All articles

New Zealand’s alcohol consumption has fallen to its lowest recorded level, with younger generations increasingly turning away from drinking and low- or no-alcohol alternatives gaining ground. The shift may be positive from a health perspective, but it comes as hospitality businesses face rising costs, widespread closures and profound changes in how younger New Zealanders socialise. eLocal Report: Based on reporting by Adam Burns for RNZ HERE ·…

A New Zealand Police staffer is before the courts facing 39 charges, including allegations of rape, kidnapping, indecent assault and unlawful sexual connection. The case is one of 10 active prosecutions arising from investigations by the Police National Integrity Unit, according to information obtained by RNZ under the Official Information Act. eLocal Report: Based on reporting by Sam Sherwood, National Crime Correspondent for RNZ HERE · RNZ…

Three years after Sidney Ross Bridson was killed at his isolated Waitaanga property, the two men convicted of his murder have been sentenced in the High Court at New Plymouth. The sentencing brought renewed focus to the impact of Bridson’s death on a family that described him as a generous, caring man whose life was taken before his time. eLocal Report: Based on reporting by Tara Shaskey for RNZ / New Zealand Herald HERE · Sidney Ross Bridson,…

Thousands of New Zealand first-home buyers are confronting the painful aftermath of the housing boom, with properties purchased near the market peak now worth less than the mortgages secured against them. While economists say negative equity is generally manageable for borrowers who can continue making repayments, it can leave households effectively trapped — unable to sell, relocate or access the equity they expected their home to build. eLocal…

Previously classified Soviet records have provided new details of a mass execution carried out by Japanese occupation authorities in Hailar, Manchuria, on August 9, 1945 — the same day the Soviet Union launched its offensive against Japan in the Far East. According to the documents released by Russia’s Federal Security Service, 43 prisoners were killed, many by beheading, before the Japanese occupation regime collapsed. INR Report: Based on…

BRICS has grown into one of the most significant non-Western groupings in international affairs, but expansion alone will not determine whether it succeeds. Russian foreign-policy analyst Timofey Bordachev argues its real challenge is more fundamental: developing a coherent idea of international order capable of binding very different countries together — and persuading others that there is a credible alternative to institutions historically…

Russia’s increasingly deliberate use of “Britain” rather than “Great Britain” may sound like diplomatic trolling, but Russian academic Alexander Bobrov argues it reflects something deeper: Moscow’s deteriorating view of London as relations between the two nuclear powers approach what he describes as a dangerous low. His RT opinion also extends the argument beyond Ukraine, portraying Britain as a country that retains considerable international…

The murder trial of Massachusetts mother Lindsay Clancy has become the focus of a wider debate over postpartum mental illness, criminal responsibility and whether race and class influence public perceptions of defendants. Former US congressional attorney and women’s rights advocate Reese Everson has told RT she believes an African-American woman accused of the same acts would have been viewed very differently. INR Report: Based on reporting and…

A Turkish airline has resumed flights to Russia after earlier cancellations, following Vladimir Zelensky’s warning that aircraft over Russian airspace could be at risk. Vladimir Putin says Moscow would respond if civilian aviation is threatened. Tehran has vowed retaliation after a US airstrike hit a wedding, killing at least four and wounding more than 60. Meanwhile, catastrophic flooding and landslides in Nepal have killed more than 1,000…

Susan on Bessent naming IRGC accounts in the British Virgin Islands — the real target is the offshore money machine, not just Iran. Syria sanctions lifted, the Mecca Pact, Russia at the G20, and China on Iran. Susan Kokinda argues that Scott Bessent’s warning about IRGC accounts in the British Virgin Islands and his “cut the snake’s head off” image were aimed at London’s offshore money machine, not just Iran. She maps the BVI and Hong Kong as…