New Zealand’s Maori anoint new queen as they lay King Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII to rest

Published

8 months ago

September 5, 2024

admin

New Zealand’s Maori have a new sovereign, 27-year-old Queen Nga Wai Hono i te Po, who ascended to the throne after accompanying her father and the late king to his final resting place.

Thousands of people flocked to the North Island town of Ngaruawahia to witness the anointment of the youngest child and only daughter of King Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII.

As she was escorted onto Turangawaewae marae – an ancestral meeting place, where her father’s casket lay draped in feathered cloaks – cheers rang out among thousands crowded around TV screens outside and waiting along the banks of the Waikato River to glimpse the funeral procession.

The funeral was attended not only by Maori tribes but by leaders of all political parties, past prime ministers, leaders of Pacific Island nations, diplomats and representatives of the British crown.

The new queen is not crowned and instead a bible that has been used since 1858 was placed upon her head and Archbishop Don Tamihere used sacred oils to bestow prestige, sacredness, power and spiritual essence upon her.

After her ascension, Queen Nga Wai accompanied her father, who died on 30 August aged 69, in a flotilla of traditional canoes along the river as he was guided by Maori warriors to his final resting place.

The late king, a former truck driver who became monarch after his mother’s death in 2006, has been buried alongside her in an unmarked grave on Taupiri Maunga, a mountain of spiritual significance to his iwi, or tribe.

The Kingitanga, or Maori royalty movement, has a ceremonial mandate rather than a legal one and was formed after the British colonisation of New Zealand to unite tribes in resistance to forced sales of indigenous land and the loss of the Maori language and culture.

How the Maori monarch is chosen and their role

Kiingi Tuheitia succeeded his mother, Queen Dame Te Atairangikaahu, in 2006.

But the role of Maori monarch is not necessarily hereditary as it is voted on by representatives of tribes, or iwi, across the country.

Radio New Zealand reported at the time of the late king’s death his successor would be appointed on the day of his funeral but ahead of his burial.

The Maori sovereign is considered the paramount chief of several tribes but is not affiliated with all of them. The monarch’s role has no judicial or legal authority in New Zealand and is largely ceremonial.

The Kingitanga, or Maori royalty movement, was formed after the British colonisation of New Zealand to unite tribes in resistance to forced sales of indigenous land and the loss of the Maori language and culture.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the country would mourn the loss of the late king.

“His unwavering commitment to his people and his tireless efforts to uphold the values and traditions of Kingitanga have left an indelible mark on our nation,” he said.

The prime minister said the government welcomed the anointment of the new queen, the Maori’s eighth sovereign and second female leader.

Her anointment comes at a time, however, when New Zealand’s ruling coalition has started undoing policies of previous governments, like promoting the official use of the Maori language and the enhancement of indigenous people’s living standards and rights. It remains to be seen whether the new queen’s approach to these issues will have an impact on New Zealand’s future.

After a centre-right government took power in New Zealand last November and began to enact policies reversing recognition of the Maori language, people and customs, the late monarch took the unusual step in January of calling a national meeting of tribes which was attended by 10,000 people.

“The best protest we can make right now is being Maori. Be who we are. Live our values. Speak our reo,” he told them, using the Maori word for language.

“Just be Maori. Be Maori all day, every day. We are here. We are strong.”

World

At least 15 injured in ‘US-British’ strike on Yemeni capital, according to Houthi group

Published

2 hours ago

May 5, 2025

admin

At least 15 injured in 'US-British' strike on Yemeni capital, according to Houthi group

Yemen’s Houthi rebel group has said 15 people have been injured in “US-British” airstrikes in and around the capital Sanaa.

Most of those hurt were from the Shuub district, near the centre of the city, a statement from the health ministry said.

Another person was injured on the main airport road, the statement added.

It comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to retaliate against the Houthis and their Iranian “masters” following a missile attack by the group on Israel’s main international airport on Sunday morning.

It remains unclear whether the UK took part in the latest strikes and any role it may have played.

On 29 April, UK forces, the British government said, took part in a joint strike on “a Houthi military target in Yemen”.

“Careful intelligence analysis identified a cluster of buildings, used by the Houthis to manufacture drones of the type used to attack ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, located some fifteen miles south of Sanaa,” the British Ministry of Defence said in a previous statement.

On Sunday, the militant group fired a missile at the Ben Gurion Airport, sparking panic among passengers in the terminal building.

The missile impact left a plume of smoke and briefly caused flights to be halted.

Four people were said to be injured, according to the country’s paramedic service.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

World

Netanyahu vows to retaliate against Houthis and Iran after missile attack

Published

15 hours ago

May 4, 2025

admin

Netanyahu vows to retaliate against Houthis and Iran after missile attack

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to retaliate against the Houthis and their Iranian “masters” after the group launched a missile attack on the country’s main international airport.

A missile fired by the group from Yemen landed near Ben Gurion Airport, causing panic among passengers in the terminal building.

“Attacks by the Houthis emanate from Iran,” Mr Netanyahu wrote on X. “Israel will respond to the Houthi attack against our main airport AND, at a time and place of our choosing, to their Iranian terror masters.”

The missile impact left a plume of smoke and briefly halted flights and commuter traffic at the airport. Some international carriers have cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv for several days.

Four people were lightly wounded, paramedic service Magen David Adom said.

Air raid sirens went off across Israel and footage showed passengers yelling and rushing for cover.

The attack came hours before senior Israeli cabinet ministers were set to vote on whether to intensify the country’s military operations in the Gaza Strip, and as the army began calling up thousands of reserves in anticipation of a wider operation in the enclave.

Houthi military spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree said the group fired a hypersonic ballistic missile at the airport.

Iran’s defence minister later told a state TV broadcaster that if the country was attacked by the US or Israel, it would target their bases, interests and forces where necessary.

Israel’s military said several attempts to intercept the missile were unsuccessful.

Air, road and rail traffic were halted after the attack, police said, though it resumed around an hour later.

Yemen’s Houthis have been firing missiles at Israel since its war with Hamas in Gaza began on 7 October 2023, and while most have been intercepted, some have penetrated the country’s missile defence systems and caused damage.

Israel has previously struck the group in Yemen in retaliation and the US and UK have also launched strikes after the Houthis began attacking international shipping, saying it was in solidarity with Palestinians over Israel’s war with Hamas.

World

Israeli pilots’ protest letter reveals deepening rift over ongoing war in Gaza

Published

1 day ago

May 4, 2025

admin

Israeli pilots' protest letter reveals deepening rift over ongoing war in Gaza

The Israeli Air Force is regarded as one of the country’s most elite units.

So, when hundreds of current and former pilots call for an end to the war in Gaza to get the hostages out, Israelis take notice.

This month, 1,200 pilots caused a storm by signing an open letter arguing the war served mainly “political and personal interests and not security ones”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the original letter was written by “bad apples”.

But Guy Paron, a former pilot and one of those behind the letter, said the Israeli government had failed to move to phase two of the ceasefire deal with Hamas, brokered under US President Donald Trump.

That deal called for a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the release of all the remaining hostages. Mr Netanyahu continues to argue that the war must continue to put pressure on Hamas.

Mr Paron said the (Israeli) government “gave up or violated a signed agreement with Hamas” and “threw it to the trash”.

“You have to finish the deal, release the hostages, even if it means stopping that war,” he argued.

It’s not the first time Israeli pilots have taken up a cause. Many of them also campaigned against Mr Netanyahu’s 2023 judicial reforms.

“In this country, 1,000 Israeli Air Force pilots carry a lot of weight,” Mr Paron added.

“The Air Force historically has been the major force and game-changer in all of Israel’s wars, including this current one. The strength of the Air Force is the public’s guarantee of security.”

Anti-government campaign spreads

Now, the open letter campaign has spread to other parts of the military.

More than 15,000 people have signed, including paratroopers, armoured corps, navy, special units, cyber and medics. The list goes on.

Dr Ofer Havakuk has served 200 days during this war as a combat doctor, mostly in Gaza, and believes the government is continuing the war to stay in power.

He has also signed an open letter supporting the pilots and accused the prime minister of putting politics first.

He said Mr Netanyahu “wants to keep his coalition working and to keep the coalition together. For him, this is the main purpose of the war”.

A ceasefire could lead to the collapse of the prime minister’s fragile far-right coalition, which is opposed to ending the war.

Threat of dismissal

The Israeli military has threatened to dismiss those who have signed protest letters.

We met a former pilot who is still an active reservist. He didn’t want to be identified and is worried he could lose his job.

“This is a price that I’m willing to pay, although it is very big for me because I’m volunteering and, as a volunteer, I want to stay on duty for as long as I can,” he told us.

The controversy over the war and the hostages is gaining momentum inside Israel’s military.

It is also exposing deep divisions in society at a time when there is no clear sign about how the government plans to end the war in Gaza, or when.

The renewed war in Gaza over the last year and a half followed deadly Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023, which killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and saw around 250 taken hostage.

More than 51,000 people have been killed in Gaza during the Israeli military’s response, many of them civilians, according to the enclave’s Hamas-run Ministry of Health.