Tag: New Zealand

Judge orders psychiatric test for Christchurch shooting suspect

  by Chris Foley Agence France Presse CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AFP) — The man accused of shooting dead 50 Muslim worshippers in a Christchurch mosque sat impassively Friday as a New Zealand judge ordered him to undergo tests to determine if he is mentally fit to stand trial for murder. Survivors and relatives of those killed in the March 15 attacks packed into a Christchurch courtroom as alleged gunman Brenton Tarrant appeared via audio-visual link […]

Social media bosses face jail under ‘world first’ Australian laws

by Andrew Beatty Agence France Presse SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Social media executives risk jail for failing to take down violent extremist content quickly, under controversial laws passed in Australia Thursday — a “world first” in the wake of the Christchurch mosques massacre. Lawmakers voted overwhelmingly in favour of the laws, which hold firms like Facebook and YouTube — and their executives — responsible for removing “abhorrent material” quickly. The companies face fines approaching billions […]

Christchurch accused to face 50 murder charges

  CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AFP) — The man accused of attacking two mosques in Christchurch last month will face 50 murder charges when he appears in court on Friday, New Zealand police said. Australian Brenton Tarrant was previously charged with one murder as a holding measure, but police said Thursday that all the deaths and injuries in the March 15 attacks will be reflected in upgraded charges during his next appearance. “The man arrested in […]

Facebook to tighten live stream access after mosque attacks

by Glenn CHAPMAN Agence France-Presse SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) – Facebook on Friday said it is tightening live video streaming rules in response to the service being used to broadcast deadly attacks on mosques in New Zealand. The Christchurch attacks — carried out by a self-avowed white supremacist who opened fire on worshipers at two mosques — claimed 50 lives. Many people have “rightly questioned how online platforms such as Facebook were used to circulate […]

PM Jacinda Ardern’s address to national ceremony for mosque attack victims

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AFP) — Herewith the text of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s address to a national remembrance ceremony Friday for the 50 Muslims slain by a white supremacist in two Christchurch mosques on March 15: “We gather here, 14 days on from our darkest of hours. “In the days that have followed the terrorist attack on the 15th of March, we have often found ourselves without words. “What words adequately express the […]

New Zealand orders top-level inquiry into mosque massacres

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday ordered an independent judicial inquiry into the Christchurch mosque attacks, asking whether police and intelligence services could have prevented the March 15 attack. Ardern said a royal commission — the most powerful judicial probe available under New Zealand law — was needed to find out how a single gunman was able to kill 50 people in an attack that shocked the world. […]

Emotional Muslims return to Christchurch mosque as NZ works to move on

  by Chris Foley / Glenda Kwek Agence France Presse CHRISTCHURCH,New Zealand (AFP) — Muslims held emotional prayers inside Christchurch’s main mosque on Saturday for the first time since a white supremacist massacred worshippers there, as New Zealand sought to return to normality after the tragedy. The Al Noor mosque had been taken over by police for investigations and security reasons after alleged gunman Brenton Tarrant gunned down Muslims gathered there and at a smaller […]

New Zealand bans assault weapons, triggering similar calls in US

  by Yelim Lee Agence France Presse WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — New Zealand imposed an immediate ban on assault weapons on Thursday, taking swift action in response to the Christchurch massacre and triggering renewed calls from leading American politicians for curbs in the United States. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said assault rifles and military-style semi-automatic weapons would be banned with immediate effect, making good on a pledge to ensure that nothing like last week’s […]

New Zealand bans sale of assault, semi-automatic rifles: PM Ardern

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Thursday an immediate ban on the sale of assault rifles and semi-automatics in response to the Christchurch terror attack that killed 50 people. “I am announcing that New Zealand will ban all military-style semi-automatic weapons. We will also ban all assault rifles,” Ardern said, while announcing interim measures that will stop a rush of purchases before legislation on the measures takes effect. She added that […]

Syrian refugee father and son laid to rest as New Zealand burials start

  by Glenda KWEK / Daniel DE CARTERET Agence France Presse CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AFP) — A Syrian refugee and his son who fled the chaos of their homeland only to meet tragedy in New Zealand were buried on Wednesday in the first funerals of those killed in the mosque massacres. Hundreds of mostly Muslim mourners gathered at a cemetery in the southern city of Christchurch to lay to rest Khalid Mustafa and his 15-year-old […]

New Zealand PM urges global action on social media perils

  CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AFP) — New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Wednesday called for a global response to the dangers of social media as the Muslim community began burying their dead five days after the twin-mosques massacre. A white supremacist gunman streamed his 17 minutes of carnage in which he is accused of killing 50 Muslim worshippers during their Friday prayers. Facebook said the livestream from Christchurch was viewed fewer than 200 times […]

New Zealand PM Ardern vows mosque killer will face ‘full force of law’

  by Chris Foley Agence France Presse CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AFP) — New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern vowed Tuesday never to utter the name of the twin-mosque gunman as she opened a sombre session of parliament with an evocative “as-salaam alaikum” message of peace to Muslims. “He will face the full force of the law in New Zealand,” Ardern pledged to grieving Kiwis, while promising that she would deprive the man, an avowed white […]