New Zealand

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) — The white supremacist who slaughtered 51 worshippers at two New Zealand mosques was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the first time the maximum available sentence has been imposed.

Judge Cameron Mander said the crimes committed by 29-year-old Australian Brenton Harrison Tarrant were so wicked that a lifetime in jail could not begin to atone for them. He said they had caused enormous loss and hurt and stemmed from a warped and malignant ideology.

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) — Brenton Harrison Tarrant told a New Zealand judge Wednesday he will not speak in his defense at his sentencing hearing for the mass shooting of worshippers at two Christchurch mosques.

Tarrant had the opportunity to speak Thursday, the final day of a hearing which has seen 90 survivors and family members talk about the pain of the March 2019 attacks.

Earlier Wednesday, a woman speaking about her beloved father brought many people in the courtroom to tears.

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) — A man who was shot and wounded in the New Zealand mosque attacks had a simple message for the mass-murderer responsible: “You are the loser, and we are the winners.”

Mirwais Waziri was among the survivors and family members who spoke on the second day of a four-day sentencing hearing for white supremacist Brenton Harrison Tarrant, who killed 51 worshippers at two mosques during the March 2019 attacks.

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) — The poetic words of love from a daughter to her murdered father brought many people to tears in a New Zealand courtroom Wednesday during the sentencing hearing for the white supremacist who killed 51 worshippers at two mosques.

Sara Qasem said she wonders if, in his last moments, her father was frightened or in pain, and wishes she could have been there to hold his hand. She told the gunman to remember her dad’s name, Abdelfattah Qasem.

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) — Relatives and survivors from a mass shooting at two New Zealand mosques described in court on Tuesday how more than a year later, they are still having trouble sleeping, enjoying life and providing for their families.

It was the second day of a four-day sentencing hearing for white supremacist Brenton Harrison Tarrant, who slaughtered 51 worshippers and injured dozens more during the March 2019 attacks.

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) — The white supremacist who slaughtered 51 worshippers at two New Zealand mosques had intended to burn down the mosques afterward, a prosecutor said in court Monday, while describing two of those praying as making heroic efforts to stop the mass shooting.

New details about the March 2019 attacks were outlined during the first day of a four-day sentencing hearing at the Christchurch High Court. The hearing gave some families and survivors their first chance to confront the gunman.

WELLINGTON, Aug 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The Australian white supremacist who murdered 51 Muslim worshippers in last year’s New Zealand mosque shootings will face survivors of his rampage during a sentencing hearing next week that is likely to see him jailed for life.

Far-right extremist Brenton Tarrant was convicted in March of 51 murder charges, 40 of attempted murder and one of terrorism, after dropping his previous not guilty plea.

Wellington, Aug 17 (AP/PTI) Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday chose to delay New Zealand's national elections by four weeks as the country deals with a new coronavirus outbreak in its largest city, Auckland.

The election had been scheduled for Sept. 19 but will now be held on Oct. 17. Under New Zealand law, Ardern had the option of delaying the election for up to about two months.

WELLINGTON, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern confirmed on Monday that the general election will be held on Oct. 17, four weeks after Sept. 19 when the poll was originally scheduled for.

"The Electoral Commission, via the Ministry of Justice, has advised me that a safe and accessible election is achievable on this date," Ardern told a press conference.

This short delay gives the commission more time to prepare including freeing up facilities for early voting during school holidays, she said.

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters called on Sunday for a delay to the planned September general election, given an abrupt reappearance of COVID-19 in the country, increasing pressure on Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to postpone the vote.

Last week’s resurgence of the infections in Auckland - after the country had been free of infections of the new coronavirus for 102 days - was compromising the ability to hold a “free and fair election” on Sept. 19, Peters, the leader of the New Zealand First party, wrote in a letter to Ardern.