New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern saying she will make

[Flogger]

Hello,

I don't understand why "saying" instead of "said" has been used in the below paragraph?

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern saying she will make the nearly 24-hour journey and her Canadian and Australian counterparts, Justin Trudeau and Anthony Albanese, have also confirmed their presence.

'You could hear a pin drop': Mourners reveal 'breathtaking' atmosphere after paying respects to the Queen at Parliament

 

[Lycidas]

It seems to me that there was a typo: "saying" was surely intended to be "is saying." She is saying she will make the journey, and they've confirmed their presence.

(A comma would also be helpful after "journey," so that the beginning of the second independent clause is not briefly mistaken for a second direct object of "make.")

 

[Tarheel]

Hello,

I don't understand why "saying" instead of "said" has been used in the below paragraph.

You could make that a question thusly:

"Why is "saying" instead of "said" used there?