The Green Party has called on Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to rule out Aotearoa New Zealand joining the AUKUS military technical pact in any capacity following the row over Ukraine in the White House over the weekend.
President Donald Trump’s “appalling treatment” of his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy was a “clear warning that we must avoid AUKUS at all costs”, said Green Party foreign affairs and Pacific issues spokesperson Teanau Tuiono.
“Aotearoa must stand on an independent and principled approach to foreign affairs and use that as a platform to promote peace.”
US President Donald Trump has paused all military aid for Ukraine after the “disastrous” Oval Office meeting with President Zelenskyy in another unpopular foreign affairs move that has been widely condemned by European leaders.
Oleksandr Merezhko, the chair of Ukraine’s Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee, declared that Trump appeared to be trying to push Kyiv to capitulate on Russia’s terms.
He was quoted as saying that the aid pause was worse than the 1938 Munich Agreement that allowed Nazi Germany to annex part of Czechoslovakia.
‘Danger of Trump leadership’
Tuiono, who is the Green Party’s first tagata moana MP, said: “What we saw in the White House at the weekend laid bare the volatility and danger of the Trump leadership — nothing good can come from deepening our links to this administration.
“Christopher Luxon should read the room and rule out joining any part of the AUKUS framework.”
Tuiono said New Zealand should steer clear of AUKUS regardless of who was in the White House “but Trump’s transactional and hyper-aggressive foreign policy makes the case to stay out stronger than ever”.
“Our country must not join a campaign that is escalating tensions in the Pacific and talking up the prospects of a war which the people of our region firmly oppose.
“Advocating for, and working towards, peaceful solutions to the world’s conflicts must be an absolute priority for our country,” Tuiono said.
Five Eyes network ‘out of control’
Meanwhile, in the 1News weekly television current affairs programme Q&A, former Prime Minister Helen Clark challenged New Zealand’s continued involvement in the Five Eyes intelligence network, describing it as “out of control”.
Her comments reflected growing concern by traditional allies and partners of the US over President Trump’s handling of long-standing relationships.
Clark said the Five Eyes had strayed beyond its original brief of being merely a coordinating group for intelligence agencies in the US, Canada, UK, Australia, and New Zealand.
“There’s been some talk in the media that Trump might want to evict Canada from it . . . Please could we follow?” she said.
“I mean, really, the problem with Five Eyes now has become a basis for policy positioning on all sorts of things.
“And to see it now as the basis for joint statements, finance minister meetings, this has got a bit out of control.”
We continue our conversation with Kenneth Roth, the former executive director of Human Rights Watch and the author of the new book, Righting Wrongs: Three Decades on the Front Lines Battling Abusive Governments. Roth discusses the fragile ceasefire in Gaza amid news that Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu is refusing to withdraw Israeli troops as per his government’s agreement with Hamas, as well as withholding food and humanitarian aid from Gaza. “This is a continuation of the starvation strategy that Israel has been pursuing against Palestinian civilians in Gaza, which is a war crime,” says Roth. He adds that the United States is also implicated in Israel’s war crimes, and shares how the human rights framework can be applied to achieving peace in the region.
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
Toxic Thames Water is now trying to get out of the fines that Ofwat imposed upon it for sewage spills and service failures. Predictably, this is on top of the controversial loan that a High Court judge signed off on, despite public outcry. Given the company’s history, all of this was entirely predictable.
Thames Water: now trying to get out of its public fines
Thames Water, the UK’s largest water and wastewater services provider, is currently embroiled in a financial crisis, grappling with a debt exceeding £16 billion.
The company’s creditors, holding approximately £12 billion of this debt, are negotiating a rescue package that may involve converting debt into equity to stabilise Thames Water’s financial standing. A now-shocking aspect of these negotiations is the creditors’ appeal to the industry regulator, Ofwat, to defer fines related to the company’s performance shortcomings, including water leaks and sewage spills, for several years during the company’s turnaround efforts.
The creditors’ rationale for requesting a pause on fines is to ensure that any new capital injected into Thames Water is allocated towards enhancing its deteriorating infrastructure rather than being diverted to pay penalties. They contend that imposing fines during the recovery phase could undermine the effectiveness of the investment, making the rescue plan less viable. A source familiar with the discussions told the Times:
Without further concessions [from Ofwat], there is no investable case for Thames that works for anybody.
Thames Water’s financial predicament is exacerbated by its substantial debt obligations, with annual interest payments amounting to approximately £500 million. This financial strain has raised concerns about the company’s ability to maintain operational stability and meet regulatory standards.
In response, Ofwat has placed Thames Water under a turnaround oversight regime, appointing an independent monitor to regularly assess the company’s operations. The regulator has not publicly commented on the possibility of deferring fines.
Dodgy ‘refinancing’
The proposed refinancing plan for Thames Water includes an initial £3 billion loan, which was approved by the High Court despite concerns over its high 9.75% interest rate. Moreover, there was outrage from the public and many politicians over the fact that the judge sided with the company and shareholders.
This emergency funding is intended to provide the company with sufficient liquidity to continue operations until October 2025. However, junior creditors, who stand to incur significant losses under this plan, have lodged an appeal against the decision, with a hearing scheduled for 11 March.
Failure to secure the necessary funding could result in Thames Water entering a special administration regime, effectively leading to temporary nationalization.
In addition to the immediate financial challenges, Thames Water is exploring options to attract new investors as part of its broader restructuring efforts.
Five bidders, including KKR, CK Infrastructure, Covalis, Castle Water, and the existing group of creditors, are reportedly in contention to invest in the company. The outcome of these negotiations will significantly influence Thames Water’s ability to implement its turnaround strategy and address longstanding operational issues.
Thames Water customers will end up paying
The situation is further complicated by the potential for substantial fines if Thames Water fails to meet performance targets. The company estimates that it could face up to £1 billion in fines over the next five years, particularly concerning external sewage flooding.
Ultimately, though, throughout all of this it is the public that is once again footing the bill. Not only will Thames Water customers end up paying for it’s £3bn loan – it now seems that they are also being swindled out of the fines that Ofwat imposed. It remains to be seen how long the Labour Party government can allow this catastrophe to continue without a serious intervention.
“Israel is trying to weasel its way out of the agreement because it doesn’t want to negotiate stage two which requires it to withdraw its troops from Gaza,” said Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA) co-national chair John Minto.
“Israel signed the ceasefire agreement and it must be forced to follow it through,” he said in a statement today.
“Cutting off humanitarian aid is a blatant war crime and New Zealand must say so without equivocation.
“Our government has been complicit with Israeli war crimes for the past 16 months and has previously refused to condemn Israel’s use of humanitarian aid as a weapon of war.
“It’s time we got off our knees and stood up for international law and United Nations resolutions.”
Violation of Geneva Conventions
Meanwhile, a Democrat senator, Peter Welch (vermont), yesterday joined the global condemnation of the Israeli “weaponisation” of humanitarian aid.
In a brief post on X, responding to Israel blocking the entry of all goods and supplies into Gaza, Senator Peter Welch, a Democrat from Vermont, simply said:
In a brief message on X, Senator Welch said: “This is a violation of the Geneva Conventions.”
In a statement, Guterres said the world must end this terrible war and lay the foundations for lasting peace, “one that ensures security for Israel, dignity and self-determination for the Palestinian people, and stability for the entire region”.
This required a clear political framework for Gaza’s recovery and reconstruction, he said.
“It requires immediate and irreversible steps towards a two-State solution — with Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, unified under a legitimate Palestinian authority, accepted and supported by the Palestinian people.
“And it requires putting an end to occupation, settlement expansion and threats of annexation.”
French Minister for Overseas Manuel Valls left New Caledonia at the weekend after a one-week stay which was marked by the resumption of inclusive political talks on the French territory’s future.
He has now submitted a “synthetical” working document to be discussed further and promised he would return later this month.
He has confirmed France’s main pillars for its assistance to New Caledonia, nine months after deadly and destructive riots broke out, leaving 14 dead, several hundred businesses destroyed, and thousands of job losses for a total estimated damage of 2.2 billion euros (NZ$4 billion).
The French aid confirmed so far mainly consisted of a loan of up to 1 billion euros (NZ$1.8 billion) as well as grants to rebuild all damaged schools and some public buildings.
Valls also announced French funding to pay unemployment benefits (which were to expire at the end of this month) were now to be extended until the end of June.
However, the main feature of his stay, widely regarded as the major achievement, was to manage to gather all political tendencies (both pro-independence and those in favour of New Caledonia remaining a part of France) around the same table.
The initial talks were first held at New Caledonia’s Congress on February 24.
Two days later, talks resumed at the French High Commission between Wednesday and Friday last week, in the form of “tripartite” discussions between pro-France, pro-independence local parties and the French State.
As some, especially the pro-independence umbrella FLNKS (Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front), insisted that those sessions were “discussions”, not “negotiations”, there was a general feeling that all participants now seemed to recognise the virtues of the exchanges and that they had at least managed to openly and frankly confront their respective views.
Valls, who shared a feeling of relative success in view of what he described as a sense of “historic responsibility” from political stakeholders, even extended his stay by 24 hours.
Speaking at the weekend, he said he had now left all parties with a document that was now supposed to synthesise all views expressed and the main items remaining to be further discussed.
New Caledonia’s parties begin talks at the French High Commission in Nouméa last Wednesday. Image: RNZ Pacific/RRB
‘A situation no longer sustainable’ “Political deadlocks, economic and social stagnation, violence, fear, and the lack of prospects for the territory’s inhabitants create a situation that is no longer sustainable. Everyone agrees on this observation,” the document states.
A cautiously hopeful Valls said views would continue to be exchanged, sometimes by video conference.
Taking part in the same visit last week was Eric Thiers, a special adviser to French Prime Minister François Bayrou.
Valls also stressed he would return to New Caledonia sometime later this month, maybe March 22-23, depending on how talks and remote exchanges were going to evolve.
In the meantime, the shared document would be subjected to many amendments and suggestions in order to take the shape of a fit-enough basis for a compromise acceptable by all.
The work-in-progress document details a wide range of subjects, such as self-determination, the relationship with France, the transfer of powers, who would be in charge of international relations, independence, a future system of governance (including the organisation of the three provinces), the electoral roll for local elections, the notion of citizenship (with a proposed system of “points-based” accession system), all these under the generic notion of “shared destiny”.
There was also a form of consensus on the fact that if a future text was to be submitted to popular approval by way of a referendum, it should not be based on a binary “yes” or “no” alternative, but on a comprehensive, wide-ranging “project”.
On each of those topics, the draft takes into account the different and sometimes opposing views expressed and enumerates a number of possible options and scenarios.
Based on this draft working document, the next round of talks would lead to a new agreement that is supposed to replace and offer a continuation to the ageing Nouméa Accord, signed in 1998 and install a new roadmap for New Caledonia’s future.
As part of discussions, another topic was the future of New Caledonia’s great council of chiefs, the Customary Senate, and possible changes from its until-now consultative status to a more executive role to turn New Caledonia’s legislative system from a Congress-only system to a bicameral one (Congress-Parliament and a chiefly Senate).
Struggling nickel mining industry The very sensitive question of New Caledonia’s nickel mining industry was also discussed, as the crucial industry, a very significant pillar of the economy, is undergoing its worst crisis.
Since August 2024, one of its three factories and smelters, Koniambo (KNS) in the north of the main island has been mothballed and is still up for sale after its majority stakeholder, Anglo-Swiss Glencore, decided to withdraw after more than a decade of losses (more than 13 billion euros — NZ$24 billion).
Another nickel-producing unit, in the South, Prony, is currently engaged in negotiations with potential investment companies, one South African, one from the United Arab Emirates and the other Indian.
New Caledonia’s historic nickel miner, Société le Nickel (SLN, a subsidiary of French giant Eramet), is still facing major hurdles to resume operations as it struggles to regain access to its mining sites.
The situation was compounded by a changing competition pattern on the world scale, New Caledonia’s production prices being too high and Indonesia now clearly emerging as a world leader, producing much cheaper first-class nickel and in greater quantities.
‘A new nickel strategy is needed’, Valls says While political parties involved in the talks (all parties represented at the Congress) remained tight-lipped and media-elusive throughout last week, they recognised a spirit of “constructive talks” with a shared goal of “listening to each other”.
However, the views remain radically opposed, even irreconcilable — pro-independence supporters’ most clear-cut position (notably that from the Union Calédonienne) consists of a demand for a quick, full independence, with a “Kanaky Accord” to be signed this year, to be followed by a five-year “transition” period.
On the pro-France side, one of the main bones of contention defended by the two main parties (Les Loyalistes and Rassemblement-LR) is to affirm that their determination to maintain New Caledonia as a part of France has been confirmed by three referenda (in 2018, 2020 and 2021) on self-determination.
Pro-independence parties argue, however, that the third and last referendum, in December 2021, was boycotted by the pro-independence movement and that it was not legitimate, even though it was ruled by the courts as valid.
They are also advocating for significant changes to be made in the way the three provinces are managed, a system described as “internal federalism” but decried by opponents as a form of separatism.
In the pro-France camp, the Calédonie Ensemble party holds relatively more open views.
In between are the more moderate pro-independence parties, PALIKA and UMP, which favour of a future status revolving around the notion of “independence in association with France”.
‘At least no one slammed the door’ “At least no one slammed the door and that, already, is a good thing,” said pro-France leader and French MP Nicolas Metzdorf.
“We’re still a long way away from a political compromise, but we have stopped moving further away from it,” he added, giving credit to Vall’s approach.
On his part, Valls stressed that he did not want to rush things in order to “maintain the thread” of talks, but that provincial elections were scheduled to take place no later than 30 October 2025.
“I don’t want to force things, I don’t want to break the thread . . . sometimes, we wanted to rush things, and that’s why it didn’t work,” he elaborated, in a direct reference to numerous and unsuccessful attempts by previous French governments, since 2022, to kick-start the comprehensive talks.
“Some work will be done by video conference. I will always take my responsibilities, because we have to move forward”, Valls told public broadcaster NC la 1ère.
He said France would then return with its proposals and offers.
“And we will take our responsibilities. The debate cannot last for months and months. We respect everyone, but we have to move forward. There is no deadline, but we all know that there are provincial elections.”
Those elections — initially scheduled in May 2024 and then in December 2024 — have already been postponed twice.
They are supposed to elect the members of New Caledonia’s three provinces (North, South and Loyalty Islands), which in turn makes up the territory’s Congress and the proportional makeup of the government and election of President.
All parties involved will now to consult with their respective supporters to get their go-ahead and a mandate to embark on full negotiations.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
Has any nation squandered its diplomatic capital, plundered its own political system, attacked its partners and supplicated itself before its far weaker enemies as rapidly and brazenly as Donald Trump’s America?
The fiery Oval Office meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday saw the American leader try to publicly humiliate the democratically elected leader of a nation that had been invaded by a rapacious and imperialistic aggressor.
And this was all because Zelensky refused to sign an act of capitulation, criticised Putin (who has tried to have Zelensky killed on numerous occasions), and failed to bend the knee to Trump, the country’s self-described king.
The Oval Office meeting became heated in a way that has rarely been seen between world leaders.
What is worse is Trump has now been around so long that his oafish behaviour has become normalised. Together with his attack dog, Vice-President JD Vance, Trump has thrown the Overton window — the spectrum of subjects politically acceptable to the public — wide open.
Previously sensible Republicans are now either cowed or co-opted. Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is gutting America’s public service and installing toadies in place of professionals, while his social media company, X, is platforming ads from actual neo-Nazis.
The Department of Health and Human Services is helmed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine denier, just as Americans have begun dying from measles for the first time in a decade. And America’s health and medical research has been channelled into ideologically “approved” topics.
At the Pentagon, in a breathtaking act of self-sabotage, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered US Cyber Command to halt all operations targeting Russia.
And cuts to USAID funding are destroying US soft power, creating a vacuum that will gleefully be filled by China. Other Western aid donors are likely to follow suit so they can spend more on their militaries in response to US unilateralism.
What is Trump’s strategy? Trump’s wrecking ball is already having seismic global effects, mere weeks after he took office.
The US vote against a UN General Assembly resolution condemning Russia for starting the war against Ukraine placed it in previously unthinkable company — on the side of Russia, Belarus and North Korea. Even China abstained from the vote.
States that voted against the resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine:
In the United Kingdom, a YouGov poll of more than 5000 respondents found that 48 percent of Britons thought it was more important to support Ukraine than maintain good relations with the US. Only 20 percent favoured supporting America over Ukraine.
And Trump’s bizarre suggestion that China, Russia and the US halve their respective defence budgets is certain to be interpreted as a sign of weakness rather than strength.
The oft-used explanation for his behaviour is that it echoes the isolationism of one of his ideological idols, former US President Andrew Jackson. Trump’s aim seems to be ring-fencing American businesses with high tariffs, while attempting to split Russia away from its relationship with China.
These arguments are both economically illiterate and geopolitically witless. Even a cursory understanding of tariffs reveals that they drive inflation because they are paid by importers who then pass the costs on to consumers. Over time, they are little more than sugar pills that turn economies diabetic, increasingly reliant on state protections from unending trade wars.
And the “reverse Kissinger” strategy — a reference to the US role in exacerbating the Sino-Soviet split during the Cold War — is wishful thinking to the extreme.
Putin would have to be utterly incompetent to countenance a move away from Beijing. He has invested significant time and effort to improve this relationship, believing China will be the dominant power of the 21st century.
Putin would be even more foolish to embrace the US as a full-blown partner. That would turn Russia’s depopulated southern border with China, stretching over 4300 kilometres, into the potential front line of a new Cold War.
What does this mean for America’s allies? While Trump’s moves have undoubtedly strengthened the US’ traditional adversaries, they have also weakened and alarmed its friends.
Put simply, no American ally — either in Europe or Asia — can now have confidence Washington will honour its security commitments. This was brought starkly home to NATO members at the Munich Security Conference in February, where US representatives informed a stunned audience that America may no longer view itself as the main guarantor of European security.
Vice-President Vance’s controversial speech to European leaders. Video: DW
The swiftness of US disengagement means European countries must not only muster the will and means to arm themselves quickly, but also take the lead in collectively providing for Ukraine’s security.
Whether they can do so remains unclear. Europe’s history of inaction does not bode well.
US allies also face choices in Asia. Japan and South Korea will now be seriously considering all options – potentially even nuclear weapons – to deter an emboldened China.
There are worries in Australia, as well. Can it pretend nothing has changed and hope the situation will then normalise after the next US presidential election?
The future of AUKUS, the deal to purchase (and then co-design) US nuclear-powered submarines, is particularly uncertain.
Does it make strategic sense to pursue full integration with the US military when the White House could just treat Taipei, Tokyo, Seoul and Canberra with the same indifference it has displayed towards its friends in Europe?
Ultimately, the chaos Trump 2.0 has unleashed in such a short amount of time is both unprecedented and bewildering. In seeking to put “America First”, Trump is perversely hastening its decline. He is leaving America isolated and untrusted by its closest friends.
And, in doing so, the world’s most powerful nation has also made the world a more dangerous, uncertain and ultimately an uglier place to be.
The Trump administration’s decision to eliminate more than 90 percent of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) funding means “nothing’s safe right now,” a regional political analyst says.
President Donald Trump’s government has said it is slashing about US$60 billion in overall US development and humanitarian assistance around the world to further its America First policy.
Last September, the former Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said that Washington had “listened carefully” to Pacific Island nations and was making efforts to boost its diplomatic footprint in the region.
Campbell had announced that the US contributed US$25 million to the Pacific-owned and led Pacific Resilience Facility — a fund endorsed by leaders to make it easier for Forum members to access climate financing for adaptation, disaster preparedness and early disaster response projects.
However, Trump’s move has been said to have implications for the Pacific, which is one of the most aid-dependent regions in the world.
Research fellow at the Australian National University’s Development Policy Centre Dr Terence Wood told RNZ Pacific Waves that, in the Pacific, the biggest impacts of the aid cut are likley to be felt by the three island nations in a Compact of Free Association (COFA) with the US.
He said that while the compact “is safe” for three COFA states – Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, and Palau – “these are unprecedented times”.
“It would be unprecedented if the US just tore them up. But then again, the United States is showing very little regard for agreements that it has entered into in the past, so I would say that nothing’s safe right now.”
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
Dr Terence Wood speaking to RNZ Pacific Waves. Video: RNZ Pacific
This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.
Protesters have scaled the building of an international weapons company in Rolleston, Christchurch, in resistance to it establishing a presence in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Two people from the group Peace Action Ōtautahi were on the roof of the NIOA building on Stoneleigh Drive, shown in a photo on social media, and banners were strung across the exterior.
Banners declared “No war profiteers in our city. NIOA supplies genocide” and “Shut NIOA down”.
In late December, the group hung a banner across the Bridge of Remembrance in a similar protest.
In 2023, the global munitions company acquired Barrett Firearms Manufacturing, an Australian-owned, US-based manufacturer of firearms and ammunition operating out of Tennessee.
According to the company’s website, its products are “used by civilian sport shooters, law enforcement agencies, the United States military and more than 80 State Department approved countries across the world”.
In a media release, Peace Action Ōtautahi said the aim was to highlight the alleged killing of innocent civilians with weapons supplied by NIOA.
NIOA has been approached for comment.
Police confirm action
A police spokesperson said they were aware of the protest, and confirmed two people had climbed onto the roof, and others were surrounding the premises.
In a later statement, police said the people on the ground had moved. However, the two protesters remained on the roof.
“We are working to safely resolve the situation, and remove people from the roof,” they said.
“While we respect the right to lawful protest, our responsibility is to uphold the law and ensure the safety of those involved.”
Fire and Emergency staff were also on the scene, alongside the police Public Safety Unit and negotiation team.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
A recent Transform conference brought numerousleft-wing voices together on a panel to discuss ‘how the left should respond to the rise of the far right’. And the comments of at least three panellists overlapped in asserting the importance of trusting and listening to communities, and taking tangible action together with those communities.
Transform: “put trust back in the hands of communities”
Molly Shelton is a co-founder and coordinator of Assemble, a group working to set up local assemblies around Britain with the aim of empowering ordinary people to work on solving the problems they face. Speaking on the panel, she said we need to:
take seriously that Reform are the fastest growing movement. And while it looks like unseating Reform is really important, we’re not gonna be able to do this work together without banding together to financially support each other, to pool resources, and to realise the power in building a democratic agenda through a progressive alliance – working with electoral formations but also this innovative grassroots community action.
In this spirit of unity, Assemble came together recently with Transform, The Ron Todd Foundation, For the Many, Majority and OCISA to offer “funding, training and national networks for local people”.
Shelton also stressed that:
Any political party has to be a social movement first
And that’s why the assemblies which have arisen “are explicitly linked to the direct action movement, the anti-fascist movement”. This means that people don’t just collectively decide on their demands, but can transform them into action. And this embeds a democratic mandate into the street movement. As she emphasised:
We need to put trust back in the hands of communities
And that means accepting that people are different and have different priorities:
It’s essential to meet people where they’re at on the issues that already matter to them
Resisting isolation by grounding ourselves in tangible community action
Nandita Lal was a 2024 independent election challenger to David Lammy. And she told the panel:
We don’t understand how much isolation we are fighting… People are so desperate for… solidarity.
And that’s why any resurgent left-wing movement, she stressed, must ground itself in communities across the country:
We have to do actual tangible, concrete things for our community, whether that’s being part of growing food together, doing books together, health clinics together, so that your community knows you’re there in solidarity with them.
Locally, she explained how amateur actors coming together to create a play (called Netanyahu on Trial) was a unifying event which, while serious, allowed people to socialise and build connections. And she suggested that left-wingers have developed a strong message on Palestine in particular partly because “it represents so many of the issues that we all face”, from child poverty to hyper-militarisation, and the pursuit of corporate interests from Palantir to BAE Systems.
It can be hard within the current economic system to campaign together for a better future, she explained, but if we do it together with likeminded people it can feel a lot more enjoyable.
At the same time, she insisted, left-wingers should connect more with independent media while remembering that the media establishment can’t ultimately stop the march of history. Referring to how BBCcoverage of India’s struggle against colonialism was similar to its coverage of Palestine’s struggle today, she pointed out that India did get independence in the end. And she stressed that the BBC:
will always be an instrument of the ruling class. And that’s why independent organisations like the Canary are so important to get our voice out there.
Transform: “listen to the communities”
Transform principal speaker Solma Ahmed insisted, meanwhile, that the genocide in Gaza has united people in a way that has been so necessary. This was a small source of hope because:
In my area, I never thought that we would have a diverse range of communities working together
In this historic moment where Western governments are consciously burning down international legal norms to defend Israeli war criminals, there’s a sense of people power and unity on the anti-war left that hasn’t been visible for a long time. And “we need to build on that”, Ahmed stressed.
Part of building positive relations between different communities, however, is listening to each other more. And she gave an example of this in Colchester. During the far-right race riots in 2024, she said there were some progressive white people in the community who wanted to protest locally despite the city not being a target for racist mobilisation.
The Muslim community called for the protest not to take place, she explained, because they felt it would thrust them into the limelight and make them targets for far-right attacks. A small gathering took place anyway, reportedly with no Muslims in attendance. And with this in mind, Ahmed asserted that, when responding to the far right:
please speak to the communities, listen to the communities, and do what the communities want.
The State of Palestine has submitted a written plea to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) asking it for an advisory opinion regarding Israel’s obligations not to obstruct humanitarian and development assistance in the territories it occupies, Al Jazeera reports.
In the submission, Palestinian officials affirmed the responsibility of Israel, as an occupying power, to not obstruct the work of the UN, international organisations, and third states so they can provide essential services, humanitarian aid, and development assistance to the Palestinian people.
Many states, as well as international groups, have submitted written pleas to the ICJ ahead of oral proceedings set to start next month.
Last July, the ICJ issued a historic advisory opinion determining Israel’s continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory is unlawful and should come to an end “as rapidly as possible”.
Widespread ‘torture’ of Gaza medics in Israeli custody In a separate report, the Israeli branch of Physicians for Human Rights accused the Israeli military of detaining more than 250 medical personnel and support staff since the beginning of the war on Gaza in October 2023.
More than 180 remained in detention without a clear indication of when or if they would be released, the physicians’ report said.
“Detainees endure physical, psychological and sexual abuse as well as starvation and medical neglect amounting to torture,” the report said, denouncing a “deeply ingrained policy”.
Healthcare workers were beaten, threatened, and forced to sign documents in Hebrew during their detention, according to the report based on 20 testimonies collected in prison.
“Medical personnel were primarily questioned about the Israeli hostages, tunnels, hospital structures and Hamas’s activity,” it said.
“They were rarely asked questions linking them to any criminal activity, nor were they presented with substantive charges.”
New Zealand protesters calling for the continuation of the Gaza ceasefire and for peace and justice in Palestine in a march along the Auckland waterfront today. Image: Asia Pacific Report
Where does Trump stand on the Gaza ceasefire? With phase one of the ceasefire due to end today and negotiations barely started on phase two, serious fears are being raised over the viability of the ceasefire.
President Donald Trump took credit for the truce that his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff helped push across the finish line after a year of negotiations led by the Biden administration, Egypt and Qatar, reports Al Jazeera.
Advocate Maher Nazzal at today’s New Zealand rally for Gaza in Auckland . . . he was elected co-leader of the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa last weekend. Image: Asia Pacific Report
However, Trump has since sent mixed signals about the deal.
Earlier last month, he set a firm deadline for Hamas to release all the captives, warning “all hell is going to break out” if it didn’t.
But he said it was ultimately up to Israel, and the deadline came and went.
Trump sowed further confusion by proposing that Gaza’s population of about 2.3 million be relocated to other countries and for the US to take over the territory and develop it.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the idea, but it was universally rejected by Palestinians and Arab countries, including close US allies. Human rights groups said it could violate international law.
Trump stood by the plan in a Fox News interview over the weekend but said he was “not forcing it”.
Responding to DAWN’s referral of Biden, Blinken & Austin to the ICC for investigation for aiding Israeli war crimes, @alhaq_org‘s @SJabaren says:
“Finally, we see an effort to hold” accountable “US officials who have armed, financed and politically defended Israeli atrocities.” pic.twitter.com/yCpRaogE2I
‘Finally’ an effort to hold the US accountable, says Al-Haq director
Palestinian human rights activist Shawan Jabarin has welcomed a plea by the US-based rights group DAWN for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate Joe Biden and senior US officials for aiding Israeli war crimes in Gaza.
In a video posted by DAWN, Jabarin, director of the Palestinian rights group Al-Haq, said the effort was long overdue.
“For decades we have called on the international community to hold Israel accountable for its violations of international law, but time and again, the US has used its power and influence to block that accountability, to shield Israel from consequences and to ensure that it can continue its crimes with impunity,” Jabarin said.
“Now, finally, we see an effort to hold not just Israeli officials accountable but also those who have made these crimes possible: US officials who have armed, financed, and politically defended Israeli atrocities.”
A father piggybacks his sleepy child during the New Zealand solidarity protest for Palestine in Auckland’s Viaduct today. Image: Asia Pacific Report
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has sparked controversy as it faces allegations of blocking a whistleblower from providing evidence to an independent review concerning the much-criticised Carer’s Allowance scheme.
DWP: an independent review into Carer’s Allowance and a whistleblower
This review has taken centre stage as it seeks to investigate the impact of convoluted benefits regulations on unpaid carers, many of whom have been left in dire financial situations due to unintentional breaches of the allowance’s strict earning rules.
The whistleblower, Enrico La Rocca, who has been vocal about issues within the DWP since 2018, claims he was told by senior officials that sharing information with the independent review would be inappropriate. This decision has drawn criticism from various quarters, arguing that frontline workers like La Rocca possess invaluable insights that could shed light on the systemic failures surrounding Carer’s Allowance, a benefit that was meant to support those caring for family members.
La Rocca’s contributions are deemed crucial, especially in light of the DWP’s historical failure to adequately address reports of flaws in the Carer’s Allowance system.
This review was announced in October, following a Guardian investigation that uncovered alarming realities about how the DWP handled complaints regarding overpayment debts. According to the latest figures, over 134,500 unpaid carers are currently repaying over £251 million in debts accrued from overpayments – often as a result of minor earnings breaches. In one example, a carer earning just £1 over the threshold found themselves liable for repayment of £4,258.80 instead of a mere £52, reflecting the harsh implications of these rules.
Amidst the mounting criticism, a DWP spokesperson contended that there is no “blanket ban” on staff contributions and insisted that the department values input from its workers. “We want the review to hear from everyone so it can get to the bottom of the issue and make recommendations to ensure carers are supported,” the spokesperson said.
However, as La Rocca has experienced first-hand, navigating the department’s internal protocols has proved cumbersome, leading to doubts about the DWP’s commitment to transparency.
Something to hide?
The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) has been furious in its dissent regarding the DWP’s stance.
General Secretary Fran Heathcote expressed incredulity at the department’s approach, stating:
It made no sense at all to stop our members at DWP giving evidence to the review. These are the very people the review should be hearing from.
Heathcote went on to suggest that stifling the voices of frontline workers gives the impression that the DWP may have something to hide.
Liz Sayce, chair of the independent review and a disability policy expert, also voiced her desire to hear from DWP staff, emphasising the necessity of gathering comprehensive evidence to fully understand the failures of the system. She said:
I’m really keen to hear from everybody who has evidence to give evidence. I want the review to get to the bottom of what happened.
Despite the department’s assurances, the current situation reflects a pattern of resistance to external scrutiny.
Institutional DWP failures
Many campaigners remain sceptical about whether the future reform promises made by DWP ministers will sufficiently address past oversights. The review is not only about finding solutions for the future; it also carries the weight of retrospective accountability, as it must confront the pain and challenges faced by carers whose lives have been irreversibly affected by the department’s failures.
It was in 2018 that La Rocca first raised concerns regarding the mismanagement of Carer’s Allowance, which ultimately led to a formal inquiry and a critical report by a group of cross-party MPs. Despite receiving praise for his courage, La Rocca was dismissed from his position a year later, even after assurances of protection from senior department officials. He was later reinstated in 2021, highlighting the tumultuous relationship between DWP management and their whistleblowers.
As this independent review progresses, it will grapple with not just the operational flaws within the Carer’s Allowance system but also the institutional culture that has led to such significant distress among unpaid carers and their families.
With rising debts and criminal records hanging over many due to inadvertent errors, the stakes are high for the DWP to fully engage with the experiences of those within their system and to implement genuinely reformed practices going forward.
The findings of the review, expected in the summer, will likely shape public perceptions of the DWP’s priorities and effectiveness in defending vulnerable communities that it professes to serve.
Thousands of informational government webpages have been taken down so far in the second Trump administration, including on public health, scientific research and LGBTQ rights. Amid this mass erasure of public information, the Internet Archive is racing to save copies of those deleted resources. The San Francisco-based nonprofit operates the Wayback Machine, a popular tool that saves snapshots of websites that may otherwise be lost forever, and it has archived federal government websites at each presidential transition since 2004. While it’s normal for a new administration to overhaul some of its online resources, the Trump administration’s pace of destruction has shocked many archivists. “There have been thousands and thousands of pages removed,” says Mark Graham, director of the Wayback Machine, who notes that even a page about the U.S. Constitution was scrubbed from the White House website.
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
At a recent conference, Andrew Feinstein spoke alongside other left-wing voices to answer the question “How does the left respond to the rise of the far right?” And he emphasised two key points. First, he stressed that strong “engagement with local communities” is key to building a popular mass movement. Secondly, he insisted that it’s essential to be rooted in a community and to work actively to support local people with the problems they’re facing.
Standing in solidarity with other independent left-wingers in the 2024 election, the anti-racist and anti-militarist campaigner challenged Labour Party leader Keir Starmer in his constituency, reducing Starmer’s majority significantly. And speaking on the panel at February’s Transform conference, he pointed out that having a main opponent as “extraordinarily dislikable” as Starmer really helped. A member of the community apparently told him when campaigning that Starmer “makes it easy for us” because “we don’t have to try and figure out when he’s lying, because every time his lips move, we know he’s lying”. He also explained how:
because Keir Starmer has been such an absent MP for almost 10 years now, people think I’m their MP. So if I’m going to the shops, people come up to me and want to tell me about their problems and ask me how I’m going to solve them for them.
As a result, he needs to clarify for them that:
our MP is actually the person who’s the prime minister and creating a lot of the problems they’re talking about
Andrew Feinstein: community engagement is the key
Andrew Feinstein has been supporting efforts to build a mass left-wing movement to fill the space Labour abandoned once and for all when Starmer took over as leader. And in order to build a movement, he stressed that people need to be enjoyably engaged. While connecting with people via independent media and social media plays a role, he stressed:
Nothing replaces the engagement with local communities.
However, he also asserted that:
we need to ensure that these community initiatives are linked to a national electoral party because there is obviously such logic to them. Because you challenge your council and, I would argue, your MP locally, but then you also in parallel challenge them electorally when the opportunity arises.
He added that, while planning strategies and policies carefully is often the focus when building a new movement, that means nothing if a strong community connection isn’t there:
People are going to see another party as, ‘Oh my goodness, it’s just the same old political stuff again’, whereas if you’re actually working in those communities and doing things for those communities, the perception of the entity that you rooted in our communities establish will be fundamentally different from the perception of the other political entities.
To resist the far right surge, we need to talk more ‘to people on the ground who don’t share our views’
Regarding the resurgence of the far right in the UK and elsewhere, Andrew Feinstein believes that talking to people is the best way we can fight back. He said:
the most important thing we can do is just talk to people on the ground—people who don’t share our views, people who believe that the Nigel Farages of this world are part of the solution rather than the problem.
And talk to them in very immediate terms about why the problems exist and why Farage, et al. are a part of the problem, not the solution.
He described one experience he had speaking to quite a right-wing group. Some people argued that Jews or Muslims controlled everything and that immigration is the country’s biggest problem. But he kept his calm. And he told them clearly that he himself was not only an immigrant, but also “Jewish and married to a Muslim woman”. He then added:
The reality is, we control nothing.
And it’s this kind of interaction he believes has an impact. As Andrew Feinstein asserted:
sometimes, you’ve just got to go to areas where you can just talk to people in a very immediate, person-to-person way and deal with some of the prejudices that have been built…
in our tens of thousands, we need to get out on the streets across this country and be talking to people about the realities of the situation we find ourselves in, the reasons for it, and what the solutions might be.
Build strong community roots and bring the left together nationally
Andrew Feinstein also issued a rallying call, saying:
People shouldn’t be downhearted. I think the fact that there are so many initiatives at the moment politically is brilliant.
I think what the next 6 to 8 weeks need to bring is how we bring together all of these various initiatives into a movement that is rooted in our communities but has massive impact electorally, locally, and nationally—because the country, and I would argue the world, has never needed it as badly as it does now.
We continue to look at Israeli torture of Palestinian detainees with Naji Abbas from Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, which has just released a new report detailing the mistreatment of medical workers from Gaza. Hundreds of doctors, nurses, paramedics and other essential medical staff were arrested by Israeli forces in Gaza since October 2023 and held under brutal conditions, with many describing physical, psychological and sexual abuse, starvation, medical neglect and more. “It’s a whole journey of torture and abuse,” says Abbas, director of PHRI’s Prisoners and Detainees Department.
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
Dr. Khaled Alser, a renowned Palestinian surgeon at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, describes how Israeli forces abducted him from Gaza last year before transferring him to Israeli prisons rife with abuse. He was held by Israel for seven months last year, during which time he says he was beaten, humiliated, denied medical treatment and tortured. He also describes routine sexual assault and sexual humiliation of prisoners by Israeli soldiers, as well as the use of military attack dogs on the detainees. No charges were filed against Alser before he was released back to Gaza. “Most of the prisoners I met inside the prison are civilians or civil workers here, working inside hospitals, schools, universities,” Alser tells Democracy Now! from Gaza. “We as healthcare workers, we don’t have any agenda against anyone. We just provide medical care.”
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
We speak with foreign policy analyst Matt Duss about increasingly fraught relations between the United States and Ukraine, which have undergone a seismic shift under the second Trump administration. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is meeting with President Trump at the White House on Friday and is expected to sign an agreement giving the U.S. access to his country’s rare earth minerals, which are key components in mobile phones and other advanced technology. It’s unclear what, if anything, Ukraine will get in return, even as Trump pushes Kyiv to reach a deal with Moscow to end the war that began in February 2022 when Russian forces invaded Ukraine. Trump is simultaneously moving to restore relations with Russia and lift its international isolation. Duss says the throughline in Trump’s thinking, from Ukraine to Gaza and elsewhere, is that “great powers” like the United States “make the decisions, and less powerful countries, less powerful communities and peoples simply have to live with the consequences.”
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
Extended interview with Mark Graham, director of the Wayback Machine at the Internet Archive. He is also part of the End of Term Archive for federal websites.
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! Audio and was authored by Democracy Now!.
Tongan community leaders and artists in New Zealand have criticised the Treaty Principles Bill while highlighting the ongoing impact of colonisation in Aotearoa and the Pacific.
Oral submissions continued this week for the public to voice their view on the controversial proposed bill, which aims to redefine the legal framework of the nation’s founding document, the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi.
Aotearoa Tongan Response Group member Pakilau Manase Lua echoed words from the Waitangi Day commemorations earlier this month.
“The Treaty of Waitangi Principles Bill and its champions and enablers represent the spirit of the coloniser,” he said.
Pakilau said New Zealand’s history included forcible takeovers of Sāmoa, Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau.
“The New Zealand government, or the Crown, has shown time and again that it has a pattern of trampling on the mana and sovereignty of indigenous peoples, not just here in Aotearoa, but also in the Pacific region.”
Poet Karlo Mila spoke as part of a submission by a collective of artists, Mana Moana,
“Have you ever paused to wonder why we speak English here, half a world away from England? It’s a global history of Christian white supremacy, who, with apostolic authority, ordained the doctrine of discovery to create a new world order,” she said.
“Yes, this is where the ‘new’ in New Zealand comes from, invasion for advantage and profit, presenting itself as progress, as civilising, as salvation, as enlightenment itself — the greatest gaslighting feat of history.”
Bill used as political weapon
She argued that the bill was being used as a political weapon, and government rhetoric was causing division.
“We watch political parties sow seeds of disunity using disingenuous history, harnessing hate speech and the haka of destiny, scapegoating ‘vulnerable enemies’ . . . Yes, for us, it’s a forest fire out there, and brown bodies are moving political targets, every inflammatory word finding kindling in kindred racists.”
Pakilau said that because Tonga had never been formally colonised, Tongans had a unique view of the unfolding situation.
“We know what sovereignty tastes like, we know what it smells like and feels like, especially when it’s trampled on.
“Ask the American Samoans, who provide more soldiers per capita than any state of America to join the US Army, but are not allowed to vote for the country they are prepared to die for.
“Ask the mighty 28th Maori Battalion, who field Marshal Erwin Rommel famously said, ‘Give me the Māori Battalion and I will rule the world’, they bled and died for a country that denied them the very rights promised under the Treaty.
“The Treaty of Waitangi Bill is essentially threatening to do the same thing again, it is re-traumatising Māori and opening old wounds.”
A vision for the future Mila, who also has European and Sāmoan ancestry, said the answer to how to proceed was in the Treaty’s Indigenous text.
“The answer is Te Tiriti, not separatist exclusion. It’s the fair terms of inclusion, an ancestral strategy for harmony, a covenant of cooperation. It’s how we live ethically on a land that was never ceded.”
Aotearoa Tongan Response Group chair Anahila Kanongata’a said Tongans were Tangata Tiriti (people of the Treaty), and the bill denigrated the rights of Māori as Tangata Whenua (people of the land).
“How many times has the Crown breached the Treaty? Too, too many times.
“What this bill is attempting to do is retrospectively annul those breaches by extinguishing Māori sovereignty or tino rangatiritanga over their own affairs, as promised to them in their Tiriti, the Te Reo Māori text.”
Kanongata’a called on the Crown to rescind the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill, honour Te Tiriti, and issue a formal apology to Māori, similar to what had been done for the Dawn Raids.
Hundreds gather at Treaty Grounds for the annual Waitangi Day dawn service. Image: PMN Digital/Joseph Safiti
“As a former member of Parliament, I am proud of the fact that an apology was made for the way our people were treated during the Dawn Raids.
“We were directly affected, yes, it was painful and most of our loved ones never got to see or hear the apology, but imagine the pain Māori must feel to be essentially dispossessed, disempowered and effectively disowned of their sovereignty on their own lands.”
The bill’s architect, Act Party leader David Seymour, sayid the nationwide discussion on Treaty principles was crucial for future generations.
“In a democracy, the citizens are always ready to decide the future. That’s how it works.”
