A New Zealand soldier admits attempted espionage in the country's first spying conviction

An inquiry into New Zealand’s worst mass shooting will examine — among other issues — the response times of police and medics and whether any of the 51 people who were killed could have been saved.

The man who slaughtered 51 Muslim worshippers during the deadliest mass shooting in New Zealand’s history is appealing his conviction and sentence.

Shortly before police say he opened fire, the white gunman accused of killing 10 Black people at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket allowed a small group of people to see his long-simmering plans for the attack, which he had been chronicling for months in a private, online diary.

A survivor of the New Zealand mosque shootings three years ago says extremists should see that the violence that day achieved none of the gunman's aims.

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden have traveled to Buffalo, New York, to show solidarity with the community after a white supremacist targeted Black people at a supermarket and left 10 people dead.

President Joe Biden mourned with Buffalo’s grieving families on Tuesday, then exhorted the nation to reject what he angrily labeled the poison of white supremacy.

The lingering injuries from being shot nine times did not stop Temel Atacocugu from completing a two-week walk and bike ride for peace on the third anniversary of a gunman’s slaughter of 51 Muslim worshippers.

Two Muslim worshippers who at different times charged toward a gunman to try and stop his massacre have each been awarded New Zealand’s highest honor for civilian bravery.

A lawyer for the gunman who killed 51 worshippers at two New Zealand mosques says his client is considering appealing his convictions and prison sentence.

The leaders of New Zealand and Australia have minimized their differences over China and urged more investigation into the origin of the coronavirus after their first face-to-face meeting in more than a year.

Temel Atacocugu, right, who survived being shot nine times during the attack on the Al Noor mosque, cries as he speaks at a National Remembrance Service, Saturday, March 13, 2021, in Christchurch, New Zealand. The service marks the second anniversary of a shooting massacre in which 51 worshippers were killed at two Christchurch mosques by a white supremacist. (Kai Schwoerer/Pool via AP)WELLINGTON – New Zealand on Saturday marked the second anniversary of one of its most traumatic days, when 51 worshippers were killed at two Christchurch mosques by a white supremacist gunman. Several hundred people gathered at the Christchurch Arena for the remembrance service, which was also livestreamed. After the attacks, New Zealand quickly passed new laws banning the deadliest types of semiautomatic weapons.

Among 44 recommendations, the report released Tuesday says the government should establish a new national intelligence agency. It says that New Zealand’s intelligence agencies were far too focused on the threat posed by Islamic extremism at the expense of other threats including white supremacism. New Zealand currently has one intelligence agency that focuses on domestic threats and one that focuses on international threats. Tarrant told investigators that although he frequented extreme right-wing discussion boards on websites like 4chan and 8chan, he found YouTube a far more significant source of information and inspiration. Despite the shortcomings of various agencies, the report concludes, there was no plausible way Tarrant's plans could have been detected "except by chance.”

Mosque shooting survivors from left, Mustafa Boztas, Wassail Daragmih and Temel Atacocugu celebrate as they leave the Christchurch High Court after the sentencing hearing for Australian Brenton Harrison Tarrant, in Christchurch, New Zealand, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020. Tarrant, a white supremacist who killed 51 worshippers at two New Zealand mosques in March 2019 was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Tarrant, a white supremacist who killed 51 worshippers at two New Zealand mosques in March 2019 was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. During the four-day sentencing hearing, 90 survivors and family members recounted the horror of that day and the trauma they continue to feel. One of those who spoke was Temel Atacocugu, who survived being shot nine times during the attack at the Al Noor mosque. A standby lawyer appointed by the court told the judge that Tarrant did not oppose the maximum sentence. The sentencing hearing gave survivors and family members a chance to confront the gunman.

Australian Brenton Harrison Tarrant, 29, sits in the dock on day three at the Christchurch High Court for sentencing after pleading guilty to 51 counts of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder and one count of terrorism in Christchurch, New Zealand, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020. More than 60 survivors and family members will confront the New Zealand mosque gunman this week when he appears in court to be sentenced for his crimes in the worst atrocity in the nation's modern history. (John Kirk-Anderson/Pool Photo via AP)

(John Kirk-Anderson/Pool Photo via AP)CHRISTCHURCH 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. My baba's voice.Qasem spoke on the third day of a four-day sentencing hearing for Brenton Harrison Tarrant, who carried out the attacks during Friday prayers in March 2019. The 29-year-old Australian has pleaded guilty to murder, attempted murder, and terrorism. The boy's father said his son loved playing in the mosque and made friends with all the worshippers, young and old. Your atrocity and hatred did not turn out the way you expected, the father said in the statement.

Mirwais Waziri gestures during the sentencing hearing for Australian Brenton Harrison Tarrant at the Christchurch High Court after Tarrant pleaded guilty to 51 counts of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder and one count of terrorism in Christchurch, New Zealand, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020. More than 60 survivors and family members will confront the New Zealand mosque gunman this week when he appears in court to be sentenced for his crimes in the worst atrocity in the nation's modern history. (John Kirk-Anderson/Pool Photo via AP)

More than 60 survivors and family members will confront the New Zealand mosque gunman this week when he appears in court to be sentenced for his crimes in the worst atrocity in the nation's modern history. 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. The 29-year-old Australian gunman in March pleaded guilty to murder, attempted murder, and terrorism, reversing an earlier not guilty plea. He could become the first person in New Zealand to be sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, the toughest sentence available. He can choose to speak once the survivors have spoken, although the judge will likely shut down any attempts he makes to grandstand.

Twenty-nine-year-old Australian Brenton Harrison Tarrant stands in the dock at the Christchurch High Court for sentencing after pleading guilty to 51 counts of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder and one count of terrorism in Christchurch, New Zealand, Monday, Aug. 24, 2020. More than 60 survivors and family members will confront the New Zealand mosque gunman this week when he appears in court to be sentenced for his crimes in the worst atrocity in the nation's modern history. (John Kirk-Anderson/Pool Photo via AP)

FILE - In this July 30, 2019, file photo, Aya Al-Umari, whose brother Hussein was killed in the Christchurch mosque attacks, poses, holding a photo of herself and her brother, in Christchurch, New Zealand. Al-Umari is one of more than 60 survivors and family members who this week in court will confront the white supremacist who committed the worst atrocity in New Zealands modern history, when he slaughtered 51 worshippers at two Christchurch mosques in March 2019. The four-day sentencing starts on Monday, Aug. 24, 2020. (AP Photo/Nick Perry, File)

FILE - In this March 26, 2020, file image made from video, Brenton Harrison Tarrant appears in a screen via video link in Christchurch, New Zealand. The man who has admitting killing 51 worshippers in a mass shooting at two mosques in Christchurch on March 15, 2019 has dismissed his legal team and will represent himself at a sentencing hearing next month. Tarrants sentencing hearing, delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, will begin in Christchurch on Aug. (TVNZ Pool via AP, File)

WELLINGTON The Australian white supremacist who admitting killing 51 worshippers in a mass shooting at two New Zealand mosques has dismissed his lawyers and will represent himself when he is sentenced next month. His sentencing hearing, delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, is scheduled to begin in Christchurch on Aug. 24 and could last more than three days. The date was confirmed at a High Court session in Christchurch on Monday that was attended by some shooting survivors. They told the court they had been instructed by Tarrant to withdraw as he wishes to exercise his right to represent himself. The attacks targeting people praying at the mosques shocked New Zealand, where new laws were quickly approved banning the deadliest types of semi-automatic weapons.

The "OK" hand gesture is now a hate symbol, according to a new report by the Anti-Defamation League. NEW YORK - The "OK" hand gesture is now a hate symbol, according to a new report by the Anti-Defamation League. The ADL added that symbol along with several others on Thursday to its long-standing database of slogans and symbols used by extremists. The finger-and-thumb OK sign is universally known for meaning everything is all right or approval of something. Tarrant was pictured using the OK symbol during a courtroom appearance soon after his arrest.

(CNN) - New Zealand's prison authority has acknowledged it made a mistake in allowing the alleged Christchurch mosque attacker to send a letter, which then surfaced on 4chan, an online message board known for hosting the views of white supremacists. "I have no concern about myself and I only worry for Europe's future," Tarrant wrote. The letter was sent to an address in Russia, a country which Tarrant also wrote at length about, before it was posted to 4chan. "We have made changes to the management of this prisoner's mail to ensure that our robust processes are as effective as we need them to be." Tarrant is accused of carrying out the March 15 attacks on two Christchurch mosques, in which 51 people were killed.