Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Posted on

Amnesty International Update – Urgent call to protect civilians and respect international law amid escalating regional conflict following US and Israeli attacks on Iran

Source: Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand

Amid rapid expansion of regional hostilities across the Middle East following the ongoing joint United States-Israel attacks on Iran and the subsequent wave of Iranian retaliatory attacks across the region, Amnesty International is issuing an urgent call on all parties to protect civilians, adhere to international humanitarian law, in particular by ending unlawful attacks, such as deliberate, indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks on civilians and civilians infrastructures.
Military operations have spread across the region and now involve more than 10 countries. They have already resulted in significant loss of civilian life and destruction of civilian infrastructure. Israel has escalated its attacks on Lebanon in the past 24 hours in response to Hezbollah’s attacks. The US has said that “the hardest hits are yet to come”. Iran has warned of further intensification and insecurity across the whole region following the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader and commander-in-chief Ali Khamenei.
“Civilians should not pay the price for the unlawful and reckless acts by parties to the conflict, ravaging the principles of humanity and distinction at the heart of international humanitarian law and threatening the very foundations of international peace and security. The stakes could not be higher. Across the region, civilians have already endured successive cycles of conflict and mass violations and crimes under international law. Their protection should now be the top priority. Instead, they are facing more senseless killings and repression,” said Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International.
“Parties to the conflict must immediately refrain from and cease unlawful attacks, whether direct attacks on civilians, indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks, or the use of explosive weapons with wide area effects in densely populated areas. They must take all feasible precautions to prevent civilian harm.
“As the threat of a protracted international conflict grows, compliance with international human rights law and international humanitarian law is more urgent than ever. Any failure to uphold these obligations will intensify an already devastating human toll and push the region even further towards another humanitarian and human rights catastrophe.”
Attacks on Iran and Iran’s response
On 3 March the Iranian Red Crescent Society, reported that 787 people have been killed in Iran since the attacks began. On 28 February 2026, according to the Iranian authorities around 150 school children were among 165 people killed when a school in the southern city of Minab, Hormozgan province, was struck. The UN has described the bombing of this school as a ‘ grave violation of humanitarian law’, with UNESCO warning that attacks on educational institutions endanger students and teachers and undermine the protections guaranteed under international humanitarian law. The UN Human Rights Office has called for a prompt, impartial and thorough investigation into the “horrific” incident.
Amnesty International verified six videos from the aftermath of the strike that impacted the school, which show black smoke rising from the partially collapsed building and rescuers and excavators searching through the rubble for victims. Footage filmed from the school entrance shows walls marking the parameter of the school yard and building, with smoke visible in the background from the direction of a nearby Iranian Revolutionary Guards Compound.
According to the head of the Medical Council of Iran, 10 medical centres have been damaged by the Israeli and US attacks. Hospitals in Iran have already been subjected to militarized raids by Iran’s security forces who committed widespread human rights violations against injured protesters and medical workers during and in the aftermath of the protest massacres in January 2026.
The Iranian authorities shut down access to the internet again on 28 February, preventing millions of people from accessing essential information about armed hostilities and communicating with loved ones inside and outside the country, and suppressing the flow of information about violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.
The armed conflict has intensified concerns about the fate and safety of prisoners across Iran, including the thousands of protesters and dissidents arrested in connection with the January 2026 uprising. These concerns stem from reports by human rights defenders of explosions near prisons and other facilities where prisoners are held as well as Israel’s previous attack on Tehran’s Evin prison during the 12-day war.
Human rights defenders are also expressing fears that the Iranian authorities have often used armed conflict as pretext to subject dissidents to intensified patterns of torture and other ill-treatment as well as summary, arbitrary or extrajudicial executions. Amnesty International calls on the Iranian authorities to immediately release all those arbitrarily detained and take effective measures to secure the safety of all other prisoners, including through temporary release on humanitarian grounds. Concerns for the rights of people in Iran are compounded by the Iranian authorities’ well-documented record to repeated crimes under international law and other serious human rights violations, including during successive lethal crackdowns to eradicate dissent. On 8-9 January, Iranian authorities carried out unprecedented massacres of thousands of protesters and bystanders during anti-establishment protests calling for an end to the Islamic Republic.
Iranian authorities responded to US and Israeli attacks with missile and unmanned aerial vehicle attack in Israel and across the Gulf region, including in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia.
Media reports and official government statements indicate that some of the attacks, including as a result of falling debris from intercepted missiles or drones, led to some deaths, injuries or damage to civilian infrastructure. According to the authorities in Abu Dhabi, an Iranian drone targeting Zayed International Airport (AUH) was intercepted, leading to “falling debris” killing one person and injuring seven. On 2 March, both the Qatari and Saudi authorities claimed their oil facilities were targeted by the Iranians, and a Gulf Cooperation Council statement condemned “indiscriminate and reckless missile and drone attacks.”
In Israel, according to media and rescue agencies, at least 10 people have been killed and tens injured as a result of Iranian attacks. This includes nine people killed and more than 20 injured in Beit Shemesh after an Iranian ballistic missile strike, as well as the death of a woman in the Tel Aviv area from falling shrapnel. Iranian strikes also damaged at least 40 buildings in Tel Aviv, according to local authorities.
Israel has escalated severe restrictions on movement across the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), effectively blocking movement between villages and towns in the occupied West Bank including East Jerusalem. The authorities have also closed all external crossings into and out of the OPT including Kerem Shalom/ Karem Abu Salem and Rafah crossings blocking lifesaving aid and effectively placing the entire Gaza Strip under siege. Kerem Shalom/Karem Abu Salem was reopened on 3 March.
These arbitrary measures are gravely exacerbating the suffering of Palestinians living under Israel’s unlawful occupation and apartheid and are further compounding the multi-layered humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where Palestinians are still living through Israel’s ongoing genocide.
In Iraq, a faction [Saraya Awliya Al-Dam] of the Iran-aligned militia groups, calling itself the Islamic Resistance, has claimed responsibility for multiple drone attacks on Erbil in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and later in the capital Baghdad, primarily targeting US military facilities. According to Kurdish Iranian opposition groups, drone strikes have targeted their positions in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq following warnings from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Escalation between Hezbollah and Israel in Lebanon
Following Hezbollah rocket attacks on northern Israel, which the group said was retaliation for Khamenei’s killing, the Israeli military significantly escalated its attacks on Lebanon, including the suburbs of Beirut, overnight on 2 March. Israeli air strikes in Lebanon had killed at least 40 people and injured 246, according to the Lebanese authorities, by 3 March. Before the recent escalation and since the November 2024 ceasefire agreement, Israel had been carrying out near daily attacks in the south of Lebanon, killing more than 380 people, including 127 civilians.
A new, mass “evacuation” warning, issued by the Israeli authorities after midnight on 2 March, has again displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians across Lebanon. The vague and broad warning covered more than 50 villages across the country’s south and east, and led to panic, clogged roads and another round of displacement for many. Additional broad mass evacuation warnings were issued early on 3 March ordering people in dozens of additional villages in southern Lebanon to leave their homes and expanding the area under threat.
On 2 March, the Israeli military said it would strike Hezbollah-affiliated financial institutions in multiple locations across Lebanon, then did. Israel previously targeted branches of the Hezbollah-affiliated financial institution in October 2024, which Amnesty International described as a likely violation of international humanitarian law, calling for such attacks to be investigated as a war crime.
International humanitarian law strictly prohibits direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects, as well as indiscriminate strikes that fail to distinguish between civilians and civilian object and combatants and military objectives, and disproportionate attacks. Aerial attacks impacting schools, medical facilities or residential buildings, as well as the firing of ballistic missiles and other explosive weapons with wide area effects into densely populated areas, raise grave concerns of possible violations of international humanitarian law.
Amnesty International is closely monitoring the situation and call on all parties to adhere to international humanitarian law. In instances of civilian death, injury and infrastructure harm, parties should initiate immediate investigations and hold anyone responsible for violations of international law to account.
“The escalating crisis in the Middle East poses a grave threat to multilateralism and to the integrity of the international legal order. Unlawful acts by parties to the conflict, particularly those committed by influential states, not only endanger civilians across multiple countries, but also accelerate the erosion of the global norms that are essential for the protection of human rights and global peace and security,” said Agnès Callamard.
“It is imperative that all parties take urgent measures to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, including airports, hospitals, residential buildings, schools and prisons. They must also ensure safe and unhindered humanitarian access to all affected areas and enable independent international monitoring.
“We call on the international community to intensify diplomatic efforts to prevent further military escalation to avert additional civilian harm, and halt any further crimes under international law against populations who have already endured decades of repression. In line with international law, states must exercise the utmost restraint, refrain from any conduct that could fuel further violations, and remember that they have clear obligations not to aid or assist internationally wrongful acts, as well as a duty to cooperate to bring such breaches to an end.”
Posted on

Lifestyle – ExerciseNZ CEO Slams Removal of Physical Activity Benefit by Southern Cross!

Source: Exercise NZ

“Regular physical activity is one of the most powerful things a person can do to improve their long-term health and wellbeing. In terms of increasing life expectancy, it sits second only to not smoking.”

“There are many examples globally where insurers contribute towards the cost of people being active because healthier members ultimately mean lower long-term healthcare costs. It's a genuine win-win.”

“If we are serious about preventative health in New Zealand, supporting more people to be physically active needs to be part of the solution.”

Exercise New Zealand has criticised the decision by Southern Cross Health Society to remove its physical activity reimbursement from member policies, saying the move removes one of the few incentives within private health insurance that encourages people to invest in their own health preventatively.

Exercise New Zealand CEO Richard Beddie says while the benefit itself was relatively small, its removal sends the wrong signal at a time when improving physical activity levels should be a national priority.

“Regular physical activity is one of the most powerful things a person can do to improve their long-term health and wellbeing. In terms of increasing life expectancy, it sits second only to not smoking.”

The World Health Organization reports that people who are insufficiently active have a 20–30% higher risk of death compared with those who meet recommended activity levels. Recent research published in The Lancet also estimates that 7–9% of deaths globally are attributable to physical inactivity, making it one of the leading preventable causes of death worldwide.

Exercise New Zealand notes that many insurers internationally actively support physical activity among their members, often contributing towards gym memberships, exercise programmes, or other activity incentives, because healthier populations reduce long-term healthcare costs.

Beddie says the organisation would welcome the opportunity to work with Southern Cross to explore how insurers can better support preventative health through physical activity.

“There are many examples globally where insurers contribute towards the cost of people being active because healthier members ultimately mean lower long-term healthcare costs. It's a genuine win-win.”

Exercise New Zealand says stronger collaboration between insurers and the exercise sector could play an important role in improving physical activity levels across Aotearoa and strengthening preventative health outcomes.

“If we are serious about preventative health in New Zealand, supporting more people to be physically active needs to be part of the solution.”

Posted on

Environment – Drone Spraying of Glyphosate Over Endangered Species Habitat at Te Henga Goes Ahead Despite Environment Court Appeal

Source: Flora and Fauna of Aotearoa

Flora and Fauna of Aotearoa is expressing deep alarm following confirmation that aerial drone spraying of glyphosate based herbicides (GBHs) has proceeded over the nationally significant wetlands of Te Henga — despite a last-minute application to the Environment Court of New Zealand seeking to halt the operation.

The spraying, which is aimed at targeting willow, has taken place in habitat known to support critically endangered long-tailed bats and matuku (Australasian bittern), within one of West Auckland’s most ecologically sensitive wetland systems.

This is reportedly the second year of a three-year aerial campaign to control the willow trees in the wetland, and is being carried out by the private environmental group Matuku Link in the public conservation area. The local community has twice prevented aerial spraying in this area due to major ecological and health concerns – including a successfully high court injunction in 2010 against Auckland Regional Council.

“This is shocking,” said Asha Andersen, spokesperson for Flora and Fauna of Aotearoa. “We are talking about the aerial application of glyphosate — a highly controversial agrichemical — by drone, directly over waterways and wetlands of national significance, and within the habitat of some of Aotearoa’s most endangered species.”

According to information confirmed by the Weed Management Advisory, an application for an interim enforcement order was lodged with the Environment Court last week to immediately stop the spraying. Despite this, and many other questions around its legitimacy the operation went ahead.

Flora and Fauna of Aotearoa says this raises serious questions about transparency, due process, social license and ecological risk.

“Conservation organisations should not be putting endangered species at risk,” Ms. Andersen said. “Their mandate is to protect biodiversity, not expose critically threatened wildlife to aerial pesticide applications in sensitive wetland habitats. When conservation work begins to mirror the very practices communities are concerned about, trust is eroded.”

Flora and Fauna of Aotearoa understands that Auckland Council had previously suspended aspects of the consent process for this year’s spraying on advice from the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment. Yet aerial spraying with glyphosate has now reportedly resumed with more to come on Friday 6th March.

Glyphosate, widely known under the trade name Roundup, remains a subject of international debate regarding environmental and health impacts. Its aerial application over wetlands raises additional concerns about spray drift, contamination of waterways, and impacts on non-target species including people and properties.

Flora and Fauna of Aotearoa is calling for:

An immediate halt to all aerial pesticide spraying in the Te Henga wetlands while legal proceedings are underway.
Full public disclosure of the consent status and decision-making process.
An independent ecological review of impacts on endangered bats, bittern, and wetland ecosystems.
Genuine community consultation before any further willow treatment is undertaken.

“Public conservation land must be managed with the highest level of care and accountability,” Flora and Fauna’s Ms. Andersen said. “People deserve to know what is happening in their wetlands — and endangered wildlife deserve better than to be caught in the fallout of controversial chemical operations.”

The people of West Auckland have a long history of standing up for their environment. They deserve answers.

Posted on

Homelessness – Out of sight is not a solution

Source: Hapai Te Hauora

Aotearoa cannot enforce its way out of homelessness.
The Government’s proposed changes to the Summary Offences Act would expand Police powers to issue move-on orders requiring people to leave a public space for up to 24 hours. These powers would apply to rough sleeping, begging and behaviour deemed disorderly, including for young people aged 14 and over.
At Hāpai Te Hauora, we are concerned that this approach focuses on visibility rather than cause.
“Using move-on orders may reduce what is seen in parts of the CBD, but it does not reduce homelessness,” says Jason Alexander, Chief Operating Officer at Hāpai Te Hauora.
“It shifts the problem without addressing why people are there in the first place.”
The real question: Why are people becoming homeless?
People do not become homeless overnight.
Homelessness is driven by housing shortages, rising rents, income insecurity, family violence, unmet mental health needs and long-standing structural inequities. It is the visible outcome of deeper instability.
In the past year, homelessness in Auckland has more than doubled. At the same time, one in seven tamariki in Aotearoa are living in material hardship.
These realities are connected.
When families are forced to choose between rent and food, when incomes fail to meet living costs, and when housing supply cannot meet demand, homelessness increases. Moving people away from a particular location does not change those conditions.
It may change what is visible in parts of the city. But it does not address the causes.
Māori are significantly overrepresented in homelessness statistics in Aotearoa.
While Māori make up around 17 percent of the population, they account for roughly 31 percent of people experiencing severe housing deprivation.
That disparity does not happen by accident.
It reflects uneven access to stable housing, income security and rental opportunities. Māori households are more likely to experience overcrowding and insecure housing, and research has also identified discrimination in the rental market, where applicants with Māori-identifying names receive fewer responses from landlords.
When housing becomes scarce and expensive, those already facing these barriers are the first to feel the pressure.
Jacqui Harema, Chief Executive of Hāpai Te Hauora, says the statistics point to deeper structural issues.
“When Māori are consistently overrepresented in homelessness statistics, it tells us the housing system is not delivering equitable outcomes,” she says.
“The response needs to focus on the drivers of homelessness.”
Housing is widely recognised as a fundamental human right. When Māori experience homelessness at disproportionate rates, it signals a system that is not working fairly for everyone.
Forcibly removing people experiencing homelessness, many of whom are Māori, to present a more curated image of the CBD raises important questions about whose wellbeing is prioritised. It also reinforces the historical pattern of contempt for the partnership embodied by Te Tiriti o Waitangi.
Move-on orders may change what is visible in certain areas. But they do not:
  • Provide housing
  • Increase income
  • Connect people to care
  • Reduce trauma
  • Prevent future homelessness
They displace people who are already vulnerable.
Homelessness is not a public nuisance to be managed. It is a public health issue to be addressed.
Public safety and public wellbeing are not competing goals. Communities are safer when whānau are housed, supported and connected. Stability reduces harm. Visibility alone does not create it.
These proposed changes have not yet progressed into law. But the framing of homelessness as something to be moved along rather than resolved has consequences.
When policy focuses on appearances rather than underlying drivers, it risks deepening instability for those already at risk.
“We should be asking what is pushing people into homelessness, not how quickly we can move them away from view,” says Alexander.
“Real progress comes from addressing causes, not symptoms.”
At Hāpai Te Hauora, we believe homelessness is not the problem itself, but a signal that our housing and income systems are failing whānau.
Moving people out of sight is not a solution.
We will continue to advocate for responses that address the root causes of homelessness and reduce harm, particularly for Māori and other communities disproportionately affected.
When whānau have stability, our entire community thrives. 
Posted on

Pay Equity – Go Purple for Pay Equity this Friday – NZNO

Source: New Zealand Nurses Organisation

Nurses, midwives and health care assistants throughout Aotearoa New Zealand will wear purple on Friday to show their support for Pay Equity – and urge all New Zealanders to join them.
The Go Purple day is in recognition of International Women’s Day on Sunday. The NZNO members will be joined by members from other frontline public service unions.
NZNO delegate and Hospice nurse Anna Garton says she’ll be wearing purple after her and her colleagues’ Pay Equity claim was dumped overnight last May when the Coalition Government gutted the previous scheme.
“It was devastating for the workforces that had already put claims forward.
“The work Hospice nurses do is an important part of a caring society and we deserve to have it valued and paid fairly.
“NZNO Hospice workers have now lodged a new claim under the new system, but conditions have already deteriorated since the law change last year. Donations already fund 33% of Hospice nurses wages. Hospices can’t afford to close the gender pay gap without a Pay Equity settlement.
“I urge all New Zealanders to wear something purple to work on Friday to show their support for Pay Equity,” Anna Garton says.
NZNO delegate and Waikato-based hospital nurse Tracy Chisholm will also be wearing purple on Friday, within her local hospital uniform rules.
“Hospital members received their Pay Equity claim in 2023 and under the previous scheme, were entitled to a review last year to ensure our wages keep up with similarly skilled male dominated sectors.
“Under the new scheme, we are not entitled to a review for 10 years. Over this time our wages will once again fall behind.
“So women health workers and their whānau continue to lose out and pay the price for historical gender discrimination,” Tracy Chisholm says.
Notes:
  • Pay equity in New Zealand requires that women and men receive the same pay for doing different work that is of equal value.
Posted on

Amnesty International – Urgent call to protect civilians and respect international law amid escalating regional conflict following US and Israeli attacks on Iran

Source: Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand

Amid rapid expansion of regional hostilities across the Middle East following the ongoing joint United States-Israel attacks on Iran and the subsequent wave of Iranian retaliatory attacks across the region, Amnesty International is issuing an urgent call on all parties to protect civilians, adhere to international humanitarian law, in particular by ending unlawful attacks, such as deliberate, indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks on civilians and civilians infrastructures.
Military operations have spread across the region and now involve more than 10 countries. They have already resulted in significant loss of civilian life and destruction of civilian infrastructure. Israel has escalated its attacks on Lebanon in the past 24 hours in response to Hezbollah’s attacks. The US has said that “the hardest hits are yet to come”. Iran has warned of further intensification and insecurity across the whole region following the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader and commander-in-chief Ali Khamenei.
“Civilians should not pay the price for the unlawful and reckless acts by parties to the conflict, ravaging the principles of humanity and distinction at the heart of international humanitarian law and threatening the very foundations of international peace and security. The stakes could not be higher. Across the region, civilians have already endured successive cycles of conflict and mass violations and crimes under international law. Their protection should now be the top priority. Instead, they are facing more senseless killings and repression,” said Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International.
“Parties to the conflict must immediately refrain from and cease unlawful attacks, whether direct attacks on civilians, indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks, or the use of explosive weapons with wide area effects in densely populated areas. They must take all feasible precautions to prevent civilian harm.
“As the threat of a protracted international conflict grows, compliance with international human rights law and international humanitarian law is more urgent than ever. Any failure to uphold these obligations will intensify an already devastating human toll and push the region even further towards another humanitarian and human rights catastrophe.”
Attacks on Iran and Iran’s response
On 3 March the Iranian Red Crescent Society, reported that 787 people have been killed in Iran since the attacks began. On 28 February 2026, according to the Iranian authorities around 150 school children were among 165 people killed when a school in the southern city of Minab, Hormozgan province, was struck. The UN has described the bombing of this school as a ‘ grave violation of humanitarian law’, with UNESCO warning that attacks on educational institutions endanger students and teachers and undermine the protections guaranteed under international humanitarian law. The UN Human Rights Office has called for a prompt, impartial and thorough investigation into the “horrific” incident.
Amnesty International verified six videos from the aftermath of the strike that impacted the school, which show black smoke rising from the partially collapsed building and rescuers and excavators searching through the rubble for victims. Footage filmed from the school entrance shows walls marking the parameter of the school yard and building, with smoke visible in the background from the direction of a nearby Iranian Revolutionary Guards Compound.
According to the head of the Medical Council of Iran, 10 medical centres have been damaged by the Israeli and US attacks. Hospitals in Iran have already been subjected to militarized raids by Iran’s security forces who committed widespread human rights violations against injured protesters and medical workers during and in the aftermath of the protest massacres in January 2026.
The Iranian authorities shut down access to the internet again on 28 February, preventing millions of people from accessing essential information about armed hostilities and communicating with loved ones inside and outside the country, and suppressing the flow of information about violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.
The armed conflict has intensified concerns about the fate and safety of prisoners across Iran, including the thousands of protesters and dissidents arrested in connection with the January 2026 uprising. These concerns stem from reports by human rights defenders of explosions near prisons and other facilities where prisoners are held as well as Israel’s previous attack on Tehran’s Evin prison during the 12-day war.
Human rights defenders are also expressing fears that the Iranian authorities have often used armed conflict as pretext to subject dissidents to intensified patterns of torture and other ill-treatment as well as summary, arbitrary or extrajudicial executions. Amnesty International calls on the Iranian authorities to immediately release all those arbitrarily detained and take effective measures to secure the safety of all other prisoners, including through temporary release on humanitarian grounds. Concerns for the rights of people in Iran are compounded by the Iranian authorities’ well-documented record to repeated crimes under international law and other serious human rights violations, including during successive lethal crackdowns to eradicate dissent. On 8-9 January, Iranian authorities carried out unprecedented massacres of thousands of protesters and bystanders during anti-establishment protests calling for an end to the Islamic Republic.
Iranian authorities responded to US and Israeli attacks with missile and unmanned aerial vehicle attack in Israel and across the Gulf region, including in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia.
Media reports and official government statements indicate that some of the attacks, including as a result of falling debris from intercepted missiles or drones, led to some deaths, injuries or damage to civilian infrastructure. According to the authorities in Abu Dhabi, an Iranian drone targeting Zayed International Airport (AUH) was intercepted, leading to “falling debris” killing one person and injuring seven. On 2 March, both the Qatari and Saudi authorities claimed their oil facilities were targeted by the Iranians, and a Gulf Cooperation Council statement condemned “indiscriminate and reckless missile and drone attacks.”
In Israel, according to media and rescue agencies, at least 10 people have been killed and tens injured as a result of Iranian attacks. This includes nine people killed and more than 20 injured in Beit Shemesh after an Iranian ballistic missile strike, as well as the death of a woman in the Tel Aviv area from falling shrapnel. Iranian strikes also damaged at least 40 buildings in Tel Aviv, according to local authorities.
Israel has escalated severe restrictions on movement across the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), effectively blocking movement between villages and towns in the occupied West Bank including East Jerusalem. The authorities have also closed all external crossings into and out of the OPT including Kerem Shalom/ Karem Abu Salem and Rafah crossings blocking lifesaving aid and effectively placing the entire Gaza Strip under siege. Kerem Shalom/Karem Abu Salem was reopened on 3 March.
These arbitrary measures are gravely exacerbating the suffering of Palestinians living under Israel’s unlawful occupation and apartheid and are further compounding the multi-layered humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where Palestinians are still living through Israel’s ongoing genocide.
In Iraq, a faction [Saraya Awliya Al-Dam] of the Iran-aligned militia groups, calling itself the Islamic Resistance, has claimed responsibility for multiple drone attacks on Erbil in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and later in the capital Baghdad, primarily targeting US military facilities. According to Kurdish Iranian opposition groups, drone strikes have targeted their positions in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq following warnings from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Escalation between Hezbollah and Israel in Lebanon
Following Hezbollah rocket attacks on northern Israel, which the group said was retaliation for Khamenei’s killing, the Israeli military significantly escalated its attacks on Lebanon, including the suburbs of Beirut, overnight on 2 March. Israeli air strikes in Lebanon had killed at least 40 people and injured 246, according to the Lebanese authorities, by 3 March. Before the recent escalation and since the November 2024 ceasefire agreement, Israel had been carrying out near daily attacks in the south of Lebanon, killing more than 380 people, including 127 civilians.
A new, mass “evacuation” warning, issued by the Israeli authorities after midnight on 2 March, has again displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians across Lebanon. The vague and broad warning covered more than 50 villages across the country’s south and east, and led to panic, clogged roads and another round of displacement for many. Additional broad mass evacuation warnings were issued early on 3 March ordering people in dozens of additional villages in southern Lebanon to leave their homes and expanding the area under threat.
On 2 March, the Israeli military said it would strike Hezbollah-affiliated financial institutions in multiple locations across Lebanon, then did. Israel previously targeted branches of the Hezbollah-affiliated financial institution in October 2024, which Amnesty International described as a likely violation of international humanitarian law, calling for such attacks to be investigated as a war crime.
International humanitarian law strictly prohibits direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects, as well as indiscriminate strikes that fail to distinguish between civilians and civilian object and combatants and military objectives, and disproportionate attacks. Aerial attacks impacting schools, medical facilities or residential buildings, as well as the firing of ballistic missiles and other explosive weapons with wide area effects into densely populated areas, raise grave concerns of possible violations of international humanitarian law.
Amnesty International is closely monitoring the situation and call on all parties to adhere to international humanitarian law. In instances of civilian death, injury and infrastructure harm, parties should initiate immediate investigations and hold anyone responsible for violations of international law to account.
“The escalating crisis in the Middle East poses a grave threat to multilateralism and to the integrity of the international legal order. Unlawful acts by parties to the conflict, particularly those committed by influential states, not only endanger civilians across multiple countries, but also accelerate the erosion of the global norms that are essential for the protection of human rights and global peace and security,” said Agnès Callamard.
“It is imperative that all parties take urgent measures to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, including airports, hospitals, residential buildings, schools and prisons. They must also ensure safe and unhindered humanitarian access to all affected areas and enable independent international monitoring.
“We call on the international community to intensify diplomatic efforts to prevent further military escalation to avert additional civilian harm, and halt any further crimes under international law against populations who have already endured decades of repression. In line with international law, states must exercise the utmost restraint, refrain from any conduct that could fuel further violations, and remember that they have clear obligations not to aid or assist internationally wrongful acts, as well as a duty to cooperate to bring such breaches to an end.”
Posted on

Polls show NZers want long term solutions, a new economy, and further tax on the ultra rich

Source: WEAll Aotearoa New Zealand

Two Talbot Mills polls have revealed New Zealanders overwhelmingly want politicians to think long-term with future generations in mind; our economic system to change; and for the ultra rich to be taxed more to fund public goods like healthcare, housing and climate action.
The two polls were commissioned by the Wellbeing Economy Alliance Aotearoa. 
The first poll, conducted from the 9th to the 20th of October 2025, asked:
How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following:
  • Major political parties, from across the spectrum, should work together to find long-term solutions to major challenges that affect our future wellbeing, such as climate change, healthcare, and poverty reduction. 84% total agree. 3% total disagree.
  • We should have a national conversation about our values and long-term goals, in order for our major political parties to build consensus on the big issues facing our country. 78% total agree. 3% total disagree.
  • The interests of future generations should be a priority when making decisions on important policies in the present day. 78% total agree. 4% total disagree.
  • Political decisions in New Zealand are often characterised by short-term measures instead of creating sustainable solutions for the future in the next 10-20 years. 76% total agree.
  • It is frustrating how the major political parties constantly change positions on important national issues. 75% total agree. 5% total disagree.
  • Children born today will be financially worse off than their parents. 61% total agree. 9% total disagree.
The second poll, commissioned from the 11th to the 26th of February 2026, asked:
How strongly do you agree or disagree with the following:
  • The economic system in New Zealand is not set up to effectively address the big issues like housing, healthcare, and climate change. 66% total agree. 10% total disagree.
  • No one should be a billionaire while so many people struggle to afford basic necessities like housing, food, and healthcare. 50% total agree, 24% total disagree.
How strongly do you support or oppose the following in NZ:
  • Billionaires paying more tax to fund public goods like healthcare, housing, and climate action. 68% total agree. 13% total disagree.
  • Introducing a billion dollar wealth cap – a maximum amount of wealth any person can legally hold. 37% total agree. 34% total disagree.
Gareth Hughes, Director of Wellbeing Economy Alliance Aotearoa, says, “Every day here in New Zealand we can feel the impacts of an economy that isn’t serving us and that is evidenced in these polls.
“There is an overwhelming view that politicians need to stop making decisions around election cycles and instead take a longer term view, so that our kids and their grandkids can prosper on a healthy planet.
“New Zealanders can see and feel inequality rising above them, whilst more wealth is siphoned to the very wealthy. As an election draws near, politicians of all stripes must take a good look at how we can reorient our economy so that wealth doesn’t accumulate at the top whilst everyone else falls further behind.
“We are at a crossroads, and New Zealanders have shown in this poll the path they want to take. We must zoom out, rethink our economy so we can start addressing the huge crises facing us: that of housing inequality, crumbling infrastructure, and climate change”.
Posted on

Woolworths presents $426K giant cheque to Salvation Army

Source: Woolworths New Zealand

4 March 2026 – Woolworths New Zealand’s customers gave an extraordinary $326,000 during the Woolworths Salvation Army Christmas Appeal in December, boosted by a further $100,000 donation from the supermarket company.

On 27 February, a giant cheque for $426,000 was presented by Woolworths New Zealand to Major Christina Tyson, head of The Salvation Army’s Community Ministries, at its Manukau Community Ministries.

“This is an unexpectedly kind way to start the year! The Salvation Army’s dreams to transform people’s difficult circumstances often outstrip our resources. These funds will strengthen our capacity to provide essential food support and do the deep and wide work that shifts people from crisis to resilience. Thank you Woolworths for backing The Salvation Army’s mission to change lives. Thank you, too, for making it so easy for your customers to support our mahi. It’s reassuring in these tough times that so many are committed to caring for others and want to play their part,” said Major Christina Tyson.

Woolworths is The Salvation Army’s largest single corporate supporter and so far during financial year 2026 around $700,000 has been donated by Woolworths and its customers to The Salvation Army. More than $153,000 was donated by customers during July 2025’s Winter Appeal, with a further $100,000 donated by Woolworths.

“Our customers’ generosity is just absolutely amazing – even when we aren’t running our two annual appeals they continue to give. We partner with The Salvation Army because of their national scale, with about 60 foodbanks across the country. We know there are plenty of people doing it tough out there and we also know that we can rely on the Sallies to get help to where it’s needed,” said Kate Eastoe, General Manager Public Affairs and Sustainability for Woolworths New Zealand.

In addition to its support for The Salvation Army, Woolworths supports KidsCan, The Little Miracles Trust and NZ Red Cross and more than 30 food rescue organisations across Aotearoa. This financial year Woolworths will invest around $1 million in cash grants for food rescue groups and will donate thousands of tonnes of safe, surplus food as part of its aim to send no food to landfill.

For more on Woolworths’ support of community in Aotearoa, see our series of videos with The Spinoff: A little better every day, featuring Sunday Blessings, Fair Food, KidsCan and Netball’s FutureFerns, and our Mini Woolies programme of mini-supermarket sites in special schools.

About Woolworths New Zealand:

Woolworths New Zealand is one of New Zealand’s largest employers with 21,000 team members across over 185 supermarkets, distribution centres, processing plants and support offices. Each week we serve over three million customers and work with hundreds of food producers and suppliers throughout Aotearoa. We’re committed to delivering New Zealand’s best supermarket experiences for customers and team with more value, innovation and accelerated investment in our stores. We’re proud to give back to the communities we live and work in and every year we donate more than $7 million in food, funding and sponsorship to our communities. Woolworths New Zealand is also the franchisor of more than 70 FreshChoice stores, which are locally owned and operated.  Woolworths New Zealand is part of Woolworths Group.

Posted on

Education – Whitireia and WelTec welcome ākonga with powerful Pōwhiri, Mihi Whakatau and vibrant orientation events

Source: Whitireia and WelTec

Whitireia and WelTec has launched the 2026 teaching year with a series of uplifting Pōwhiri, Mihi Whakatau and orientation events across their campuses, marking an exciting beginning for both new and returning ākonga (students). The events brought together ākonga and their whānau, kaimahi (staff), and community in a spirit of unity and anticipation for the year ahead.
Delivered in partnership with Ngāti Toa Rangatira and Te Āti Awa, the Pōwhiri and Mihi Whakatau remain a cornerstone of the Whitireia and WelTec experience. These ceremonies formally welcome ākonga into the Whitireia and WelTec whānau, honouring te ao Māori and reinforcing the values of connection, culture, belonging and manaakitanga from day one.
International students were also welcomed as part of the 2026 intake, with dedicated orientation activities designed to help them settle confidently into life and study in Aotearoa New Zealand. This year’s cohort represents a vibrant mix of countries including Germany, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Philippines, Russia, Ireland, Vietnam, Ukraine, Poland, Bangladesh, Denmark, South Africa, Nepal, and Malaysia, reflecting the growing global reach of the institute.
Across campuses, student expos are underway offering ākonga the chance to meet support teams, explore student services and discover the wellbeing, learning and pastoral resources available to them. Local businesses, community groups and student associations have joined the celebrations, contributing to a welcoming, festival-like atmosphere that showcases the strength and diversity of the local communities.
“At Whitireia and WelTec, ākonga success is about more than the classroom,” says Dr Leanne Ivil, Operations Lead. “Our wraparound support model ensures every ākonga feels connected, supported and confident throughout their learning journey. Starting the year with such powerful iwi-led ceremonies sets ākonga up with a sense of belonging that will carry them forward.”
With energy high and campuses buzzing, Whitireia and WelTec is excited to support ākonga as they take their first steps into a year of learning and opportunity.
See events and enrolment information: www.whitireiaweltec.ac.nz
Posted on

Save the Children – Children sleeping in cars and on the streets in Lebanon as families seek safety

Source: Save the Children

Families are sleeping in cars, in the street and in damaged schools seeking safety as the number of people displaced in Lebanon rises and with seven children reported killed, Save the Children said.

About 58,000 people, including an estimated 16,000 children have been displaced in Lebanon in the past three days according to the Ministry of Social Affairs due to Israeli airstrikes and forced displacement orders.
With media reports of an Israeli ground incursion more families are fleeing their homes. [1]
As armed conflict spreads in the wider region, Israeli strikes have reportedly killed 40 people including seven children in Lebanon and a further 246 injured since Saturday.[2] [3]
Save the Children is urgently calling for a cessation of hostilities to protect children from further harm. Save the Children is responding on the ground by distributing essential items such as blankets, mattresses, pillows, baby supplies, hygiene items and water to people that are displaced.
Nora Ingdal, Save the Children’s Country Director for Lebanon, said: “Our team is hearing cases of children across Lebanon sleeping in cars, on cold pavements, and in partially damaged classrooms with cracks in the walls, while parents are sitting on the side of the streets crying, exhausted from little sleep after being unable to get into proper shelters with their children.
“The buildings that they are finding and using as shelters are places no child should have to sleep in. Some of the schools housing families have water dripping through the walls from broken pipes, and there are no beds. These buildings are becoming increasingly crowded are not designed to house families.
“In the south, families attempting to flee are stuck in huge queues of traffic. The situation is pure chaos for those on the move. Journeys that should take an hour are now taking over 15. Parents are telling Save the Children staff how anxious they feel, as they smell smoke and see bombs and drones loom in the sky over them.
“I heard a 10-year-old ask her mother “Why are they attacking us?” Her mother was completely lost for words and unable to give any answer to her child. This isn’t a question any child should have to ask.
“Many of these children have been displaced before and are completely terrified, families are being forced to relive their trauma and have nowhere safe to go. With media reports of an Israeli ground incursion, families are glued to the news for any updates, but nothing is clear at the moment, and the future remains unknown for millions.
Every possible effort must now be taken to prevent further escalation and to safeguard children. There must be an end to the hostilities. All parties involved in the conflict must uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law. Children must be protected at all times.”
SOURCES:
[1] Lebanon Ministry of Social Affairs
[2] Lebanon Ministry of Social Affairs
[3] UNICEF Lebanon

Notes:

There are no cooking facilities in the shelters currently and toilet and washing facilities very minimal. Families are being forced to share toilets in schools meant for children in schools.
One school Save the Children is responding in is meant for 130 students but there are already over 230 people sleeping there with the number rapidly rising.
Rents have almost tripled overnight, with people being forced to stay with friends and relatives.
All Save the Children staff in Lebanon have been affected. Some have had to flee with their own families during the night. They have barely slept, yet they still show up for work to help others with many fasting for Ramadan.