CoveragePost
January 12, 2026
RNZ Pacific A proposal by Sāmoa’s Prime Minister to ban all non-Christian religions from the country is being met with mixed reactions. The Samoa Observer reported church ministers and members of the public voicing views both for and against the proposal. Prime Minister La’aulialemalietoa Polataivao Schmidt said he raised the issue with Samoa’s Council of ... <a title="Mixed reactions over Samoan PM’s proposal to ban non-Christian religions" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/01/12/mixed-reactions-over-samoan-pms-proposal-to-ban-non-christian-religions/" aria-label="Read more about Mixed reactions over Samoan PM’s proposal to ban non-Christian religions">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
January 11, 2026
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last week announced a Royal Commission into the Bondi Beach Attack and antisemitism. Andrew Brown weighs the evidence on Australia’s “antisemitism crisis” for Michael West Media. ANALYSIS: By Andrew Brown Australia is being told it faces an unprecedented wave of antisemitism — a crisis requiring extraordinary measures, including a Royal ... <a title="Australia’s ‘antisemitism crisis’ – examining what’s real and what isn’t" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/01/11/australias-antisemitism-crisis-examining-whats-real-and-what-isnt/" aria-label="Read more about Australia’s ‘antisemitism crisis’ – examining what’s real and what isn’t">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
January 11, 2026
RNZ Pacific Sāmoa is set to become the third Pacific nation to have an embassy in Jerusalem. Prime Minister Laaulialemalietoa Polataivao Schmidt told a gathering of the Sāmoa branch of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem on Tuesday he had instructed the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to begin work on the opening of an office ... <a title="Sāmoa set to become third Pacific nation to open Jerusalem embassy" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/01/11/samoa-set-to-become-third-pacific-nation-to-open-jerusalem-embassy/" aria-label="Read more about Sāmoa set to become third Pacific nation to open Jerusalem embassy">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
January 11, 2026
By Pretoria Gordon, RNZ News journalist A former head of the United Nations Development Programme is concerned that US President Donald Trump may set a precedent for other countries. The President has signed a memorandum ordering the withdrawal of the United States from 66 international organisations. These include the Framework Convention on Climate Change, the ... <a title="Clark condemns US withdrawal as ‘assault on international system of cooperation’" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/01/11/clark-condemns-us-withdrawal-as-assault-on-international-system-of-cooperation/" aria-label="Read more about Clark condemns US withdrawal as ‘assault on international system of cooperation’">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
January 10, 2026
By Pokere Paewai, RNZ Māori issues reporter As 2025 ticked over into 2026, New Zealand’s popular Parakai Springs near Helensville officially became Kaipātiki Hot Springs, the traditional indigenous name for the area which reflects the whakapapa of tangata whenua Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara. The change comes as Te Poari o Kaipātiki ki Kaipara assumes management ... <a title="Popular Auckland hot springs gets name change to Kaipātiki" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/01/10/popular-auckland-hot-springs-gets-name-change-to-kaipatiki/" aria-label="Read more about Popular Auckland hot springs gets name change to Kaipātiki">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
January 10, 2026
The Australian government remains silent on Israel banning 37 international aid organisations in Gaza, despite warnings from humanitarian groups. Stephanie Tran reports. By Stephanie Tran of Michael West Media Under new registration requirements introduced by Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, NGOs have been required to submit lists of their Palestinian employees for ... <a title="NGOs warn of catastrophic impact in Gaza – Penny Wong doesn’t care" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/01/10/ngos-warn-of-catastrophic-impact-in-gaza-penny-wong-doesnt-care/" aria-label="Read more about NGOs warn of catastrophic impact in Gaza – Penny Wong doesn’t care">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
January 10, 2026
ANALYSIS: By Ian Powell There is much to understand from the dramatic kidnapping — abduction is perhaps a better word — of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores last weekend by the United States armed forces, combined with the military attack on the country’s capital Caracas. This understanding is greatly helped by ... <a title="Ian Powell: The Nicolás Maduro kidnapping, US imperialist expansion and implications for New Zealand" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/01/10/ian-powell-the-nicolas-maduro-kidnapping-us-imperialist-expansion-and-implications-for-new-zealand/" aria-label="Read more about Ian Powell: The Nicolás Maduro kidnapping, US imperialist expansion and implications for New Zealand">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
January 10, 2026
SPECIAL REPORT: By David Robie Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has finally bowed to pressure from the Murdoch News Corp’s relentless media campaign and advocacy by political critics and victim’s families to announce a royal commission of inquiry into “antisemitism and social cohesion”. The commission advocates were seeking his political downfall over last month’s Bondi ... <a title="Albanese bows to relentless pressure for Bondi royal commission but scepticism remains" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/01/10/albanese-bows-to-relentless-pressure-for-bondi-royal-commission-but-scepticism-remains/" aria-label="Read more about Albanese bows to relentless pressure for Bondi royal commission but scepticism remains">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
January 9, 2026
By Doddy Morris in Port Vila The Vanuatu Police Force (VPF) has confirmed that the prime suspect in a Port Vila armed robbery is a former member of the French Foreign Legion, who served around 2019. Allegations had circulated on social media for the past four days, but yesterday it was officially confirmed that the ... <a title="Former French Foreign Legion soldier key suspect in Vanuatu VT49m heist" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/01/09/former-french-foreign-legion-soldier-key-suspect-in-vanuatu-vt49m-heist/" aria-label="Read more about Former French Foreign Legion soldier key suspect in Vanuatu VT49m heist">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
January 9, 2026
RNZ News Three people, including former Wellington mayoral hopeful Graham Bloxham, have been arrested at a Venezuela solidarity protest in New Zealand’s capital. Around 100 people were rallying against the US military action earlier this week outside New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) on Lambton Quay. During the event Bloxham, who was ... <a title="Former NZ mayoral hopeful arrested at Venezuela solidarity protest" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/01/09/former-nz-mayoral-hopeful-arrested-at-venezuela-solidarity-protest/" aria-label="Read more about Former NZ mayoral hopeful arrested at Venezuela solidarity protest">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
January 9, 2026
SPECIAL REPORT: By Scott Waide, RNZ Pacific PNG correspondent A Papua New Guinea police operation in Tsak Valley, Enga Province, in the early hours of Friday, 2 January 2026 — which resulted in five deaths — has prompted calls for an independent investigation following sharply differing accounts of events from police and community sources, as ... <a title="PNG’s lethal Tsak Valley raid and deeper crisis over guns, policing, trust in Enga" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/01/09/pngs-lethal-tsak-valley-raid-and-deeper-crisis-over-guns-policing-trust-in-enga/" aria-label="Read more about PNG’s lethal Tsak Valley raid and deeper crisis over guns, policing, trust in Enga">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
January 8, 2026
New Zealand former Invercargill and Waitematā mayor Sir Tim Shadbolt died today. He was 78. Sir Tim, who was awarded the Knight Companion of New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2019 New Year’s Honours List, served eight terms as Invercargill Mayor between 1993 and 1995, and again between 1998-2022, and two terms as Waitematā ... <a title="‘An extraordinary, charismatic man’: Sir Tim Shadbolt dies at 78" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2026/01/08/an-extraordinary-charismatic-man-sir-tim-shadbolt-dies-at-78/" aria-label="Read more about ‘An extraordinary, charismatic man’: Sir Tim Shadbolt dies at 78">Read more</a>
