Latest news with #March15
The Spinoff
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Spinoff
From Hilary to Oprah: Everything you missed from Jacinda Ardern's whirlwind promo tour
Tara Ward watches the big interviews from Dame Jacinda Ardern's promotional book tour. Dame Jacinda Ardern's memoir A Different Kind of Power was released around the globe this week, and hot on its heels came Ardern's promotional book tour. New Zealand's former prime minister gave a series of interviews to a variety of national and international media outlets, speaking to everyone from Christine Amanpour and CBS to Seven Sharp to Oprah bloody Winfrey. Not only was it a chance for Ardern to answer questions about her early life, political career and style of leadership, but it was also an opportunity for the world to – at last – find out what the Dame's favourite emoji is. Here's what she had to say. Seven Sharp Ardern began her interview with Hilary Barry by announcing that this chat – and not the one with Oprah or the BBC – was the one she was most nervous about. The reception in New Zealand is the most important to her, Ardern said, and admitted to feeling 'a bit squirmy'. Later, she acknowledged that she knows she remains a reminder of tough times for a lot of New Zealanders, but that Aotearoa is still home. Barry and Ardern covered plenty of topics from Ardern's book – including a breast cancer scare and a positive pregnancy test during coalition negotiations – with Barry sometimes reading aloud from the memoir. They talked a lot about kindness, and while both women admitted to being bawlers from way back, Ardern reckoned we should embrace our overthinking and worrying. 'It's not often you get leaders talking about these common character traits as not weaknesses, but strengths,' she said. Not a single tear was shed in the 30 minute interview, but this writer/overthinker would pay good money for Hils Baz to read me a bedtime story every night. CBS Sunday morning The big revelation here was that Ardern's local cafe in Boston charges an extortionate $6USD ($10NZD) for a sticky bun. A Boston bun, no less! This short interview with CBS' Robert Costa saw Ardern reflect on the changes to gun control after March 15 ('if we really said we didn't want this to happen again, we needed to make it a reality'), and the place of empathy in politics. 'We teach our kids to be kind – why shouldn't we role model that in politics?' Sure, sure, but let's hear more about the time the barista mistook Ardern for Toni Collette? The Rest is Politics Ardern was at her most relaxed with The Rest is Politics ' Alistair Campbell and Rory Stewart, cracking jokes throughout the hour-long podcast. Her memoir became a springboard to dive into bigger themes, with the interview touching on personal vs political drive, the state of progressive politics today, and about how Ardern is too coy about describing fellow political leaders in the book. 'There's certain audiences for certain things,' Ardern explained, while I couldn't stop looking at the globe on Ardern's shelf which had Australia placed front and centre. Maybe Campbell noticed it, too. He asked Ardern to rank China, the US, the UK and the EU in order of the importance of their relationship to New Zealand. 'That's a terrible question,' she answered, arguing that this kind of binary thinking is the current problem with foreign policy. Undeterred, Campbell pressed on. Which did Ardern prefer, England or Scotland? Ardern is Scottish, which left Campbell with the only option left available to him: to bring up the controversial spear tackle during the 2005 Lions rugby tour of New Zealand. ABC News In-depth It's not often a 2017 clip from The AM Show is shown on Australian television, but Ardern's interview with ABC News' Sarah Ferguson (no, not that one) dragged that pointed Mark Richardson rebuke up from the deep recesses of our cultural history. 'For context, this is the day after I became leader of the Labour Party, seven weeks out from the election,' Ardern explained, as we relived the moment she unleashed the finger point to end all finger points in response to Richardson's argument that women should have to disclose their pregnancy plans to employers. Eight years on, Ardern had no regrets. 'There's a real sense for me in that moment of 'it's fine for me', but what about everyone else?' she said. 'I don't think anyone for a moment would assume that when an employer asks you your plans, it's because they're going to prepare a gift basket for you.' The Oprah Podcast Oprah Winfrey's podcast studio looks like a beautiful summer greenhouse, with lovely rattan furniture, lush green plants and… big microphones. What better setting for Ardern to have a hearty natter about imposter syndrome, pandemics and lockdowns with the one and only Oprah? Winfrey began by recommending Ardern's memoir for 'anyone wanting leadership in their own lives', and the conversation flowed easily from there. 'I am in awe of your ability to stand in such grace and such power,' Winfrey told Ardern, as they discussed putting power to empathy, Ardern's unexpected pregnancy and leading through a global pandemic. We saw clips from the upcoming documentary film Prime Minister, which gave an insight into the realities of leading a country while also navigating pregnancy and parenthood. We watched Ardern feeding baby Neve in parliamentary offices, pumping milk in the back seat of a car, reading documents late into the night. Breastfeeding wasn't easy; as a young woman in power, there was no room to fail. What did Ardern learn? 'You can do it all, but don't expect to do it alone.' Oprah sipped chilled water through a straw while Ardern talked about gun control, Covid-19 and Ernest Shackleton. Then, after 75 minutes and several American ads for weight loss injections, it was over. 'People say don't meet your heroes, but I'm so glad to meet my hero today,' Oprah said. 'Come back to New Zealand soon,' Ardern replied. 'There are plenty of people who want to go hiking with you.' RNZ There was not a garden fern in sight for Ardern's interview with RNZ's Jesse Mulligan, who appeared to be sitting inside in some sort of heavily curtained tomb. Mulligan took us on one giant hoon of a chat, veering from small talk ('where have you been?' he began) to misogyny in politics to the moment Ardern told Winston Peters about her pregnancy over a platter of club sandwiches. 'Do you still, according to the Mormon tradition, keep three months worth of groceries in your house?' he asked. Ardern does not. Mulligan was worried about how David Cunliffe came off in the book. 'He looks like – what's the RNZ word for this – a douchebag?' he continued, having looked off camera to presumably check the official RNZ style guide. Ardern, ever the politician, said something about having just put her own experience on the page. 'You don't talk much about Winston Peters, can you explain him to me?' Mulligan asked. 'No,' Ardern laughed. After 30 minutes, we came to the really important stuff: the quickfire question round. Ardern wasn't keen, but she got on with it, just like the Queen told her. 'What's your most used emoji?' Mulligan queried. (Cry laughing). 'When was the first time you drank too much?' (Mid 20s). Finally, Mulligan asked the question that was on nobody's lips: First kiss? 'Absolutely not,' Ardern replied. 'If it didn't make the book, it won't make this interview.'
The Spinoff
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Spinoff
The picture book helping kids heal from the pain of March 15
Alex Casey talks to Dr Maysoon Salama, author of The Heavenly Papa Giraffe. There's a page in The Heavenly Papa Giraffe where a peaceful and closeknit family of giraffes are confronted with a snarling hyena on their walk across the savannah. 'I hate giraffes, I hate giraffes,' he shouts as they quietly shuffle past. 'You have tall necks, and your skin is patchy. You don't belong in this jungle. My tribe demands you leave.' With their heads bowed, they try to ignore the hatred directed their way: 'the giraffe family were all sad, but did not yell back.' Written by Dr Maysoon Salama, Muslim community leader in Ōtautahi and now thrice-published author, The Heavenly Papa Giraffe is likely the very first picture book in the world grappling with the March 15 terror attack in 2019. Salama's own son Atta was among the 51 lives lost, and her husband was left severely injured. 'There is no cap for the trauma of it,' she tells The Spinoff. 'But I had this core of grief inside me that I knew I wanted to channel into stories.' Her first book Aya and the Butterfly was published in 2021 in collaboration with the Ministry of Education to 'support, reflect, and celebrate the Muslim community' in Aotearoa. Salama wrote it for her granddaughter, who was just two years old when her father was killed. 'In the story, Aya finds comfort and hope and solace in the companionship of a butterfly,' Salama explains. 'The butterfly is about transforming from a dark period into something really beautiful.' Salama soon took Aya and the Butterfly over to read at the United Nations. 'I presented it to show you can transform grief and feelings of sadness and loss into something powerful,' she says. The book was then adapted into a puppet show which still travels Aotearoa with Birdlife Productions, entertaining audiences aged 3-9 to this day. 'It is a really beautiful show and I still get a lot of good comments about it from teachers to community members.' Still, Salama had more stories to tell. 'I really thought the story of March 15 had to be told for the younger generations somehow, and the lessons have to be learned,' she says. 'It was a desire to help my granddaughter and other children understand what happened. She's growing up having all these inquisitive questions, always asking 'where is daddy?' and I needed to answer that question in a gentle and comforting way that really supports her grieving.' It began with the idea of the giraffe, a tall and proud animal with a kind nature. 'My son was very tall and he was a very nice character, always very gentle and caring,' says Salama. 'Then I thought, 'who is the worst enemy of the giraffe?' It's the hyena.' The rest of the animal kingdom quickly fell into place. 'Once I had the jungle setting, the metaphor was there and it became easier to put together something that was really subtle and easy for children.' When a hyena attack happens at the watering hole in the book, it is the birds who bring news back to the families that 'something horrible has happened in your sacred place.' Native species like kea, tui, pīwakawaka and kiwi promise to spread the news widely to get help. 'I wanted the story to be universal but also relatable to Aotearoa, so children specifically in New Zealand could connect with the story and to our unique environment,' says Salama. The birds are not just symbolic of the role the media played on March 15, but also serve as a connection between cultures. 'In Māori tradition, birds are seen as messengers between the physical and the spiritual words, which is also an idea found in Islam,' she says. 'When the souls of the believers pass away, they are kept in green birds who fly freely in paradise. Birds can offer solace and healing, and they can also bridge between Islamic and Māori cultures.' Another distinct aspect in the illustration of The Heavenly Papa Giraffe is that the giraffe family are all pictured wearing different coloured hijab. 'That was an essential part of the book,' says Salama. 'I needed to put them there to affirm the Muslim representation and help young Muslim children see their faith and their cultural identity reflected. I'd really like to keep normalizing the hijab in the mainstream… and it also looks really cute on the characters.' And while her granddaughter Aya, now seven years old, is yet to read the book, Salama says The Heavenly Papa Giraffe will be there waiting for her 'when the time comes'. Even though the events of the book are intrinsically linked to March 15, she hopes the book helps children of any faith through their experience of grief. 'I want kids to understand life and death and the enduring connection between them and their loved ones in a way that is really easy and gentle.' Since its release on March 15 this year, Salama has been heartened by the 'overwhelming positive response' from people in the community, and says the project has also helped her own journey through grief and trauma. 'It's given me so much comfort, and it's given me so much joy that I'm doing something helpful,' she says. 'I'm really thrilled by the heartwarming response because it shows something I've always believed in: the power of storytelling.'
Associated Press
15-03-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Hungary's Orbán promises crackdown on media, NGOs in a speech laden with conspiracy theory
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary's populist prime minister on Saturday vowed to rid his country of those he claims work for the interests of foreign powers, saying his right-wing government will eliminate a global 'shadow army' serving the European Union and a 'liberal American empire.' In a conspiracy theory-laden address, which coincided with a national holiday commemorating Hungary's 1848 revolution against Habsburg rule, Viktor Orbán told a group of several thousand select supporters that Hungary in the coming weeks will uproot media outlets and other organizations that have received funding from abroad, comparing such groups to insects. 'After today's festive gathering comes the Easter cleaning. The bugs have overwintered,' Orbán said. 'We will dismantle the financial machine that has used corrupt dollars to buy politicians, judges, journalists, pseudo-NGOs and political activists. We will eliminate the entire shadow army.' Orbán, in power since 2010, has used the March 15 celebration in recent years as a podium from which to launch increasingly hostile harangues against the EU, to which Hungary has belonged since 2004. He has often compared the bloc to the Soviet Union, which occupied and repressed Hungary for nearly five decades in the 20th century, and pledged to 'occupy' the halls of power in Europe. Now, after the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump, the Hungarian leader has accelerated his longstanding efforts to crack down on critics such as media outlets, civil rights and anti-corruption groups, which he says have undermined Hungary's sovereignty by receiving financial assistance from international donors. Orbán, a Trump ally, has applauded the U.S. administration's actions to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development, claiming, with no evidence, that it was used to fund liberal causes in Hungary aimed at toppling his government. He has promised a reckoning for groups that have benefited from funding by USAID, saying they would be eliminated in Hungary and face 'legal consequences.' This week, Orbán's Fidesz party proposed amendments to Hungary's constitution that would allow for Hungarian dual citizens to have their citizenship suspended and be deported from the country if they are deemed to threaten Hungary's sovereignty or national security. Another amendment appeared to target the LGBTQ+ community. Orbán's party has said the annual Budapest Pride event would be banned in public starting this year. On Saturday, Orbán, a firm opponent of immigration, echoed the conspiratorial 'great replacement theory,' which suggests there is a global plot to diminish the influence of white people. 'The battle today is actually being fought for the soul of the Western world,' Orbán said. 'The empire wants to mix and then replace the indigenous people of Europe with invading masses arriving from foreign civilizations.' He also claimed 'the empire' that has provided economic and military assistance to Ukraine as it fights off Russia's invasion in fact seeks to 'colonize' the embattled country. 'The instrument of colonization is war. The rulers of Europe decided that Ukraine should continue the war, whatever it costs,' he said. He repeated his call for the EU to abandon the process of eventually bringing Ukraine into the bloc, and said he would issue a poll for Hungarians on decide whether they think Kyiv should gain EU membership. Later on Saturday, Hungary's upstart Tisza party planned to hold a mass demonstration in Budapest, rallying around its leader and potential Orbán challenger Péter Magyar. Magyar, a former Fidesz insider that has split with Orbán, has in the last year built an opposition movement that aims to defeat the Hungarian leader in national elections scheduled for next year, and has focused on Hungary's cost-of-living crisis and what he says is deep-seated corruption among ruling party elites.
