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President Putin and Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, sign a series of bilateral documents, including an objection to 'forcing sovereign states to renounce neutrality', adding that hegemony must be eliminated. · Despite outside pressures the links between Russia and China are strong and the two countries are working hand in hand to counter global coercion. An Iranian MP lashes out at what he calls Donald Trump’s ‘unbalanced character’, saying the US…

The Free Speech Union is calling on the Queenstown Lakes District Council to reverse its decision to blacklist Crux Media editor Peter Newport from council media access, warning that the move sets a dangerous precedent for press freedom in New Zealand. Mr Newport has spent a year investigating the sewage discharged from Queenstown's wastewater plant into the Shotover River. Three days before RNZ confirmed E. coli levels almost four times the…

You may have seen the Herald piece this week reporting that the Legal Complaints Review Officer has quashed the disciplinary finding against me and my firm. · !Herald headline · Source: Free Speech Union · I'm not writing to celebrate. · I'm writing because what happened to me is what is now happening, regularly and quietly, to people across New Zealand who don't have the resources to fight back. · A lawyer's letter, fifty years of practice,…

On Sunday's Q+A, Education Minister Erica Stanford confirmed what the Free Speech Union has been warning about for months: universal age verification is coming to New Zealand. That is the only detail the public has been given The Department of Internal Affairs is already recruiting a Programme Implementation Director. Procurement is underway. A July 2027 implementation date has been pencilled in. None of this has been before Parliament. None of…

The interesting thing this week is that after what felt like a very slow start to May, we're now starting to see the shipping picture fill out quite a bit. Earlier in the month there were days where you could look across the schedules and there was practically nothing new to report. That naturally raises eyebrows because people start asking whether supply issues are developing behind the scenes. But looking at where we sit now, the overall…

Australia's latest budget changes are prompting renewed discussion around the differences between New Zealand and Australian tax systems, with some Australian commentators now describing New Zealand as a "tax haven" for investors and business owners. By elocal Report Desk · !Australia's latest government Budget has prompted some strong reactions · Australia's latest government Budget has prompted some strong reactions. Source: 123rf · The…

The Midweek Update · Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s “No Money for Terror” message at the G7 is framed as sanctions on Iran, but Susan Kokinda argues that the real warning is aimed elsewhere. · According to the discussion, the focus is not simply on Iran itself, but on what are described as “excuses” and financial structures allegedly enabling terror financing through shell companies in Europe, shadow banking systems in the Middle East, and…

US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has confirmed that her team is investigating more than 40 US-funded pathogen laboratories in Ukraine. Here’s what you need to know about the story that was written off as “Kremlin propaganda” in 2022 In a statement to the New York Post on Tuesday, Gabbard said that her department had identified more than 120 biological laboratories in 30 countries that had been funded by the US taxpayer for…

On May 12, 2026, Russia carried out the second successful launch of its newest heavy liquid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile, the Sarmat. The launch marked another major milestone in the flight-testing program for Russia’s next-generation strategic missile system. Following the test, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the first regiment equipped with Sarmat ICBMs would officially enter combat duty by the end of 2026. By…

The Russian ruble has become the world’s best-performing currency against the US dollar in the second quarter of 2026, boosted by a surge in oil revenues, Bloomberg has reported. Data compiled by the outlet showed the ruble had climbed about 12% since the start of April to around 72.6 per dollar, its strongest level since February 2023. · For a second straight year, the currency has diverged from official and market forecasts that predicted…