Police responded to reports of an altercation in the hospital’s carpark just before 6.30pm on 4 January, when a gun was reportedly fired from a vehicle.
Detective Inspector Shaun Vickers said it was fortunate that no one was injured.
Officers from Counties Manukau CIB searched a property at the weekend and arrested a 34-year-old they believe was involved.
He has been charged with committing a dangerous act with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and commission of an offence with a firearm.
He is expected to appear in Manukau District Court on Monday.
Police said they were not ruling out further arrests.
“Those allegedly involved showed no regard for the safety of those around them, given this occurred at a hospital,” Vicker said.
“We have no tolerance and will continue to hold those to account who take part in this behaviour.”
Former President Donald Trump has committed to reinstating TikTok in the United States, expressing his belief that the popular social media platform is vital for connecting with younger audiences.
The announcement comes hours after the popular video-sharing platform went dark in response to a federal ban, which President Donald Trump said he would try to pause by executive order on his first day in office.
Trump argues that reviving TikTok would benefit content creators and users and enhance cultural engagement.
He has indicated that his administration would work on ensuring user data security and addressing privacy concerns, positioning the app as a key player in the digital landscape moving forward.
TikTok has said it was restoring its service after Trump said he would revive the app’s access in the US.
The statement came after US users reported being able to access the Chinese-owned service’s website while the far more widely used TikTok app itself did not appear to be immediately available.
“In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service,” TikTok said in a statement that thanked Trump for “providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties (for) providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive.”
Trump said that he wants TikTok to have 50 percent American ownership.
This proposal stems from ongoing concerns regarding data privacy and national security associated with the app, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance.
By pushing for significant American ownership, Trump aims to ensure that the app’s operations and user data are more closely regulated and monitored by U.S. stakeholders, thereby reducing potential risks related to foreign influence and data security breaches.
The first three hostages released from Gaza have arrived in Israel, the military announced, hours after the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took hold. Their mothers were waiting to meet them.
Palestinians walk through the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, as a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect. (Source: Associated Press)
Footage showed the three women walking to Red Cross vehicles in Gaza City, surrounded by a crowd that swelled into the thousands as people held up cell phones and scrambled onto cars. The vehicles were accompanied by masked, armed men who wore green Hamas headbands and struggled to guard the handover.
In this photo released by the Israeli Army, Emily Damari, right, and her mother Mandy embrace near kibbutz Reim, southern Israel after Emily was released from captivity by Hamas militants in Gaza (Source: Associated Press)
No further glimpses of the three women were immediately expected as they were taken for medical assessment. “They appear to be in good health,” President Joe Biden said in brief remarks.
In Tel Aviv, thousands of people who gathered to watch the news on large screens erupted in applause. For months, many had gathered in the square to demand a ceasefire deal. Relatives of the women jumped, clapped and wept.
“An entire nation embraces you,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
Doron Steinbrecher, left, and her mother Simona hold each other near kibbutz Reim, southern Israel (Source: Associated Press)
Romi Gonen, 24, Emily Damari, 28, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, were released. Gonen was abducted from the Nova music festival, while the others were kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Damari is an Israeli-British dual citizen and Steinbrecher has Israeli and Romanian citizenship.
The ceasefire ushers in an initial six weeks of calm and raises hopes for the release of nearly 100 remaining hostages and an end to the devastating 15-month war. A last-minute delay by Hamas put off the truce’s start by nearly three hours, but the spokesman for Hamas’ military wing later said it is committed to the ceasefire.
Even before the ceasefire took effect, celebrations broke out across Gaza and some Palestinians began heading home.
Next up was the release of 90 Palestinian prisoners later today. In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, families and friends gathered excitedly as cars honked and people waved the Palestinian flag.
Romi Gonen, right, and her mother Merav hold each other near kibbutz Reim, southern Israel (Source: Associated Press)
The truce, which started at 11.15am local time (9.15pm NZ time), is the first step toward ultimately ending the conflict and returning hostages abducted in Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack.
In the interim between the planned ceasefire time and when it took hold, Israeli fire killed at least 26 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. It did not say whether they were civilians or fighters. The military has warned people to stay away from Israeli forces as they retreat to a buffer zone inside Gaza.
Israel’s hard-line national security minister, meanwhile, said his Jewish Power faction was quitting the government in protest over the ceasefire. Itamar Ben-Gvir’s departure weakens Netanyahu’s coalition but will not affect the truce.
In a separate development, Israel announced it had recovered the body of Oron Shaul, a soldier killed in the 2014 Israel-Hamas war, in a special operation in Gaza. The bodies of Shaul and another soldier, Hadar Goldin, had remained after the 2014 war.
What’s next
Displaced Palestinians wave the Palestinian flag as they return to Rafah, while a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas went into effect, in Rafah, Gaza Strip. (Source: Associated Press)
The ceasefire deal was announced last week after a year of mediation by the United States, Qatar and Egypt. The outgoing Biden administration and President-elect Donald Trump’s team had both pressed for an agreement to be reached before the inauguration on Tuesday.
Netanyahu on Saturday (local time) warned that he had Trump’s backing to continue fighting if necessary.
The 42-day first phase of the ceasefire should see 33 hostages gradually returned and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees released. The next release of hostages is expected on Saturday (local time).
There also should be a surge of humanitarian aid, with hundreds of trucks entering Gaza daily, far more than Israel allowed before. The UN World Food Program said trucks started entering through two crossings. Biden’s top Middle East adviser, Brett McGurk, told CBS 800 trucks were expected to flow in today.
This is just the second ceasefire in the war, longer and more consequential than a weeklong pause in November 2023, with the potential to end the fighting for good.
Negotiations on the ceasefire’s far more difficult second phase should begin in just over two weeks. Major questions remain, including whether the war will resume after the first phase.
‘Joy mixed with pain’
Relatives and friends of people killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, react as they gather in Tel Aviv, Israel. (Source: Associated Press)
Across Gaza, there was relief and grief. The fighting has killed tens of thousands, destroyed large areas and displaced most of the population.
“This ceasefire was a joy mixed with pain, because my son was martyred in this war,” said Rami Nofal, a displaced man from Gaza City.
Masked militants appeared at some celebrations, where crowds chanted slogans in support of them, according to Associated Press reporters in Gaza. The Hamas-run police began deploying in public after mostly lying low due to Israeli airstrikes.
Some families set off for home on foot, their belongings loaded on donkey carts.
In the southern city of Rafah, residents returned to find massive destruction. Some found human remains in the rubble, including skulls.
“It’s like you see a Hollywood horror movie,” resident Mohamed Abu Taha said as he inspected the ruins of his family’s home.
Already, Israeli forces were pulling back from areas. Residents of Beit Lahiya and Jabaliya in northern Gaza told the AP they didn’t see Israeli troops there.
Israelis divided over ceasefire deal
Relatives and friends of people killed and abducted by Hamas and taken into Gaza, react as they gather in Tel Aviv, Israel. (Source: Associated Press)
In Israel, people remained divided over the agreement.
Asher Pizem, 35, from the city of Sderot, said the deal had merely postponed the next confrontation with Hamas. He also criticised Israel for allowing aid into Gaza, saying it would contribute to the militant group’s revival.
“They will take the time and attack again,” he said while viewing Gaza’s smouldering ruins from a small hill in southern Israel with other Israelis gathered there.
When Biden was asked today whether he has any concerns about Hamas regrouping, he said no.
Immense toll
The toll of the war has been immense, and new details will now emerge. The head of the Rafah municipality in Gaza, Ahmed al-Sufi, said a large part of the infrastructure, including water, electricity and road networks, was destroyed, in addition to thousands of homes.
Over 46,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which says women and children make up more than half the fatalities but does not distinguish between civilians and fighters.
The Hamas-led attack on southern Israel that sparked the war killed over 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and militants abducted around 250 others. More than 100 hostages were freed during the weeklong ceasefire in November 2023.
Some 90% of Gaza’s population has been displaced. Rebuilding — if the ceasefire reaches its final phase — will take several years at least. Major questions about Gaza’s future, political and otherwise, remain unresolved.
TikTok’s app was removed from prominent app stores on Sunday just before a federal law that would have banned the popular social media platform was scheduled to go into effect.
The icon for the video sharing TikTok app is seen on a smartphone. (Source: Associated Press)
By 10.50pm Eastern Standard Time, the app was not found on Apple and Google’s app stores, which are prohibited from offering the platform under a law that required TikTok’s China-based parent company, ByteDance, to sell the platform or face a US ban.
When users opened the TikTok app on Saturday evening, they encountered a pop-up message from the company that prevented them from scrolling on videos.
The message shown to US users of TikTok upon trying to open the app. (Source: 1News)
“A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S.,” the message said. “Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now.”
“We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office,” the message said. “Please stay tuned!”
Before that announcement went out, the company had said in another message to users that its service would be “temporarily unavailable” and told them its working to restore its US service “as soon as possible”.
The federal law, that was signed by President Joe Biden last year, required ByteDance to divest its stake in the TikTok’s US platform or face a ban. ByteDance had nine months to sell the US operation to an approved buyer. The company, and TikTok, chose to take legal action against the law and ultimately lost their fight at the Supreme Court on Saturday.
Under the statute, mobile app stores are barred from offering TikTok and internet hosting services are prohibited from delivering the service to American users.
Both White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco had said that the Biden administration would leave the law’s implementation to President-elect Donald Trump given that his inauguration falls the day after the ban takes effect.
But TikTok said after the court ruling on Saturday that it “will be forced to go dark” if the administration didn’t provide a “definitive statement” to the companies that deliver its service in the US.
However, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called TikTok’s demand a “stunt” and said there was no reason for TikTok or other companies “to take actions in the next few days before the Trump administration takes office.”
In an interview with NBC News on Sunday, President-elect Donald Trump said he was thinking about giving TikTok a 90-day extension that would allow them to continue operating.
The federal law allows the sitting president to extend the deadline by 90 days if a sale is in progress. But no clear buyers have emerged, and ByteDance has previously said it won’t sell TikTok.
If such an extension happens, Trump said it would “probably” be announced on Tuesday.
On Sunday, artificial intelligence startup Perplexity AI submitted a proposal to ByteDance to create a new entity that merges Perplexity with TikTok US business, according to a person familiar with the matter. If successful, the new structure would also include other investors and allow ByteDance’s existing shareholders to retain their stake in the company, the person said.
Perplexity is not asking to purchase the ByteDance algorithm that feeds TikTok user’s videos based on their interests and has made the platform such a phenomenon.
Other investors have also been eyeing TikTok. “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary recently said a consortium of investors that he and billionaire Frank McCourt put together offered ByteDance US$20 billion (NZ$35 billion) in cash. Trump’s Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also said last year that he was putting together an investor group to buy TikTok.
By Laura Collins, George W Bush Presidential Centre
What does it mean to be an “undocumented” immigrant?
There are approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States as of 2022, according to the Pew Research Center. Undocumented immigrants are people who either entered the country illegally or who entered legally but overstayed their visas rather than returning home. While some are recent arrivals to the United States, many have lived here for more than a decade. Many undocumented people live in mixed status families – they are married to a U.S. citizen or have U.S. citizen children.
How does this population affect the U.S. economy? What about the economy in my state/city?
Undocumented immigrants do not have legal work authorization, and they do not qualify for federal entitlement benefits. They must work to support themselves, however, so the vast majority work – some with a false identity and some in jobs in which their immigration status isn’t likely to be checked closely. Undocumented immigrants often pay taxes, bolstering programs like Social Security which they are unable to access. The undocumented are an economic benefit on a federal level, given their inability to access benefits and tax payments.
On the state and local level, their benefit and burden vary. The primary costs at a state and local level are in education, health care, and criminal justice. The cost burden on these vary greatly based on which benefits states offer to undocumented immigrants. According to the Baker Institute, undocumented immigrants in Texas contribute $420 million more in revenue than they cost the state.
What is mass deportation, and who would be impacted?
Mass deportation is an effort to remove millions of undocumented immigrants from the United States. Who would be impacted depends on how the executive branch prioritizes people for removal. The incoming administration has indicated that it will begin with immigrants convicted of crimes and immigrants with final orders of removal. Taken to the logical conclusion, mass deportation could impact any person who is undocumented, even if the only time they violated the law was to enter the United States, overstay their visa, or work without authorization.
What is the likelihood and feasibility of deportations on this scale?
Deporting 11 million people is nearly impossible to do given the current resource and capacity constraints of the federal government. It would be incredibly expensive, damaging to the economy, and disruptive to communities. A 2015 American Action Forum report estimated it would cost $400 billion to $600 billion, take 20 years, and result in over $1 trillion in lost GDP.
Can the undocumented population become U.S. citizens?
While legislation has been proposed multiple times since 2006 to provide an earned pathway to citizenship for the undocumented, no current solution exists to allow these immigrants who are here and working to earn regular status and, possibly, eventual citizenship. For most undocumented, there are no legal avenues they can pursue to get a legal work permit or green card, even if they marry a U.S. citizen or get sponsored for a green card by an employer.
Firefighters were battling a blaze in a building at Kahana.
Tonga fire engine. Photo/Kalino Latu
A fire appliance was spotted at the scene of the blaze at the Kahana Lagoon resort.
Unconfirmed reports said there were indications that a person got stuck inside the restaurant at the time of the incident.
It was alleged that there was a fatality.
Kaniva News was unable to confirm this.
Streamed videos taken at the scene, seen by Kaniva News, appeared to show that the spaces for the firefighters and their engines to tackle the fire effectively were quite limited.
There were also reports indicating that the fire had caused significant damage to one of the water hoses used to control the fire.
When the firefighters finally arrived at the scene, the flames had already engulfed a significant portion of the building, billowing thick clouds of smoke into the air, according to a Facebook live streamer at the scene.
Tonga Fire Services could not be reached for comment.
Analysis – Christopher Luxon is kicking off the political year with a reshuffle that is expected to see Shane Reti removed from the health portfolio.
Health Minister Shane Reti. Photo: Samuel Rillstone/RNZ
The Prime Minister arrived back from the UAE on Thursday, headed to the funeral of killed policewoman Lyn Fleming that afternoon, and then returned to the Beehive on Friday to begin rearranging his team ahead of their first caucus meeting on Tuesday.
Luxon was seen in the Beehive on Friday where he met with some of his trusted kitchen cabinet ministers and staff to hash out the reshuffle, which is expected to be reasonably big.
Reti, a respected doctor from the North, has been struggling in the health role – it is an issue that has become the biggest thorn in the side of Luxon and his government and increasingly shows up in polls as being a growing concern for New Zealanders.
While Reti has practical experience in health his background and personality sees him viewed as more of an academic, and he has struggled with the size and complexity of the health sector that is struggling under staff shortages, governance problems, and funding deficits.
Luxon had not planned to do a formal reshuffle at the start of the year, as has been popular with previous prime ministers, telling RNZ late last year he would have a different approach and make changes as and when they were needed.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
Sunday afternoon’s reshuffle to be announced by Luxon and his deputy, Nicola Willis, will unlikely impact the ministerial portfolios of Act and New Zealand First ministers.
Those positions were decided as part of the coalition agreements and are harder to change without the agreement by party leaders David Seymour and Winston Peters.
The two coalition partners have been given a heads-up, however, about what to expect from today’s reshuffle.
Several ministers have been thrown up as possibilities to take on the soon to be vacant health role, including Judith Collins, Paul Goldsmith, and Simeon Brown.
All three are seen as part of Luxon’s small team of more competent and experienced ministers, alongside Willis, Erica Stanford, and Chris Bishop, who already have very full dance cards.
It is a problem for Luxon that he is restricted in his options when it comes to reallocating important portfolios. While the executive is large, a number are ministers from other parties and there are only a handful of National ministers that Luxon can load up with more work and be trusted to do so.
It is a problem Jacinda Ardern also encountered during her first term as Prime Minister.
Luxon’s kitchen cabinet ministers are already visibly exhausted and overloaded. Whoever takes on the health portfolio will certainly have to be relieved of other work, though that could potentially only create more work for another colleague.
A new face in health could also present an opportunity for Luxon and National after a campaign commitment in 2023 to open a new medical school at Waikato University.
It is understood that project has been dogged with problems and is increasingly being seen as an unnecessary, costly, and bad idea.
A new minister could make their own assessment of the project and kill it without losing face in the way Reti would have – though it would still be seen as a broken promise by Luxon.
If Brown is to pick up health it would make sense for Bishop to take on his energy role to pair alongside the RMA reform and infrastructure portfolios he already holds.
Outside of the health portfolio changes Luxon is expected to make two or three others, which will likely see some promotion for current ministers and at least one demotion that would open up room for a new minister outside of cabinet.
The coalition has been in power for just over a year and this is already the second set of changes after Luxon stripped Melissa Lee of the broadcasting portfolio and demoted her from Cabinet in April after struggling to deal with the collapse of media outlets.
At the same time Penny Simmonds was moved out of the Disability Issues portfolio.
Penny Simmonds no longer holds the Disability Issues portfolio. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
Those changes prompted Goldsmith to add broadcasting to his workload while Louise Upston picked up Disability Issues.
Luxon’s reshuffle comes as he resets the focus of his National team ahead of a two-day caucus retreat in Hamilton on Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by his State of the Nation speech in Auckland on Thursday.
His State of the Nation is expected to be focussed on the economy, and more specifically, the country’s productivity issues.
Ten of thousands of Tongan overstayers living in the United States have found themselves significantly impacted by next week’s mass deportation threats.
The Tongan community has voiced concerns about how this state of uncertainty could affect their families and future.
Reported figures of undocumented Tongans varied up to 10,000. These figures were believed to be undercounted because many potential respondents were hesitant to participate in interviews or surveys, fearing that their information could be reported to immigration authorities or used against them.
In 2020, the US Census reported that 78,871 people in the US have Tongan ancestry.
In an interview with Kaniva News, some undocumented Tongans have expressed their concerns regarding the implications of the impact on their families. They asked not to be identified because of their illegal immigration statuses.
They said that to avoid the risk of deportation or legal issues, they feel compelled to stop going to work, which significantly impacts their livelihoods and well-being.
Despite the challenges posed by their immigration status, they made a firm commitment to remain in the United States. Their decision came even in light of Trump’s public declarations urging individuals who had overstayed their visas to leave the country voluntarily.
One study described the Tongan community in the States as “a struggling Tongan immigrant population”.
Research by Tongan scholar Vanesa Tu’i’one and others, which was published by the National Library of Medicine, says Tongans have among Los Angeles County’s lowest per capita incomes, and more than one in four Tongan Americans (28.5%) in Los Angeles County live under the Federal Poverty Level (US Census 2000).
The president-elect also planned to “end birthright citizenship for US-born children of some noncitizens” which is another blow to undocumented Tongans who have already settled their lives in the States.
Kingdom of Tonga
Tonga, an archipelago located in the South Pacific Ocean, has over 200,000 people. More than 50 percent of this population comprises Tongans living in the diaspora.
Tonga is considered one of the poorest countries globally, with more than 50 percent of its national budget relying on overseas donors.
The extreme poverty rate, according to the Parliament’s Hansard 22 Sune 2023, increased to 27 per cent.
Tonga’s economy relies heavily on remittances from Tongans living abroad, making it susceptible to external economic fluctuations.
The majority of the population relies on subsistence agriculture and fishing, and many families struggle to access basic services and opportunities for education and employment.
Arrival in the US
Tongans first came to Laie, Hawaii, in 1916 (Hawaii was a U.S. territory at the time). The number of immigrants increased dramatically at the end of World War II when Mormon labour missionaries from Tonga migrated to Hawaii to build the church’s Laie Hawaii Temple, Church College of Hawaii, and Polynesian Cultural Center.
The first record of a Tongan immigrating to the mainland United States was in 1956.
According to Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) records for the 1950s, 14 Tongans were admitted in 1958, 4 were admitted in 1960, and a record 119 arrived in 1966.
During the 1970s, Tongan migration ranged from 133 admissions in 1976 to 809 in 1979.
A grass fire that broke out on Māngere Mountain in Auckland on Saturday night has now been 99 percent contained.
Crews were called to the scene, near Domain Road, just before 9:30pm.
Seven crews fought the blaze, with firefighters also standing guard at the entrance to the road and turning away people who were trying to get a closer look at the flames.
Two crews remained on site overnight.
A Fire and Emergency spokesperson said more would go back later on Sunday morning.
A number of users on social media had posted images of the blaze, which sent smoke billowing into the sky.
Fire crews had closed the road up to the maunga. Photo: RNZ / Finn Blackwell
There was the smell of thick smoke in the air, but the extent of any damage was unclear.
In a statement, Fire and Emergency asked people to stay away from the area to allow crews to work.
“People on the western side of the mountain may experience smoke.
“If they are affected, they should stay inside and close all windows and doors.”
