In the ongoing United States and Israel war on Iran, it appears that all the countries agree on “controlling” the media.
Despite differences in their political systems, all three governments follow an approach that prioritises “national morale” and “operational security” over press freedom and the flow of information.
This approach redefines the concept of fake news and extends its authority to managing public sentiment, making coverage more “positive” and “optimistic”.
The goal is unified: to turn media into a state mouthpiece that tells only the official narrative of the war.
The Trump administration’s political pressure In the US, media restrictions don’t appear as direct bans on journalism, as in more authoritarian systems. Instead, pressure comes through political and regulatory channels, alongside attempts to shape the war narrative against Iran.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr warned broadcasters they could lose their licences if they aired what he described as “false news” about the war.
In a post on X on March 14, Carr said stations airing “misleading” information had the opportunity “to correct course” before licence renewal. He added: “The law is clear: broadcast stations must operate in the public interest, or they will lose their licences.”
Later, President Donald Trump said he was extremely pleased to see Carr review licences of “corrupt” and “unpatriotic” news organisations because they “coordinate with Iran” and “should face treason charges”.
Regulatory pressure is accompanied by a political and media campaign to shape a specific image of the war.
Trump attacked major newspapers such as The New York Times and TheWall Street Journal for reports of damage to US military aircraft at a Saudi base, calling them “degenerate journalism” that wanted the country to “lose the war”.
This pressure has also extended to the military.
At a Pentagon press conference, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth accused the media of downplaying the success of the military campaign against Iran, criticised coverage of operations, suggested alternative headlines for television reports, and named CNN specifically, saying its performance would improve if ownership and management changed.
In an incident bordering on the absurd, The Washington Post reported that the Pentagon barred journalists from attending war briefings after Hegseth’s team objected to his appearance in previously taken photos, restricting access to Pentagon photographers.
Nevertheless, pressures did not start with the war on Iran.
In October 2025, the Department of War announced a new policy regulating journalists’ work inside the Pentagon, requiring official approval before publishing any information, even if it was not classified.
The Trump administration justified the restrictions as necessary for national security. Hegseth said access to the Pentagon was “a privilege, not a right,” while Trump argued the limits were needed because the press was “dishonest”.
Measures included removing dedicated offices for some media outlets and replacing them with shared facilities under a new rotation system.
Israel kills three Lebanese journalists Video: Al Jazeera
Israel’s approach In Israel, media restrictions during war take a different form that is based on strict military censorship and obstructing journalists in the field, in addition to targeting media institutions in Iran and Lebanon.
This month, the Israeli military censor issued new instructions to foreign media limiting coverage of rocket attacks within Israel.
These included banning live broadcasts during sirens, forbidding filming missile interceptions or impact sites near security installations, and preventing the publication of exact impact locations or reposting videos from social media without prior approval.
Authorities justified the restrictions as a way to prevent opponents from using media coverage to “improve missile strike accuracy”.
Israeli forces detained CNN Türk reporter Emrah Cakmak and cameraman Khalil Kahraman during a live broadcast from Tel Aviv following an Iranian missile attack, confiscating their phones, camera, and microphone, and accessing a password-protected phone without permission.
The journalists stated that their equipment was not returned.
On the same day, Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Communications Minister Shlomo Karai announced stricter measures against foreign media violating military censorship instructions, adopting a policy of “zero tolerance”.
Authorities also detained Turkish journalists Ilyas Efe Ünal and Adam Metan while crossing from Egypt into Israel on March 4. Metan said they were interrogated for about six hours before being released.
The following day, Haifa municipal police attempted to remove international media teams covering war-related events, including CNN, Fox News, BBC, Anadolu Agency, and Al Arabiya, despite journalists following military censorship rules.
Days later, on March 8, Israeli police prevented Al Araby TV correspondent Abdelkader Abdel Halim from continuing coverage in Haifa, with an officer captured on video saying that “filming is prohibited in Haifa.”
Several Lebanese media outlets were hit during Israel’s raids, including Sawt Al-Farah radio in Tyre, Al Nour radio, and Al Manar TV in Haret Hreik in Beirut’s southern suburbs. And in a separate strike, Saksakiyah media centre in southern Lebanon was also targeted.
In Iran, strikes hit the state-run Radio Dezful offices in Khuzestan, the headquarters of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting in Tehran, a communications centre near the building, as well as the Kurdistan Network TV building in Sanandaj, and the reformist newspaper Sazandegi in Tehran.
Iran’s internet shutdown If the US uses regulatory tools and Israel relies on military censorship and field restrictions, Iran’s model is based on direct control of information flow. Hours after the US-Israeli aggression began, authorities cut the nationwide internet.
Journalists said the outage hampered communication with sources, sending reports and photos, and verifying field information, while a limited number of users, including state media, retained restricted access through a government-controlled “white internet”.
As the war continued, Tehran tightened legal restrictions on media coverage.
The judiciary criminalised filming or covering US or Israeli strikes in Iran, considering the publication of such material as potential “evidence of cooperation with an enemy“.
Confrontations escalated with calls to target opposition media.
The Tabnak website published an article urging the armed forces to target Iran International TV and suggesting taking action against the channel’s offices and the homes of some staff.
Security agencies carried out a series of arrests in several provinces for sending photos and information about strikes to foreign media, including Iran International, classified by Iran as a “terrorist channel”.
Majdoline Al-Shammouri is a writer based in Beirut. This article was translated from Arabic by Afrah Almatwari and was first published by The New Arab here.
Andrew Hastie hung out his leadership shingle in a weekend interview that may have a few Liberals wondering if the right’s factional heavyweights made the best judgement in choosing Angus Taylor for the top job.
Hastie wanted to run for the leadership earlier this year but the right’s numbers men decided it should be Taylor, more senior in the faction, who toppled Sussan Ley.
But so far Taylor has not cut through, and indeed, he looks like someone suited to more conventional times.
When Ley was leader, Hastie took himself to the backbench and conducted guerrilla warfare from there. Now, under Taylor, he is shadow minister for industry and sovereign capability, a job he says he is happy in, but, as Sunday’s interview on the ABC’s Insiders showed, he has no intention of being constrained by.
Taylor, who made Hastie deputy leader of the opposition in the House of Representatives (the actual deputy, Jane Hume, is a senator), knows it would be potentially dangerous to try to put a lead rope on the aspirant who will be stalking him over the next 18 months.
In Sunday’s interview, Hastie strongly called out US President Donald Trump’s Iran strategy. On the domestic front, he urged the need for comprehensive tax reform – even sounding open to some of the government’s thinking regarding the taxes on assets – rather than following the Liberals’ talking point that Labor only wants to tax people more.
Like the new Nationals’ leader, Matt Canavan, Hastie comes across as someone worth listening to (agree or disagree with him), not just a politician with a good memory for the cheat sheet.
In common with most Australians, Hastie isn’t a fan of Trump and the way he conducts policy. After a Trump outburst against allies earlier this month, he called the president “petulant”.
On Sunday, he said he had a “visceral” reaction to Trump’s Friday criticism of US allies not stepping up in the war with Iran.
I don’t know why we went in there [to the Iran war] now. I thought last year we did the job [with the bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities].
There wasn’t consultation with allies, because had we had a bit more lead time, we wouldn’t be in the current crisis we are now where we’re trying to secure our liquid fuel.
I think this was a huge miscalculation. Iran has managed to pretty much hold the whole world economy to ransom.
While a critic of how Trump has handled things, Hastie is not going so far as to now reject the war.
If I have to choose between the United States and Israel, and Iran, I’m going to choose democracies rather than a murderous regime which has ambitions to build a nuclear weapon and potentially use it against Israel, the US and allies.
So don’t get me wrong here. But wounds from a friend can be trusted while an enemy multiplies kisses. As a close friend of the United States – I think that we can be honest, and we can ask hard questions.
Hastie warns against a ground war, fears for the United States’ credibility, and worries about Australians’ support for the US alliance being eroded.
I think the economic pain is going to be more acute, and they’re going to question the judgement of the president as this drags on.
As for a possible super profits tax on windfall gains gas exporters will make from the war – a policy both the Greens and One Nation urge – Hastie’s sympathies don’t lie with the large companies.
On that I’m open-minded because the Liberal Party is not the first line of defence for corporate Australia. I think multinationals and big business in this country have lost their social license, they’ve made no effort to recover it, and a lot of Australians feel like the system is rigged against them.
We [the Liberals] got smashed in 2022; we got smashed in 2025. Our primary vote is being cannibalised from both the right and the left. So I think adopting a posture of humility and being open minded is important – not being reactive.
So I think the bigger geopolitical frame here, and the macroeconomic frame here, is that we’re about to potentially slide into a recession. One of the things we’ve got going for us is our abundance of gas. Is introducing a new tax right at this time, going to help our situation? Before February 28 [the start of the Iran war], this conversation looked very different. We’re in a different period now.
This is a new era […] we need to overhaul the whole [tax] system. We either fix the system, or it’s torn down by people like Pauline Hanson.
No one’s going to reward us for a final last stand for neo-liberal politics, okay. There’s no medal for that. I actually want to win and deliver centre-right government for this country. And the best way to beat Labor is to start listening to people and meeting their concerns head on, rather than reactively slapping them down.
Labor will pick up on Hastie not being across the fine print when pressed about the Liberals saying last week the government’s batteries policy had integrity issues. This is evidence he’s not a details person, it will say.
But the Labor strategists looking to the longer term might be hoping the Liberals don’t eventually decide to install a third leader this term.
Meanwhile, and more immediately, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will hold a national cabinet on Monday morning to try to ensure maximum federal-state coordination as the fuel crisis deepens. The word from the federal government at the weekend was it wanted the next steps to be voluntary, rather than mandatory.
The government on Monday will also introduce legislation for new powers to enable it to underwrite companies’ additional imports of fuel, fertiliser and other essential items. Albanese said:
These powers will be used to help acquire the additional supply that’s so valuable for Australia’s fuel security, where it would be cost prohibitive for private suppliers to source on commercial terms without government support.
It will give suppliers the confidence to secure additional and discretionary cargoes and use it to service uncontracted demand, including for regional and independent fuel suppliers. So, we want more fuel here, and we want to make sure it gets to the right place as well.
I want us to have the strongest possible plans, so we’re ready for what may come.
About 250 people are at an overnight vigil at Wellington’s St Paul Cathedral to protest the government’s plan to introduce move-on orders.RNZ / Russell Palmer
Dozens of people are hunkering down overnight at Wellington’s St Paul Cathedral to protest move-on orders.
About 250 people and 50 volunteers are at the vigil, organised by eight churches and other community groups.
Families with children will head home after speeches and music tonight, while others are expecting to stay for breakfast.
About 250 people are at an overnight vigil at Wellington’s St Paul Cathedral to protest the government’s plan to introduce move-on orders.RNZ / Russell Palmer
They oppose the move-on orders the government plans to introduce, which would allow police to issue notices to those sleeping rough requiring them to move to another location.
Those who refuse could face a $2000 fine or up to three months in prison.
About 250 people are at an overnight vigil at Wellington’s St Paul Cathedral to protest the government’s plan to introduce move-on orders.RNZ / Russell Palmer
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Western Sydney Wanderers celebrate a goal against Wellington Phoenix.photosport
Wellington Phoenix have been stunned 1-0 at home by the lowly Western Sydney Wanderers to end their hopes of winning the women’s A-League minor premiership.
The listless defeat at Porirua Park on Sunday also leaves doubt over whether coach Bev Priestman’s team can secure a top-two finish which would hand them a bye in the first round of the play-offs.
It is a second straight loss for the Phoenix who will be second or third heading into next Friday’s final-round match away to fourth-placed Adelaide United, with plenty on the line.
They will need to improve their intensity and their quality after a wasteful display in which they struggled to put together coherent attacks.
Mackenzie Anthony of the Wellington Phoenix shoots.photosport
They paid the price in the 78th minute when Wanderers substitute Yuan Cong found the net to bring life to a mediocre contest.
The Chinese striker controlled a long ball superbly and volleyed at goal before pouncing on the reboud after the shot was blocked by goalkeeper Victoria Esson.
As with last week’s loss to Central Coast, the Phoenix came to life in the closing stages but it was too late as they suffered a sixth defeat of what has been a resurgent season.
They are guaranteed a first-ever playoff birth but could yet finish as low as fourth after having looked capable of a possible first-placing finish as recently as three weeks ago.
The Wanderers – who had lost their last five encounters against the Phoenix – climb off the bottom of the table.
Melbourne City are now guaranteed to be minor premiers.
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The front is expected to bring “wet and windy weather whizzing through” some places, MetService said, but could also affect areas outside the yellow watch zone.Supplied/ MetService
After last week’s battering more bad weather on the way and the Far North council is warning people to be extremely careful as the area is already saturated, while a MetService yellow heavy rain watch has been issued for Auckland, Waikato, Taupō and Taumaranui.
The new weather front sweeping in from the north is expected to bring strong rain and winds to exposed places from Sunday night into Monday morning, with thunderstorms possible.
Downpours for Auckland, Waikato, Taupō and Taumaranui could reach up to 35 mm/h, from 1am Monday, MetService forecasters said.
“In areas outside the Watch, even though rainfall isn’t expected to reach warning amounts there could still be impacts from brief bursts of very heavy rain and strong wind gusts on already saturated ground – now’s the time to clear the drains and gutters and secure anything that could fly away or fall over,” they said.
Warning for saturated Far North
The incoming system will likely clear away quickly, but the ground is already saturated and more vulnerable than usual, the Far North District Council (FNDC) said.
People should stay away from existing landslides and slips, and keep away from waterways and steep slopes.
Flooding and heavy rains caused havoc in Northland this week, including badly damaging many roads, but more rain is on the way.NZTA
Far North residents experiencing weather related issues could continue to report them to the council on 0800 920 029. The helpline “operates around the clock: If you can’t get through, please leave a message with your name and contact number. We will call you back,” FNDC said, but also added the reminder that threats to life or to property should always be reported immediately to 111.
People in the affected areas should stay up to date with the latest information from MetService and NZTA as the situation changes, they said.
RNZ is New Zealand’s statutory civil defence lifeline radio broadcaster, providing vital information and updates as they come to hand. All frequencies can be foundhere.
Winston Peters has announced new NZ First plans to help expand mining earnings in New Zealand, to curb the Department of Conservation, and to invest in the regions (file photo).RNZ/Paris Ibell
New Zealand First says ahead of expansions in the mining industry it wants more efficient approvals, to rein in the Department of Conservation, and to return half of mining royalties to local communities as targeted investment.
Leader Winston Peters has been campaigning in Westport on Sunday, and says the party’s policy restores common sense, paves the way for new mining zones and longer-term permits and will ensure funds go to the regions the mining takes place in, and “not Wellington”.
Peters also announced former Buller mayor Jamie Cleine as the party’s candidate for the West Coast-Tasman electorate, in the November general election.
“New Zealand’s mining industry is burgeoning, and we need to get ahead of its expansion to ensure we are building up our regions’ wealth, infrastructure, and future potential,” a policy statement from Peters’ office said.
“Mining is one of our most productive sectors. It contributes billions to our economy, supports thousands of jobs, and drives real growth without fuelling inflation.”
Stockton coal mine, north of Westport, is one of New Zealand’s largest mines, and the largest that is opencast (file photo).Supplied/ Bathurst Resources
New mining rules to ‘further unlock New Zealand’s resource potential’
The current approval system for mining was overly complex and inefficient, with “rules that don’t improve environmental outcomes but do a very good job of stopping investment and costing jobs”. We will put a stop to that,” NZ First said.
If elected it would work on making mining approvals more efficient, quicker and simpler. This meant changes to where mining can occur, issuing longer-term mining permits, and changes to rules about geological surveying technologies.
“The policy package will also rein in the role of government agencies, including the Department of Conservation,” it said.
This would be achieved through changes to the Conservation and Wildlife Acts. It would curb DOC’s ability to intervene by prioritising protection for areas of high conservation only, ensuring protection for “genuinely endangered species”.
DOC would instead “need to stay focused on their core priorities”.
“Regional prosperity cannot continue to be sidelined by processes that have lost all sense of proportion. Mining in the right places, with the right rules, will give businesses the confidence to invest for the long term and continue creating jobs in regions that rely on mining.
“And to complement this, the duration of mining permits needs to reflect the maturity of the sector. We will do that by providing longer permits that creates more certainty. More confidence. And more investment.
“The length of permits need to reflect that mining is a long-term business, giving investors certainty and ensuring permits cover the full life of the mine, including rehabilitation.”
Targeted investment in the regions
Half of the funds from mining royalties would go to local services and long term development in the region the mining was being done in. And sunk into things like water services, flood protection, energy generation, tourism and transport, to “enable housing development in areas of high minerals industry growth, and critical infrastructure projects,” the party statement said.
“We will back that up with targeted, regional investment to allow these projects to succeed.”
It would also ensure mines rescue capabilities are “properly funded”.
“The New Zealand First mining policy package is ultimately about creating growth and opportunity for everyday Kiwis and building on major policies we’ve already announced like Fast-track.”
Better understanding of New Zealand’s untapped mining potential
One of the first moves would be to commission a thorough geological survey.
“Right now, we don’t even have a modern understanding of what we’ve got beneath our feet. Other countries do and that’s simply not good enough,” the party said.
“So we will deliver a modern geological survey and unlock existing data through investment in advanced core-scanning technology. Because if you don’t know what you have, you can’t make smart decisions about unlocking its full potential.”
Opportunities would be sought to add value here before shipping offshore.
“At the moment, we risk being stuck in a ‘dig and ship’ model for key future industries, sending our resources offshore and letting others make the real money.”
So there would be more focused investment in science and innovation to support the sector, as well as upskilling New Zealanders to take advantage of high paying mining jobs, by opening a new School of Mines.
Mining was “a vital part of [the West Coast] region’s economy, and a key part of New Zealand’s future,” the party said.
“You can protect the environment and grow the economy at the same time. They are not mutually exclusive,” it said.
“New Zealand First’s mining plan will help to further unlock New Zealand’s resource potential.”
“The policy package recognises the vital role mining plays in New Zealand’s economy and regional communities.
Transporting New Zealand chief executive Dom Kalasih said the financial viability of businesses are at risk, if costs can not be passed on.
“There’s a lot of worry, and that’s about whether procurers of transport services, their clients and customers, whether they will be fair, reasonable, and responsible in paying the additional costs,” he said
“These are unexpected costs and transport operators, at the end of the day, they’re just price takers, they can’t control the price of fuel.
“These prices are significant and ultimately, whilst Transporting New Zealand is very careful not to be seen as price-setting, the reality is those additional prices have to be passed on and someone’s got to pay for them.
“Transport operators cannot wear these price increases and the financial viability of their businesses is at risk if they cannot recoup these costs,” he said
Kalasih said transport regulations should be urgently amended to allow certain trucks to carry higher payloads as it could improve fuel efficiency across the freight task and reduce diesel cost pressures.
Heavy vehicle permitting regulations currently allow approved freight operators to run High Productivity Motor Vehicles (HPMVs) on state highways and local roads suitable for vehicles operating above the standard 44-tonne weight limit.
“I have written to New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi, asking the agency to consider how the heavy vehicle permitting regulations could be urgently amended to move more freight in fewer trips,” Kalasih said
“Increasing allowable payloads on 50MAX vehicles and other HPMVs could reduce the diesel required to move freight, while maintaining a safe and well-regulated system. That will put downward pressure on freight costs at a time when businesses and consumers are doing it really tough.”
“HPMVs are already delivering fuel savings compared to standard 44-tonne trucks. For example, 50MAX trucks increase freight capacity by approximately 20 percent while only increasing diesel use by 10 percent, with their additional axle ensuring no additional wear on roads per tonne of freight.”
“Improving freight efficiency also has benefits for safety and emissions, as fewer trips are required to move the same volume of goods.” he said.
On Sunday, fuel price tracking app Gaspy showed the average price for Unleaded 91 was $3.42.
Diesel is the same, while Unleaded 95 is $3.63.
The government has fleshed out its National Fuel Plan, outlining rationing measures that would be taken if supplies start running dry.
Resembling the Covid alert levels, the plan has four ‘phases’. New Zealand is at phase one.
Phase 2 would see homes, businesses and the public sector encouraged to conserve fuel.
The higher phases are still under consultation.
Phase 3 would see fuel prioritised for life-preserving services and phase 4 would see stricter intervention in fuel distribution.
Moving up or down levels is decided by a ministerial oversight group based on fuel stocks, restrictions and supply chain data.
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Wānaka skier Ben Richards has clinched the overall men’s crown on the Freeride World Tour after securing victory in the finals in Switzerland.
The 26-year-old leap-frogged tour leader Toby Rafford of the United States with a 96-point run on the Bec des Rosses face in Verbier, executing a perfect 360 and linking multiple sections of difficult terrain seamlessly.
Rafford settled for second place while Germany’s Tiemo Rolshoven was third.
Richards said his final run was not perfect, with some improvisation needed.
“I got pushed off my line so I made up a little bit in the middle, but the conditions were so perfect, I had such a good time,” he said.
Despite two of this year’s tour stops being cancelled due to weather, the finale at Verbier Switzerland played out in perfect conditions with 50cm of fresh snow.
Richards now holds both the world tour and world championship titles.
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Epidemiologist Dr Michael Baker says increased rates of influenza virus can increase the amount of heart attacks because it can inflame and injure the heart muscle directly.CHRISTOPH BURGSTEDT/SCIENCE PHOT
The annual flu vaccine – which becomes available this coming week in NZ – can reduce risk of heart attacks, an epidemiologist says.
Epidemiologist Dr Michael Baker told Sunday Morning the influenza vaccine didn’t just reduce the risk and severity of the flu, it also reduced the risk of heart attacks and strokes by about a third for those infected.
He said increased rates of influenza can increase the amount of heart attacks because it can inflame and injure the heart muscle directly.
“The illness itself… puts stress on the organs as well and also makes the blood more prone to clotting.”
Baker said the vaccine can be as effective as heart attack medication for those infected by influenza.
He also said there were some vaccines – which are not funded – that were better suited for older people.
Epidemiologist Dr Michael Baker.Luke Pilkinton-Ching
“These waves are getting smaller, that’s the good news, but it is still causing what looks like two waves a year. It’s not seasonal at all – it can come in summer or winter – and has a mix of sub types and sub variants.”
Long Covid was also still a worry and could effect all age groups, Baker said.
“Quality of life is reduced, and while there is often some improvement overtime, many of these people in fact will have a severe long-term disability.
“And also like influenza, post-Covid infection, you are also at higher risk of having heart attacks and strokes for example,” he said.
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The Iran war has affected the global supply of a range of raw ingredients.123RF
Pharmac is closely monitoring potential medicine supply risks arising from Iran war.
This follows international reports that the UK is weeks away from medicine shortages if the conflict continues.
The Iran war has affected the global supply of a range of raw ingredients.
Pharmac said a small number of supply issues have been identified so far and there are currently no problems stemming from those for New Zealanders.
It warned supply challenges will not be unique to New Zealand or to healthcare and were being felt across the world and almost every sector.
It said it’s working with suppliers, Health New Zealand, Medsafe, and the logistics sector to identify risks early and secure alternative products if necessary.
The chair of General Practice NZ, Dr Bryan Betty, said New Zealand is at the end of a very long supply chain.
He said it’s important that Pharmac is monitoring international developments.
Betty said the agency has not provided any specific advice about new medication shortages due to the Iran war.
The Ministry of Health is also working to identify and manage supply risks.
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The fault on the Connemara ferry is taking longer to fix than expected.RNZ / Bill Hickman
More Bluebridge ferry sailings have been cancelled after a fault on one of its ships.
The technical fault on the Connemara means tonight’s Wellington to Picton 8.30pm service will not happen.
Services tomorrow are also cancelled.
It is the latest in a string of canned sailings for the ship, which have lasted more than a week.
The Connemara usually sails up to four times daily between Wellington and Picton.
Bluebridge said there were limited options for re-booking.
StraitNZ Bluebridge apologised “unreservedly” on Friday for the disruption but would not elaborate on what the fault was, just that it was taking longer than anticipated to fix.
Maritime NZ confirmed it would undertake its own inspection of the vessel to ensure safety standards were being met, but did not provide a timeframe.
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Israel Adesanya insists retirement is not close, despite his latest defeat.Photosport
Kiwi mixed martial arts star Israel Adesanya has suffered a fourth straight UFC defeat, raising further questions over when he’ll call time on his decorated career.
The 36-year-old was beaten by rising American middleweight Joe Pyfer in the headline fight in Seattle, the referee stopping the contest in the second round, as Adesanya copped a barrage of blows.
The Auckland City Kick Boxing great looked in vintage touch early in the fight, landing crisp combinations, sharp leg kicks and taking down his opponent effectively.
The game plan went awry in the second round and he had no answer once he was dragged to the mat, where Pyfer locked in a body triangle, before pouring on the punches, giving referee Herb Dean no choice but to end the fight.
Former two-time world champion Adesanya hasn’t won in the UFC since April 2023, losing to Sean Strickland, Dricus du Plessis and, most recently, Nassourdine Imavov in February last year.
He is likely to fall from his current ranking of fourth in the division, but gave no suggestion he would hang up the gloves.
“You keep going again and again and again and again,” he told the ringside announcer. “I’m not leaving, you’ll never stop me.
“I might get beat, but I’ll always remain undefeated.”
Adesanya’s MMA record is now 24-6, including 13-6 in the UFC, while Pyfer, 29, improves to 16-3 and 7-1.
Kiwi Navajo Stirling achieved his fourth UFC victory.www.photosport.nz
New Caledonia’s domestic airline Air Calédonie filed for bankruptcy on Friday, following almost a month of blockades by customers in the French Pacific territory’s outer islands.
The protest movement had been initiated by groups of angry outer islands customers who intended to oppose the company’s decision to move Air Calédonie’s operations from the Nouméa Magenta airport to New Caledonia’s international La Tontouta base, more than 50 km away from Nouméa city.
The smaller airport of Magenta, until now dedicated to domestic traffic, is located closer to Nouméa.
The beginning of the protest movement, which effectively grounded all Air Calédonie aircraft, dates back to 2 March 2026.
The protesters are gathered under the name of “collective of users” and, on each participating island, are headed by local chiefs who are invoking custom rights.
In terms of law and order, and in defence of the principle of freedom of movement and “territorial continuity”, on the part of French State representatives, there have been no attempts to disrupt the movement by force.
But negotiations have been taking place with leaders in order to find a concerted way out of the blockades.
Economic stakeholders have also alerted authorities of the negative repercussions of the inter-island crisis, especially on tourism and hospitality-related businesses.
On some islands, views expressed range from an outright rejection of any aircraft landing, while others would accept the landing of aircraft from other airlines, but not from Air Calédonie.
Outer islands airports blockaded Following weeks of blockade that have caused heavy losses for the company — dubbed “AirCal” — its board of directors, at a meeting on Friday in the capital Nouméa, decided to file for bankruptcy.
It said the current situation was no longer sustainable.
The blockade affected all of AirCal’s outer islands destinations, including the Loyalty Islands (Maré, Lifou, Ouvéa and Tiga) and the Isle of Pines (south of the main island of Grande Terre).
One of the options, if approved by a court, could allow a resumption of operations, if the process is deemed sustainable.
The company said under the proposed process, all debts would be frozen and provided it was allowed to resume inter-island flights, Air Calédonie could continue operating.
But if the plan is not approved by the judges, this could also mean an order for the company to go into receivership.
AirCal said the situation currently affected “almost 200 families”.
Vanuatu connection Air Calédonie, in its embryonic form, started operations in the mid-1950s.
It currently operates a fleet of four turbo-prop ATR-72 aircraft.
Due to previous hardships faced recently (including the covid crisis, which also badly affected inter-islands operations), Air Calédonie had also entered into agreements with Air Vanuatu in October 2025 to lease one of its aircraft for the neighbouring archipelago’s domestic airlinks, including to and from the capital Port Vila and Vanuatu’s other main islands of Espiritu Santo (North) and Tanna (South).
In September 2024, a Nouméa-Port Vila bi-weekly link was also established under a codeshare agreement between Air Calédonie and Air Calédonie international aboard an ATR-72 aircraft.
At the time, the agreement was perceived as one step towards a possible merger of the two entities’ domestic and international operations, in a bid to save costs in the face of recent crises.
The recent crisis situation was also compounded by the riots that broke out in New Caledonia — mainly in the capital Nouméa and its surrounding area — in May 2024.
The unrest caused about 14 dead and material damage of over 2 billion euros (about NZ$ 4 billion) due to arson and looting.
But it also affected the capacity to operate domestic and international flights out of the airports of Nouméa La Tontouta and New Caledonia’s outer islands.
The plan to relocate Air Cal’s operations from Magenta to La Tontouta had been mooted by previous governments of New Caledonia, on the basis that if the move was not effected, then the company would not survive.
‘It looks as if someone wants the death of AirCal — Alcide Ponga Commenting on the blockade, New Caledonia local government President Alcide Ponga was blunt. He told local media earlier this week: “It looks as if someone wants the death of AirCal.”
However, one of the blockaded small airports, on the Isle of Pines (South of Nouméa), announced earlier this week its intention to re-allow traffic, on the condition that Air Calédonie lands again at the small and nearby airport of Nouméa-Magenta and not at the main La Tontouta base.
The main shareholders of Air Calédonie are the government of New Caledonia and its three provinces (North, South and the Loyalty Islands group).
During heated debates on Thursday at New Caledonia’s Congress, politicians and board members from across the political chessboard called on the company to re-engage in negotiations to attempt an agreement to re-open all of the blockaded outer islands airfields and thus bring in fresh cash.
Another cash-generating option also envisaged by the company would be to persuade the board and stakeholders to set aside a financial package so that the company can go on operating.
Earlier this month, Air Calédonie was forced to put half of its staff into temporary unemployment mode, because the company’s financial situation (a cash flow estimated at only 3 million euros) did not allow any salary payment beyond April 2026.
Air Calédonie said it remained “mobilised to save a vital company for New Caledonia and design a viable recovery plan”.
A similar plan was already implemented in 2024 in the wake of the post-riots crisis.
A first humanitarian special flight took place on 21 March 2026 to transport about 50 patients between Ouvéa island and the capital Nouméa. Image: New Caledonia govt
Humanitarian special flights for patients In recent days, New Caledonia’s government introduced the notion of humanitarian “sanitary corridors” in the form of special flights to transport selected patients in dire need of care to and from the outer islands and the capital Nouméa, at an estimated cost of some 13,500 euros (about NZ$27,000) per trip.
In the Loyalty Islands, several tourism and hospitality facilities have also suffered the brunt of the disruption of inter-island traffic.
Some of those have already been forced to either close down or enter into receivership.
No maritime alternative The situation is further compounded by serious technical problems faced by the alternative means of inter-island transport — the ferry Betico has also been unable to operate, on a regular basis, over the past few months.
The ship is currently undergoing repairs to one of its engines and it announced tentative resumption of operations next week on April 3, the operating company said.
Until then, all trips to and from Nouméa have been cancelled.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
A French senator walked into the Luxembourg Palace, opened his mouth, and basically set the whole room on fire. Politely. In a suit.
Claude Malhuret didn’t yell nor wave his arms. He just listed things… calmly, methodically, like a doctor reading a very long and very depressing diagnosis.
And by the time he was done, the entire Trump administration had been reduced to a punchline that wasn’t even trying to be funny.
He started with an apology. Why? Because a year ago, he said, he had compared Trump’s presidency to Nero’s Court. He was wrong.
“It’s the miracle court,” he corrected himself on Friday.
And then he started naming names.
A former heroin addict running the Ministry of Health. A climate skeptic in charge of the economy. A TV host with a drinking problem commanding the armed forces. A lobbyist who used to work for Qatar now sitting as Attorney General. A woman who openly admires Putin in charge of national intelligence.
‘Clown in a palace’ Malhuret quoted a Turkish proverb for the occasion… “When a clown settles in a palace, he does not become king — it is the palace that becomes a circus.”
Nobody needed to ask who or what he meant. They just smiled.
And you know what? He wasn’t even being cruel. He was just being truthful and very accurate. Which, somehow, made it worse.
Then came the part that made people’s jaws drop a little.
Every time the Epstein files resurface, he said, bombs go off somewhere in the world. A new military strike. A fresh crisis.
Convenient timing. Every single time.
Malhuret didn’t call it a conspiracy. He just pointed at the pattern and let everyone draw their own conclusions.
Gulf investments The US$400 million Boeing jet from Qatar got a mention. The Gulf investments. The stock market moves that only a small circle of insiders seemed to profit from.
Any one of these, Malhuret said, would have triggered impeachment proceedings in France.
“But we are not here,” he added. “We are in MAGA’s America.”
Here’s what makes this 5 minute speech different from the usual political noise. Malhuret didn’t just wave his hands and say “America bad.” He went person by person, scandal by scandal, conflict by conflict — and built a picture so complete that by the end of it, you couldn’t really argue with any individual piece without defending the whole rotten structure.
It’s the kind of speech American senators could give. If they wanted to. If they weren’t so busy trying not to offend anyone.
The world is watching. While Americans debate whether the speech was fair or too harsh or whatever, the rest of the planet has already formed its opinion.
One man. One very powerful seat. And a world that keeps catching fire while everyone argues about the Epstein files — which, funny enough, never quite get released fully, do they?
“Trump, the Mar-a-Lago golfer, is the only bull in the world who walks around with his own china shop. When a clown takes over the Palace, he doesn’t become King. It’s the Palace that becomes a circus”
ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on March 29, 2026.
Jonathan Cook: Does the tail wag the dog? How both sides are missing the bigger picture ANALYSIS: By Jonathan CookThe joint US-Israeli war on Iran has thrust back into the spotlight a divisive debate about whether the dog wags the tail, or the tail wags the dog. Who is in charge of this war: Israel or the United States? One side believes Israel lured Trump into a trap from which he
Cuban envoy makes strong plea for his country defying US blockade Asia Pacific Report Cuba’s Ambassador to New Zealand, Luis Morejón Rodríguez, last night made a passionate plea for his country’s sovereignty in defiance of the illegal US-led fuel blockade of the Caribbean nation. Speaking at a packed Auckland Trades Hall, he warned that the three-month oil blockade and energy blackouts threatened the country’s public health
The annual Whangamatā Beach Hop attracted tens of thousands to the seaside town.RNZ/Yiting Lin
Police say they arrested considerably more people at Whangamatā’s Beach Hop car event than in recent years.
Tens of thousands of people flocked to the event at the seaside town on the Coromandel Penninsula, but police were kept busy with anti-social behaviour as evening fell.
“This is an enjoyable event, which is so important for the local economy, and it was run really well with participants and attendees having a great time, and mostly behaving themselves,” Eastern Waikato area commander Inspector Mike Henwood said.
“Unfortunately, some of the people attracted to the event caused some issues for police later in the night.”
Thirty were arrested for fighting in a public place and disorderly behaviour, and about 40 liquor ban infringement notices were issued.
“While the amount of people blatantly ignoring the longstanding liquor ban in the area is similar to recent years, the number of arrests is considerably higher,” Henwood said.
“It is extremely disappointing that the behaviour of some people required us to make arrests, issue tickets and deal with drink drivers. However, it was anticipated, which is why there was an increased police presence carrying out foot patrols and checkpoints in the area.
“We encourage those attending these types of events to have fun, but in a safe and lawful manner,”
More than 3000 drivers were breath-tested in the area during the weekend, with 11 exceeding breath alcohol limits.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Epidemiologist Dr Michael Baker says increased rates of influenza virus can increase the amount of heart attacks because it can inflame and injure the heart muscle directly.CHRISTOPH BURGSTEDT/SCIENCE PHOT
The annual flu vaccine – which becomes available this coming week in NZ – can reduce risk of heart attacks, an epidemiologist says.
Epidemiologist Dr Michael Baker told Sunday Morning the influenza vaccine didn’t just reduce the risk and severity of the flu, it also reduced the risk of heart attacks and strokes by about a third for those infected.
He said increased rates of influenza can increase the amount of heart attacks because it can inflame and injure the heart muscle directly.
“The illness itself… puts stress on the organs as well and also makes the blood more prone to clotting.”
Baker said the vaccine can be as effective as heart attack medication for those infected by influenza.
He also said there were some vaccines – which are not funded – that were better suited for older people.
Epidemiologist Dr Michael Baker.Luke Pilkinton-Ching
“These waves are getting smaller, that’s the good news, but it is still causing what looks like two waves a year. It’s not seasonal at all – it can come in summer or winter – and has a mix of sub types and sub variants.”
Long Covid was also still a worry and could effect all age groups, Baker said.
“Quality of life is reduced, and while there is often some improvement overtime, many of these people in fact will have a severe long-term disability.
“And also like influenza, post-Covid infection, you are also at higher risk of having heart attacks and strokes for example,” he said.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
State Highway 25 from Coromandel Town to East Kuaotunu is now open with speed restrictions.
Wentworth Valley Road is also open but only to four wheel drive vehicles, because a ford is still flowing.
Crews are out again today, clearing slips and managing traffic.
Weather hit regions including parts of Northland, were cleared on Saturday when MetService lifted all warning as regions looked to recover from the weather events.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Morrie Chandler at the 55th Halberg Awards in 2018.David Rowland / Photosport
Long-serving motorsport administrator Morrie Chandler has died aged 85.
A former president of Motorsport New Zealand for more than 20 years, Chandler held a range of national and international posts, including a stint as vice president of the world governing body F-I-A.
Chandler was a driving force behind World Rally Championship rounds being staged in New Zealand and he also successfully lobbied for the establishment of an Asia-Pacific Rally Championship, which has been staged since 1988.
He received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Halberg awards in 2018.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Navajo Stirling of the light heavyweight division.www.photosport.nz
New Zealand mixed martial artist Navajo Stirling has made it four wins from four in the UFC with victory over a Brazilian light-heavyweight opponent in Seattle.
Stirling beat Bruno Lopes by technical knockout in the second round to extend his unbeaten record as a professional to nine wins.
It was the first time the 28-year-old has stopped a fight early in the UFC, with his first three wins coming by decision.
Stirling landed a key blow with his right hand and, while Lopes fought on, he was on constant defence as the Kiwi pushed for victory.
Stirling was one of the two fighters from Auckland’s City Kick Boxing gym in action on Sunday.
The other is former middleweight world champion Israel Adesanya, who was to fight American Joe Pyfer.
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New Zealand is currently at phase one and the government has said for now there is sufficient supply and no need for stockpiling.Nick Monro
Regulatory feedback is being called for as the government looks to tackle global fuel uncertainty.
The government laid out its response plan to the rising fuel costs triggered by the conflict in the Middle East following the US-Israel attacks on Iran one month ago.
The National Fuel Plan mimics the Covid response in that it has four phases, each outlining measures that would be taken if the situation gets progressively worse.
New Zealand is currently at phase one and the government has said for now there is sufficient supply and no need for stockpiling.
The Ministry for Regulation is now urging businesses, fuel users, freight operators, and the wider public to report any barriers that could stand in the way of the government’s response.
The ministry’s main job is to ensure quality across regulatory systems and encouraging productivity.
Regulation Minister David Seymour said the ministry was interested in hearing from businesses on the front line including fuel companies, freight operators, contractors, primary producers and retailers.
“We can’t control what happens in the Middle East. We can control how we get fuel flowing through New Zealand pumps. If red tape is getting in the way of that goal, we want to hear it.”
Regulation Minister David SeymourRNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Seymour said the government was trying to avoid a “repeat of the Covid-19 lockdowns”.
“We don’t want to miss something which could lead to negative effects down the line.
“That’s why we want to hear from people affected by edicts from Wellington; what regulatory barriers do you see getting in the way of fuel supply?”
Examples of submissions that could be made included barriers affecting fuel transport, storage, distribution, local delivery, freight movements, business operations, or the ability of firms to adapt quickly to changing supply conditions.
“In a disruption every unnecessary delay matters. If there are regulations that make it harder to import, store, distribute, or use fuel efficiently, they need to be identified now. Not when the pressure is at its peak,” Seymour said.
The price of 91 and diesel fuel in most parts of the country was well past $3 per litre with some stations running dry especially on discount days.
Motor Trade Association spokesperson Simon Bradwell recently said there were concerns over the increasing possibility of people driving off without paying for fuel.
He said businesses were doing what they can to keep prices down as it was also in their best interest.
The government also announced earlier this week almost 150,000 families with children will receive an extra $50 a week to help with the rising cost of fuel.
Callum McCowatt’s Danish Superliga side are struggling and he’s happy for the reprieve of national team duty.Andrew Cornaga / www.photosport.nz
The All Whites have more players than ever chasing their dreams overseas and, for some, the national team can be a solace when club football is a struggle.
The countdown to the Football World Cup is on and the final squad for New Zealand’s third appearance at the tournament will be named in May.
For years, nearly 60 players have been on coach Darren Bazeley’s radar.
These players are spread around the world at different stages of their professional careers and with varying experience with the All Whites.
Not everyone will make the World Cup and Bazeley will have to make some tough decisions.
Getting a call-up to the national team – as 23 players were for the Fifa series this week – means different things to different players and RNZ has heard from some who have been in Auckland for the two games against Finland and Chile that Bazeley’s faith in them when times are tough has been invaluable.
Ben Old playing for the All Whites against Australia in 2025, when he was on the outer with his club side.Joshua Devenie/Photosport
Ben Old has been on a “rollercoaster” since making the move from Wellington Phoenix to AS Saint-Etienne in France just over 18 months ago.
“I went from Ligue 1, one of the top five leagues in the world, playing to having an injury to being relegated to not playing in Ligue 2.
“Last season, that was the first relegation I experienced, but just the excessive amount of losses that we had, it just consumes you. It’s a really horrible feeling just losing and it just really affects your confidence.
“We’ve got the best players, biggest crowd, best team, but we weren’t performing.”
In the latter half of last year, when Old was out of favour at Saint-Etienne and getting less than 15 minutes a game for his club team, Bazeley was still prepared to get him on the field for the All Whites.
“It was a really tough period for me towards the back end of last season, because I wasn’t playing. I was expected to go on loan.
“It’s just hard in general being over in Europe, but not playing was really tough mentally, so to be able to be involved in the three [international] windows of that period was just a nice escape for me.
“For them to be able to have confidence in me, to be able to play me and be able to have good performances there as well, I felt helped me tackle on and helped me be prepared for when I was able to take my chance further on to start this year.”
Now Old, who made a positional switch from midfield to left-back at club level, which co-incided with more game time, is “thriving” and Saint-Etienne are on the cusp of promotion.
“I’ve got the full Europe experience, but it’s taught me so much and I feel like I’m in a great club with a great project.”
Old has been around the All Whites since 2022 and will hope that he is still in Bazeley’s plans for June.
“I’ve spoken to players like Kosta Barbarouses, Chris Wood that have been here for a long time and they said that this is the most competitive it’s ever been.
“I think that brings out the best in players to perform, but it also means that you have to be playing at your best to perform and I think that’s just a sign of a really great team that you’ve got so much depth in your team to be able to perform, which at a World Cup is essential.”
Eli Just has been with the All Whites since 2019.Joshua Devenie
Motherwell midfielder Eli Just has been in Scotland for eight months and is enjoying his football now more than he has for years.
Just has scored goals regularly this season, as Motherwell challenge the Scottish Premiership’s bigger clubs, but the 25-year-old, who has been with the national team since 2019, has previously had times while playing in Europe that he wondered where his next goal was coming from.
“I definitely look back at some stages in my career where I think I was playing well, but maybe not scoring, and in football, especially as an attacking player, you need to score goals.
“I’ve been really working on it and enjoying the result of that hard work this season.”
Just feels like he is now in the right place at the right time of his career.
“I’ve been lucky to be involved quite often for the national team. There have definitely been some periods in my career where I’ve not been doing so well at club and then I come into national team, and kind of recharge and get a lot of energy, positivity from the boys.
“I think maybe the difference this year has been that now I can come in, and I’ve kind of got that confidence and that positivity that I can help the group.
“The best part, I think, about the squad is that we’re all so close. We’ve been playing together for a long time.
“The playing style hasn’t changed so much, so you know what is going to be required of you when you come.”
Callum McCowatt, left, playing for club side Silkeborg IF.ERNST VAN NORDE
Midfielder Callum McCowatt last played in a winning club side last October. Since then, his Danish Superliga side Silkeborg IF has failed get to win in nine matches.
McCowatt has played significant minutes in most of the games and proved that a strong showing in a run of losing results can get the attention of the national team coach.
“Personally, it’s going quite OK in terms of my numbers and stats, but for the club, it’s a little bit down at the moment.
“We’re under the relegation zone line, so it can be difficult at times. Of course, it’s not done yet, so we can still work our way out of it.”
When things are not going well for a club team, the pressure can pile on to the players.
“It’s difficult, if I have to be honest. Day to day, you have to find a new way to bring your energy up, because winning brings a lot of energy and a lot of good feeling to your body.
“When this doesn’t happen, you have to find different ways and different motivations, so it’s been a learning process. At the end of it, I’ll probably have grown as a person.”
McCowatt wants to bring some of his individual form at club level to the All Whites.
Callum McCowatt playing for the All Whites.Andrew Cornaga / www.photosport.nz
“I think that a lot of footballers worldwide struggle to take that consistency from club into country, because of the lack of games and the feeling where you kind of feel on a roll.
“When you’re in a club environment every day for, I’ve been there two-and-a-half years, nearly three years, then you become comfortable in a way where it’s your home.
“When you play for the All Whites, you play two games every couple months, five times a year, so that’s 10 games a year outside of World Cup year, it’s kind of hard to find the consistency.
“I’m trying to navigate that as good as I can, because I really want to perform for the All Whites.”
All Whites midfielder Ryan Thomas, centre, in action for PEC Zwolle against Feyenoord in the Dutch Eredivise competition, 25 April, 2025.AFP
PEC Zwolle midfielder Ryan Thomas was recalled to the All Whites squad last September, nearly six years after his last appearance.
Injury and being on the outer at club level meant that Thomas thought his international playing days were over, but Bazeley had different ideas.
“It’s nice to obviously have the confidence from Darren. I spoke with him a lot over the last three years and, obviously, it was a lot more other conversations than what we wanted.
“I talked with him a lot about how it was going and what he thought was the plan for me going forward, and it was always the plan, if I was fit enough, to bring me straight back in.
“I’m just really happy to be able to have the opportunity to play again for the national team and, when you get to play on the bigger stage with a bunch of your good friends to play for your country, it’s something you can’t really take for granted and I’m just making sure that I’m enjoying every moment.”
Tim Payne, right, is back with the All Whites during a tough season for the Wellington Phoenix in the A-League.Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
Closer to home, defender Tim Payne’s A-League club Wellington Phoenix has had a dramatic change of coach and a period of sitting near the bottom of the table.
Payne missed most of the first half of the season with a broken collarbone that needed surgery and, earlier this month, he missed a couple of games with a hamstring injury – including coach Giancarlo Italiano’s last game and Chris Greenacre’s first in charge.
After an “interesting” seventh season with the Phoenix, Payne came into All Whites camp for the Fifa series off back-to-back wins in the A-League.
It was the first time the Phoenix had achieved two wins in a row in the 2025/26 season.
“I think there’s always room to make an impression,” Payne said of the final international window at home before the World Cup squad was announced.
“Everyone’s playing week in, week out at their respective clubs, so if someone’s performing at a very high standard, there’s no reason why they can’t be involved come June.”
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A young person seriously injured after violence broke out at a party remains in hospital after surgery, and police say the incident was isolated, but neighbours say it’s an ongoing issue that needs to be tackled.
A vehicle drove towards partygoers, injuring two people, and two others were injured during wider disorder. Some reported that partygoers were attacked with machetes.
Detective Senior Sergeant Anthony Darvill said some what unfolded at the party was unacceptable: “I want to reassure people that we are working as hard as we can to get to the bottom of what happened.
Broken glass is on the corner of Springleigh Ave and Jerram Street.RNZ / Jessica Hopkins
“This behaviour won’t be tolerated in our community, and investigators are working diligently to identify those responsible and hold them to account for their actions.”
Police understood there was frustration and concern surrounding the incident, among the community, but the incident appeared to be isolated, Darvill said.
However neighbours said problems with out of control parties in the small street were ongoing.
Short term stay house creating problems, neighbour says
Neighbours have told RNZ the house the party was held at on Friday is listed on short-stay accommodation platforms, but said previous efforts to highlight ongoing disruptions connected with parties at the property – and another next door – had been unsuccessful.
Rosemarie PowellRNZ /Jessica Hopkins
Phyllis Street resident Rosemarie Powell said locals had raised the problems with local MPs and other authorities, and asked for measures making landlords more accountable, but nothing had changed.
“Our emergency services having to clean up these problems – you know, young people getting really hurt – these are all the symptoms of something that’s much broader that needs to be dealt with, and I think that’s landlord accountability for short-term rental,” Powell said.
“It is cheap and easy for teenagers to book this property for one night to have a house party that, as demonstrated last night and many times before, can get quickly out of hand.
“Neither the landlord nor the people booking the house have connections with the neighbourhood and community, there is no oversight or accountability if there is underaged drinking or drugs being consumed.
“No one has to face their neighbours on the street the next day, and noone cares about the many small children who live on the street. Not to mention the very real and demonstrable risk the young people are exposed to who attend these gatherings.”
Broken glass is on the corner of Springleigh Ave and Jerram Street.RNZ / Jessica Hopkins
The ongoing situation was frustrating, she said: “It does create a real lack of security in the short run.”
And in a city where there was a housing shortage it chafed doubly so: “In the long run it’s also just a waste of a home that could be housing a family.”
Powell said she understood the landlord was a foreign businessman who owned a number of properties across the city.
“These properties are essentially land banking, and are not in any way supporting local housing and accommodation needs. Some families have lived in these homes from time to time, but the long-term rent is too expensive for them. We have great local schools, sports teams etc. Close to supermarkets, public transport.
“These houses could provide a home for a family who would benefit from and contribute to the neighbourhood. Instead they are used to land bank, and as a venue for completely unaccountable parties that turn violent.”
Lack of regulation and enforcement for properties available for short-term rental was the underlying problem, she said.
“It is not acceptable that landlords can get away with accepting short-term bookings without any background reference, or proof of age for example, and oversight and responsibility for what happens on their property.”
Anna McKessarRNZ / Jessica Hopkins
Another neighbour, Anna McKessar, earlier told RNZ incidents that spilled out of earlier parties at the properties had “turned into this massive thing”, and included damage to cars and fences in the street.
“It’s pretty upsetting for neighbours, and the person that owns those properties has never shown up, never apologised, and shown no remorse,” McKessar said.
Powell hoped the latest incident would spark broader investigation and discussions on the issue, “so that we can help to hold landlords and the wider system accountable to help reduce harm in the future.”
Detective Senior Sergeant Darvill said police want to hear from anyone with footage from the event, or who had not yet spoken with police.
Information can be provided by calling police on 105 or visiting their Update Report page online at 105.police.govt.nz and quoting file number 260328/8294, while information could also be reported anonymously, through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, or on their website.
Health NZ said there was the potential for identity overlay.RNZ / Peter de Graaf
A patient advocate is warning that the consequences of people receiving incorrect medical treatment due to mistaken identity can be catastrophic.
Health New Zealand has acknowledged people may have received incorrect medical treatment due to two people being mistakenly linked to one active National Health Index Number.
An NHI number is an alphanumeric identifier assigned to people who use health and disability services.
Health New Zealand told RNZ that although NHI numbers were unique, there was the potential for identity overlay, where two people were mistakenly linked to one active number.
”This can occur where two people’s personal information is nearly identical, and the health provider selects the wrong person. These cases are identified and corrected quickly by Health NZ’s NHI Data Quality team through daily reporting on potential duplicates and overlays,” it said.
”Health NZ acknowledges it is possible that people have received incorrect treatment when a health provider has selected the wrong person.
“However, Health NZ does not hold any centralised information on such cases, and any information, if it exists, would be held only in individual clinical records at district or provider level.”
Patient Voice Aotearoa chairperson Malcolm Mulholland said that’s not good enough.
”It’s not good and it’s something that shouldn’t be happening and Health New Zealand should be able to articulate the size of the problem.”
“The mere fact that they are unable to do so indicates to me that there are some problems and, without having them resolved, the consequences can be quite dire for patients,” he said.
“One of my areas of concern would be around medication. So a lot of certain medications are listed to be given to a patient and the medication is given to the wrong patient due to this problem. That to me would be ringing alarm bells and could lead to some catastrophic health outcomes.”
Health New Zealand was approached for additional comment.
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A driver has died in a crash at the Beachlands Speedway racetrack in Dunedin.RNZ / Kim Baker Wilson
A driver has died in a two-vehicle crash at the Beachlands Speedway racetrack in Dunedin.
Police were called to the scene in Waldronville at 7:10pm on Saturday night.
General Manager of Speedway New Zealand Zoe Irons told the New Zealand Herald a Speedway driver had died on the track.
“At this time, our thoughts are with the family affected and everyone within our speedway community,” Irons said, according to the Herald.
A Serious Crash Unit have conducted a scene examination and WorkSafe will be advised.
Anyone who witnessed the crash or have footage are being asked to contact police.
A car crashed over the four metre-high safety fence into the spectator area at Beachlands Speedway during a streetstock race on Friday 5 April, 2024.Supplied/ Mikaela Cruden
In 2024, a car flew over a safety fence in a streetstocks race at Beachlands Speedway.
A video posted to Facebook showed a streetstock turning a corner before suddenly hitting another car and launching over the fences around the track, flipping just metres from the crowd.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
It’s the first of two spacecraft of a satellite navigation demonstration mission in low Earth orbit.RNZ/ Nate McKinnon
Rocket Lab has successfully carried out its first dedicated launch on behalf of the European Space Agency.
The New Zealand-US space company’s 85th launch was carried out from its rocket pad in Hawke’s Bay on Saturday night.
It’s the first of two spacecraft of a satellite navigation demonstration mission in low Earth orbit.
An eventual new array of satellites some 500 kilometres above the earth will test next-generation technologies for uses like autonomous vehicles, maritime navigation, wireless networks, emergency services, and critical infrastructure projects.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Ford has written to owners of Escape PHEVs regarding a battery issue.STR
An owner of a Ford hybrid vehicle that has had a problem identified with its battery says it could not have happened at a worse time.
Ford said it had written to the owners of some Escape PHEVs regarding a battery issue that could create a fire hazard, if they were fully charged.
“A manufacturing defect in one or more of the vehicle’s high voltage battery cells may cause the cell to develop an internal short circuit. Ford globally has had no incidents reported and the batteries we’ve checked, again globally, less than one percent have shown it to even be a potential issue.
“In NZ, we’ve had no known incidents and no batteries have yet been found to have the issue in question.
“However, as an added safety precaution, Ford has asked customers to limit the charging to 80 percent and drive in auto EV mode only. This is not a ‘stop drive’ issue.
“Ford is investigating a permanent solution and will be in contact again with customers asap.”
Brian Holmes said it was very inconvenient to be told his vehicle could “burst into flames”, when he wanted to rely on the battery more than ever.
He told Ford that, given the fuel crisis and the increasing uncertainty of the future price of petrol, the need to avoid using the full value of the plug-in hybrid could not have come at a worse time.
He had asked for compensation, but was told that a decision had not yet been made about whether that was possible.
“They don’t have a technical fix and have stonewalled my enquiry about compensation.”
Earlier, Westpac New Zealand managing director of institutional and business banking Reuben Tucker told RNZ demand for electric vehicles through the bank’s greater choices home loan top up and other loans for electric vehicles had soared.
“In the last two weeks, the number of applications for EVs through these products has roughly doubled,” he said.
“Hey, man. Jean-Michel Jarre in the New Zealand bush – what do you reckon?” read an out-of-the-blue 2am text Sam Scott received from filmmaker Taika Waititi.
A few months later, the Wellington musician and composer learnt about Hunt For the Wilderpeople, and he and Moniker collaborators Lukasz Buda and Conrad Wedde began working on its soundtrack.
But several months after the trio had scored the whole movie in “a very Jean-Michel Jarre way”, they were told a new direction had been decided on, and they had three weeks to present a new soundtrack from scratch.
This video is hosted on Youtube.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
The joint US-Israeli war on Iran has thrust back into the spotlight a divisive debate about whether the dog wags the tail, or the tail wags the dog.
Who is in charge of this war: Israel or the United States?
One side believes Israel lured Trump into a trap from which he cannot extricate himself. The tail is wagging the dog.
The other believes that the US, as the world’s sole military super-power, is the one that writes the geo-strategic script. If Israel acts, it is only because it serves Washington’s interests as well. The dog is wagging the tail.
Certainly, the idea that the tail, the client state of Israel, could be wagging the dog, the military juggernaut that is the US, seems, at best, counter-intuitive.
But then again, there is plenty of evidence that suggests advocates for the tail wagging the dog scenario may have a case.
They can point to the fact that Trump launched this war of choice on Iran despite winning the presidency on an “America First” platform in which he promised: “I’m not going to start a war. I’m going to stop wars.”
Rushed into war His secretary of state, Marco Rubio, openly stated that the administration was rushed into war, finding itself apparently unable to restrain Israel from attacking Iran.
Joe Kent, Trump’s top counter-terrorism official, noted in his resignation letter that the administration “started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby”.
Addressing the Israeli Parliament last October, Trump appeared to confess to being under the thumb of the Israel lobby. As he praised himself for moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to the illegally occupied city of Jerusalem, he repeatedly pointed to his most influential donor, the Israeli-American billionaire Miriam Adelson, before observing: “I actually asked her once, I said, ‘So, Miriam, I know you love Israel. What do you love more, the United States or Israel?’ She refused to answer. That means, that might mean, Israel, I must say.”
A video from 2001 shows Benjamin Netanyahu, now Israel’s Prime Minister, caught secretly on camera, telling a group of settlers: “I know what America is. America is a thing you can move very easily, move it in the right direction. They won’t get in the way.”
Former US president Barack Obama, who ran up against Netanyahu repeatedly as Obama tried and failed to limit the expansion of Israel’s illegal settlements, thought the same.
In his 2020 autobiography, he wrote that the Israel lobby insisted that “there should be ‘no daylight’ between the US and Israeli governments, even when Israel took actions that were contrary to US policy.”
Any politician who disobeyed “risked being tagged as ‘anti-Israel’ (and possibly anti-Semitic) and confronted with a well-funded opponent in the next election”.
Obscuring the relationship But any rigid, binary way of framing the relationship between the US and Israel obscures more than it illuminates.
I addressed this issue in my 2008 book on Israeli foreign policy, titled Israel and the Clash of Civilisations: Iran, Iraq and the Plan to Remake the Middle East. My conclusion then, as now, was that the relationship between Washington and Tel Aviv was better understood in different terms: as the dog and the tail wagging each other.
What does that mean?
Israel is Washington’s most favoured client state. It must, therefore, operate within the “security” parameters for the Middle East laid down by the US.
In fact, part of Israel’s job — the reason it is such an important client state — is because it has, until now, been able to enforce those parameters on others in the region.
But the story is more complicated than that.
At the same time, Israel seeks to maximise its ability to influence those parameters in its own interests, chiefly by shaping military, political and cultural discourse in the United States, through the many levers available to it.
Mobilised by Zionist lobbies Zionist lobbies, both Jewish and Christian, mobilise large numbers of ordinary people to support whatever Israel claims to be in both its and US interests.
Mega-donors like Adelson use their wealth to cajole and intimidate US politicians.
Think-tanks with murky funding write legislation on Israel’s behalf that US politicians wave through.
Legal organisations, again with opaque funding, weaponise the law to silence and bankrupt.
And media owners, all too often in Israel’s camp, mould the public mood to stigmatise as “antisemitism” anything that opposes Israeli excesses.
This makes for a very messy arrangement.
The trouble with the idea that the US simply dictates to Israel — rather than that the two are constantly bargaining over what constitutes their shared interests — becomes apparent the moment we consider the two-and-a-half-year genocide in Gaza.
Desire to ‘disappear’ Palestinians Israel has long had a fervent desire to disappear the Palestinians, whether through ethnic cleansing or genocide.
It wants the whole of historic Palestine, and the Palestinians are an obstacle to the realisation of that goal. Should the opportunity arise, Israel is also keen to secure a Greater Israel that requires grabbing and annexing substantial territory from neighbours, particularly Lebanon and Syria — as it is doing again right now.
After the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023, Israel seized on the chance to renew in earnest the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians it began in 1948, at the state’s founding.
It carpet-bombed Gaza, creating a “humanitarian crisis”, to force Egypt to open the floodgates into Sinai, where it hoped to drive the enclave’s population. Cairo refused.
As a result, Israel tried to increase the pressure by slaughtering and starving the people of Gaza. In legal terms, that constituted genocide.
But the idea that the US was deeply invested in Israel carrying out a genocide in Gaza, or directed that genocide, or had any particular interest in the genocide taking place, is hard to sustain.
Washington — first under Biden, then under Trump — gave Israel cover to carry out the mass slaughter of the Palestinian population, and armed and financed the genocide. But that is very different from it having a geostrategic interest in the mass slaughter.
Indifferent to Palestinians’ fate Rather, the US is and always has been largely indifferent as to the fate of the Palestinians, so long as they are contained. They can be locked up permanently in occupation prisons.
Or ethnically cleansed to Sinai and Jordan. Or given a pretend statelet under a compliant dictator like Mahmoud Abbas. Or exterminated.
The US will bankroll whichever option Israel believes best serves its interests — so long as that “solution” can be sold by pro-Israel lobbies to western publics as a legitimate “response” to Palestinian “terrorism”.
What Israel could get away with changed on 7 October 2023. The US was prepared to approve Israel shifting from a policy of intermittently “mowing the lawn” in Gaza — short wrecking sprees — to the incremental levelling of the whole of Gaza.
In other words, Israel worked all its levers to persuade Washington that it was the right time for it to get away with genocide. It sold to the US the plan that Gaza could now be destroyed.
To present that as Washington’s plan is simply perverse. It was decisively Israel’s plan.
That doesn’t diminish in any way US responsibility for the genocide. It is fully complicit. It paid for the genocide. It armed the genocide. It must own it too.
Similar Iran war analysis A similar analysis can be applied to the Iran war.
The US and Israel share the same larger policy towards Iran: they want it contained, weak, unable to exert influence. But they do so for slightly different reasons.
Israel demands to be regional hegemon in the Middle East, an invaluable client state with privileged access to Washington policymakers. Its supremacy and impunity, therefore, depend on Iran — its only plausible rival in the region — being as weak as possible and incapable of forging effective alliances with armed resistance groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Equally, Washington wants Israel unthreatened, leaving its ally free to project US imperial power into the Middle East.
But it has a more complex set of interests to consider. It needs to ensure that the Arab monarchies remain compliant, and it does so by both wielding a stick — threatening to unleash the attack dog of Israel on them should they disobey — and proffering a carrot — promising to shield them under its security umbrella against Iran so long as they stay loyal.
The ultimate goal is to guarantee unchallenged US control over the flow of oil and thereby the global economy.
In other words, the US has to weigh far more interests in how it deals with Iran than Israel does.
Effects on the global economy Unlike Israel, Washington has to consider the effects of an attack on Iran on the global economy, to assess any impact on the dollar as the world’s reserve currency, and protect against rival powers like China and Russia exploiting strategic missteps.
For those reasons, Washington has traditionally preferred maintaining a degree of stability in the region. Instability is very bad for business, as is being demonstrated only too clearly right now.
Israel, by contrast, regards its struggle against Iran in existential terms. Many in the Israeli cabinet view it as a religious war. They are not interested in simply containing Iran – a decades-old policy they believe has failed. They want Iran and its allies on their knees, or at least in so much chaos that they cannot pose any kind of challenge to Israeli regional hegemony.
That point was highlighted by Jake Sullivan, Joe Biden’s former national security adviser, this week in an interview with Jon Stewart. He cited recent comments to him by Israel’s former military intelligence lead on Iran, Danny Cintrinowicz, that Netanyahu’s aim is to “just break Iran, cause chaos”.
Why? “Because,” says Sullivan, “as far as they’re concerned, a broken Iran is less of a threat to Israel.”
In other words, Israel wants to engineer instability in Iran, which is sure to spread instability across the region.
Those two agendas, as should be clear by now, are not easily compatible. Which is why Netanyahu has spent decades working every lever at his disposal in Washington to create an appetite for war.
Had war been self-evidently in US interests, his efforts would have been superfluous.
Israel deployed its lobbies Instead, Israel has had to deploy its lobbies, marshal its donors and recruit sympathetic columnists to slowly shift the public mood to the point where a war was conceivable rather than patently dangerous.
And most importantly of all, Israel nurtured an intimate, ideological alliance with the neocons — hawkish, zealously pro-Israel US officials — who long ago gained a foothold in the inner sanctums of Washington.
Each recent administration has been a cat-fight over whether the neocons or more “moderate” voices would win out. Under George W Bush, the neocons dominated, leading to the invasion of Iraq in 2003, Israel’s short war on Lebanon in 2006, and a failed plan to expand the war to Syria and then Iran.
Under Obama, the neocons were forced to take more of a back seat, which is why his administration was able to sign a nuclear deal with Iran that held until Trump ripped it up in 2018, during his first term as president. Biden, as with so much else, dithered.
In Trump’s second term, the neocons seem to be firmly back in charge, again weaving their mischief. The result — an illegal war on Iran — is likely to be a strategic catastrophe for the US, and a potential, if short-lived, victory for Israel.
So isn’t this the same as saying the tail wags the dog?
Sole repositories of power No, not least because that assumes the visible realm of US politics — the President, the Congress, the two main political parties — are the sole repositories of power in the system.
Even in this visible sphere, support for Israel has dramatically waned since the Gaza genocide. As the illegal war on Iran grows ever more costly, both in treasure and lives, support for Israel among US voters is going to fall off a cliff.
Israel is for the first time a deeply partisan issue, dividing Democrats and Republicans, as well as a generational divide between the young and old. It is even splitting the MAGA base Trump depends on.
Americans’ sympathies in the Middle East crisis. Source: Gallup World Affairs surveys
This political polarisation will continue to get much worse, ultimately freeing braver figures in US politics to start speaking out in franker terms about Israel’s nefarious role.
But power in the US isn’t just wielded at the formal, visible level. There is a permanent bureaucracy, with an institutional memory, that operates out of sight. We have gained brief glimpses of its covert operations from the work of Wikileaks, Julian Assange’s publishing platform for whistleblowers, and from Edward Snowden, the whistleblower who revealed illegal mass surveillance by the US state of its own citizens.
Both suffered serious consequences for their efforts to bring a little transparency to a profoundly corrupt system of secret power. Assange was locked away in a London high-security prison for many years as the US sought to extradite him on trumped-up “espionage” charges, while Snowden was forced into exile in Russia to evade arrest and long-term incarceration.
That bureaucracy — sometimes referred to as the Deep State, or the military-industrial complex — doesn’t play or fight fair. It doesn’t need to. It operates in the shadows.
Curtailing Israel’s influence Were it to so choose, it could undermine the Israel lobby, and thereby curtail Israel’s influence over the visible realm of US politics.
It could effectively do to the leaders of the lobby — AIPAC, the Anti-Defamation League, the Zionist Organisation of America, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organisations, Christians United for Israel, and others — what it did to Assange and Snowden.
It could, for example, influence public discourse to begin questioning whether these groups are really serving US interests or acting as foreign agents. That would, in turn, free up space for the media and legislators to call for tighter restrictions on these groups’ activities, requiring them to register as such.
The permanent bureaucracy is doubtless capable of doing much darker, underhand things too.
The fact that it hasn’t chosen to do any of this yet suggests Israel’s goals are not seen so far to be significantly in conflict with US goals.
But that could be about to change. In fact, the current, all-too-public debates about Israel driving the US into a war against Iran — an idea already seeping into popular consciousness — may be the first salvoes in the battle to come.
If the war on Iran turns out to be a catastrophic misstep, as it gives every appearance of being, there will be a price to pay — and leading US politicians are likely to scramble to shift the blame on to Israel. It may be that they are already getting in their excuses.
The all-too-visible freedom Israel has enjoyed in Washington to buy, bully and silence could soon become a central liability. It will not be hard to argue that a system so clearly open to manipulation that the US could be bounced into a self-sabotaging war needs to be remade, to prevent any repeat of such a disaster.
This may be the biggest lesson Washington learns from the war on Iran. That it is time to stop the tail wagging so vigorously.
Jonathan Cook is a writer, journalist and self-appointed media critic and author of many books about Palestine. Winner of the Martha Gellhorn Special Prize for Journalism. This article was first published on the author’s Substack and reepublished with permission.
“On my first day as a refugee lawyer – in three different jobs – they thought I was the refugee, not the lawyer’, Perera says in a clip of her stand-up posted to social media that many Australians related to.
“The best thing about comedy is saying something very personal, but having it resonate around a room, around the country. That’s what makes it really, really beautiful.
“I keep looking over my shoulder like, is this allowed for an adult to be having quite this much fun?” she tells RNZ’s Saturday Morning.
This video is hosted on Youtube.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Ford has written to owners of Escape PHEVs regarding a battery issue.STR
An owner of a Ford hybrid vehicle that has had a problem identified with its battery says it could not have happened at a worse time.
Ford said it had written to the owners of some Escape PHEVs regarding a battery issue that could create a fire hazard, if they were fully charged.
“A manufacturing defect in one or more of the vehicle’s high voltage battery cells may cause the cell to develop an internal short circuit. Ford globally has had no incidents reported and the batteries we’ve checked, again globally, less than one percent have shown it to even be a potential issue.
“In NZ, we’ve had no known incidents and no batteries have yet been found to have the issue in question.
“However, as an added safety precaution, Ford has asked customers to limit the charging to 80 percent and drive in auto EV mode only. This is not a ‘stop drive’ issue.
“Ford is investigating a permanent solution and will be in contact again with customers asap.”
Brian Holmes said it was very inconvenient to be told his vehicle could “burst into flames”, when he wanted to rely on the battery more than ever.
He told Ford that, given the fuel crisis and the increasing uncertainty of the future price of petrol, the need to avoid using the full value of the plug-in hybrid could not have come at a worse time.
He had asked for compensation, but was told that a decision had not yet been made about whether that was possible.
“They don’t have a technical fix and have stonewalled my enquiry about compensation.”
Earlier, Westpac New Zealand managing director of institutional and business banking Reuben Tucker told RNZ demand for electric vehicles through the bank’s greater choices home loan top up and other loans for electric vehicles had soared.
“In the last two weeks, the number of applications for EVs through these products has roughly doubled,” he said.
“We don’t take the Force lightly, especially on their home patch and after the loss to the Brumbies last week it’s important we get the little things right on Saturday,” – Chiefs coach Jonno Gibbs.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Liam Lawson experienced a frustrating day in Japanese GP qualifying.AFP
Kiwi driver Liam Lawson will provisionally start 14th on the grid for Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix, after a frustrating day at the Suzuka Circuit.
Lawson got through the first qualifying session comfortably, finishing with the 11th-fastest lap, with the top 16 progressing.
With six more dropping out after the second session, Lawson needed a good time in his Racing Bulls car, but fell short.
Team-mate Arvid Lindblad made it through, with the 10th-fastest lap, 1.541 seconds behind top qualifier Kimi Antonelli.
Antonelli will start from pole position, his second pole in a row, after the Chinese Grand Prix, which he won convincingly.
The 19-year-old Italian was fastest in the third qualifying session, with Mercedes teammate George Russell alongside on the front row. Oscar Piastri, who missed out on the first two F1 races of the season, will start from three, alongside Charles Leclerc, with Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton next. Lindblad will start from 10th.
In the earlier final practice session, Lawson had finished with the 12th fastest lap, showing anger, after claiming he was blocked by one of the Haas cars.
“What the f***, man, oh my God,” Lawson said on his Racing Bulls team radio. “He just literally parked it on the apex the whole way through.”
Lawson earned his first points of the season at the Chinese Grand Prix, with top-10 finishes in both the sprint and the grand prix.
He sits on eight points, in ninth place, with Russell leading the standings on 51 points, four points ahead of Antonelli.
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Cure Kids chief executive Frances Soutter.RNZ / Pretoria Gordon
Cure Kids warns 60,000 children in New Zealand each year are admitted to hospital with a preventable disease.
It is calling for the government to take action, following the release of the fifth State of Child Health report on Friday.
The report found the hospitalisation rate for children with respiratory conditions had increased by 60 percent since 2000.
“These are not rare or unavoidable illnesses,” Cure Kids chief executive Frances Soutter said. “They are, in many cases, preventable and our youngest children are carrying the greatest burden.”
Soutter said those under the age of one accounted for half the children in hospital for a respiratory condition.
The report called for a vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus or RSV to be funded.
Auckland University professor of paediatrics and emergency medicine Stuart Dalziel said RSV was the leading cause of bronchiolitis, which hospitalised one in 12 children per year.
Nirsevimab would prevent that, Dalziel said.
Auckland University professor of paediatrics and emergency medicine Stuart Dalziel.RNZ / Pretoria Gordon
The report also called for the influenza vaccine to be funded for children under five.
“We know that young children have the highest hospitalisation rates for flu and it plays a major role in spreading it within communities,” Soutter said. “This is a really practical, really cost-effective step that would protect our children and those around them.”
While the hospitalisation rate for those with rheumatic fever or heart disease had returned to the same level as before the pandemic, Pacific children were 43 times more likely to be admitted to hospital with the disease than other children.
University of Auckland researcher, associate professor Anneka Anderson.RNZ / Pretoria Gordon
University of Auckland researcher and associate professor Anneka Anderson said that rate could be reduced by more than 85 percent, if the inequities were eliminated.
“Rheumatic fever is one of our country’s most glaring health inequities, and the extreme disparities we see in hospitalisation rates for our tamariki Māori and Pacific children, compared to non-Māori, non-Pacific children, are unacceptable in a country with the resources Aotearoa has,” she said.
“With co-ordinated prevention strategies and sustained investment in research, this disease is entirely preventable.”
Health Minister Simeon Brown told RNZ that the government was focused on prevention, as well as improving the health of children and young people.
“Making sure children can access timely, quality healthcare close to home is a fundamental part of that.
“That is why we are so focused on ensuring families can see a doctor when they need to, including through free GP appointments for children aged 13 and under.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Cuba’s Ambassador to New Zealand, Luis Morejón Rodríguez, last night made a passionate plea for his country’s sovereignty in defiance of the illegal US-led fuel blockade of the Caribbean nation.
Speaking at a packed Auckland Trades Hall, he warned that the three-month oil blockade and energy blackouts threatened the country’s public health system with dire consequences for many patients.
“In Cuba today, approximately 16,000 patients undergoing radiotherapy and more than 2800 patients receiving hemodialysis depend every day on a stable electricity supply in hospitals across the country,” he said.
“These are life-sustaining treatments that cannot simply be postponed without risk.”
He said Cuba would continue to oppose Washington’s escalating military threats and economic pressure on his country.
New Zealand supporters of Cuba at last night’s solidarity public meeting in Auckland with Cuban Ambassador Luis Morejón Rodríguez. Image: Asia Pacific Report
Speaking alongside Ambassador Rodríguez was Dr Josephine Varghese, a Canterbury University lecturer who shared an eyewitness account of her recent trip to Havana.
She praised Cuba and “our collective fight against the global imperialism system”.
Military assault openly discussed A military assault on Cuba has been openly discussed by US President Donald Trump and other White House officials since the illegal January 2 strike against Venezuela and kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and also during the current war on Iran.
The Nuestra America Convoy humanitarian aid arrives in Havana this week. Image: Asia Pacific Report
However, two Mexican sailboats on the Nuestra America Convoy that has just arrived in Cuba this week were reportedly missing at sea and coast guard authorities from Cuba and Mexico are looking for them.
Ambassador Rodríguez said solidarity aid flotillas were really important for Cubans as they demonstrated global support.
During his speech last night, Ambassador Rodríguez said that when energy availability became uncertain, hospitals needed to prioritise essential services, and non-urgent procedures often needed to be delayed, preserving electricity and fuel resources.
“In other words, restrictions on fuel do not only affect economic indicators. They directly affect operating rooms, diagnostic equipment, medical treatments, and ultimately the health and well-being of patients,” he said.
University lecturer Dr Josephine Varghese talks about her recent Cuban solidarity experience on a visit to Havana. Image: Asia Pacific Report
‘Coercion and collective punishment’ “That is why Cuba has described these measures as economic coercion and collective punishment.”
Ambassador Rodríguez said the world was living in a moment when the international system was being tested.
“Increasingly, we see the logic of power challenging the logic of law.
“For countries like Cuba — small countries — international law is not an abstract concept. It is our main protection.”
He criticised President Trump’s claim in January that Cuba represented an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to US national security.
“Let us pause for a moment and reflect on that statement. Cuba is a Caribbean island of 10 million people,” he said.
‘We do not project power’ “We do not possess nuclear weapons. We do not have military bases abroad. We do not project military power internationally.
“And yet we are described as an extraordinary threat.
“But this declaration is not merely rhetorical. It has very concrete consequences.”
With Cubans continuing to live under prolonged blackouts and the government preparing for military confrontation, the audience last night celebrated Cuba’s courageous resistance, saying it was an inspiration to the world.
The fuel blockade, enforced by the US naval armada in the Caribbean, piles pressure on top of Washington’s economic embargo that has been in place since the early 1960s.
Discussing the impact of the blockade on Cubans that she witnessed on her travel to Cuba in January, Dr Varghese said the unjust US measures “denied working people access to the most basic necessities, from medicines to electricity and transportation”.
She linked the Cuban crisis to the Palestinian, Iranian and Venezuelan struggles for peace and justice.
The Cuba Friendship Society, which sponsoring last night’s meeting chaired by retired trade unionist Robert Reid, noted that the only crime of Cuba and its people was that of overthrowing a US-backed dictator in 1959, and then defending their sovereignty and other conquests of their revolution in the six decades since.
The ambassador is also due to speak at public meetings in Christchurch and Wellington.
The Cuban flag and an iconic image of Ernesto “Che” Guevara, an Argentine Marxist revolutionary and guerrilla leader who played a key role in the Cuban Revolution at a solidarity meeting in Auckland last night. Image: Asia Pacific Report
Police chose Habitat For Humanity as a suitable charity.NZ Police
A local charity will benefit from stolen property, after a North Canterbury burglar was sentenced in the Christchurch District Court last week.
Last year, police identified a pattern of late-night burglaries at residential construction sites in Rangiora and Rolleston between March and April, where ovens, cooktops, lighting and other new fixtures were being stolen.
Area prevention manager Senior Sergeant Rachel Walker said the offending caused considerable stress, delays, and financial loss for homeowners and builders across the region.
The 42-year-old man was sentenced to nine months and 14 days’ home detention, Walker said.
“Amongst the sentencing conditions, the judge ordered that all recovered property that had no known owner was to be donated to charity,” she added.
The stolen goods donated to Habitat for Humanity New Zealand.NZ Police
“This is a great outcome and ensures that the community benefits from the recovery of stolen property.”
Police chose Habitat For Humanity as a suitable charity.
The charity focuses on providing and improving housing lower-income families through initiatives like rent-to-buy programmes and community rentals, allocating warm, dry and safe housing based on need.
“The remaining 52 appliances and fittings that were recovered by police may now provide direct benefit to community groups and families who need them,” Walker said.
“This was a great piece of investigative work from the team and even better that this goes towards helping people in our communities.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Follow all the Super Rugby Pacific action, as the Blues take on the Fijian Drua at Eden Park.
“The Drua are a dangerous side when you give them space. They play with a lot of flair and confidence, so for us it’s about being accurate, controlling the tempo and making good decisions under pressure,” – Blues coach Vern Cotter.
Dual British or Irish New Zealanders have no exemption to the new UK border rule.RNZ /Gill Bonnett
The Immigration (Enhanced Risk Management) Amendment Bill has been debated in Parliament for the first time. The government bill, which would amend the Immigration Act, is being shepherded by National MP and Minister of Immigration, Erica Stanford.
The bill describes itself as aimed at better meeting the Immigration Act’s purpose of balancing “the national interest… and the rights of individuals”.
Amendments proposed in the bill would touch on both sides of that equation, with new tools to both deport immigrants and to protect them.
The bill’s main provisions are outlined below, followed by political responses.
The bill: Deportations
The deportation aspect of the bill strengthens the “deportation liability settings” for immigrants on resident visas. It also makes “deportation liability a more likely outcome for lower-level criminal offending”. (All quotes in this section are from the bill’s own Explanatory Note.)
After being granted a resident visa, a migrant remains liable to be deported for subsequent criminal offending. The period of continuing liability varies depending on the severity of the offence. Those liability periods (since receiving a visa) are lengthening.
For offences subject to imprisonment of at least three months, the period of liability lengthens from two to five years. For offences punishable by two-plus years imprisonment, the liability period changes from five years to 10. For offences culpable for five-plus years, the liability period changes from 10years to 15; and for offending punishable by at least 10 years’ prison, it changes from 10 years to 20.
The liability period resets if a migrant with a resident visa is absent from New Zealand for five years.
Criminal conviction outside New Zealand prior to a visa being granted always makes a visa-holder liable for deportation.
Other deportation liability changes aim to fill gaps in current legislation. The bill would clarify “the range of false and misleading submissions that can make a person liable for deportation; and that historic crimes that were committed outside New Zealand can give rise to deportation liability; and how administrative errors can give rise to deportation liability.”
Misleading and false information will also include omission of information that was potentially prejudicial.
More data sharing between government agencies would be allowed, to check things such as applicant’s claims, identity and character; or to check eligibility for funded services or benefits.
Anybody committing a criminal act while in New Zealand on a visitor or temporary visa, as well as those illegally in the country, would be unable to appeal a deportation order on humanitarian grounds.
Victims of serious offenders who are undergoing deportation proceedings would have “the right to be heard during their offender’s deportation proceedings, whether or not the offence against them is the basis of the offender’s liability for deportation.”
The bill: Migrant exploitation offences
The bill also includes changes to offences and penalties related to migrant exploitation. There are three particular changes.
The bill “extends the maximum prison sentence for migrant exploitation offending from seven to ten years”. (All quotes in this section are from the bill’s own Explanatory Note.)
It creates new offences relating to providing “incorrect or incomplete information to the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment (MBIE)”, and also for failing to provide wage and time records when requested.
It would also extend MBIE’s timeframe for issuing infringement notices for some offences. Migrant exploitation offences have not always been readily or easily reported by victims, which has allowed some offenders to escape justice by dint of the time limits for proceedings allowed for by the Summary Proceedings Act 1957.
The bill will also seek to prevent the use of temporary asylum visas as a stalling tactic in order to apply for a different kind of visa. An asylum claimant who withdraws that claim would be ineligible for other visas.
Chris Penk.RNZ / Nathan McKinnon
Political agreement
The three governing parties are in favour, unsurprisingly. Chris Penk spoke for National, on behalf of the Immigration Minister Erica Stanford.
“This bill provides practical, targeted improvements so that our immigration system can detect, deter, and respond to risk in a firm but fair way, welcoming those who contribute while being clear eyed about misuse and criminal behaviour.”
ACT’s Parmjeet Parmar noted that while ACT supports the bill, they want to further extend deportation liability for residence class visa holders. The current 10-year liability is being extended to 20 years for serious crimes. Parmar wants more.
“Why should consequences expire after 10 years or 20 years if somebody is on a residence class visa? I am proposing an amendment that it should be an unlimited period – the extension of deportation liability should be for an unlimited period – and I’m talking about serious criminal offending.”
New Zealand First offered no amendments. Casey Costello argued the bill fits with the view of American conservative political philosopher Russell Kirk that “every right is married to a duty; every freedom owes a corresponding responsibility”.
Political opposition
Labour’s Phil Twyford (a former associate minister of immigration), strongly opposed the bill.
“This bill is a pretty naked exercise in election-year politicking at the expense of migrants and refugees. The minister of immigration wants to look tough.”
Speaking from his experience as a minister and electorate MP he spoke about humanitarian cases that sometimes involved disabled children.
“I can tell the House that there’s no shortage of cases where Immigration New Zealand has made a sequence of poor decisions, where the interests of the children have not been given the weight required under our international treaty obligations. Justice is, in a significant number of cases, only finally delivered through an appeal to the tribunal on exceptional humanitarian circumstances.”
Ricardo Menendez March.VNP / Phil Smith
Green MP Ricardo Menendez March was no less incensed, though his focus was on undocumented migrants.
“This is a Trump administration-inspired, MAGA-loving piece of legislation that deserves to be put in the bin. If you heard the minister’s contribution, you would think that this is a completely different bill from the one I have in front of me.
“In the bill itself, it’s quite clear: this is a bill that seeks to demonise and target undocumented migrants by giving more powers to our immigration officials to target them if they suspect that they may be in breach of their visa conditions.”
Duncan Webb raised an issue with the proposed changes to rules about cancelling an asylum claim. He pointed out that if an asylum seeker fell in love with a New Zealand citizen while awaiting a decision on their claim, they would no longer be able to cancel their claim (in order to obtain a partnership visa) because doing so would make them ineligible for any visa.
Te Pāti Māori did not speak in the first reading debate.
The Immigration (Enhanced Risk Management) Amendment Billis here.
The Regulatory Impact Statement for the billis here.
The Departmental Disclosure Statement for the billis here.
The Hansard report of the first reading debate ishere.
The Education & Workforce Committee page – for information on submissions etc ishere.
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