BBC coverage of the attack on a football pitch in the Golan Heights last Saturday has been intentionally misleading.

The BBC’s evening news entirely ignored the fact that those killed by the blast are a dozen Syrians, not Israeli citizens, and that for decades the surviving Syrian population in the Golan, most of them Druze, has been forced to live unwillingly under an Israeli military occupation.

I suppose mention of this context might complicate the story Israel and the BBC wish to tell — and risk reminding viewers that Israel is a belligerent state occupying not just Palestinian territory but Syrian territory too (not to mention nearby Lebanese territory).

It might suggest to audiences that these various permanent Israeli occupations have been contributing not only to large-scale human rights abuses but to regional tensions as well. That Israel’s acts of aggression against its neighbours might be the cause of “conflict”, rather than, as Israel and the BBC would have us believe, some kind of unusual, pre-emptive form of self-defence.

The BBC, of course, chose to uncritically air comments from a military spokesman for Israel, who blamed Hizbullah for the blast in the Golan.

Daniel Hagari tried to milk the incident for maximum propaganda value, arguing: “This attack shows the true face of Hezbollah, a terrorist organisation that targets and murders children playing soccer.”

Except, as the BBC failed to mention in its report, Israel infamously targeted and murdered four young children from the Bakr family playing football on a beach in Gaza in 2014.

Much more recently, video footage showed Israel striking yet more children playing football at a school in Gaza that was serving as a shelter for families whose homes were destroyed by earlier Israeli bombs.

Panic as Israeli strike hits near Gaza school playground.  Video: The Guardian

Doubtless other strikes in Gaza over the past 10 months, so many of them targeting school-shelters, have killed Palestinian children playing football 0- especially as it is one of the very few ways they can take their mind off the horror all around.

So, should we – and the BBC – not conclude that all these attacks on children playing football make the Israeli military even more of a terrorist organisation than Hizbullah?

Note too the way the western media are so ready to accept unquestioningly Israel’s claim that Hizbullah was responsible for the blast – and dismiss Hizbullah’s denials.

Viewers are discouraged from exercising their memories. Any who do may recall that those same media outlets were only too willing to take on faith Israeli disinformation suggesting that Hamas had hit Gaza’s al-Ahli hospital back in October, even when all the evidence showed it was an Israeli air strike.

(Israel soon went on to destroy all Gaza’s hospitals, effectively eradicating the enclave’s health sector, on the pretext that medical facilities there served as Hamas bases – another patently preposterous claim the western media treated with wide-eyed credulity.)

The BBC next went to Jerusalem to hear from diplomatic editor Paul Adams. He intoned gravely: “This is precisely what we have been worrying about for the past 10 months — that something of this magnitude would occur on the northern border, that would turn what has been a simmering conflict for all of these months into an all-out war.”

So there you have it. Paul Adams and the BBC concede they haven’t been worrying for the past 10 months about the genocide unfolding under their very noses in Gaza, or its consequences.

A genocide of Palestinians, apparently, is not something of significant “magnitude”.

Only now, when Israel can exploit the deaths of Syrians forced to live under its military rule as a pretext to expand its “war”, are we supposed to sit up and take notice. Or so the BBC tells us.

Update – ‘Tightening the noose’:
Facebook instantly removed a post linking to this article — and for reasons that are entirely opaque to me (apart from the fact that it is critical of the BBC and Israel).

Facebook’s warning, threatening that my account may face “more account restrictions”, suggests that I was misleading followers by taking them to a “landing page that impersonates another website”. That is patent nonsense. The link took them to this Substack page.

As I have been warning for some time, social media platforms have been tightening the noose around the necks of independent journalists like me, making our work all but impossible to find. It is only a matter of time before we are disappeared completely.

Substack has been a lifeline, because it connects readers to my work directly — either through email or via Substack’s app — bypassing, at least for the moment, the grip of the social-media billionaires.

If you wish to keep reading my articles, and haven’t already, please sign up to my Substack page.

Jonathan Cook is the author of three books on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and a winner of the Martha Gellhorn Special Prize for Journalism. His website and blog can be found at www.jonathan-cook.net. This article was first published on Substack and is republished with the permission of the author.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Deputy Prime Minister Professor Biman Prasad has called on the Fiji Football Association to address the problem of the decline of the Fiji’s men’s global football ranking.

He made the request to the national governing body while welcoming FIFA president Gianni Infantino to Fiji at the weekend.

Infantino was in the country as part of his visit to Oceania member countries.

The Fiji men’s football team, known as the “Bula Boys”, is ranked 168 — seventh out of the 11 teams in the Oceania Football Confederation.

Fiji is ranked below New Zealand (103), Solomon Islands (133), Papua New Guinea (159), New Caledonia (161), Tahiti (162) and Vanuatu (165).

Professor Prasad said that while FIFA’s financial support had been invaluable, it was vital to reflect and determine why Fiji’s performance was not on par with its glorious past.

‘All-time low’
“We all are wondering why our men’s football ranking has plummeted to an all-time low despite an abundance of talent and football in our country,” he said.

“We were ranked in the 1990s before the turn of the century. We used to defeat every nation in our region. We chalked up two wins over Australia in 1977 and 1988. We either beat or were on par with New Zealand.

“And that was in an era when football wasn’t even semi-professional. We are now professional according to our standings of player fees and transfers. But we aren’t improving despite what we are told are three football academies, primarily funded by FIFA.”

Professor Prasad raised questions about the effectiveness of the football academies established with FIFA’s funding and asked whether the talent was being nurtured adequately, and if the infrastructure and guidance provided were enough to support the aspirations of young players.

The Deputy Prime Minister also brought up concerns about the governance within Fiji FA, and stressed the importance of transparent and accountable leadership.

He said decisions should always be made in the best interest of football and the athletes.

‘It is the reality’
“What I said isn’t about recrimination. It is the reality where football descended to in the last 16 years. But it will change. And change for the better. Our conscience must be clear when dealing with governance issues.”

Responding to Professor Prasad’s criticism on Fiji’s poor ranking, Fiji FA president Rajesh Patel said they were not worried about the rankings as it was something that had declined when the side played more international matches.

He said in Fiji’s bid to compete at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, they had been playing quality opposition during FIFA international windows.

Patel said the under-20s participation at the under-20 World Cup in Argentina was proof of progress in the development of the sport in Fiji.

Rodney Duthie is a Fiji Times journalist. Republished with permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Edson Arantes do Nascimento passed away at the age of 82 after a brave battle with colon cancer in Brazil on 20 December 2022. Known as “O Rei”, “The Black Pearl”, and “Pelé”, he was an ambassador, businessperson, community worker to the world, cultural force, leader, soccer player, and politician.

In this article, I write about why I admired Pelé as a child.

Writing as an adult and activist, I also pay tribute to Pelé and articulate why “O Rei” remains an important teacher of decoloniality and decolonisation in contemporary Oceania.

Pelé in my childhood in the 1970s
I caught brief glimpses of Pelé’s soccer genius in sports highlights on Aotearoa television news as a child in the 1970s.

I did not grasp the tactical, technical, or strategic intricacies of professional soccer when watching Pelé play for the New York Cosmos as a child. But I did see Pelé’s genius with a soccer ball on television. I remember seeing him play with creativity, joy, and imagination.

Pelé brought joy into my difficult childhood.

Like other Pacific Islanders of his generation, my father was a born-again rugby supporter who did not rate football as a sport. But even he would marvel at O Rei’s exploits on Aotearoa television when Pelé appeared.

Pacific people recognised Pelé’s genius — just as they recognised the extraordinary gifts of Muhammad Ali in the boxing ring.

Years before the formation of the English Premier League, I grew to love watching the great British players representing the mighty first division English clubs. Aotearoa television would play a weekly English first division match, and we always received televised, free- to-air coverage of FA Cup Finals in the 1970s and 1980s.

I came to love Division One English club football in the 1970s and 1980s.

An Al Jazeera tribute to Pelé.

Historically, Aotearoa has always had a strong affinity with British football. Despite loving the English game, I saw that Pelé played soccer in a radically unique way.

In later years, I would understand that Pelé played an Afro-Brazilian style of football known as “jogo bonito”, or, the beautiful game — characterised by creativity and improvisation by individual players; off the ball movement; one touch passing; samba like team rhythm and tempo, and superlative dribbling, passing, and attacking movements on the ground and in the air by the entire team.

I watched documentaries about Pelé as a child and a teen when they appeared on Aotearoa television. But I was too young to see the televised, in-colour spectacle of “jogo bonito” performed by Alberto, Gerson, Jairzinho, Pele, or Rivellino at Mexico City when Brazil beat Italy 4-1 to win the 1970 World Cup. I would only watch these mighty players in the 1970 World Cup after Sky TV played classic matches.

Pelé, Brazil, and ‘jogo bonito’ in 1982
But I did witness the “jogo bonito” performed by the 1982 Brazilian side that featured Eder, Falcao, Junior, Socrates, and Zico. Although this side did not win the 1982 World Cup, they remain the greatest sporting team I have ever witnessed — they performed art and played soccer simultaneously.

Aotearoa’s mighty All Whites played this Brazilian side in the group stages of the 1982 tournament. The team also got to meet Pelé in person when O Rei visited the Aotearoa team changing room before the match.

I was too young to understand that the 1982 side played a style of Afro-Brazilian soccer that continued the legacy of the beautiful game begun by Didi, Garrincha, Pelé, and Jairzinho long years before. Pelé was one of the innovators of this style of play in Brazil.

Engaging with Pelé as an adult
As an adult, I developed a fuller understanding of Pelé, his life, and his historical context.

1. Pelé was born only 53 years after the abolition of slavery in Brazil in 1888 into an Afro-Brazilian family who often struggled to put food on the table. (Pelé writes about his childhood and the hardships he endured in his 2007 autobiography.)
2. The Black Pearl’s Afro-Brazilian people occupied the lowest socio-economic positions in Brazilian society.
3. Even today, Afro-Brazilians face discrimination in employment, the justice system, and day-to-day life in Brazil. The Brazilian police still target Afro-Brazilian male youth for violence even today.
4. Opposing team’s fans made monkey noises — whether Pelé played in Brazil or around the world with his club, Santos. Despite his popularity, Pelé was a target of racism.
5. Pelé’s Brazilian government prevented him from playing soccer in Europe by making him a “national treasure”. In consequence, Pelé could not sell his labour to European clubs. Critics have stated that this would never have happened to a white Brazilian.
6. Brazilians accused Pelé of getting too close to figures in the Brazilian dictatorship of 1964-1985 — such as General Medici.
7. Pelé’s former national teammate, Paulo Cesar Lima, said in the 2021 documentary Pelé that he loved Edson, but Lima also said he felt Pelé functioned as a “submissive Black man” during the height of the dictatorship repressions in 1969. Lima felt a statement by Pelé against the dictatorship in the late 1960s would have “gone a long way”.
8. Brazilian journalist Juca Kfouri stated that Pelé did not have a guarantee that the Brazilian regime would not torture him if he did speak out.
9. In Africa, ordinary people treated Pelé as a son when O Rei playing there in the late 1960s. Pelé remains a figure of Trans-Atlantic Black unity in Africa, the US, and in other parts of the Black Diaspora.
10. Apartheid security forces prevented Pelé from leaving an airport when he visited South Africa in the 1960s. Pelé swore he would never return until South Africa was free from Apartheid. He did return in the 1990s — to spend time with Nelson Mandela.
11. Pelé was a Goodwill Ambassador for the Rio De Janeiro Earth Summit in 1992.
12. He was a Minister for Sport in Brazil.
13. He was an ambassador for the UN, UNICEF, and UNESCO during his lifetime — always seeking to forge relationships with children.
14. He endured business failures.
15. He refused to recognise a daughter born out of wedlock.
16. Pelé was a significant cultural force in Brazil — for good and for bad.
17. He was a football genius. Football journalists such as Tim Vickery have spoken of Pelé’s soccer skills — Edson’s ability with both feet; acceleration; skills in the air; passing talents; unselfishness; football intelligence, and his psychological strength.

Pelé’s passing in the media
Since his untimely passing, television news networks such as Al Jazeera, BBC, CNN, MSNBC, and Television New Zealand have all honoured Pelé’s cultural, historical, political, and sporting legacy.

Similarly, print media in Aotearoa, Australia, Brazil, Britain, France, and South Africa have represented Pelé as a “cultural icon”, “hero”, “innovator”, “giant of sport”, an “artist”, a “genius”, and a “fine, humble, and warm human being”.

Print media sources in France and the US have also expressed criticism of Pelé for not doing more against the Brazilian dictatorship.

Sources in Brazil have criticised Pelé for not taking more of a public stand against racism in Brazil and the world.

Pelé’s aesthetics
Brazilian star Neymar wrote a moving tribute for O Rei after the great man died. In one part of his tribute, Neymar stated that Pelé transformed soccer into art. I agree with Neymar’s insight.

If one watches Pelé on film today, one sees a kinetic aesthetics of balance, gesture, grace, intelligence, power, speed, rhythm, and style — whether Pelé was in the air, in space, or in a crowd of players. One observes Pelé performing an aesthetics of creativity, joy, and improvisation. I have no doubt Pelé’s parents, coaches, friends, and teammates in Brazil all nurtured his aesthetics.

Simultaneously, I am in no doubt that Pelé’s aesthetic genius was a gift given him by his ancestors and by his historical experience of being Afro-Brazilian.

I am not Afro-Brazilian and do not pretend to understand the language of decoloniality and decolonisation Pelé performed in living motion on a soccer field. But I am convinced Pelé performed an aesthetics of Afro-Brazilian being, decolonisation, decoloniality, living, and expressing in his every movement on the soccer field.

Pelé performed the history of his ancestors on the soccer stage.

Pelé’s lessons for Oceania
In conclusion, Pelé taught me five things as a Pacific person in Aotearoa.

1. struggle to embrace joy and freedom in your life,
2. always extend solidarity to those engaged in the Black struggle,
3. remember the struggle for justice in Aotearoa, the Moana, Palestine, or West Papua are one with the struggle Black people face around the world,
4. always look for the talents and potential in your own Moana peoples, and
5. never be ashamed of your Oceanian ancestors, your genealogy, or your history.

Despite his handful of personal failings, Pelé remains one of my great teachers in decolonial Oceania.

The author, Tony Fala, acknowledges the lives of Brazilian football greats Garrincha, Pelé, and Socrates as the inspiration for this article. He also pays tribute to Pacific peoples across Oceania who believe in soccer as a sport that embraces emancipation, participation, struggle, and unity.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Political Roundup: Does New Zealand need to up its game with World Cup host Qatar? 

As the FIFA World Cup gets underway in Qatar, it is worth looking at the state of New Zealand’s wider relationship with the host nation.

While New Zealand often likes to think of itself as a small country, it comfortably outranks Qatar in both size and population.

In terms of area, Qatar is just over twice the size of the greater Auckland region. And the Gulf state’s population – at just under 3 million – makes New Zealand’s own 5 million figure seem generous.

But as the World Cup shows, size is no obstacle to Doha’s ambitions.

By some estimates, Qatar has spent over $US200 billion ($NZ325 billion) in preparation for hosting the tournament. This includes seven new stadiums – at a total cost of over $US6 billion – with the remainder being spent on building related infrastructure, such as a new metro system, airport, roads and hotels.

Of course, there have been widespread criticisms of Qatar’s hosting of the World Cup, particularly in relation to the country’s human rights record. An investigation by The Guardian in 2021 found over 6,500 migrant workers from South Asian countries such as India and Pakistan had died while working in Qatar since the country won its bid to host the World Cup in 2010.

In response, the Qatari government did not dispute the figure and said that ‘every lost life is a tragedy’ – but it also argued that only a minority of the recorded deaths were related to construction projects.

Like most other countries in the Middle East, Qatar also languishes well behind New Zealand when it comes to political rights and civil liberties. Freedom House, a US-based think tank, places Qatar near the bottom of its 2022 global rankings, with a status of ‘not free’ and a total score of just 25 out of 100. By comparison, New Zealand is one of the freest countries on earth, in fourth place and with a near-perfect score of 99 out of 100.

In its report, Freedom House notes Qatar’s monarchy and ban on political parties – and says the majority of the country’s residents are ‘noncitizens with no political rights, few civil liberties, and limited access to economic opportunity’.

Still, despite a slow pace of reform and criticism that the World Cup hosting amounts to ‘sportswashing’, the spotlight on Qatar has probably led it to implement more reforms than it would have done otherwise. And Qatar’s Freedom House ranking is still considerably better than many of New Zealand’s other trading partners, including its biggest export market, China.

Qatar began implementing labour reforms in 2017. These have included the introduction of a minimum wage for all workers, a rarity in the Middle East, and other changes to employment laws to provide more rights for the migrant workers that make up most of Qatar’s population.

Even Amnesty International – which is otherwise critical of the pace and scale of Qatar’s reforms – says the country has made ‘important strides’ and ‘noticeable improvements’. Some of this can be put down to cooperation with the International Labour Organisation (ILO), which opened a dedicated office in Doha in 2018. A recent ILO survey of workers in Qatar found that 86 per cent of respondents thought the reforms had benefited them.

Of course, there is plenty of room and opportunity for Doha to do more.

After all, Qatar is the fourth-richest country in the world when measured on a per capita, purchasing power parity (PPP) basis. At $US93,000, the country’s average annual income is more than double New Zealand’s $US46,000, according to figures from the World Bank.

Qatar’s wealth has been built on enormous deposits of natural gas – the third largest globally, after Russia and Iran – along with the world’s 13^th largest oil reserves. The war in Ukraine – and the desire from Europe and others to replace supplies of Russian energy – has seen Qatar become even more influential in 2022.

Joe Biden upgraded Qatar to the status of a ‘major non-NATO ally’ of the United States earlier in the year (the same status held by Australia), while a parade of European leaders have visited Doha in recent months.

In media, Qatar has created an outsized niche for itself by funding Al Jazeera, a TV network with a wide reach in both Arabic and English. Many New Zealanders have headed to Qatar to work for Al Jazeera’s English-language channel, which launched a decade after the original Arabic format began in 1996.

The network has not been without its detractors.

In 2017, a Saudi Arabia-led grouping of fellow Arab countries included the complete shutdown of Al Jazeera as one of 13 demands that Qatar would have to meet for an unprecedented blockade of the country to be lifted. The move was driven by perceptions by Saudi Arabia and its allies that Al Jazeera was interfering in their internal affairs and promoting Islamist movements, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood.

The rift – which began in June 2017 and was not lifted until early 2021 – saw Qatar almost completely isolated by some of its closest neighbours, which as well as Saudi Arabia (which shares an 87-kilometre border with Qatar) also included Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Consequences included the expulsion of Qatari citizens living in the four countries and the suspension of freight and passenger traffic by road, sea and air. This cut off many of Qatar’s food supplies that had previously come across the border from other Gulf countries. It also made life difficult for Qatar Airways, which was banned from operating to the blockading countries and even from using their airspace.

Qatar managed to survive the blockade in part by finding new trade and air routes through Turkey and Iran, but also by emphasising self-reliance. A homegrown dairy industry – focused on producing the fresh milk that was previously imported from Saudi Arabia – was one of the main outcomes of this strategy.

This focus on local production and self-sufficiency has remained even after the lifting of the blockade. Baladna – a state-supported dairy company that translates to ‘our country’ – has even expanded internationally, signing deals to expand into dairy production in Ukraine (before the war with Russia began) and Malaysia.

While this might concern New Zealand – given that dairy as one of its major exports to the Gulf region – Qatar’s wealth means that it will continue to have strong demand for imported goods, particularly premium products.

But a look at New Zealand’s trade with Qatar reveals a different picture to its Gulf neighbours.

New Zealand’s annual exports to Qatar have remained static at around the $NZ45 million mark since at least 2015. This makes Qatar only New Zealand’s 71^st biggest export market – a stark contrast with other Gulf states such as the UAE, which holds 18^th place and imports nearly $NZ1b of New Zealand goods and services each year.

Given the low level of trade, it might seem unsurprising that New Zealand has no embassy in Qatar. Still, there is an inevitable chicken-and-egg dilemma – without a dedicated diplomatic mission in Doha, Wellington has limited ability to smooth the way for New Zealand exporters to expand into its growing market.

New Zealand currently serves Qatar from its embassy in the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi, a situation that is not ideal given that the UAE is one of Qatar’s chief rivals.

Doha’s aspirations to become a new Dubai seem clear: visa-free travel for 80 nationalities was introduced in 2017, in preparation for the World Cup, while the Qatar Grand Prix will become an annual fixture from 2023.

Opening an embassy in Qatar could also help New Zealand to finally secure a free trade deal with the six-country Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) bloc. An agreement was signed in principle in 2009, but has remained unratified ever since. In turn, a deal would also boost New Zealand exports to bigger Gulf markets such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

To this end, New Zealand might take some lessons from Australia, which opened an embassy in Doha in 2016 and now counts Qatar as its second-largest trading partner in the Middle East and North Africa region.

No recent New Zealand Prime Minister has ever visited Qatar.

But the World Cup shows how Qatar is becoming a global player.

Doha probably needs to occupy more space on Wellington’s radar

Further reading on Foreign Affairs

Thomas Manch (Stuff): As diplomacy takes the heat out of crises, Ardern’s Southeast Asia trip provides both a lesson and a warning
Claire Trevett (Herald): What went on in PM Jacinda Ardern’s meeting with China’s Xi Jinping (paywalled)
Katie Scotcher (RNZ): Poland missile crisis dominates amid summits in Asia
Claire Trevett (Herald): PM Jacinda Ardern says IMF recession warning to Apec leaders a ’cause for concern’; leaders condemn Ukraine war
University of Otago (Newsroom): After APEC, where to on China?
Claire Trevett (Herald): PM Jacinda Ardern meets China’s President Xi Jinping: asks for Xi to use influence in ‘testing times’
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says meeting with China’s Xi Jinping was ‘constructive’
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Ardern tells China’s Xi the international rules are being ‘tested’
Amelia Wade (Newshub): Why Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern isn’t chalking up meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping as a win
Tess McClure (Guardian): Jacinda Ardern raises Taiwan with Xi Jinping at Apec meeting
RNZ: APEC summit: Frank exchange of views important, Jacinda Ardern tells China’s President Xi Jinping
RNZ: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern ‘takes heart’ in common ground of world leaders as APEC ends
Herald Editorial: PM Ardern glad-handing on the world stage (paywalled)
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Five issues on the agenda when Jacinda Ardern meets Xi Jingping, and what won’t be
Tess McClure (Guardian): Ardern says she must be able to raise concerns in Xi Jinping meeting without ‘retaliatory acts’
Amelia Wade (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern prepares for meeting with Xi Jinping as Chinese President sends warning to world
Thomas Manch (Stuff): Ardern meets with Kamala Harris and allies, as North Korea fires suspected intercontinental missile
Claire Trevett (Herald): Heat, wardrobe malfunctions and security: Behind the scenes of PM Jacinda Ardern’s trip to Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand (paywalled)
Giles Dexter (RNZ): Kiwis’ rights in Australia: No mention of 501 policy from minister in ‘family’ lecture
RNZ: Myanmar dictatorship: The New Zealand response
Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Australia wants NZ support on cyber attacks, foreign interference

PEENI HENARE VISITS UKRAINE
RNZ: Peeni Henare pays respects to war victims during Ukraine visit
Lisette Reymer (Newshub): Ukraine invasion: Defence Minister Peeni Henare takes secret trip to Kyiv to meet Ukrainian counterpart
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Peeni Henare becomes first NZ minister to visit Ukraine since conflict
Mei Heron (1News): Inside the covert operation to get a Govt minister into Ukraine
Mei Heron (1News): Defence Minister Peeni Henare visits Ukraine, meets counterpart
Anna Whyte (Stuff): Defence Minister’s visit to Ukraine: Why it matters
Jessica Mutch McKay (1News): Kiwi Ukrainians call on Govt to help loved ones fleeing war

Other items of interest and importance today

NZ FIRST
Audrey Young (Herald): ‘No one gets to lie to me twice’ – Winston Peters reveals the party he won’t work with (paywalled)
Anna Whyte (1News): Winston Peters won’t work with Labour: ‘I’m focused on one party’s outcome and that’s NZ First’
Molly Swift (Newshub): NZ First leader Winston Peters rules out coalition with Labour
Andrew Kirton (Herald): National needs to woo or rule out NZ First liaison (paywalled)
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Winston throws political chessboard over – all 2023 election bets are off
David Farrar (Kiwiblog): Winston rules out LabourWinston rules out Labour

NATIONAL
Andrea Vance (Stuff): Who is the real Christopher Luxon, and can voters warm to him?
Damien Grant (Stuff): I am tired of Christopher Luxon acting as if he was some jovial everyman
Heather du Plessis-Allan (Herald): Why flip-flop Luxon is making voters nervous (paywalled)
Damien Venuto (Herald): One year in – Can Christoper Luxon beat Jacinda Ardern?
Mike Munro (Stuff): National stuck in ‘oppose’ gear
Victor Billot (Newsroom): Another Ode for .. Baron Luxon
David Farrar: Nats on Twitter

PARLIAMENT
Luke Malpass (Stuff): This election is shaping up as a battle for the soul of New Zealand
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Labour goes on the offensive (paywalled)
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Auditor-General calls for wide-reaching review of failing public accountability
Chris Trotter: If it ain’t broke, why fix it?
Matthew Hooton (Patreon): Why more politicians will stop bothering with the NZ media (paywalled)
Henry Cooke: How to be a politics tragic – The week
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Latest Poll shows the Right’s celebration they have already won 2023 is smug hubris
Mike Williams (Hawkes Bay Today): Polls put the two sides of politics neck and neck
Newshub: Grant Robertson addresses LGBT+ issues, if he wants to be leader with UK magazine
Peter Wilson (RNZ): Week in Politics: National gets tough on young offenders, but policy faces strong opposition
Stuff political reporters: Points of Order: Donuts, Bill English’s leftovers and celebrations for Toa Samoa
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): Beehive Diaries: Happy ending to Beehive Kiwifruit drama (paywalled)
RNZ: Political editors panel: Jane Patterson, and Luke Malpass speak to Corin Dan and Māni Dunlop on Youth crime, Covid-19 and global politics (audio)
1News Q+A: Hamilton West by-election hopefuls say they’re tough on crime
Piers Fuller (Stuff): Nicola Willis confirmed as Ōhāriu candidate for National

HATE SPEECH REFORMS
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Capitulation on hate speech the worst of all worlds
Molly Swift (Newshub): Hate speech laws: Government proposes one change to Human Rights Act after years of divisive debate
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Labour’s religious hate speech law will only empower Scientology
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): NZ’s hate speech laws explained
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Hate speech reforms drastically watered down
PIers Fuller (Stuff): Human Rights Act amendment to protect religious communities ‘very disappointing’, says Commission
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): Hate speech laws: National, ACT still won’t support Government’s diluted proposals
1News: Govt waters down hate speech reforms, National unconvinced

BOOT CAMPS, JUSTICE, CORRECTIONS
Russell Palmer (RNZ): Boot camps a ‘cliche’, says former National minister Chester Borrows
Thomas Coughlan (Herald): National candidate says military academies stop just 15 per cent from reoffending
1News: Chances military camps ‘fix’ youth offending ‘close to zero’ – expert
Herald Editorial: National’s youth crime policy is something old as something new (paywalled)
Mark Quinlivan (Newshub): National MP Erica Stanford ‘really proud’ of youth crime policy, despite earlier saying ankle bracelet idea ‘breaks my heart’
Paula Bennett (Herald): National’s youth offender military academies welcomed to tackle teen crime (paywalled)
Katie Ham (Stuff): Luxon calls Labour Party’s crime policies ‘kumbaya and a lot of mush’
Jamie Ensor (Newshub): Jacinda Ardern slaps down National’s boot camp policy, is confused by Christopher Luxon’s ‘reprogrammed’ remark
Vaughan Davis (Spinoff): Boot camp is a privilege, not a punishment
Steve Braunias (Herald): The Secret Western of Christopher Luxon (paywalled)
Andrew Gunn (Stuff): ‘No consequences. They believe they can get away with whatever they want.’
Thomas Coughlan (Newshub): Treasury unhappy with rushed gang law’s lack of human rights consideration
Alex Penk: Is the Supreme Court’s decision on tikanga an outlier or a harbinger?
Jono Galuszka (Stuff): Justice experts discuss how to bring balance to the court process
No Right Turn: More police racism

HOUSING
Jenna Lynch (Newshub): Exclusive: Longest stay in emergency housing stretches over three years, with more than 1000 staying over a year
Newshub: ‘Absolutely unacceptable’ Kiwis languishing in emergency housing for years – Patrick Gower
Felix Desmarais (Local Democracy Reporting): Experts pitch solutions to Rotorua’s housing crisis
Melanie Carroll (Stuff): Government may extend healthy homes deadline for all landlords
Michael Neilson (Herald): Government considering Healthy Homes extension for all landlords
Geraden Cann (Stuff): King of property hangs up his hat
Janet Wilson (Stuff): The trifecta of housing troubles won’t be solved by this proposal

INEQUALITY, COST OF LIVING
Max Rashbrooke (Stuff): The half-hour trip that robs some Kiwis of 10 years
Carmen Hall (Herald): KiwiSaver hardship withdrawals rise as more middle- to high-wage earners struggle to live on income (paywalled)
Sonya Bateson (Rotorua Daily Post): Grocery shopping is grim. No wonder so many families are doing it hard (paywalled)
Aimee Shaw (Stuff): The changing face of philanthropy: Giving time, not money

ECONOMY
Brian Easton (Pundit): Are we in a stagflation?
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Borrowers warned to brace for more bad news from the Reserve Bank
Liam Dann (Herald): Preview: Reserve Bank set to deliver biggest hike in OCR history (paywalled)
Anan Zaki (RNZ): Reserve Bank tipped to hike official cash rate to 4.25 percent in its fight against inflation
David Hargreaves (Interest): The last Reserve Bank Official Cash Rate review for three months. And it’s a crucial one
Gareth Vaughan (Interest): Should the Reserve Bank lift the OCR by 75 basis points on Wednesday it’ll be the biggest one-off increase to date
Mark Lister (Herald): In defence of the Reserve Bank (paywalled)
Brent Edwards (NBR): Managing a just transition to a zero carbon economy (paywalled)
Fergus McDonald (NBR): Economic outlook: the fixed income view (paywalled)
Terry Baucher (Interest): Te wiki o te tāke; Complexity trips up the tax system

EMPLOYMENT
Sasha Borissenko (Herald): The rise of industrial action (paywalled)
Daniel Smith (Stuff): Are we set for second golden age for unions? Claims ‘perfect storm’ brewing
Imogen Wells (Newshub): Labour’s centrepiece 2020 election policy labelled failure by National as new data revealed
Gill Bonnett (RNZ): Plumbers, but not cardiologists: The curious case of the immigration green list
Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Meet the bar owner who’s signed up for a Fair Pay Agreement for hospo workers
RNZ: Jobs for Nature scheme ‘pivotal’ in keeping skilled people in West Coast
RNZ: Some secondary school principals opt to accept $6000 pay offer rejected by others

BUSINESS
Liam Dann (Herald): Why are corporates so woke these days? (paywalled)
Mike Hosking (Newstalk ZB): Has the Commerce Commission achieved anything?
Jonathan Milne (Newsroom): Govt offers ultimatum to Ruapehu life pass holders: pay up or shut down
Adam Hollingworth (Newshub): Ruapehu ski fields given proposal to help them wipe debt, but there’s a catch
NBR: Ruapehu Life Pass Holders asked to pay up to keep ski-fields open (paywalled)
Andrew Bevin (Newsroom): Peace, love and profits – what the new cannabis industry has lost

HEALTH
Lana Hart (Stuff): Policies, not pliers, required for New Zealand’s dental rot
Martyn Bradbury (Daily Blog): Free dental is a vote winner – Grant will give property owners a reason to smile but the bleeding gums poor can go rot?
Steven Walton (Stuff): Christchurch water fluoridation decision delayed until next year
Ian Powell: Planned care taskforce report: something to weep over?
Susana Suisuiki (RNZ): Action plan launched to tackle poor health outcomes among Pasifika in NZ
Ripu Bhatia (Stuff): High smoking rates for Māori men, Pasifika women draw concern
Will Trafford (Whakaata Māori): Māori Health Authority cash injection prioritises quick wins
Rachel Thomas (Stuff): ‘It’s soul destroying’: GPs launch desperate campaign to save family doctors
RNZ: GPs write open letter to Health Minister seeking urgent fix for family doctor services
RNZ: Short-staffing likely to lead to long waits at Christchurch emergency department
Anna Askerud (The Conversation): Healthcare for New Zealanders with multiple chronic conditions needs ‘radical rethinking’ – here’s what should happen
Siouxsie Wiles (Spinoff): Is New Zealand an outlier on second boosters?
Hannah Martin (Stuff): My Vaccine Passes to be discontinued in December
Molly Swfit (Newshub): Manawatū District Council reintroduces COVID-19 measures amid rising cases
RNZ: New test reveals Covid-19 history
Tom Peters: Third COVID wave worsens in New Zealand

ENVIRONMENT
Olivia Wannan (Stuff): Rich countries agree to fund for climate clean-up costs
Rod Oram (Newshub): ‘Developing’ China won’t pay into climate loss fund
RNZ: COP27: ‘There are clearly moves afoot to try and water down decisions’
1News: Slow progress in talks at COP27 – James Shaw
Rachael Nath (RNZ): Cop27 finale: Leaders debate climate damage funding for Pacific nations
Rachael Nath (RNZ): COP27: Pacific nations join alliance dedicated to ditching fossil fuels
Marc Daalder (Newsroom): Farming groups want methane targets halved
Richard Dawkins (Stuff): Agricultural emissions plan ‘unscientific and destructive’
Angus Kebbell (Interest): The National Party backs the He Waka Eke Noa proposal
Robin Martin (RNZ): New Plymouth mayor convinced controversial chemical plant contaminated
Jill Herron (Newsroom): Hybrid tree wrongly sold as ‘sterile’ highlights potential wildings solution

RMA
Glenn McConnell (Stuff): The RMA reforms propose a new Treaty rights monitor – what else do they mean for Māori?
Brendon Harre (Interest): The high cost of unreasonable planning restrictions

LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND THREE WATERS
James Halpin (Stuff): ‘Truckloads’ of cash swept Wayne Brown to power, say Auckland mayoral losers
Todd Niall (Stuff): More councillors will earn more under Auckland mayor Wayne Brown’s regime
Thomas Cranmer: Government ducks Bill of Rights assessment on Three Waters bill
Bruce Cotterill (Herald): Three Waters – where is the outrage? (paywalled)
Brendon McMahon (Local Democracy Reporting): Critical flood infrastructure: Who pays, West Coast councillors ask
Steven Walton (Stuff): Infighting among Environment Canterbury councillors after claim of block-voting
Chris Schulz (Spinoff): Auckland spends $4m cleaning up graffiti every year. Is it a waste of money?

GAMBLING
Steve Kilgallon (Stuff): Pokie reforms ‘pretty pathetic’, says son of man who gambled away life savings
Nick Truebridge (Newshub): Counselling services, gaming sector put pressure on Government to review Gambling Act
Stephen Forbes (Local Democracy Reporting): Auckland councillor says changes to gaming machine regulations fall short
Jack Tame (Herald): Gambling reforms miss the biggest problem with pokies
Felix Walton (RNZ): Enforcement will be key as casino rules tightened – support service
1News: Government cracks down on pokies to reduce gambling harm

TRANSPORT
Piers Fuller (Stuff): Suspended Wellington buses ‘incredibly unfair’ on people with no alternatives, city missioner says
Georgina Campbell (Herald): 181 and counting: More buses axed on Wellington’s busted network
RNZ: Wellington bus driver shortage: Another 114 services suspended
Leonard Powell (RNZ): Bus drivers have ‘good pay rate now’ and paid for training, new Auckland recruits say
David Farrar: Do we need a $1.2 billion ticketing system?
John Roughan (Herald): Another bridge would be a visual disaster (paywalled)
David Farrar: Govt’s own survey shows net opposition to lowering speed limits

EDUCATION
Elizabeth Rata (Democracy Project): The Curriculum, intelligence, and democracy
Traci Liddall (Spinoff): The truth about school principals and student attendance
Gianina Schwanecke (Stuff): Holidays not the truancy problem, onus must be on irresponsible parents, Luxon says
Martn Bradbury (Waatea News): The silver bullet for truancy – feed the kids, don’t blame the parents
David Farrar: The attendance crisis
Karen Rutherford (Newshub): Government U-turns on closing school successful in reducing youth crime after being contacted by Newshub
Federico Magrin (Stuff): Ministry of Education proposal to disestablish resource teacher of Māori positions slammed as a potential treaty breach
Shaneel Lal (Herald): Ministry of Education must end anti-queer practices at Bethlehem College (paywalled)

OTHER
Shane Jones (Herald): Courts trump iwi co-governance and election will scuttle this Government waka (paywalled)
Phil Pennington (RNZ): Historian wants inquiry into limits on Archives NZ’s services
Charlie Mitchell (Stuff): Welcome to the hyper-ageing nation that is New Zealand
Will Trafford (Whakaata Māori): Māori population of NZ up 2 per cent; overall growth flatlines
Tom Kitchin (RNZ): Debate sparks up on controversial sale of Eastland Network
Colin Peacock (RNZ): Media wrestle with ‘sportswashing’ Qatar’s World Cup

Brother Frater Anton Syufi of the Papua’s Order of Saint Augustine (OSA) has been arrested by the Jayapura city district police for wearing a banned Morning Star (BK) independence flag T-shirt while watching a soccer match between Papua and East Nusa Tenggara at Indonesia’s National Games at Mandala Stadium.

This was conveyed by Frater Kristianus Sasior, also from the OSA, who assisted Brother Syufi at the Jayapura district police.

Syufi, who was arrested at 4 am last Sunday and detained until 7 pm, was finally released at 10 pm because police did not find any other issues to charge him with.

“The police said he was detained because he wore a BK T-shirt. The police said that he was disturbing the Papua PON XX [20th National Games], said Brother Sasior.

“There is a prohibition on wearing things with the BK design. Brother Frater Anton did not [show] it intentionally because he was wearing two layers of clothing.

“When his favourite team won he jumped up and down and opened his outer shirt so police saw the costume underneath with the BK design.

“He was summoned and taken to Jayapura city district police. The police said they were still waiting for the head of the intelligence unit to arrive so we were [also] still waiting”, explained Sasior when contacted by Suara Papua by phone from Sorong.

A similar story was conveyed by Evenisus Kowawin who said that Syufi was detained for wearing the Morning Star T-shirt while watching the soccer match.

“Frater Anton was arrested because he wore a BK shirt. Police saw the shirt then dragged him out, interrogated him then took him to the district police. He’s currently still at the police [station],” explained Kowawin.

Translated by James Balowski for IndoLeft News. Slightly abridged due to repetition. The original title of the article was “Pakai Baju Bintang Kejora Nonton Pertandingan PON, Seorang Frater Ditahan Polisi di Jayapura”.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

By RNZ Pacific

Hienghéne Sport won their maiden OFC Champions League football title after a sensational 60 metre strike by substitute Amy Antoine Roine earned a 1-0 victory over AS Magenta in an all New Caledonian final in Noumea.

With the match still scoreless approaching the halfway point of the second half at Stade Numa Daly, Roine won the ball from a clearance and took two touches to bring the ball under control before spotting the Magenta goalkeeper off his line.

Just six minutes after being sent onto the pitch by head coach Felix Tagawa, Roine let fly with an audacious long-range lob from inside his own half which sailed over Steeve Ioxee’s head and into the goal, in what proved to be the decisive moment of the match.

“Any player, whether on the field or not, is important and we were clear that they couldn’t just be spectators. He showed that he listened, he scored a great goal and we had an impressive goalkeeper too. It was a great final.” said Tagawa.

A stunned Magenta went in search of the equaliser and it should have come in the 71st minute, but Hienghéne keeper Rocky Nyiekene saved Wilsen Poameno’s effort from point-blank range as the New Caledonia domestic champions held on to clinch their first regional title.

“It’s a huge moment for the club, and for the country too. I hope that it will continue, we know we’ve won, what we’ve done in winning this match,” said Felix Tagawa. “It’s been a long journey, today we were patient, we know how to bounce back.”

Rocky Nyiekene capped off a standout performance by winning the OFC Champions League Golden Glove award.

“Of course I’m really touched to be elected the best goalkeeper. You have to be prepared for matches like this and I was. For now, no, I don’t think it’s sunk in that we’ve qualified for the Club World Cup. Maybe later, but right now, no,” reflected Nyiekene.

Hienghéne captain Bertrand Kai was awarded the Golden Ball for best overall player while Team Wellington striker Ross Allen collected the Golden Boot after finding the net 11 times during the season, while Auckland City received the Fair Play Award.

• This article is published under the Pacific Media Centre’s content partnership with Radio New Zealand.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Pacific Media Centre Newsdesk

New Caledonian football teams Hienghène Sport and AS Magenta have ended New Zealand’s dominance of the OFC Champions League with upset semi-final victories over Team Wellington and Auckland City on Sunday.

With an all-New Caledonia final next month, this will be the first season a non New Zealand team will win Oceania’s premier football competition since Papua New Guinea’s Hekari United in 2010.

In the opening match, defending champions Team Wellington started strong but failed to convert a number of chances, allowing Hienghène Sport to go 1-0 up then seal the victory with a stoppage time goal.

Hienghène coach Felix Tagawa said the historic result was “incredible”, reports RNZ.

“It’s for players, the administrators, our families. They’re the ones who have helped drive this project, who created this club exactly for this reason, to live these beautiful performances,” he said.

In the later game, nine time champions Auckland City took the lead shortly before keeper Enaut Zubikarai was sent off for handling the ball outside the area.

Magenta scored quickly afterward, then again in the 88th  minute, finishing the match with a 2-1 victory.

Based in Noumea, Magenta is one of the strongest teams in the New Caledonian Super League with 11 titles.

Hienghène Sport comes from the northern East Coast township of Hienghène. The mainly Kanak township is infamous for being near the site of the 1984 Hienghène massacre, in which 10 unarmed Kanak activists were brutally killed by mixed-race settlers as they drove home through the forest.

The final match of the OFC Champions League is scheduled for Sunday, May 12.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

By Marwan Bishara

Twenty years ago, I was asked by the General Council of the Parisian suburb Seine-Saint-Denis to invite four Palestinian youth to attend the World Cup in France and to organise their visit.

At the time, football was the last thing on my mind. I was finishing my doctorate in France, doing my research on Israel/Palestine and, in between, participating actively in human rights campaigns.

But then, this wasn’t just about football and the World Cup. It was also about an act of solidarity and fraternity that French progressives wanted to undertake.

READ MORE: Paul Lewis: Why the world needs France to win the World Football Cup

So, I accepted the mission, only to realise that this would turn into an experience of a lifetime for me and for the lucky four who made it from Palestine to Paris.

In order to pick the four young Palestinians, I ran a lottery in a weekly newspaper called, Fasl Al Maqal, published in Nazareth but distributed throughout Palestine. I ended up with four lucky winners from the Galilee, the West Bank and Gaza.

-Partners-

The French consulate in Jerusalem was just as excited as we were and issued the visas rather swiftly to enter France. That was the easy part. Leaving Israeli-controlled Palestine was another matter.

At every checkpoint we had to pass, we were stopped and questioned. At Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, it was even worse.

More harassment
Once the security officers heard where we were going and what we were going for, their jealousy transformed into more questioning and harassment.

The winner from Gaza was not let in on the flight. The poor guy had to turn back, go to Rafah, cross into Egypt and fly to Paris from Cairo. He, too, made it in the end, albeit a bit late.

Once in France, we were accommodated in a youth facility in a suburb west of Paris along with youth from France and elsewhere. As my Palestinian companions kicked around the ball with their French peers, their only common language was football and that’s all they needed to communicate.

When we made it to the Stade de France stadium, located in Seine-Saint-Denis, for the semi-finals between France and Croatia, to our surprise, we found out that all five of us were in fact VIP guests at the council’s special suite.

It is difficult to describe the scene of four young men who had never been outside their camp, town or homeland being introduced to Parisian elegance.

Imagine, young Palestinians in jeans and sneakers and with a big passion for football walking into the VIP lounge of Stade de France and mingling with the French elites and international celebrities.

Imagine them strolling across the lounge, past beautiful hostesses, and onto the open balcony that overlooked the pitch where 22 football superstars were lining up to the cheers of 80,000 fans.

Best French cuisine
And that wasn’t all, for me at least: The menu featured the best of French cuisine and wines. As the guys cheered, I ate.

When the match started, one of the Palestinians whispered in my ear: “Isn’t this just a perfect place to plant a Palestinian flag?” And it was. One of them had brought a small flag along just in case so we put it up.

Our French hosts were generous and gracious with the Palestinian boys. And the most excited and passionate among them was a progressive French Jew. He was also the funniest. This added yet another twist to our journey, for until that moment a couple of my travel companions had never met a Jew who wasn’t a soldier or a settler.

And here they were – on an exciting trip, watching a World Cup match, in an amazing city, at a spectacular stadium, hanging out with wonderful people.

Oh, and what a match it was! France beat Croatia 2-1 in a thrilling 90 minutes!

It was our win too. It was heaven on earth. There was no fear, no hate, just bonheur.

And it went on. Three days later, on July 11 we went to the playoff for the third place at the Parc des Princes stadium where Croatia beat the Netherlands.

Back to reality
After that match, the reality came back to the Palestinian four, as we began to prepare for the departure. One or two began to wonder why they had to leave, or more accurately, how they could go back, how they could live a normal life after all they had seen.

But this wasn’t going to be the end of the wonderful trip. I had a surprise for them: We were going to the World Cup final! We were going to see France and Brazil play. They just couldn’t believe it.

My ticket from the 1998 World Cup final between France and Brazil. Image: Marwan Bishara/Al Jazeera

July 12 was an unforgettable day. The match was exciting. Zinedine Zidan scored twice, France won 3-0. But it seemed the sweetest victory that that day belonged to my young Palestinian companions. They saw it all and they were going to tell and retell that story for decades to come.

After the game, we went to Champs Elysees to celebrate along with thousands of French fans until the early hours of the morning. One of us even got a French kiss.

When in Paris, you kiss and tell. And what happens at the World Cup doesn’t stay at the World Cup.

Now there was an urgent need to go home and tell the story about a dream come through.

I think about these young men and those glorious days every four years when the World Cup kicks off. And I bet, these four Palestinians, who are now grown-up middle-aged men, will be rooting for Les Bleus today, just like I will.

Dr Marwan Bishara is the senior political analyst at Al Jazeera. This article is republished with the author’s permission.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz