highs, outstripping global averages

Experts say the new figures dispel the notion that the country is protected from extreme temperatures and raise fears for local marine life

New Zealand’s sea temperatures have hit record highs, outstripping global averages threefold in one region, and prompting alarm over the health of the country’s marine life and ecosystems.

New data from Stats NZ shows since 1982, oceanic sea-surface temperatures have increased on average between 0.16 – 0.26C a decade, and between 0.19–0.34C a decade, in coastal waters.

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