New Zealand Pro-Palestine protesters gathered at West Auckland’s Te Pai Park today, celebrating successes of the BDS movement against apartheid Israel while condemning the failure of the country’s coalition government to impose sanctions against the pariah state.

“They’ve done nothing,” said Neil Scott, secretary of the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA).

He outlined successes of the global BDS Movement and explained now New Zealanders could keep up the pressure on the NZ government and on the Zionist state that had been “systematically” breaching the US-brokered “ceasefire” in Gaza.

The criticisms followed the condemnation of New Zealand’s stance last week by the secretary-general of the global human rights group Amnesty International, Agnès Callamard, who said the government had a “Trumpian accent” and had remained silent on Gaza.

“Internationally, we don’t hear New Zealand. We haven’t heard New Zealand on some of the fundamental challenges that we are confronting, including Israel’s genocide, Palestine or climate,” she said in a RNZ radio interview.

Te Atatu MP Phil Twyford also spoke at the Te Pai Park rally, saying that the government was “going backwards” from the country’s traditional independent foreign policy and that it was “riddled with Zionists”.

After the rally, protesters marched on the local McDonalds franchise. McDonalds Israel is accused of supporting the IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) genocidal crimes in Gaza by supplying free meals to the military, prompting a global BDS boycott.

Türkiye arrest warrants for Israelis
Meanwhile, Türkiye has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and 36 other suspects over Gaza genocide charges

Israel, under Netanyahu, has killed close to 69,000 people, mostly women and children, and wounded more than 170,600 others in the genocide in Gaza since October 2023.

TRT World News reports that the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said yesterday it had issued arrest warrants for 37 suspects, including Netanyahu, on charges of “genocide” in Gaza.

In a statement, the Prosecutor’s Office said the warrants were issued after an extensive investigation into Israel’s “systematic” attacks on civilians in Gaza, which it described as acts of genocide and crimes against humanity.

The probe was launched following complaints filed by victims and representatives of the Global Sumud Flotilla, a civilian humanitarian mission, that was recently intercepted by Israeli naval forces while attempting to deliver aid to Gaza.

The statement said evidence gathered from victims, eyewitnesses, and international law provisions indicated that Israeli military and political leaders were directly responsible for ordering and carrying out attacks on hospitals, aid convoys, and civilian infrastructure.

Citing specific incidents, the Prosecutor’s Office referred to the killing of six-year-old Hind Rajab by Israeli soldiers, the bombing of al-Ahli Arab Hospital that killed more than 500 people, and the strike on the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, among other atrocities.

Turkiye has issued arrest warrants for Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials, accusing them of ‘genocide and crimes against humanity’ over Israel’s war on Gaza https://t.co/ijOfz1wZSF pic.twitter.com/34UJIQosKR

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) November 8, 2025

Additional war crimes
The office said that the investigation determined Israel’s blockade of Gaza had “deliberately prevented humanitarian assistance from reaching civilians,” constituting an additional war crime under international law.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Mayor Wayne Brown has shut down criticism that he was too slow in declaring a state of emergency after severe flooding in Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city.

In a media stand-up late on Friday evening, Brown said he was following advice from experts and as soon as they said it was time to declare an emergency, he signed it off.

“It wasn’t as if nothing was happening before that,” Brown said.

Brown said he was confident the state of emergency had been declared at the right time as it would have been “irresponsible” to rush ahead and declare the emergency just because the public was calling for it.

It was officially declared at 9.54pm.

He said it was “not my job to rush out with buckets”.

Evacuations underway
Meanwhile, evacuations were underway across the city as the wild weather flooded homes, caused slips and power outages.

Auckland Airport closed its international terminal due to flooding inside the building.

“Due to the damage, no domestic or international flights will be arriving or departing from Auckland Airport before noon Saturday, 29 January,” said an announcement.

The wild weather also led to the cancellation of Sir Elton John’s concert at Mt Smart Stadium just a few minutes before the singer was due to take the stage.

Earlier, RNZ News reported that residents in flood-prone areas of West Auckland were being asked to prepare to evacuate as the bad weather caused power cuts and car crashes across Tāmaki Makaurau, with a severe thunderstorm watch in place for the north of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Auckland Emergency Management said the severe weather across the city was worsening and it was trying to assess what action was needed.

‘At risk’ phone number
If lives were at risk, residents should phone 111 immediately, it said in a social media post.

It also asked people to check on neighbours, friends and family members but not to put themselves in danger to do so.

Aucklanders had faced a chaotic commute ahead of the long weekend for the city’s anniversary with some ferries cancelled, and crashes on the northwestern and southwestern motorways.

The north, and north west, areas of Auckland have been particularly hit by the weather, police said in a statement.

Auckland Anniversary Day on January 29 is a public holiday observed in the northern half of the North Island of New Zealand, being the region’s provincial anniversary day.

It is observed throughout the historic Auckland Province, even though the provinces of New Zealand were abolished in 1876.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Flooding has forced us out of studio. More to come

— Checkpoint (@CheckpointRNZ) January 27, 2023

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Residents in flood-prone areas of West Auckland are being asked to prepare to evacuate as bad weather causes power cuts and car crashes across Tāmaki Makaurau, with a severe thunderstorm watch in place for the north of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Auckland Emergency Management said the severe weather across the city was worsening and it was trying to assess what action was needed.

If lives were at risk, residents should phone 111 immediately, it said in a social media post.

It also asked people to check on neighbours, friends and family members but not to put themselves in danger to do so.

Aucklanders have faced a chaotic commute ahead of the long weekend for the city’s anniversary with some ferries cancelled, and crashes on the northwestern and southwestern motorways.

The north, and north west, areas of Auckland have been particularly hit by the weather, police said in a statement.

Auckland Anniversary Day on January 29 is a public holiday observed in the northern half of the North Island of New Zealand, being the region’s provincial anniversary day.

It is observed throughout the historic Auckland Province, even though the provinces of New Zealand were abolished in 1876.

Sir Elton John was expected to take to the stage at Auckland’s Mt Smart Stadium for the final time tonight and tomorrow night with crowds of 40,000.

However, tonight’s concert was cancelled and more bad weather is expected tomorrow.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Flooding has forced us out of studio. More to come

— Checkpoint (@CheckpointRNZ) January 27, 2023

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz