‘Reaffirming Commitment to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention for the Protection of Civilians’ during the 2026 Protection of Civilians Week

On 21 May 2026, the Permanent Mission of Norway to the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) co-organized a side event on the margins of the 2026 Protection of Civilians Week on “Reaffirming commitment to Read More …

NZDF championed top-level home-made explosive detection exercise for NZ Government and coalition partners

There’s everything at stake for Wella, a six-year-old black labrador. She’s an Explosive Detector Dog (EDD) with 2nd Field Squadron, 2 Engineer Regiment, Royal New Zealand Engineers, under the direction of Lance Corporal Henry Wallace. She seems barely aware of Read More …

New Zealand: Southland man tried to dispose of the explosives that caused his death

A Southland man died trying to destroy old commercial explosives that he had not been able to safely dispose of elsewhere, a coroner has found. Donald Woodford tried to return the Powergel to the manufacturer and then hand it to Read More …

Deadly threat of unexploded bombs in the Pacific persists 80 years on

This year is the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, but in some countries, the trail of death and destruction continues. Bombs, nearly a century old, are still exploding, killing and maiming people and contaminating land. Read More …

UNDP: 16 high-tech underwater drones to boost humanitarian demining in Ukraine

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine has handed over 16 hi-tech uncrewed underwater systems (UUS) to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SESU) and conducted an 8-day training course for SESU specialists on their use. This support was Read More …

New Zealand’s efforts bomb clearing in Laos

Southeast Asia’s Laos is the most heavily bombed country per capita – 80 million unexploded bombs (UXO) are scattered across the country. New Zealand has spent the last two decades helping to clear these hidden dangers. Writer Samantha Mythen has Read More …

NZDF dives into Solomon Islands explosives disposal work

Fourteen NZDF personnel have joined a multinational contingent in Solomon Islands to dispose of dangerous explosive remnants of war (ERW) under Operation Render Safe. The Australian Defence Force-led operation will see up to 250 personnel from Australia, Canada, Japan, New Read More …

Solomon Islands: US joins WWII UXO removal exercise

The United States (US) has joined a multinational team of experts from Canada, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand and the United Kingdom as part of “Operation Render Safe 2024.” The operation organized and led by the Australian Defense Force Read More …

RNZN to undertake historic survey and submerged WWII bomb disposal in Pacific Islands mission

Operation Calypso will involve the 70-strong Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) crew carrying out maritime security patrols, hydrographic surveys and community engagement activities during visits to Niue, Fiji and Vanuatu. While in Niue, HMNZS Manawanui will take seven people from Read More …

New Zealand: Video shows bumbling would-be bank robbers’ attempt to blow up an ANZ cash machine

The moment two bumbling would-be bank robbers used homemade explosives to blow their way into a Hamilton ATM can now be shown for the first time. CCTV footage of the unsolved August 2020 pipe bomb attack clearly shows how two Read More …

New Zealand: Seven pipe bombs, two suspects and zero leads in Hamilton attack

The pair behind a pipe-bomb attack on a money machine that left shrapnel holes in a suburban New Zealand mall and unexploded devices laying about appear to have got away with it. In the last decade 26 New Zealanders have Read More …

American Explosive Ordnance Disposal Soldiers participate in multinational exercise in Canada

CANADIAN FORCES BASE BORDEN, Ontario, Canada – U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians are participating in a multinational counter explosive threat exercise at Canadian Forces Base Borden, Ontario, Canada, Sept. 18 – Oct. 4. During Exercise Ardent Defender, American Soldiers Read More …

New Zealand: Loud bang heard as police, Defence Force investigate ‘item of concern’

Witnesses have described hearing a loud bang as police and the New Zealand Defence Force dealt with a suspicious item in Palmerston North. Police officers closed a section of Pioneer Highway, between Shamrock and Lyndhurst streets, in Palmerston North on Read More …

On the 3rd anniversary of the Christchurch attack, the Ukraine crisis asks the West to rethink its definitions of terrorism

As the Russian invasion unfolds, a deep vein of Ukrainian nationalism – already irritated by the annexation of Crimea and a Russian-backed insurgency in the Donbas region – has been unleashed. Ordinary civilians have called themselves to arms, vowed to Read More …

NZ Defence Force finishes clearance of Afghanistan firing ranges, finds more than 1000 explosives

The Defence Force has completed the clearance of its former firing ranges in Bamyan, Afghanistan, an effort that began after a Stuff Circuit investigated uncovered civilian casualties. More than 1000 unexploded ordnance and explosive war remnants were found and destroyed. Read More …

Women who did dangerous work for New Zealand in Afghanistan are now threatened by the Taliban

Back in 2018, when the world was a different place, “A” made what would become a life-defining decision. From her home in Bamiyan, central Afghanistan, soon after graduating from university, she signed up for a team which was breaking gender Read More …

New Zealand: Three years in prison for fake bomb maker

An airport security officer who planted a fake bomb was “cruel” in executing his plan two days after the Christchurch mosque attacks, a judge said. Preetam Prakash Maid (32) appeared in the Dunedin District Court for sentence yesterday and was Read More …

Why explosive hazard clearance in Iraq matters in New Zealand

Even as the world struggles to put the worst of the Covid-19 crisis behind us, its lessons for global problem-solving remain to be applied elsewhere. What has Covid-19 proven so far? Arguably, given talent and money available, in time, medical Read More …

New Zealand: Seven homemade pipe bombs were seized by police

Police say two suspects were seen on CCTV at the Chartwell Shopping Centre at around 2.30am today, placing the homemade explosives in groups by the ATM. One detonated and one partially detonated, but five others didn’t detonate at all, police Read More …