New Zealand has awarded Jacinda Ardern the country’s highest honor, making the former prime minister a dame for her service to the country during the COVID-19 pandemic and Christchurch terror attacks.
Ardern accepted the honor, but said she had felt conflicted about doing so.
“I was in two minds about accepting this acknowledgment. So many of the things we went through as a nation over the last five years were about all of us rather than one individual,” she said in a statement.
Photo: AP
“But I have heard that said by so many Kiwis who I have encouraged to accept an honor over the years. And so for me this is a way to say thank you to my family, to my colleagues, and to the people who supported me to take on the most challenging and rewarding role of my life.”
The former leader’s tenure was marked by a series of national and international crises, and New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said the recognition was for her leadership during these “periods of intense challenge.”
In particular, it recognized her response after a white supremacist gunman killed 50 Muslims at prayer at a mosque in Christchurch, and her pandemic leadership, which saw New Zealand achieve very high rates of vaccination and some of the lowest excess death rates in the world.
“Dame Jacinda Ardern is recognized for her service to New Zealand during some of the greatest challenges our country has faced in modern times,” Hipkins said.
“Leading New Zealand’s response to the 2019 terrorist attacks and to the COVID-19 pandemic represented periods of intense challenge for our 40th prime minister, during which time I saw first-hand that her commitment to New Zealand remained absolute,” he said.
Since her surprise resignation in January, Ardern has kept a relatively low public profile. She has accepted a role as special envoy to the prime minister to continue work on responses to online extremism and terrorism; joined the board of Prince William’s Earthshot Prize, which awards responses to environmental crises; and accepted fellowships to Harvard University.
The country announced its King’s Birthday Honours yesterday, a public holiday to recognize King Charles III. Also recognized was Queen Camilla, who was awarded a New Zealand order of merit for her support of the monarch. It is traditional in New Zealand to recognize the monarch’s spouse for their service.
The country gave out 182 honors in total, including three other dames and three knights. Recipients included Maori leaders, sports coaches, doctors, journalists, arts advocates, business leaders and others.
The Philippine Department of Justice yesterday labeled Vice President Sara Duterte the “mastermind” of a plot to assassinate the nation’s president, giving her five days to respond to a subpoena. Duterte is being asked to explain herself in the wake of a blistering weekend press conference where she said she had instructed that Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr be killed should an alleged plot to kill her succeed. “The government is taking action to protect our duly elected president,” Philippine Undersecretary of Justice Jesse Andres said at yesterday’s press briefing. “The premeditated plot to assassinate the president as declared by the self-confessed mastermind
Texas’ education board on Friday voted to allow Bible-infused teachings in elementary schools, joining other Republican-led US states that pushed this year to give religion a larger presence in public classrooms. The curriculum adopted by the Texas State Board of Education, which is controlled by elected Republicans, is optional for schools to adopt, but they would receive additional funding if they do so. The materials could appear in classrooms as early as next school year. Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott has voiced support for the lesson plans, which were provided by the state’s education agency that oversees the more than
Ireland, the UK and France faced travel chaos on Saturday and one person died as a winter storm battered northwest Europe with strong winds, heavy rain, snow and ice. Hampshire Police in southern England said a man died after a tree fell onto a car on a major road near Winchester early in the day. Police in West Yorkshire said they were probing whether a second death from a traffic incident was linked to the storm. It is understood the road was not icy at the time of the incident. Storm Bert left at least 60,000 properties in Ireland without power, and closed
CONSPIRACIES: Kano suspended polio immunization in 2003 and 2004 following claims that polio vaccine was laced with substances that could render girls infertile Zuwaira Muhammad sat beside her emaciated 10-month-old twins on a clinic bed in northern Nigeria, caring for them as they battled malnutrition and malaria. She would have her babies vaccinated if they regain their strength, but for many in Kano — a hotbed of anti-vaccine sentiment — the choice is not an obvious one. The infants have been admitted to the 75-bed clinic in the Unguwa Uku neighbourhood, one of only two in the city of 4.5 million run by French aid agency Doctors Without Borders (MSF). Kano has the highest malaria burden in Nigeria, but the city has long
RSS