
New Zealand mountain is granted personhood, recognizing it as sacred for Maori
Voice of America
FILE - A man takes a picture of his wife with Taranaki Maunga, previously known as Mount Taranaki, in the background in New Plymouth, New Zealand, Sept. 26, 2011. FILE - New Zealand's Taranaki Maunga, previously known as Mount Taranaki, has a warm glow lighting the snow peak, June 12, 2011.
A mountain in New Zealand considered an ancestor by Indigenous people was recognized as a legal person on Thursday after a new law granted it all the rights and responsibilities of a human being.

Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, right, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, center, and Canada's Foreign Minister Melanie Joly attend the G7 foreign ministers meeting in Charlevoix, Quebec, March 13, 2025. Ministers representing, from left, Japan, Britain, France, Canada, U.S. Germany and Italy post for a photo during the G7 foreign ministers meeting in Charlevoix, Quebec, March 13, 2025.

Rohingya refugees gather to collect relief materials from a distribution point in the Kutupalong Refugee Camp in Ukhia in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar district on March 6, 2025. FILE - United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks with the media in Brussels, March 21, 2024. FILE - A Rohingya boy carries a relief supply package with the USAID logo on it, at a refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, Feb. 11, 2025.