Hamas pressured from all sides as it weighs Trump's Gaza plan
A U.S.-sponsored ceasefire proposal for Gaza on Tuesday was hinging on Hamas's response to the 20-point plan which U.S. President Donald Trump has sai...
New Zealand’s intelligence agency has warned the country is facing its toughest security challenges in decades, with foreign interference and espionage from states including China, Russia, and Iran.
In its annual Security Threat Environment report released on Thursday, the Security Intelligence Service (SIS) said there was almost certainly undetected espionage harming national interests. The agency highlighted that critical organisations, infrastructure, and technologies were being targeted to steal sensitive information.
“Some states, including China, Russia and Iran, are willing to engage in covert or deceptive activity to influence decisions or gain access to technology,” the report noted. It added that China has been “assertive and powerful” in the region, with both the capability and willingness to target New Zealand’s national interests.
The Chinese Embassy in Wellington dismissed the findings, calling them “unsubstantiated and groundless” and accusing New Zealand of adopting a Cold War mentality. It said Beijing regards Wellington as a partner, but would “take firm measures” to protect its interests if necessary.
The warning comes as New Zealand, a member of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, commits NZ$2.7 billion ($1.6 billion) to strengthen its defence force amid rising regional tensions.
SIS Director-General Andrew Hampton said the threats “need to be taken much more seriously than they are currently,” stressing that the deteriorating environment has direct consequences for the country’s safety.
The report also flagged violent extremism as an emerging danger, with lone actors radicalised online seen as the most plausible threat. It warned that grievances and polarising debates in online spaces were “almost certainly” fuelling extremist ideologies.
AnewZ has learned that India has once again blocked Azerbaijan’s application for full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, while Pakistan’s recent decision to consider diplomatic relations with Armenia has been coordinated with Baku as part of Azerbaijan’s peace agenda.
A day of mourning has been declared in Portugal to pay respect to victims who lost their lives in the Lisbon Funicular crash which happened on Wednesday evening.
Video from the USGS (United States Geological Survey) showed on Friday (19 September) the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii erupting and spewing lava.
At least eight people have died and more than 90 others were injured following a catastrophic gas tanker explosion on a major highway in Mexico City’s Iztapalapa district on Wednesday, authorities confirmed.
A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula on 13 September with no tsunami threat, coming just weeks after the region endured a devastating 8.8-magnitude quake — the strongest since 1952.
A U.S.-sponsored ceasefire proposal for Gaza on Tuesday was hinging on Hamas's response to the 20-point plan which U.S. President Donald Trump has said was "beyond very close" to ending the two-year-old conflict in the region.
Volodymyr Z., a Ukrainian diver wanted by Germany over his alleged involvement in the Nord Stream explosions, has been detained in Poland, his lawyer said on Tuesday.
Vietnam's most devastating storm this year brought heavy rains that triggered floods across its north, disrupting flights and train services with the capital, Hanoi, where schools were closed and many homes inundated, authorities said on Tuesday.
Türkiye has joined Spain, Italy and Greece in monitoring an international flotilla carrying aid for Gaza that was sailing east across the Mediterranean Sea on Monday despite warnings from Israel to stop the mission, flight data show.
U.S. President Donald Trump and his Democratic opponents appeared to make little progress at a White House meeting aimed at heading off a government shutdown that could disrupt a wide range of services as soon as Wednesday.
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