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New Zealand’s Māori King Tuhetia dies

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The Māori king in New Zealand – Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII – has died peacefully at age 69, surrounded by his wife and three children.

The Kiingitanga, or Māori king movement, announced the news on social media on Friday morning local time (Thursday evening GMT).

Spokesman Rahui Papa said the king had been in hospital recovering from heart surgery, just days after celebrating the 18th anniversary of his coronation.

“The death of Kiingi Tuheitia is a moment of great sadness for followers of Te Kiingitanga, Maaoridom and the entire nation,” the spokesman said. “A chief who has passed to the great beyond. Rest in love.”

The king was born Tūheitia Paki in 1955. He was crowned in 2006 following the death of his mother, Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu.

Like his mother, King Tuheitia was seen as a great unifying figure – recently calling on Māori to stand together in the face of policies targeting them.

“Let’s keep pushing forward while we are currently facing a storm, there’s no need to worry. In this storm we are strong. Together. The wind in our sails is kotahitanga [unity], and with that we will reach our destination.”

King Tuheitia’s successor will be chosen by leaders within the Kiingitanga and may not be announced until the end of his funeral rites.

New Zealand media reported the king was expected to lie in state at Turangawaewae Marae, the seat of the Māori king, for five days, then would be taken to rest on Taupiri Mountain.

The Māori king position dates back to 1858, when Māori decided to create a unifying figure similar to that of a European monarch in order to try and prevent the widespread loss of land to New Zealand’s British colonisers and to preserve Māori culture. The role is largely ceremonial.

New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon paid tribute to the king on social media, saying: “His unwavering commitment to his people and his tireless efforts to uphold the values and traditions of the Kiingitanga have left an indelible mark on our nation.”

Former prime minister Dame Jacinda Ardern addressed King Tuheitia in her tribute, saying: “You have been an advocate for Māori, for fairness, justice and prosperity. You wanted children, young people, and those who have been left behind to have opportunities and hope”.

The Māori king attended King Charles III’s coronation in May 2023 and privately met the British monarch before the celebration.

The two also met during a visit by then-Prince Charles and his wife Camilla to New Zealand in 2015.

In a statement, King Charles said he and Queen Camilla were “profoundly saddened to learn of the death of Kiingi Tuheitia” and that he had had the “greatest pleasure” of knowing the king for decades.

“He was deeply committed to forging a strong future for Māori and Aotearoa New Zealand founded upon culture, traditions and healing, which he carried out with wisdom and compassion.”

“Kua hinga te tōtara i Te Waonui a Tāne. (A mighty Totora tree has fallen),” added King Charles in Māori, referring to a native New Zealand tree considered to be sacred and a symbol of strength.

In 2014, the king declined to meet Prince William and Princess Kate, the then-Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, on their tour to New Zealand because he said the 60 to 90 minutes allocated for the visit was not enough time to carry out the cultural customs befitting their status.

(BBC News)

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No military solution ; only hope is peace – Guterres

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Responding to the US strikes on Iran, UN Secretary General António Guterres has called the development a “dangerous escalation”.  He said.

On a X post he adds : “I call on Member States to de-escalate and to uphold their obligations under the @UN Charter and other rules of international law. At this perilous hour, it is critical to avoid a spiral of chaos. There is no military solution. The only path forward is diplomacy. The only hope is peace.”

The Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) has also condemned America’s “savage assault” on three Iranian nuclear sites.

The organisation also criticises the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for being “indifferent and even complicit”.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump announced that the US has completed strikes on three nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordo, Natanz and Esfahan.

“We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. All planes are now outside of Iran air space,” he wrote on Truth Social.

In a public address, Trump later congratulated Benjamin Netanyahu, saying they worked as a “team” to erase this “horrible threat to Israel”.

“There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days,” Trump warned.

(Excerpts : BBC)

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Iran rules out new nuclear talks until attacks stop

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Iran has said it will not resume talks over its nuclear programme while under attack, hours after Israel’s defence minister warned of a “prolonged” conflict with the Islamic Republic.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met European diplomats in Geneva who urged him to revive diplomatic efforts with the US over his country’s nuclear programme.

His Israeli counterpart, Eyal Zamir, said in a video address that his country should be ready for a “prolonged campaign” and warned of “difficult days ahead”.

Fighting raged into the night with the Israeli military announcing a new wave of attacks against Iranian missile storage and launch infrastructure after Iran launched missiles towards central Israel.

Explosions were heard close to the Israeli city of Tel Aviv. Reports say a building was set on fire in central Israel by falling shrapnel.

Araghchi said Iran was ready to consider diplomacy only once Israel’s “aggression is stopped”.

Iran’s nuclear programme was peaceful, he insisted, and Israel’s attacks violated international law. Iran, he added, would continue to “exercise its legitimate right of self-defence”.

“I make it crystal clear that Iran’s defence capabilities are non-negotiable,” he said.

Israel’s ambassador to the UN accused Iran of having a “genocidal agenda” and posing an ongoing threat, adding that Israel would not stop targeting nuclear facilities until they were “dismantled”.

US President Donald Trump said Iran had a “maximum” of two weeks to avoid possible American air strikes, suggesting that he could take a decision before the 14-day deadline he set on Thursday.

“I’m giving them a period of time, and I would say two weeks would be the maximum,” Trump told reporters.

The aim, he said, was to “see whether or not people come to their senses”.

The US president was also dismissive of the talks between Araghchi and foreign ministers from the UK, France, Germany and the EU.

“Iran doesn’t want to speak to Europe,” Trump said. “They want to speak to us. Europe is not going to be able to help in this.”

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said that the US had provided a “short window of time” to resolve the crisis in the Middle East which was “perilous and deadly serious”.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the ministers had invited the Iranian minister to “consider negotiations with all sides, including the United States, without awaiting the cessation of strikes”.

Barrot added that there could be “no definitive solution through military means to the Iran nuclear problem” and warned that it was “dangerous to want to impose a regime change” in Iran.

Israel was also hit by a new round of Iranian strikes on Friday with the Israeli military reporting an attack of 20 missiles targeting Haifa.

One Israeli woman died of a heart attack, bringing the Israeli death toll since the conflict began to 25.

The Israel Defense Forces said they had attacked ballistic missile storage and launch sites in western Iran.

Over the past week, Israeli air strikes have destroyed Iranian military facilities and weapons, and killed senior military commanders and nuclear scientists.

Iran’s health ministry said on Sunday that at least 224 people had been killed, while a human rights group put the unofficial death toll at 639 on Thursday.

Iran has launched hundreds of ballistic missiles at Israel in response to the air strikes.

(BBC News)

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Foreign Ministers of UK, France, Germany & Iran to meet

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UK, French and German foreign ministers will hold talks with their Iranian counterpart in Geneva today as part of efforts to end the Israel-Iran conflict.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy is travelling to Geneva for a meeting with his French and German counterparts, as well as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas is also expected to attend.

If they go ahead, the talks will be the first between Iranian and Western leaders since Israel began its strikes a week ago, and are expected to focus on bringing Iran to the negotiating table.

Meanwhile, the White House says that Donald Trump will decide in the next two weeks whether the US will get directly involved in the conflict.

In a White House press briefing, press secretary Karoline Leavitt delivers a message directly from US President Donald Trump.

Leavitt says amid reports of whether the US will be directly involved in the conflict between Israel and Iran, Trump says: “Based on the fact that there’s a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks.”

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) says it carried out dozens of strikes overnight, targeting several sites in Tehran with more than 60 Israeli fighter jets.

Around 120 munitions were used to carry out the strikes, which targeted military missile production sites and a nuclear research centre, which Israel’s military says was involved in Iran’s nuclear weapons development.

Overnight, the IDF also said that Iran carried out strikes on Israel, with reports of hits in the south of the country.

Iran has not commented on these strikes.

(BBC News)

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