A man whose religious public address in Whangārei upset some listeners says the police interfered with his right to free speech by asking him to shut up. During a 20-minute fire-and-brimstone sermon in Cameron St on July 20, ”street preacher” Grant Edwards hurled denigrating comments at passers-by and people seated nearby. As well as telling Read more
Children born of rape do not count as victims, police have said, after a woman seeks to prosecute her birth father after allegedly raping her mother. The woman, who wants her father brought to justice in a victimless prosecution by using her own DNA as key evidence, discovered the alleged rape while going through her Read more
The New Zealand International Film Festival programme page for Mafile‘o’s first feature should come with a warning: it will tug hard at your heartstrings. It’s showing at the local festival as it moves around the country following screenings in the indigenous section of the Berlin International Film Festival in February and the Los Angeles Asian Read more
Ahead of the Pope’s visit to Mozambique, the country’s president and the leader of the Renamo opposition have signed a peace agreement to end armed hostilities, almost three decades after the end of a civil war. The permanent ceasefire comes just weeks before Francis arrives on 5 September into Maputo for a one-day visit to Read more
Sir Anand Satyanand has resigned from his role as chairman of the inquiry into abuse in state care, paying tribute to survivors who shared their stories – and promising it is on firm footing to finish the job he started. Read More
The man known as Australia’s “Dr Death” has created a private live-streaming service so he can watch in real-time as members of his euthanasia group end their lives. It might seem macabre to some but right-to-die campaigner Philip Nitschke says it’s all in the name of science. The founder of Exit International wants to be Read more
The special hui at Whangarei Hato Werahiko Kawerio parish on June 8.was pivotal as part of a consultation process to establish and formalise the structure of a Katorika Māori Commission. It was the first-ever in Auckland diocese that encompasses Tamaki ki Te Taitokerau and potentially Hauraki. Continue reading in NZ Catholic
French Polynesia’s biggest church has sharply criticised the French state, saying Paris should repent for its crimes committed against God and the people. At the conclusion of its 135th synod, the Maohi Protestant church called on France to abrogate its nuclear compensation law, saying it fails to compensate the victims of the weapons tests. In Read more
Michael Mayell has partnered with Abe Gray, the founder of New Zealand’s first cannabis museum, to create a cannabis institute in two heritage-listed buildings on Manchester St. The former Trinity Congregational church will be used for the museum during the day, an education space Mayell dubbed “cannabis university” in the evenings. Read more
Two vases, estimated to be worth about $120,000, were returned to the family of Harry Fuld 80 years after they were stolen from his widow by the Nazi regime, in a ceremony made possible by the joint efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Art Crime Team and the American Embassy of Germany, according to Read more