Tag: newzealand

US, Asia-Pacific nations hold joint maritime exercises in South China Sea

By Neil Jerome Morales MANILA (Reuters) – The armed forces of five countries conducted joint maritime exercises in a portion of the South China Sea on Saturday as China carried out its own military drills in the disputed waterway. The exercises involving the Philippines, United States, Australia, Japan and – for the first time – New Zealand took place in Manila’s exclusive economic zone and sought to improve the militaries’ interoperability, the Philippine armed forces […]

US wins Basketball World Cup opener as Doncic dazzles for Slovenia

The United States began their quest for Basketball World Cup redemption with a hard-fought win over New Zealand on Saturday, while Slovenian superstar Luka Doncic dazzled on his tournament debut. Defending champions Spain also got their campaign off to a successful start, and there were opening wins for Puerto Rico, Georgia, Greece, Brazil and Serbia on the competition’s second day. The United States finished seventh at the last World Cup in China four years ago […]

NZ to hold national remembrance for Christchurch next Friday

New Zealand will hold a national remembrance service on March 29 for the victims of the Christchurch mosque massacre and their families, the prime minister’s office announced on Sunday. The interfaith service will take place in Christchurch two weeks after an Australian white supremacist shot and killed 50 Muslims who had arrived for Friday prayers at two mosques in the city on March 15. “The national remembrance service provides an opportunity for Cantabrians (Christchurch-area residents), […]

Wrong victim named in initial NZ gunman charge document: police

New Zealand police on Thursday admitted that the person they originally charged suspected mosques gunman Brenton Tarrant with murdering is actually still alive. “An error was made in the charging document prepared for the first court appearance of the man charged with murder in relation to the Christchurch terror attacks,” a police spokesman told AFP. “The error saw an incorrect victim name included in the charging document.” Tarrant appeared in court Saturday on the first […]

Finland tops world happiness rankings, South Sudan bottom: UN

Finland ranked as the world’s happiest country for the second year running while war-torn South Sudan sank to the least contented in a United Nations report released on Wednesday. The Nordic nation of 5.5 million people, known for their love of forests, lakes and saunas, topped the study which used survey data asking citizens in 156 countries how happy they perceive themselves to be, as well as measures such as life expectancy, income and social […]