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☆ Phillip Mehrtens: Militants squabble over fate of New Zealand pilot on anniversary of his kidnapping
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Angus Watson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —Militant rebels in Indonesia’s restive West Papua are urging their most feared comrade to release a New Zealand pilot held hostage for a year. Mehrtens’ captors initially threatened to kill him unless New Zealand agreed to pressure Indonesia into allowing West Papua to secede from Indonesia, a seemingly impossible demand. West Papua separatist fighters release images of their hostage soon after his capture in February 2023. West Papua National Liberation ArmyFailed rescue effortsGrainy proof of life videos sent by the rebels between February and November 2023 show Mehrtens growing thinner and more unkempt. “The Indonesian response is dictated by the Indonesian military and their view is that they will hunt down this group, kill the leaders and release Mehrtens,” Kingsbury said.

Persons: Eganius Koyega, Phillip Mehrtens, Mehrtens ’, Mehrtens, Koyega, ” Koyega, ” TPNPB, Terryanus Satto, aren’t, hasn’t, Damien Kingsbury, ”, Winston Peters, Christmas Phillip, ” Peters, ” Kingsbury, “, Cammi Webb, Gannon, ’ ”, Webb, ” Webb, TPNB, Andreas Harsono, Prabowo Subianto, “ Prabowo, ” Harsono Organizations: CNN — Militant, New, Koyega, West Papuan National Liberation Army, Free Papua Movement, West Papua National Liberation Army, Indonesian Army, New Zealand, New Zealand Foreign Affairs, New Zealand Government, CNN, Australia’s University of Wollongong, Indonesian, Human Rights Watch, Rights, West Locations: Indonesia’s restive West Papua, Zealand, Nduga, New Zealand, Indonesia, West Papua, Indonesian, Papuan, West, New, Australia, Jakarta, “, ” West Papua, Papua

☆ New Zealand Govt Ministers Heckled by Protesters Ahead of National Day Celebrations
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-04 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

During the welcome, or powhiri, Luxon's speech only went ahead after a Maori elder called for respect. The government has also said it will introduce, but are not committed to passing, a bill that would reinterpret the Treaty of Waitangi. Organiser are expecting upwards of 60,000 people to attend Waitangi Day events, which started on Saturday making it the biggest event since the 150-year celebrations in 1990. Protest has long been part of Waitangi celebrations and in 1995 official events had to be cancelled due to anger over government policies. In 2016, a minister was struck in the face by a dildo thrown by a woman protesting a trade agreement.

Persons: Lucy Craymer WELLINGTON, Christopher Luxon, we’d, there’d, Luxon, Lucy Craymer, Michael Perry Organizations: Reuters, New, British Crown, Waitangi Locations: New Zealand, Waitangi

☆ New Zealand Withdraws Bill Allowing 16-Year-Olds to Vote in Local Body Elections
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

By Lucy CraymerWELLINGTON (Reuters) - The New Zealand government on Friday withdrew a bill that would have allowed sixteen year olds to vote in local government elections if it had passed. New Zealand's highest court ruled in late 2022 that the country's current voting age of 18 was discriminatory, forcing parliament to discuss whether it should be lowered. The previous Labour government last year ruled out the possibility of lowering the voting age to 16 for national elections, but had sought to legislate a lower voting age for local government elections. "Worrying about how to implement a new voting age regime would be a costly distraction for councils who have enough issues to deal with right now," he said. "Democracy is when voters choose their politicians, not when politicians choose their voters," they said in a statement posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Persons: Lucy Craymer WELLINGTON, Simeon Brown, Lucy Craymer, Lincoln Organizations: Reuters, New, Friday, Labour, Local, National Party, Twitter Locations: New Zealand

☆ New Zealand banks to introduce new measures to prevent scams
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWELLINGTON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - New Zealand banks on Friday said they would introduce new steps to counter scams targeted at its customers including establishing a national Anti-Scam centre, combining resources to combat money laundering and increasing public awareness. Roger Beaumont, chief executive of the New Zealand Banking Association, which represents all large banks based in New Zealand, said in a statement that the joint commitment by retail banks is expected to have a positive impact in tackling fraud and scams. In the second quarter of 2023 1,950 scams were reported with people losing NZ$4.2 million ($2.48 million), according to data from the New Zealand government’s Computer Emergency Response Team. Australia, where four of New Zealand’s largest retail banks are headquartered, is also introducing similar new measures. ($1 = 1.6915 New Zealand dollars)Reporting by Lucy Craymer Editing by Shri NavaratnamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Thomas White, Roger Beaumont, Beaumont, Lucy Craymer, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, New Zealand Banking Association, NZ, Zealand, Thomson Locations: New Zealand, Australia

☆ Invasive species cost the world $423 billion every year and are causing environmental chaos, UN report finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Helen Regan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Scroll through the gallery to see more of the planet's most problematic invasive species. Sarefo / Wikimedia Commons In pictures: Invasive species around the world Prev Next‘Prevention, prevention, prevention’Along with invasive species, other key drivers of biodiversity loss include destruction of land and sea habitats, exploitation of organisms, climate change and pollution. As well as flammable invasive plants sparking and spreading wildfires, climate change is enabling invasive species to move north – even to remote areas such as high mountains, deserts and frozen tundra. Preventing the arrival of new species into new regions is the best way to manage threats from invasive species, according to the report. For invasive species that have already taken hold, eradication has been a useful tool, especially on islands, according to the report.

Persons: ”, Helen Roy, ” Roy, David Gray, Peter Stoett, Anibal Pauchard, Ian Hitchcock, Starling, MENAHEM KAHANA, Phil Mislinski, Jeff J Mitchell, SANJAY KANOJIA, MUNIR UZ ZAMAN, ” Stoett, Stoett, –, ” Pauchard Organizations: CNN, United Nations, UN, Services, billabong, Nile Virus, Ontario Tech University, Chile’s Institute of Ecology, Pacific, World Wildlife Fund, US Department of Agriculture, USA, Studies, New Zealand Government, European, Starlings, AFP, Getty, North, Wikimedia Locations: Darwin, Australia, Africa, Caribbean, Guam, North America, Hawaii, Maui, Antarctica, Pacific, North, South America, Azov, China, Japan, Europe, Bermuda, New Zealand, New York, USA, Australasia, South Africa, United States, AFP, East Africa, Western Asia, Americas, Kenya, India, Puerto Rico, Kunming, Montreal

☆ New Zealand removes final COVID-19 restrictions
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A testing site for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is seen in Wellington, New Zealand, March 11, 2022. REUTERS/Lucy Craymer/File PhotoWELLINGTON, Aug 14 (Reuters) - New Zealand's government will lift all remaining COVID-19 requirements from midnight Tuesday, bringing an end to some of the toughest COVID-19 pandemic rules in the world more than three years after they were put in place. “While our case numbers will continue to fluctuate, we have not seen the dramatic peaks that characterised COVID-19 rates last year. This, paired with the population’s immunity levels, means Cabinet and I am advised we’re positioned to safely remove the remaining COVID-19 requirements,” Verrall said. Most of the restrictions were removed last year as vaccination rates reached high levels and the country’s hospitals successfully navigated a winter without being overwhelmed.

Persons: Lucy Craymer, Ayesha Verrall, we’re, ” Verrall, Chris Hipkins, ”, Lincoln Organizations: REUTERS, Zealand, Health, Thomson Locations: Wellington , New Zealand

☆ How New Zealand's plan for English and te reo Māori road signs took an unexpected turn
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-29 | by ( Chris Lau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

But plans to introduce bilingual road signs featuring both the English and te reo Maori languages have sparked a divisive, racially charged debate ahead of the country’s looming general election. Slightly less than a quarter of New Zealand’s 892,200 Maori speak te reo Maori as one of their first languages, according to the latest government data. Part of the reason that te reo Maori is not so widely spoken is that back in New Zealand’s colonial era there were active efforts to stamp it out. The Native Schools Act 1867 required schools to teach in English where possible and children were often physically punished for speaking te reo Maori. “The primary objective of these standards is to guarantee that all road signs are unambiguous, uniform, and legible to all,” he said.

Persons: Simeon Brown, Chris Hipkins, “ I’m, ”, Marty Melville, Awanui Te, Tania Ka’ai, “, ” Ka’ai, –, Kasem Choocharukul, Kasem, Huw Fairclough, James Griffiths ,, Puakea Nogelmeier, Nogelmeier Organizations: CNN, reo, Zealand, Waka, NZ Transport Agency, New, National, Labour Party government, National Party, Labour, Getty, Native, Victoria University of Wellington, Zealanders, The International, Language, Auckland University of Technology, Chulalongkorn University, Research, University of Leeds, Wales –, New Zealand, Welsh, Welsh Language Society, Gaelic, Constitutional Convention, Hawaiian, University of Hawaii, Hawaii’s Department of Transportation, Wales Locations: Aotearoa, Wellington , New Zealand, AFP, New, New Zealand, Zealanders, Wales, United Kingdom, Thailand, Tredegar , Wales, Republic of Ireland, Hawaii, Olelo Hawai’i, Llanfair, Anglesey, Europe, Hawke’s

☆ Explainer: Why are Facebook and Instagram ending news access in Canada?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Samrhitha A | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Canada drafted new rules after legacy media companies complained about internet companies elbowing news businesses out of the online advertising market. The Online News Act forces platforms like Facebook and Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google to negotiate commercial deals and pay news publishers for their content. WHAT HAPPENED WHEN SIMILAR RULES WERE PASSED IN AUSTRALIA? Eventually both struck deals with Australian media companies after amendments were made to the legislation. Lawmakers are pushing for similar rules in Meta's home state of California and in the U.S. Congress.

Persons: Bill C, Samrhitha, William Maclean Organizations: Facebook, Canada, THE, Google, IMPACT, U.S . Congress, Meta, New, New Zealand, Thomson Locations: Canada, Australia, Europe, AUSTRALIA, California, U.S, United States, New Zealand, Bengaluru

☆ Microsoft faces off against US government over Activision deal, with top execs set to testify
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

It will also impact enormously popular gaming franchises such as “Call of Duty” and “World of Warcraft,” which Activision owns and would be transferred to Microsoft under the deal. Also testifying will be the top financial executives from both companies; senior leaders from Microsoft’s Xbox division; the CEO of Microsoft Gaming, Phil Spencer; and a vocal critic of the deal, Sony gaming CEO Jim Ryan. The clash comes as Microsoft and Activision face down a contractual July 18 deadline to consummate the deal. A crucial moment for Microsoft and the FTCThe FTC lawsuit has put Microsoft under the harshest antitrust scrutiny in the US in more than two decades. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick and Sony Gaming CEO Jim Ryan are all expected to testify.

Persons: Phil Spencer, Jim Ryan, Satya Nadella, Bobby Kotick, Drew Angerer, Kevin Dietsch, Alex Wong, “, Lina Khan, Khan, Meta Organizations: CNN, Microsoft, Activision, Xbox, Microsoft Gaming, Sony, Federal Trade Commission, FTC, Sony Gaming, New, Nintendo, Nvidia, European Union, Facebook, Meta Locations: New Zealand, European, United States

☆ New Zealand and Fiji finalising defence agreement - Fiji PM
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka and New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins hold a press conference in Wellington, New Zealand June 7, 2023. REUTERS/Lucy CraymerWELLINGTON, June 7 (Reuters) - New Zealand and Fiji are finalising a defence agreement that will increase engagement between the two countries militaries and help build capacity and skills in the Fiji Defence Force, the Fijian prime minister said on Wednesday. Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka told media in Wellington, where he is meeting senior New Zealand government officials including the prime minister and opposition leader, that the agreement would be finalised next week. “The agreement will allow defence officials to undertake engagement in different areas including capacity building and upskilling and exposure to new technologies interoperability and technical support among other,” he said. In May, the U.S and Papua New Guinea signed a defence cooperation agreement and a maritime surveillance deal.

Persons: Sitiveni Rabuka, Chris Hipkins, Lucy Craymer WELLINGTON, ”, Rabuka, “, ” Hipkins, Lucy Craymer, Michael Perry Organizations: Fiji Prime, Zealand, REUTERS, Fiji Defence Force, Fiji’s, New Zealand, New, U.S, NZ, Thomson Locations: Wellington , New Zealand, New Zealand, Fiji, Wellington, Australia, China, Solomon Islands, U.S, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu

☆ NZ electoral review recommends widespread changes including lowering voting age
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WELLINGTON, June 6 (Reuters) - New Zealand’s electoral system needs significant changes such as a lower voting age of 16 to ensure democracy is more accessible, according to a draft report release on Tuesday. The report is part of an independent review commissioned by the New Zealand government in 2021 to ensure parliamentary rules remain fit for purpose. It suggested wide-ranging changes that include modifying financing rules, lengthening the parliamentary term and lowering the threshold for political parties to get into parliament. "While many parts of Aotearoa New Zealand’s electoral system work well, we think it can be better," said Deborah Hart, chair of the Electoral Review Panel. A party must currently gain at least 5% of the party vote, or win an electorate seat, to gain representation in parliament but the review suggests this threshold should be lowered to 3.5%.

Persons: Deborah Hart, ACT Party David Seymour, Lucy Craymer, Lincoln Organizations: New, Aotearoa New, New Zealand, ACT Party, Thomson Locations: New Zealand, Aotearoa

☆ New Zealand working to update surrogacy laws to make process easier
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WELLINGTON, May 31 (Reuters) - The New Zealand government will update the country's surrogacy law to make the process easier and less discriminatory, New Zealand's Justice Minister Kiri Allan said late on Tuesday. "Surrogacy has become an established method of forming a family for people unable to carry a child themselves. However, the laws that apply to surrogacy are outdated and need to change," Allan said in a statement. The committee is considering introducing a new process to determine legal parents rather than adoption, establishing a surrogacy birth register, clarifying payments relating to surrogacy and accommodating international surrogacy arrangements, the statement said. "It will make it easier for people to build the family they have always dreamed of while honouring the tremendous gift that surrogacy is," Copeland said.

Persons: Kiri Allan, Allan, Tāmati Coffey, Juanita Copeland, Copeland, Lucy Craymer, Richard Chang Organizations: WELLINGTON, New, Zealand's, Parliamentary, Labour, Fertility, Thomson Locations: New Zealand, Zealand

☆ New Zealand pledges $720 mln for cyclone and flood recovery
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 14 (Reuters) - The New Zealand government said on Sunday it was allocating NZ$1.1 billion ($720 million) to help communities recover from a cyclone and floods that lashed the country this year. The funds from the 2023 budget are to cover "basics" of rebuilding roads, rail and schools, as well as flood protection, it said in a statement. "The recovery package responds to the immediate recovery needs of today and invests in greater resilience for tomorrow,” said Prime Minister Chris Hipkins. Insurance companies in March reported receiving 40,000 claims worth around NZ$890 million for damage from the cyclone. ($1 = 1.5763 New Zealand dollars)Reporting by Sam McKeith in Sydney; Editing by William MallardOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ New Zealand committed to cutting spending, PM Hipkins says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WELLINGTON, April 27 (Reuters) - The New Zealand government is committed to reducing spending even though severe weather events earlier this year caused asset damage of roughly NZ$9 billion ($5.51 billion) to NZ$14.5 billion, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said on Thursday. “For our part, the government is committed to reducing our proportion of spending to dampen demand in the economy,” Hipkins said in a speech to the Employers and Manufacturers Association. New Zealand is already dealing with historically high inflation and the central bank has previously raised concerns that any boost in government spending could add to the inflation problem. Hipkins said his aim is to get government spending down to around the low thirties as a percentage of GDP. ($1 = 1.6343 New Zealand dollars)Reporting by Lucy Craymer Editing by Alasdair PalOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ ‘Best Friends’ Australia and New Zealand Patch Up a Major Difference
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Natasha Frost | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Hundreds of New Zealanders were about to take an oath to become Australian citizens, and cheering them on in their pursuit of dual citizenship was the head of the New Zealand government. Australia was about to reverse a two-decade-old policy and restore rights for the almost 700,000 New Zealanders living in Australia to easily gain citizenship, putting them on par with Australian migrants across the Tasman Sea in New Zealand. Australia and New Zealand often describe each other as their closest international partners. The new center-left government in Australia, led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, has taken steps to address these issues. At the citizenship ceremony on Sunday in Brisbane, Australia, Chris Hipkins, the prime minister of New Zealand, said his presence was a sign of the “bonds that bind us all together.” That sentiment was later echoed by Clare O’Neil, Australia’s home affairs minister: “Our Kiwi cousins are our very best friends in the world.”

☆ New Zealand pilot captured by Papuan fighters says he is ‘alive and well’ in new hostage video
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Heather Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Philip Mehrtens, the New Zealand pilot held hostage by separatist fighters in Indonesia’s restive Papua region, has appeared in a video saying he is “alive and well,” as concerns grow for his safety as fighting with Indonesian security forces intensifies. In the one and a half minute video, Mehrtens, dressed in a black T-shirt and shorts and sitting between two unarmed Papuan men, speaks calmly to the camera first in Indonesian and then English. “We emphasize that the pilot’s release must go through negotiations – not through military operations,” the group’s spokesperson Sebby Sambom said. In a statement following the attacks, the rebels said they shot dead 13 Indonesian military and police officials and were in possession of 12 bodies, without providing proof. CNN has reached out to Indonesian army officials for further comment about the latest hostage video and updates on the search mission for Mehrtens.

☆ Rebels in Indonesia's Papua say they killed 9 army soldiers
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JAKARTA, April 16 (Reuters) - Separatist rebels in Indonesia's Papua region killed nine army personnel after Jakarta did not respond to a request for negotiations, a rebel spokesperson said on Sunday. A military spokesperson in Papua, Herman Taryaman, confirmed the Saturday attack but could not confirm the number of soldiers killed as communications were cut due to bad weather. The West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) abducted a New Zealand pilot in February. Herman denied the allegation of a March attack on civilians, saying the security forces were protecting civilians who were chased away by the rebels. A low-level battle for independence from Indonesia continued for decades in the remote and resource-rich Papua region, with the conflict between armed rebels and security forces intensifying significantly in recent years, analysts say.

☆ New Zealand security chiefs increasingly concerned about foreign interference
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WELLINGTON, March 27 (Reuters) - New Zealand intelligence agencies are growing more concerned about both foreign interference and malicious cyber activity ahead of elections in October, the country’s intelligence chiefs said on Monday. “It's fair to say that concern about foreign interference as well as malicious cyber activity is growing,” Andrew Hampton, director general of the New Zealand Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB), told media after testifying at parliament. Security services are working with the election authority to improve cybersecurity and procedures and will also brief political parties on security and foreign interference threats. Both the GCSB and Security Intelligence Service chiefs were speaking before the intelligence committee that includes the country’s Prime Minister as part of their annual review. “Foreign interference should not be tolerated,” McKee said.

☆ War on cow farts is stinky but necessary job
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Karen Kwok | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Yet, governments from New Zealand to Europe are zeroing in on livestock, whose burps and farts help generate 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions each year, United Nations estimates show. An industry backlash against plans to tackle the issue will teach punters to treat burgers as polluting fuel. Cattle is a major contributor to methane emissions from agriculture, which hit 142 metric tons in 2022, triple the amount of those from the oil sector, according to the International Energy Agency. But like fossil fuels ten years ago, this will be the start of a long but necessary battle. French dairy company Danone on Jan. 17 pledged to reduce methane emissions from its fresh milk supply chain by 30% by 2030 from its 2020 level.

☆ War on cow gas is stinky but necessary job in climate-change struggle
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( Karen Kwok | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Yet, governments from New Zealand to Europe are zeroing in on livestock, whose burps and farts help generate 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions each year, United Nations estimates show. Cattle is a major contributor to methane emissions from agriculture, which hit 142 metric tons in 2022, triple the amount of those from the oil sector, according to the International Energy Agency. But like fossil fuels ten years ago, this will be the start of a long but necessary battle. CONTEXT NEWSEuropean Union countries agreed on March 16 to try to reduce the number of farms covered by proposed rules to cut pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from livestock. French dairy company Danone on Jan. 17 pledged to reduce methane emissions from its fresh milk supply chain by 30% by 2030 from its 2020 level.

☆ Australian professor among three hostages released in Papua New Guinea - report
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, Feb 26 (Reuters) - An Australian professor, held for a week by armed men in a remote part of Papua New Guinea, has been released along with two local colleagues, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported on Sunday. A group of archaeology researchers, including the professor working for an Australian university, two Papua New Guinean university graduates and a programme coordinator were taken hostage by last Sunday by men demanding a cash ransom, officials have said. Release of the three would end days of negotiations and a security operation involving Papua New Guinea police and defence personnel, in consultation with the Australian and New Zealand governments, according to the ABC. The professor is an Australian resident and New Zealand citizen. At that time, Papua New Guinea police said they were working for a "peaceful resolution" to the situation.

☆ New Zealand won't require Chinese arrivals to show COVID-19 test
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WELLINGTON, Jan 4 (Reuters) - The New Zealand government said on Wednesday it would not require travellers from China to produce a negative COVID-19 test, bucking a trend that has seen a number of nations implement such measures as cases surge in China. New Zealand's COVID-19 minister, Ayesha Verrall, said in a statement that a public health risk assessment had concluded visitors from China would not contribute significantly to the number of cases in the country. "There is minimal public health risk to New Zealand," she said. All international arrivals in New Zealand are asked to test if they become symptomatic and the country provides free tests at the airport. New Zealand is also planning to trial testing waste water on international flights to see if this can replace targetted and voluntary testing of individuals.

☆ New Zealand announces review of its handling of COVID-19 pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WELLINGTON, Dec 5 (Reuters) - The New Zealand government said on Monday it would launch an inquiry into the country's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic so future governments could learn from the experience. A Royal Commission, a public inquiry of the highest level in New Zealand, would look at the overall response, the government said in a statement. That would include considering economic measures, such as fiscal and monetary policy responses but without reviewing particular central bank decisions. The aim would be identifying lessons that could be applied in a future pandemic. The government's financial response is also now being blamed by some political opposition parties for contributing to three-decade high inflation.

☆ New Zealand plans law to require Facebook, Google to pay for news
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WELLINGTON, Dec 5 (Reuters) - The New Zealand government said it will introduce a law that will require big online digital companies such as Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google and Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) to pay New Zealand media companies for the local news content that appears on their feeds. "New Zealand news media, particularly small regional and community newspapers, are struggling to remain financially viable as more advertising moves online," Jackson said. "It is critical that those benefiting from their news content actually pay for it." The new legislation will go to a vote in parliament where the governing Labour Party's majority is expected to pass it. Australia introduced a law in 2021 that gave the government power to make internet companies negotiate content supply deals with media outlets.

☆ New Zealand's Ardern set to meet China's President Xi
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] New Zealands' Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern addresses the 77th United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S., September 23, 2022. REUTERS/Caitlin OchsWELLINGTON, Nov 17 (Reuters) - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern expects to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday on the sidelines of the meeting of the Asia-Pacific trade group APEC, a New Zealand government spokesperson said on Thursday. It will be their first meeting in person since 2019, although they spoke by telephone in 2021. Ardern flew to Cambodia this week to attend the East Asia Summit of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), hold two-way meetings and attend related events. Reporting by Lucy Craymer; Editing by Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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