This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2019/mar/22/jacinda-ardern-arrives-in-christchurch-to-mark-week-since-new-zealand-shooting-live
The article has changed 11 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Jacinda Ardern arrives in Christchurch to mark week since New Zealand shooting – live | Jacinda Ardern arrives in Christchurch to mark week since New Zealand shooting – live |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| Jacinda Ardern will return to Christchurch to participate in the prayer service today, after yesterday announcing sweeping changes to New Zealand’s gun laws. | |
| Yesterday from Wellington, Ardern announced a ban on assault rifles and military-style semi-automatics. | |
| “I absolutely believe there will be a common view amongst New Zealanders, those who use guns for legitimate purposes, and those who have never touched one, that the time for the mass and easy availability of these weapons must end. And today they will,” said Ardern. | |
| Parts that are used to convert guns into military-style semi-automatics (MSSAs) have also being banned, along with high-capacity magazines and parts that cause a firearm to generate semi-automatic, automatic or close-to-automatic gunfire. | |
| “In short, every semi-automatic weapon used in the terrorist attack on Friday will be banned in this country,” said Ardern. | |
| The ban on the sale of the weapons came into effect at 3pm on Thursday – the time of the press conference announcing the ban – with the prime minister warning that “all sales should now cease” of the weapons. | |
| Ardern also directed officials to develop a gun-buyback scheme for those who already own such weapons. She said “fair and reasonable compensation” would be paid. | |
| Full story here. | |
| Two men who were injured in the shooting are sitting in the front row. Others are rushing forward to help them prepare and remove their shoes. @MsKateLyons pic.twitter.com/DSfUEmGane | |
| The crowd is getting really quite large now. Men’s and women’s prayer spaces behind the barriers up front, public space in the back. A number of shooting victims are here in wheelchairs. They are sitting in the front row. @MsKateLyons pic.twitter.com/JrgA5VW6G2 | |
| This is the big screen that will stream Jacinda Ardern’s remarks and the service to the crowd. I am rubbish at crowd numbers but there are officially an awful lot of people in the public section, with more still arriving. @MsKateLyons pic.twitter.com/QJFzLA7Xhm | |
| Many of those attending the service in Hagley Park have never visited a mosque before. | |
| Most non-Muslim women, from council workers to media to police officers, are wearing hijabs. Some have donned them just for the service while others are wearing their scarves all day in a mark of solidarity. | |
| “It is a mark of respect to show that we care,” says Sue. | |
| Christchurch is such a small city that even those outside the Muslim community, like Nicole, know some of those directly affected. | |
| “We are here to show respect and also to grieve,” she says. | |
| Judith Millar says she does not know anyone in Christchurch’s Muslim community but “as a member of the Christchurch community I feel deep empathy over what has occurred and to the people who have been affected.” | |
| Luul Ibrahim is among hundreds of people who have begun to gather at Hagley Park in Christchurch where a public service will be held to commemorate those killed in last Friday’s mosque shooting. | |
| Her brother, Mucad Ibrahim, 3, was the youngest person killed in the massacre. She moved to Perth from Christchurch in 2003, and says he died before she had a chance to meet him. | |
| “I wish I could have met him, but maybe one day I can meet him in heaven.” | |
| Ibrahim said she attended Masjid Al Noor, where 42 of the victims were killed, every week and knew most of those affected. She said Haji Mohammed Daoud Nabi, who opened the door of the mosque to the shooter and was praised by Jacinda Ardern in parliament, was like “an uncle” to her and other children. | |
| “I consider him an uncle. He used to be the bus driver so he would pick us all up, drive us around, make jokes.” | |
| She said the public service on Friday “brings all religions together.” | |
| “It brings love, peace and harmony as well, it unites us.” | |
| Last night, more than 18,000 people attended a candlelit vigil for victims of the Christchurch terrorist attack in the New Zealand city of Dunedin, where the gunman lived for two years. | |
| Many of those in attendance at the Forsyth Barr Stadium, which is usually used for games of rugby and rock concerts, were students, who have been a constant presence outside the city’s sole mosque since last Friday, laying flowers and leaving notes of condolence. | |
| The students gathered before the vigil at the university campus before walking silently through the city’s streets to the stadium, joined by members of Dunedin’s Muslim community. | |
| Full story here. | |
| Thousands attend vigil in Dunedin for victims of Christchurch attack | |
| This is the area in Hagley Park where the service will be held. Already a few hundred people here, thousands are expected by 1pm. We are opposite Masjid Al Noor, which is still blocked off by police. Most women, whatever their faith, are in headscarves. pic.twitter.com/gDsCc3wH9y | This is the area in Hagley Park where the service will be held. Already a few hundred people here, thousands are expected by 1pm. We are opposite Masjid Al Noor, which is still blocked off by police. Most women, whatever their faith, are in headscarves. pic.twitter.com/gDsCc3wH9y |
| Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the events in Christchurch. | Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the events in Christchurch. |
| It is now a week since the shootings at the two mosque which killed 50 people. | It is now a week since the shootings at the two mosque which killed 50 people. |
| Today, Jacinda Ardern returns to Christchurch to observe the call to prayer at 1:30pm (in about an hour) in Hagley Park, near Al Noor mosque. | Today, Jacinda Ardern returns to Christchurch to observe the call to prayer at 1:30pm (in about an hour) in Hagley Park, near Al Noor mosque. |
| Thousands are expected to attend the service, and the call to prayer will be broadcast around the country on New Zealand television and radio. There will also be two minutes of silence held across the country, in a day of nationwide mourning. | Thousands are expected to attend the service, and the call to prayer will be broadcast around the country on New Zealand television and radio. There will also be two minutes of silence held across the country, in a day of nationwide mourning. |
| The observance comes the day after the government announced a ban on “military-style” semi-automatic firearms and high-capacity magazines like the weapons that were used in last Friday’s attacks. | The observance comes the day after the government announced a ban on “military-style” semi-automatic firearms and high-capacity magazines like the weapons that were used in last Friday’s attacks. |
| At least 42 people died at the Al Noor mosque and at least seven others at the nearby Linwood mosque after a white supremacist gunned them down. | At least 42 people died at the Al Noor mosque and at least seven others at the nearby Linwood mosque after a white supremacist gunned them down. |
| We will bring you news of this day without precedent in New Zealand, as it unfolds. My colleague Calla Wahlquist is on the ground in Christchurch, follow Calla and me on Twitter for updates or to get in touch to tell us how you are marking the day. | We will bring you news of this day without precedent in New Zealand, as it unfolds. My colleague Calla Wahlquist is on the ground in Christchurch, follow Calla and me on Twitter for updates or to get in touch to tell us how you are marking the day. |