Tag Archives: New Zealand

NBC News reports: A volcano open to tour groups unexpectedly erupted off the coast of New Zealand on Monday, killing at least five people, authorities said. Officials were unsure of the exact number of people who were missing or injured. Search-and-rescue operations on the island have stalled because it is too dangerous to approach the island, said John Tims, deputy …

CBS News reports: A 25-year-old New Zealand lawmaker shut down a heckler during a climate change speech with a two-word comeback aimed at older people. Chlöe Swabrick, who belongs to the Green Party, silenced a fellow Parliament member by retorting, “OK, boomer” — a phrase popularized by young people to call out folks from the baby boomer generation. The phrase …

News Now Auckland reports: An American preacher known for his hateful stance against LGBTQI people has been refused entry to New Zealand on character grounds. Steven Anderson of the Faithful Word Baptist Church announced on his YouTube channel that New Zealand had become the 34th country worldwide to refuse him entry. In the video, he displays a letter from Immigration …

NPR reports: New Zealand’s first gun buyback in the wake of the Christchurch shooting attracted more than 150 gun owners on Saturday, according to law enforcement officials. The buyback, which took place in Christchurch, is the first of more than 250 planned nationwide this year. Gun owners turned in 224 recently-banned semiautomatic weapons and more than 200 banned gun parts, …

CNN reports: A New Zealand man has been jailed for almost two years for sharing a video of the Christchurch mosque shootings that killed 51 people. Philip Neville Arps, 44, was sentenced in Christchurch District Court on Tuesday to 21 months in prison after pleading guilty to two charges of distributing objectionable material. Arps sent copies of the footage — …

Reuters reports: The Australian man accused of killing 51 worshippers at two mosques in New Zealand in March pleaded not guilty to all charges in a court on Friday. In an attack broadcast live on Facebook, the lone gunman armed with semi-automatic weapons targeted Muslims attending Friday prayers in New Zealand’s worst peace time mass shooting. Brenton Tarrant, 29, appeared …

Radio New Zealand reports: The Australian teenager who smashed an egg onto the head of Fraser Anning says he has donated more than $100,000 [$70K USD] to the survivors of the Christchurch terrorist attack. Will Connolly, whose act gained him the nickname Egg Boy on social media, said the money was raised through crowdfunding to cover his legal fees after …

CNN reports: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she does “not understand” why the United States has not passed stronger gun laws in the aftermath of mass shooting events. Ahead of a summit on online extremism, Ardern was responding to a question by CNN’s Christiane Amanpour asking whether countries can learn from New Zealand. The Prime Minister said guns …

NPR reports: A Sri Lankan government official says coordinated suicide bombings in the island nation on Easter Sunday, which killed more than 320 people, were carried out in retaliation for last month’s mass shooting at mosques in New Zealand. State minister for defense, Ruwan Wijewardene, said the attacks were carried out by two Islamist organizations. As NPR’s Lauren Frayer reports, …

Newsweek reports: A man wearing a Donald Trump T-shirt allegedly shouted abuse outside the mosque that was the scene of New Zealand’s deadliest mass killing. The incident was detailed on the Facebook page “Muslims in Christchurch and Canterbury,” where an image was posted of a man in a black T-shirt with the words “Trump 2020” on it, next to two …

The Associated Press reports: New Zealand’s Parliament on Wednesday passed sweeping gun laws that outlaw military style weapons, less than a month after mass shootings at two mosques in the city of Christchurch left 50 people dead and dozens wounded. A bill outlawing most automatic and semi-automatic weapons and banning components that modify existing weapons was passed by a vote …

Australia’s ABC News affiliate reports: The Australian man who carried out the Christchurch massacre has been charged with 50 counts of murder and 39 counts of attempted murder. New Zealand Police announced the fresh charges against Brenton Harrison Tarrant, 28, in a written statement on Thursday afternoon. Tarrant was arrested on March 15 for his involvement in the shooting deaths …

CBS News reports: An Australian senator was censured by his colleagues on Wednesday for seeking to blame the victims of last month’s mosque shootings and vilify Muslims. Sen. Fraser Anning was the target of widespread condemnation for blaming the attack in New Zealand on immigration policies. He faced more criticism later for physically striking a teenager who cracked a raw …

The Associated Press reports: Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz on Wednesday said there was a financial link between the man who killed 50 people in mass shootings at mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, and the far-right Identitarian Movement in Austria. Hansjoerg Bacher, spokesman for prosecutors in Graz, said Martin Sellner, head of the Identitarian Movement – which says it wants to …

“It took New Zealand’s prime minister three days to enact a ban that doesn’t just include AR-15-style rifles, but every rifle with a detachable magazine. Three days through a direct order, that is how the prime minister instituted the ban. That’s the equivalent of a dictatorship. And American Democrats call that leadership. Democracy wasn’t built on direct orders that fly …

Axios reports: Almost 25,000 people had by Sunday morning signed two petitions calling for New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to get the Nobel Peace Prize. Ardern has been widely praised for her leadership in response to last week’s terrorist attack on two Christchurch mosques. The New York Times published an editorial Thursday, titled “America Deserves a Leader as Good …

From the editorial board of the New York Times: The murder of 50 Muslim worshipers in New Zealand, allegedly by a 28-year-old Australian white supremacist, will be long scrutinized for the way violent hatreds are spawned and staged on social media and the internet. But now the world should learn from the way Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand’s prime minister, has …

Axios reports: One week on from the Christchurch mosque attacks, many New Zealanders showed their support for Muslim communities by wearing headscarves during the country’s national day of reflection Friday. Headscarf for Harmony organizers said their initiative was a “very simple gesture of support for our Muslim communities grieving the loss of 50 amazing mothers, fathers, children, friends and colleagues …

NBC News reports: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced an immediate ban Thursday on sales of “military-style” semi-automatic firearms and high-capacity magazines in the wake of a terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch that killed 50 worshippers. Ardern said the sales ban was effective immediately to prevent stockpiling and would be followed by a complete ban on the …

ABC News Australia reports: A quiet Christchurch street has been awoken by the roar of the haka. Dozens of teenaged boys performed the ceremonial dance in a show of unity and support with New Zealand’s Muslim community. The group of boys from Christchurch Boys’ High School walked down to Hagley College to give their respects to the loved ones of …