Latest news with #Auckland
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Jacinda Ardern reveals Queen Elizabeth II's parenting advice
Dame Jacinda Ardern was told by Queen Elizabeth II that she should 'just get on with it' after she sought advice on how to bring up a child in the public eye. The former prime minister of New Zealand, 44, has recalled her exchange with the late monarch at a Commonwealth summit in April 2018 while seven-months pregnant with her daughter, Neve Te Aroha. On the first day of the summit at Buckingham Palace, Dame Jacinda, who has advocated for New Zealand becoming a republic, was one of four leaders invited for a 20-minute private meeting with Queen Elizabeth II. In an extract of her new memoir A Different Kind of Power, published in The Guardian, she writes: 'She had, of course, raised children in the public eye, so in our private meeting I asked if she had any advice. 'You just get on with it,' she said simply. 'She sounded so matter of fact, just as my grandma Margaret might have.' She is only the second elected head of government in modern history to give birth while in office, after the late Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan. Dame Jacinda, wearing a mustard-coloured gown and a kākahu, a traditional Māori cloak woven from flax and covered with feathers, had given Queen Elizabeth II a framed image of the monarch during a royal tour to New Zealand in 1953, her head back in a full relaxed laugh. While waiting for the other 52 heads of state to assemble, the then prime minister said she had jokingly asked palace ushers whether the lines should be arranged 'boy, girl, boy, girl'. Only five of the leaders were women. She recalls: 'They looked at me for a moment, perhaps trying to decide whether to take the comment seriously, before moving on to the next leader. 'Of course I hadn't been serious'. Dame Jacinda resigned as leader of the Labour Party and prime minister in January 2023, telling the nation of five million people that she had 'no more left in the tank'. Her five-year tenure was marked by uncompromising and successful, if deeply unpopular, containment measures to stop the spread of Covid-19 during the pandemic. Dame Jacinda's compassionate response and swift reaction to the Christchurch terrorist attack, in which 51 Muslim worshippers were killed in March 2019, won her praise from even her staunchest opponents who had criticised her 'woke' attitude towards politics. In her memoir, she recalled how Donald Trump, the US president, had questioned her description at the time of the far-Right shooter as a 'terrorist'. She writes: 'We discussed what might happen to the terrorist. I used that word, 'terrorist', specifically and President Trump asked if we were calling the gunman that.' She said to him: 'Yes, this was a white man from Australia who deliberately targeted our Muslim community. We are calling him that.' Mr Trump did not respond, but asked if there was anything America could do. 'You can show sympathy and love for all Muslim communities,' she told him. Brenton Tarrant shot dead 51 people at two mosques and had broadcast his rampage over the internet. He was later sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the first time the maximum available sentence has been imposed in the country. In an accompanying interview with The Guardian, Dame Jacinda described Mr Trump as 'taller than I expected, his tan more pronounced'. Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, is 'quiet, often alone and almost expressionless', she said. When asked for her opinion of Boris Johnson, the former UK prime minister, Dame Jacinda is said to have rolled her eyes. She was awarded a damehood by the Prince of Wales last year, despite her being a staunch republican. Initially, she said she was 'incredibly humbled' but 'in two minds' about accepting the accolade, but did travel to Windsor Castle to collect the award. Dame Jacinda donned a traditional Maori cloak, often worn during special ceremonies, to pick up the award for leading New Zealand through the pandemic. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE A teenager died taking part in this latest internet craze. Here's why a leading brain doctor believes every parent needs to be warned
Australia's leading brain injury expert says an internet craze labelled 'the world's fiercest new collision sport' and which has already killed a teenager is more dangerous than traditional football codes. Run It Straight is a challenge that's gaining popularity with millions of social media users sharing videos of people smashing into each other. The tackle game features two players and involves a ball runner and a tackler standing 20m apart before they run full speed towards each other without protective gear. The aim is to knock the opponent over. It has even been endorsed by some professional rugby players despite warnings that it could give players head trauma and a brain injury. A Run It Straight event was recently hosted in Auckland, with organisers promoting it as 'the world's fiercest new collision sport,' which rewarded 'strength and grit'. More than 1,000 people watched eight men compete for a $20,000 prize. Winners of that competition were supposed to go to Auckland's Trust Arena for a final competition to compete for $250,000. But the stadium canned the event due to the 'overwhelming concern' the trials caused. 'Following the trials, it was clear from commentary that there was overwhelming concern for the high-risk nature of the event,' the arena's general manager said. A 19-year-old from New Zealand died on Monday after suffering a serious head injury in a backyard version of Run It Straight. Ryan Satterthwaite, from Palmerston North, passed away after taking part in the full-contact collision game with friends when the injury occurred. The death sparked renewed calls for the game to be banned. Dr Rowena Mobbs is a neurologist and the founder and director of the Australian CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) Biobank. She slammed the new craze and told Daily Mail Australia that it was 'not a sport'. 'It is a form of harm and it should be avoided,' she said. 'What we have is data worldwide in terms of concussion and CTE with tackling environments. 'We know that a single traumatic brain injury can be devastating for an individual, leading to lifelong disability or death in some instances. This is likely to involve brain swelling or bleeding.' Dr Mobbs said Run It Straight was even more dangerous than rugby league or Aussie Rules in terms of the brain injury risk. 'In my opinion this is a higher risk scenario than contact sports like the football codes,' she said. 'That's because participants are running at full speed towards each other with a much greater force of impact than on the footy field. 'Parents who have children engaging in this form of harm need to be acutely aware that there could be serous consequences, even death.' Participants of Run It Straight aren't supposed to hit each other in the head but even body shots can impact the brain. Dr Mobbs said whiplash was associated with brain injury. 'In boxing, people sign up knowing the head will be hit, but not in Run It Straight,' she said. Dr Mobbs also said simple concussions were more dangerous and debilitating than most people thought. 'We used to believe that the majority of concussions would resolve pretty quickly but the increasing data suggests otherwise,' she said.
Telegraph
3 hours ago
- General
- Telegraph
Jacinda Ardern reveals Queen Elizabeth II's parenting advice
Dame Jacinda Ardern was told by Queen Elizabeth II that she should 'just get on with it' after she sought advice on how to bring up a child in the public eye. The former prime minister of New Zealand, 44, has recalled her exchange with the late monarch at a Commonwealth summit in April 2018 while seven-months pregnant with her daughter, Neve Te Aroha. On the first day of the summit at Buckingham Palace, Dame Jacinda, who has advocated for New Zealand becoming a republic, was one of four leaders invited for a 20-minute private meeting with Queen Elizabeth II. In an extract of her new memoir A Different Kind of Power, published in The Guardian, she writes: 'She had, of course, raised children in the public eye, so in our private meeting I asked if she had any advice. 'You just get on with it,' she said simply. 'She sounded so matter of fact, just as my grandma Margaret might have.' She is only the second elected head of government in modern history to give birth while in office, after the late Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan. Dame Jacinda, wearing a mustard-coloured gown and a kākahu, a traditional Māori cloak woven from flax and covered with feathers, had given Queen Elizabeth II a framed image of the monarch during a royal tour to New Zealand in 1953, her head back in a full relaxed laugh. While waiting for the other 52 heads of state to assemble, the then prime minister said she had jokingly asked palace ushers whether the lines should be arranged 'boy, girl, boy, girl'. Only five of the leaders were women. She recalls: 'They looked at me for a moment, perhaps trying to decide whether to take the comment seriously, before moving on to the next leader. 'Of course I hadn't been serious'. Dame Jacinda resigned as leader of the Labour Party and prime minister in January 2023, telling the nation of five million people that she had 'no more left in the tank'. Her five-year tenure was marked by uncompromising and successful, if deeply unpopular, containment measures to stop the spread of Covid-19 during the pandemic. Dame Jacinda's compassionate response and swift reaction to the Christchurch terrorist attack, in which 51 Muslim worshippers were killed in March 2019, won her praise from even her staunchest opponents who had criticised her 'woke' attitude towards politics. In her memoir, she recalled how Donald Trump, the US president, had questioned her description at the time of the far-Right shooter as a 'terrorist'. She writes: 'We discussed what might happen to the terrorist. I used that word, 'terrorist', specifically and President Trump asked if we were calling the gunman that.' She said to him: 'Yes, this was a white man from Australia who deliberately targeted our Muslim community. We are calling him that.' Mr Trump did not respond, but asked if there was anything America could do. 'You can show sympathy and love for all Muslim communities,' she told him. Brenton Tarrant shot dead 51 people at two mosques and had broadcast his rampage over the internet. He was later sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the first time the maximum available sentence has been imposed in the country. In an accompanying interview with The Guardian, Dame Jacinda described Mr Trump as 'taller than I expected, his tan more pronounced'. Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, is 'quiet, often alone and almost expressionless', she said. When asked for her opinion of Boris Johnson, the former UK prime minister, Dame Jacinda is said to have rolled her eyes. She was awarded a damehood by the Prince of Wales last year, despite her being a staunch republican. Initially, she said she was 'incredibly humbled' but 'in two minds' about accepting the accolade, but did travel to Windsor Castle to collect the award. Dame Jacinda donned a traditional Maori cloak, often worn during special ceremonies, to pick up the award for leading New Zealand through the pandemic.
LBCI
7 hours ago
- General
- LBCI
New Zealand swears in new deputy PM
David Seymour, leader of the libertarian ACT New Zealand party, was sworn in as deputy prime minister on Saturday, succeeding Winston Peters in the role, which was part of a deal struck when the three-party coalition government was formed in 2023. His party was behind last year's controversial move to enshrine a narrower interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi that it says discriminates against non-Indigenous citizens, though the bill failed in parliament. Seymour was appointed in a ceremony at Auckland's Government House, a spokesperson for the government told Reuters. ACT New Zealand is the junior partner in the center-right ruling coalition that also includes the Peters-led New Zealand First and the National Party, led by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. Reuters
The Guardian
8 hours ago
- General
- The Guardian
Waratahs' Super Rugby finals hopes crushed in ugly thrashing by Blues
The NSW Waratahs' season of promise has ended in despair with an ugly, record-breaking 46-6 Super Rugby Pacific loss to the Blues in Auckland. The Waratahs needed to defeat the defending champions for the first time at Eden Park in 16 years to keep their finals hopes alive. Instead, Dan McKellar's depleted side copped a seven-tries-to-nil drubbing at New Zealand rugby's burial ground on Saturday. For the opening half an hour, a famous victory looked possible - until the wheels fell off in a sorry, anticlimactic conclusion to what had been the Waratahs' best start to a Super campaign since 2009. But a disastrous, coach-killing four-minute lapse before the interval ultimately cruelled the dreamy visitors before the Blues ran amok with four tries in a second-half clinic. Despite being without injured stars Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Max Jorgensen, skipper Jake Gordon and flankers Rob Leota and Charlie Gamble, the Waratahs were right in the must-win game for both sides after rookie flyhalf Jack Bowen slotted a 34th-minute penalty goal to reduce the deficit to four points. Playing with spirit, as they should with their season on the line, the Tahs had winger Andrew Kellaway and rookie scrumhalf Teddy Wilson to thank for desperate try-saving tackles to stay in the contest. But a Bowen blunder, when he slipped and failed to find touch for a clearing kick, and a touch of magic from two-time world player of the player Beauden Barrett blew the game wide open for the Blues in a twinkling. Two tries in three minutes to brilliant centre Rieko Ioane, the second after the halftime siren when Waratahs opposite Henry O'Donnell couldn't handle a probing kick from Barrett near halfway, suddenly extended the Blues' tenuous lead from 10-6 to 24-6. There was no coming back for the Waratahs when fullback Corey Evans strolled over untouched shortly after the break to extend the Blues' lead to 31-6. Sign up to The Breakdown The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewed after newsletter promotion The Blues' sixth try, to hooker Ricky Riccitelli, was more than academic. It virtually secured a precious bonus point to pile the pressure on Moana Pasifika to produce a similar victory later on Saturday against the Hurricanes in Wellington to deny Vern Cotter's side a place in the finals. The hosts' seventh five-pointer was more significant to Ioane, who equalled All Blacks great Doug Howlett's Blues try-scoring record with 55 after beating three Waratahs defenders to another menacing Barrett kick. The Blues' biggest-ever victory margin over the Waratahs did not look likely when Bowen's two first-half penalties almost wiped out Mark Tele'a's 11th-minute try and then Ioane's first strike off a deft AJ Lam grubber. But an hour later and the Blues were anxiously awaiting their finals fate, needing the fourth-placed Hurricanes to deny Moana an unlikely bonus-point triumph away in the NZ capital to push the title-holders through to the play-offs.
