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NZ Herald
2 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Doctor among several Kiwis injured on front line in Ukraine
Mark told the Herald he has 'nothing but respect' for her. 'After three years of operations, she has a very good understanding of the geopolitical situation and the tactical and strategic challenges Ukraine faces,' Mark said. For safety reasons, the Herald has not named the doctor. Mark told the Herald Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has given her Ukrainian citizenship 'in recognition of what she's done and what she's gone through'. Carterton mayor and former Defence Minister Ron Mark has recently returned from his third self-funded trip to Ukraine. Photo / Neil Reid Mark, a former captain in the New Zealand Army, first visited Ukraine in May 2022 and has visited twice more to meet New Zealand humanitarians, medics, and members of Ukraine's Foreign Legion. The Foreign Legion is an armed force made up of volunteers who have travelled to Ukraine from around the world, including New Zealanders. Mark doesn't travel in any official capacity, taking annual leave from his role as Mayor and funding his own travel. He told the Herald he has become an unofficial sounding board for many Kiwis considering travelling to fight in Ukraine, receiving calls and texts day and night. Southwest of Irpin, Ukraine, a highway is now lined with the burnt husks of Russian armoured vehicles, which have become a tourist attraction for Ukrainians. Photo / Olena Kalashnikova At least four New Zealanders are known to have died in the European nation since Russia invaded in February 2022: three soldiers and an aid worker. Mark said his travels have alerted him to 'considerably more' Kiwis also maimed on battlefields there. He wouldn't elaborate further, except to say dozens of Kiwis have signed up to fight in the Ukraine Foreign Legion. Most buildings in the city of Irpin, Ukraine, were damaged or destroyed by Russian forces. Photo / Olena Kalashnikova Kiwis who have died there include three members of the Ukraine Foreign Legion: Dominic Abelen, Kane Te Tai and Shan-Le Kearns. Abelen volunteered to fight in Ukraine after taking leave from the NZDF. Te Tai is another former NZDF soldier, who previously served in Afghanistan. Kearns did not have a military background but trained in Ukraine. He died while trying to rescue injured comrades. The confirmed Kiwi death toll also includes aid worker Andrew Bagshaw who lost his life alongside an English colleague when their car was reportedly hit by a Russian artillery shell. 'There's considerably more than that. Kiwis that have been wounded... some badly wounded,' Mark told the Herald. Former Defence Minister Ron Mark wants Kiwis who travel to Ukraine to fight Russian forces to be eligible for Veterans' Affairs support when they return home. Photo / Neil Reid 'Despite their wounds, [they] have gone back. [They have] been patched up, put together, either in hospitals in Germany, Britain or in Kyiv, and they've gone back into the fight again,' he said. Some – including ex-New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) soldiers – had decided to return to New Zealand, Mark said, only to later return to fight. Mark said he fears more Kiwis will be injured or killed - or suffer lasting psychological wounds from what they witness. Dominic Abelen (left to right) and Kane Te Tai both lost their lives fighting in Ukraine. Photo / Supplied For that reason, he wants those who serve in Ukraine to be eligible for support from Veterans' Affairs New Zealand - the Government department that offers health, rehabilitation and financial help to eligible NZDF veterans. Mark said while those fighting weren't serving New Zealand officially, an argument could be made they were delivering 'lethal aid' to Ukraine just as the New Zealand Government is via funding and training. 'Why would we not recognise that there are some New Zealanders who are paying their own air fares, putting their own lives on the line, and going and delivering lethal aid directly themselves,' he said. Shan-le Kearns, 26, is the fourth New Zealander known to have died in Ukraine. Photo / Supplied 'I'd argue, isn't there a moral obligation [to] these men and women?' Minister for Veterans Chris Penk told the Herald the entitlements would remain available only to those serving 'at the direction of the New Zealand Government'. There were no plans to extend Veterans' Affairs New Zealand support to people travelling to Ukraine on their own. 'The Government has not considered extending veterans' entitlements to New Zealanders who travel to Ukraine for combat or humanitarian reasons,' Penk said. 'Doing so could be seen as endorsing these actions, which is not the New Zealand Government's position. 'We strongly advise New Zealanders against travelling to conflict zones. In many cases, we may be unable to offer consular support if they are harmed or wish to return home.' Minister for Veterans Chris Penk says the Government has no plans to extend veterans help for individuals who travel to Ukraine on their own, to fight. Photo / Mark Mitchell Penk said New Zealand remained 'steadfast' in its support for Ukraine 'in the face of Russia's illegal and unprovoked invasion'. While New Zealand was not a combatant, its support was unwavering, he said. 'We have provided humanitarian and military assistance, including financial aid and the deployment of up to 100 New Zealand Defence Force personnel to help train Ukrainian troops in the UK and Europe.' Neil Reid is a Napier-based senior reporter who covers general news, features and sport. He joined the Herald in 2014 and has 33 years of newsroom experience. Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
1News
2 days ago
- 1News
Trump reveals 25% tariff on India, unspecified penalties for buying Russian oil
The United States will impose a 25% tariff on goods from India, plus an additional import tax because of India's purchasing of Russian oil, President Donald Trump said today. India 'is our friend,' Trump said on his Truth Social platform, but its tariffs on US products 'are far too high'. The Republican president added India buys military equipment and oil from Russia, enabling Moscow's war in Ukraine. As a result, he intends to charge an additional 'penalty' starting on Friday (local time) as part of the launch of his administration's revised tariffs on multiple countries. Trump told reporters today the two countries were still in the middle of negotiations on trade despite the tariffs slated to begin in a few days. 'We're talking to India now," the president said. "We'll see what happens.' ADVERTISEMENT The Indian government said today it's studying the implications of Trump's tariffs announcement. India and the US have been engaged in negotiations on concluding a 'fair, balanced and mutually beneficial' bilateral trade agreement over the last few months, and New Delhi remains committed to that objective, India's Trade Ministry said in a statement. Trump today signed separate orders to tax imports of copper at 50% and justify his 50% tariffs on Brazil due to their criminal prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro and treatment of US social media companies. Trump also signed an order saying that government now had the systems in place to close the tariff loophole on 'de minimis' shipments, which had enabled goods priced under $800 (NZ$1355) to enter America duty-free, largely from China. Trump also said on Truth Social that he was meeting today with a trade delegation from South Korea, which currently faces 25% tariffs starting on Friday (local time). He also said the US has reached a deal with Pakistan that includes the development of its oil reserves. Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was briefing him on trade talks with China. Trump's view on tariffs Trump's announcement comes after a slew of negotiated trade frameworks with the European Union, Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia — all of which he said would open markets for American goods while enabling the US to raise tax rates on imports. The president views tariff revenues as a way to help offset the budget deficit increases tied to his recent income tax cuts and generate more domestic factory jobs. While Trump has effectively wielded tariffs as a cudgel to reset the terms of trade, the economic impact is uncertain as most economists expect a slowdown in US growth and greater inflationary pressures as some of the costs of the taxes are passed along to domestic businesses and consumers. ADVERTISEMENT There's also the possibility of more tariffs coming on trade partners with Russia as well as on pharmaceutical drugs and computer chips. Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, said Trump and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer would announce the Russia-related tariff rates on India at a later date. Tariffs face European pushback The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including tsunami threat remains for NZ and quake sparks Russian volcanic eruption, plus the pop star and the politician spotted having dinner. (Source: 1News) Trump's approach of putting a 15% tariff on America's long-standing allies in the EU is also generating pushback, possibly causing European partners as well as Canada to seek alternatives to US leadership on the world stage. French President Emmanuel Macron said today in the aftermath of the trade framework that Europe 'does not see itself sufficiently' as a global power, saying in a cabinet meeting that negotiations with the US will continue as the agreement gets formalised. ADVERTISEMENT 'To be free, you have to be feared,' Macron said. 'We have not been feared enough. There is a greater urgency than ever to accelerate the European agenda for sovereignty and competitiveness.' Seeking a deeper partnership with India Washington has long sought to develop a deeper partnership with New Delhi, which is seen as a bulwark against China. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has established a good working relationship with Trump, and the two leaders are likely to further boost cooperation between their countries. When Trump in February met with Modi, the US president said that India would start buying American oil and natural gas. The new tariffs on India could complicate its goal of doubling bilateral trade with the US to $500 billion (NZ$847.3 billion) by 2030. The two countries have had five rounds of negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement. While US has been seeking greater market access and zero tariff on almost all its exports, India has expressed reservations on throwing open sectors such as agriculture and dairy, which employ a bulk of the country's population for livelihood, Indian officials said. The Census Bureau reported that the US ran a $45.8 billion (NZ$77.6 billion) trade imbalance in goods with India last year, meaning it imported more than it exported. At a population exceeding 1.4 billion people, India is the world's largest country and a possible geopolitical counterbalance to China. India and Russia have close relations, and New Delhi has not supported Western sanctions on Moscow over its war in Ukraine. The new tariffs could put India at a disadvantage in the US market relative to Vietnam, Bangladesh and, possibly, China, said Ajay Sahai, director general of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations. 'We are back to square one as Trump hasn't spelled out what the penalties would be in addition to the tariff,' Sahai said. 'The demand for Indian goods is bound to be hit.'
RNZ News
3 days ago
- RNZ News
'Spying at unprecedented levels': $13.6b annual cost for Australia
By foreign affairs correspondent Stephen Dziedzic , ABC ASIO chief Mike Burgess has used a speech to warn of the costs of foreign espionage to Australia. Photo: ABC News/ Shaun Kingma Australia's domestic spy chief has used a major speech in Adelaide to warn foreign espionage is costing the nation at least A$12.5 billion (NZ$13.6b) a year, while revealing ASIO has disrupted 24 "major espionage and foreign interference" operations in the last three years alone. ASIO director-general Mike Burgess has also confirmed that Australia expelled "a number" of undeclared Russian intelligence officers in 2022, whilst berating some public officials for "head-spinning" complacency about the threats posed by overseas intelligence agencies. Burgess has struck an increasingly urgent tone about the threats posed by foreign interference in recent years, but Thursday night's speech - delivered at the annual Hawke Lecture at the University of South Australia - is his most detailed account laying out the scale of the threat. The spy chief again listed China, Russia and Iran as three of the main nations behind espionage in Australia but said Australians would be "shocked" by the number of other countries that were also trying similar tactics. He said the 24 major operations disrupted over the past three years were "more than the previous eight years combined" and that strategic competition was driving a "relentless hunger for strategic advantage and an insatiable appetite for inside information". "Nation states are spying at unprecedented levels, with unprecedented sophistication," he said. "ASIO is seeing more Australians targeted - more aggressively - than ever before." He gave multiple examples, such as spies who "convinced a state bureaucrat to log into a database to obtain the names and addresses of individuals considered dissidents by a foreign regime" and a foreign intelligence service that "directed multiple agents and their family members to apply for Australian government jobs - including with the national security community - to get access to classified information". He also said foreign companies connected to intelligence services had "sought to buy access to sensitive personal data sets; sought to buy land near sensitive military sites; and sought to collaborate with researchers developing sensitive technologies". The spy chief also told a story about an overseas delegation visiting a "sensitive Australian horticultural facility" who snapped branches off a "rare and valuable variety of fruit tree" in order to steal them. "Almost certainly, the stolen plant material allowed scientists in the other country to reverse engineer and replicate two decades of Australian research and development," he said. Burgess also said that foreign spy agencies were taking an "unhealthy interest" in accessing military technology secrets shared through the AUKUS pact. "Foreign intelligence services are proactive, creative and opportunistic in their targeting of current and former defence employees: relentless cyber espionage, in-person targeting and technical collection," he said. "In recent years, for example, defence employees travelling overseas have been subjected to covert room searches, been approached at conferences by spies in disguise and given gifts containing surveillance devices. "Defence is alert to these threats and works closely with ASIO to counter them." Private investigator desk with top secret envelopes. Photo: 123RF Burgess didn't name any of the countries behind the new plots he identified, but released a new report that ASIO developed with the Australian Institute of Criminology, which tries to count the cost of espionage. He said while calculating the cost was "challenging", the report found espionage cost the Australian economy at least $12.5b in the 2023-2024 financial year - an estimate Burgess called "conservative" and which likely "significantly underestimates" the true cost of espionage. "Many entities do not know their secrets have been stolen, or do not realise they've been stolen by espionage, or do not report the theft," he said. The spy chief also once again took aim at businesses and officials who he suggested were complacent or deeply naive about the threat of espionage, saying he'd "lost count of the number of times senior officials and executives have privately downplayed the impacts of espionage". "I've watched corporate leaders literally shrug their shoulders when told their networks are compromised," he said. In unusually frank remarks, Burgess also heaped scorn on an unnamed Australian trade official. "Most recently, a trade official told ASIO there's no way the Chinese intelligence services would have any interest in his organisation's people and premises in China," he said. "All too often, we make it all too easy." Australian public servants are being too cavalier on sharing details about their work, Mike Burgess says. Photo: Shutter Speed/Unsplash And he once again rounded on Australian public servants who reveal details about their work online - including on professional networking sites - saying about 7000 of them "reference their work in the defence sector" and "close to 400 explicitly say they work on AUKUS". "Nearly two and a half thousand publicly boast about having a security clearance and 1300 claim to work in the national security community," he said. "While these numbers have fallen since I first raised the alarm two years ago, this still makes my head spin … surely these individuals, of all people, should understand the threat and recognise the risk? "I get that people need to market themselves but telling social media you hold a security clearance or work on a highly classified project is more than naive; it's recklessly inviting the attention of a foreign intelligence service." Burgess said that "thousands of Australian students, academics, politicians, business people, researchers, law enforcement officials and public servants at all levels of government" have been targeted for espionage through networking sites. "The vast majority resist, report or ignore the approaches," he said. "Unfortunately, though, some are sucked in and end up being used - recklessly or consciously - to gather information for a foreign country." -ABC
