New Zealand

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New Zealand MP Resigns Over Shoplifting Allegations

'I fell short,' says Golriz Ghahraman, a former UN human rights lawyer

(Newser) - Golriz Ghahraman had been a rising star in New Zealand politics, a former UN human rights lawyer who made history in 2017 by becoming the first refugee elected to parliament, per the BBC . However, the 43-year-old native of Iran resigned Tuesday after amid media allegations (complete with CCTV video) that...

Far From Land, They Investigated a Reflection and Saved a Life

New Zealand fisherman, who'd fallen overboard, rescued after 24 hours in ocean

(Newser) - A man who fell off his boat during a solo fishing trip off the coast of New Zealand and spent the next 24 hours in the ocean, during which he was reportedly visited by a shark, was rescued Wednesday after a chance sighting of the sunlight's reflection on his...

New Zealand Mayor Reassures Residents: Keep Pooping

Lower Hutt has a serious odor problem right now

(Newser) - There's good news and bad news for residents of a New Zealand city. The good is that their mayor confirmed on Tuesday that they can continue pooping. The bad is that the air will smell regardless. The city of Lower Hutt near Wellington has been dealing with a two-month-long...

New Zealand's Ambitious Smoking Ban Is No More

Nation's new government has nixed progressively rising smoking age, other anti-smoking measures

(Newser) - New Zealand's ambitious plan to eventually turn the nation smoke-free has itself gone up in smoke. The legislation passed in late 2022 mandated a progressively increasing smoking age that would effectively mean that anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 2009, would never be able to legally light up....

John Oliver Wrecked New Zealand's Bird of the Century Competition
New Zealand Was
Having a Nice Bird
Contest. Then
Came John Oliver
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

New Zealand Was Having a Nice Bird Contest. Then Came John Oliver

'Last Week Tonight' host wins with his viral campaign to get puking bird voted 'Bird of the Century'

(Newser) - Comedian John Oliver has succeeded in his campaign to have what he describes as a weird, puking bird with a colorful mullet win New Zealand's Bird of the Century contest. As the AP reports, he even managed to elbow out the iconic national bird, the kiwi. Conservation group Forest...

NZ Curling Team Moves Into a Canadian Retirement Home

New Zealand squad needed inexpensive lodging while training in Canada

(Newser) - The average age of residents in the Chartwell Colonel Belcher Retirement Residence in Calgary is 84, notes the New York Times . But if the home's four new temporary residents were factored in, the number would skew much lower. In an unusual lodging arrangement—and one that seems to thrill...

Company Found Guilty in Volcano Disaster That Killed 22

New Zealand company belongs to brothers who own the island on which the volcano sits

(Newser) - In the largest action of its kind brought by New Zealand's workplace safety regulator, a company that licenses tours to White Island was on Tuesday found guilty of violating safety laws in the 2019 volcano disaster that left 22 people, mostly tourists, dead and another 25 injured. Whakaari Management...

NZ Residents Plead for End to 'Siren Battles' With Celine
NZ Residents
Plead for End
to 'Siren Battles'
With Celine
in case you missed it

NZ Residents Plead for End to 'Siren Battles' With Celine

Residents petition town to stop youths from cranking the music from special speakers at night

(Newser) - They mean no offense to Celine Dion, but residents of the town of Porirua, New Zealand, have launched a petition to stop hearing her songs blasted through the night, reports the BBC . The petition takes aim at what are known as "siren battles," in which groups typically consisting...

Spy Chiefs in 5 Nations Sound Warning on China

Five Eyes intelligence chiefs say Chinese spies are operating at an 'epic scale'

(Newser) - Spy movies have taught us to suspect figures lurking around military bases and federal buildings, yet the focus of Chinese spying in the US looks quite different, according to the heads of spy agencies in the Five Eyes coalition—US, Canada, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand—who gathered for an...

Musk: X Is Implementing 'Not a Bot' Fee

CEO of former Twitter says new users in 2 nations are being charged $1 to tweet, retweet, like posts

(Newser) - If you've been fearing the day would come when X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, would start to charge regular non-blue-check people for the privilege of posting, that day has come, for some. Fortune reports that the social media site began hitting new users only—and just those...

NZ's New PM: 'We Are Going to Restore Law and Order'

Ex-businessman Christopher Luxon, leader of conservative National Party, wins general election

(Newser) - Conservative former businessman Christopher Luxon will be New Zealand's next prime minister after winning a decisive election victory on Saturday. People voted for change after six years of a liberal government, led for most of that time by Jacinda Ardern. The exact makeup of Luxon's government is still...

Couple Gets Refund Over Stinky Dog on Flight

New Zealand pair say they had to move from premium to economy over the smell

(Newser) - A New Zealand couple who say they were subjected to a drooling, snorting, and farting dog on a long flight have gotten a $1,400 refund for their trouble, reports Insider . Gill and Warren Press say they asked to switch their premium seats midflight from Paris to Singapore because the...

Climber 'Exceptionally Lucky' After Fall From Summit

Warmer temps turned ice to snow, which cushioned 2K-foot fall on New Zealand's Mount Taranaki

(Newser) - A climber who reached the summit of a mountain in New Zealand descended a lot faster than anticipated but lived to tell the tale. The unidentified climber apparently lost his footing at the top of the challenging Mount Taranaki, slid down an astonishing 600 meters (about 2,000 feet), and...

Dinner Plate-Sized Surgical Device Left in Woman's Belly
She Griped of Pain for Over a
Year. Then, a Surprising Find
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

She Griped of Pain for Over a Year. Then, a Surprising Find

Dinner plate-sized surgical device was left in New Zealand woman's belly after C-section in 2020

(Newser) - A New Zealand woman who gave birth by cesarean section in 2020 lived for 18 months with a surgical device "about the size of a dinner plate" concealed in her abdomen, according to a report released Monday. The unnamed woman in her 20s complained of chronic pain in the...

New Zealand Mom Guilty of Murdering 3 Young Daughters

Lauren Dickason said her postpartum-induced mental illness led her to kill her kids

(Newser) - A New Zealand jury on Wednesday found a mother guilty of murdering her three young daughters after rejecting her defense that she was so mentally ill at the time she couldn't be held responsible. Lauren Dickason, 42, had earlier admitted killing her 2-year-old twin daughters, Maya and Karla, and...

AI-Powered Recipe Bot Offers Deadly Suggestions

Ant-poison jelly sandwiches, anyone?

(Newser) - A supermarket chain in New Zealand had to make some changes to its artificial intelligence-powered recipe app after it delivered some potentially deadly recommendations. The Savey Meal-bot from Pak'nSave came up with meal plans or recipes when customers entered lists of ingredients, but users soon discovered that the bot...

World Cup to Go On After Gunman's Attack in New Zealand

Police say 2 people were killed, 6 injured near teams' hotel

(Newser) - This file has been updated with details about increased security and the US team. A gunman killed two people at a construction site in New Zealand's largest city on Thursday, as the nation prepared to host games in the FIFA Women's World Cup soccer tournament, authorities said. Six...

Meet Public Enemy No. 1 in New Zealand
New Zealand
Is Waging War
With This Guy


longform

New Zealand Is Waging War With This Guy

Island nation aims to eradicate rats by 2050 to save its native birds, and the BBC assesses its progress

(Newser) - Seven years ago, New Zealand passed a law declaring that it aimed to eradicate rats by the year 2050, with the idea of saving its native birds. With 27 years to go until the deadline, the BBC checks in on how things are going, and it sounds a little exhausting,...

New Zealand PM's Plane Is Very Rickety

'Betty' so prone to breakdowns that NZ sent a backup when Chris Hipkins traveled to China

(Newser) - The United States has Air Force One, a plane that can refuel in midair and act as a presidential command center. New Zealand has "Betty," an aging Boeing 757 that officials on Monday acknowledged was so prone to breakdowns they'd sent an empty backup to ensure Prime...

Axe-Wielding Man Attacks New Zealand Restaurants

4 injured in the incident

(Newser) - A man with an axe attacked random diners at three neighboring Chinese restaurants in New Zealand, wounding four people, police and witnesses said. Police said the man began the attack at about 9pm Monday in the north Auckland suburb of Albany, the AP reports. Police arrested a 24-year-old suspect at...

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