New Zealand public-service radio broadcaster and Crown entity
The MV Matui sank between Ambae and Santo in Vanuatu during bad weather. Officials say at least one person is dead and more than 30 remain missing. Fifteen survivors have been accounted for, and authorities are launching an investigation into possible negligence and overloading. Rescue operations are focused along the south-east coast as currents may carry survivors.
Prime Minister Lauli Leuatea Schmidt has apologised for a seven-second clip showing a Nazi salute at a private family gathering in 2007. He says the words and gesture were inappropriate and not reflective of his beliefs or Samoa's values. The video has drawn international attention as Schmidt has led Samoa since 2025 and has publicly supported Israel.
Authorities have charged an Omani co‑pilot, identified in multiple reports as Hamam al‑Hammami, after he allegedly attacked his captain on a Flydubai flight on Sept. 30. UAE prosecutors have said he has drawn inspiration from al‑Qaeda’s 2001 attacks and first became radicalised while studying in Melbourne; Australian and New Zealand agencies are investigating his time there.
Preliminary counts have left New Zealand's election unresolved. National leads with 42 seats and, with ACT and NZ First, reaches a projected 67-seat slim advantage; Labour sits on 35–36 seats. The centrist Opportunity Party has crossed the 5% threshold and won seven projected seats, potentially holding the balance of power when nearly 400,000 special votes are counted on Nov. 27.