Blog

By Geoffrey Miller* Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone Analysis - As tensions in the Middle East rise further, New Zealand's approach to the region continues to evolve. Neither Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, nor Foreign Minister Winston Peters were immediately keen to comment publicly about Israel's assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. On social media, Luxon instead promoted the government's recently introduced tax cuts, while Peters posted on the launch of a new shortwave radio transmitter for Radio New Zealand's Pacific-focused service, a key plank of Wellington's public diplomacy efforts. But it would be wrong to call New Zealand reticent when it comes to the war in Gaza as a w...

Photo: British Army / Supplied The Defence Force has been helping the US military with artificial intelligence-powered weapons to speed up what they call "kill chains". US reports show the NZDF is one of a half dozen militaries involved in regular exercises to link American and allied war-fighting technology more closely. The Pentagon has been putting a lot more stress on getting allies on board to counter China. In an exercise in California with six nations in March, a F35 jetfighter with AI-driven sensors instantly passed targeting data along the "kill chain" to an unmanned kamikaze drone. In another exercise - also attended by New Zealand - the controversial surveillance firm Palantir supplied a so-called "metaconstellation" of submarine-hunting satellites. US military chiefs said the...

Womens Double Scull final, Brooke Francis and Lucy Spoors from New Zealand on the podium to get their gold. Photo: Iain McGregor / www.photosport.nz The mother of rowers Lucy and Phoebe Spoors has revealed she had to run from the medal ceremony to see her next daughter's race. Virginia Spoors has told Morning Report she was in a "bit of a panic" as she sprinted to find a place to watch. Lucy Spoors along with Brooke Francis won gold in the women's double sculls. But the moment the medal ceremony was over, the women's coxless four race began. And that included Phoebe Spoors and teammates Jackie Gowler, Kerri Williams, and Davina Waddy. They went on to win bronze. "We were in a massive grandstand, halfway up next to a German group, Americans in front and Dutch behind. We got talking," sai...

Photo: BBC By Katie Razzall of the BBC The man who was once the most trusted and most recognisable face of BBC journalism has pleaded guilty over images that show child sexual abuse - and the BBC has serious questions to answer. The director general faces some stark and uncomfortable truths. Most difficult to explain is why the BBC continued to pay Huw Edwards his vast salary for five months after he had been arrested. Edwards resigned in April citing medical advice. The BBC said in its statement that if Edwards had been charged, it would have acted. It's true that a charge would have indicated prosecutors believed they had the evidence to convict. Edwards wasn't charged until after he had resigned. But for many, his guilty pleas on Wednesday make it difficult to justify those months pay...

An ultra-wholesome Japanese dating series on Netflix has hooked viewers globally. Photo: Netflix An ultra-wholesome Japanese dating series on Netflix has hooked viewers globally. It's part of a wave of reality shows showing the nuances, and differences, of gay relationships. It is a concept that we've seen many times before: a group of strangers enter a house and, as cameras film their every move, they search for a romantic connection. But conceptually, Netflix's The Boyfriend is actually a million miles from the Love Island villa, where singles with chiselled abs search for love (and Instagram fame). The Netflix series is Japan's first ever same-sex dating show - a landmark moment for LGBTQ+ representation. The premise is simple: in Tateyama, a quiet coastal city in Japan, a seaside be...