New Zealand has joined Australia, the UK, Canada and Norway in sanctioning two Israeli cabinet ministers for what Foreign Minister Winston Peters said are acts to deliberately “undermine peace and security” in the Middle East.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir are now banned from entering New Zealand – a rare diplomatic move, which drew formal protest from Israel and criticism from the United States.
Hastings District Council has pulled a series of social media videos after a legal warning accused it of using public resources to promote one side of a political issue. The videos, featuring Deputy Mayor Tania Kerr and Māori ward councillor Ana Apatu, praised the benefits of Māori wards ahead of an upcoming referendum.
Hobson’s Pledge, a group opposed to race-based representation, alleged the council had crossed a legal line by using its official Facebook page to campaign for a preferred outcome.
In his first visit to China as Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon will meet President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang in Beijing next week, accompanied by a business delegation and the kapa haka champions Te Kapa Haka o Ngāti Whakaue.
“China is New Zealand’s largest trading partner and a vital part of our economic story,” Luxon said, calling the visit a push to “back the recovery of international education and tourism.”
Portia Mao, a Kiwi-Chinese journalist who was silenced under the Harmful Digital Communications Act (HDCA) after exposing Chinese Communist Party interference in New Zealand, has won her case.
The court has discharged the gag order, in what the Free Speech Union, who backed the case, calls a “huge victory” for free expression.
A new report from the Maxim Institute argues that New Zealand’s End of Life Choice Act is giving patients an illusion of autonomy rather than true choice.
The report, Interrogating Choice, warns that euthanasia is easier to access than good end-of-life care, making it less a choice than a consequence of systemic neglect.
A West Coast gold mine has been shut down without notice after waiting 17 months for a resource consent, prompting sharp criticism from Westcoast Mining Ltd and local councillor Allan Birchfield.
The company claims the delays have jeopardised millions in investment and left workers in limbo, accusing the West Coast Regional Council of poor communication, shifting expectations, and bureaucratic paralysis.
Twelve years after accidentally throwing away a hard drive holding 8,000 Bitcoins, now worth nearly €649 million (approx. $1.5 billion NZD), Welsh IT worker James Howells is giving up the hunt.
But his story isn’t over: it’s now the subject of a documentary series.
