Friday, December 26

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Winston Peters announces new sanctions against Russia
World News

Winston Peters announces new sanctions against Russia

Foreign Minister Winston Peters. Photo: RNZ / REECE BAKER Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced new chemical weapons and missiles sanctions against Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine. "These new sanctions respond to recent findings by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons that illegal Riot Control Agents are being used on the frontlines in Ukraine," Peters said in a statement. "This is in line with reports that we have been hearing throughout the year that Russia is using chemical weapons on the battlefield in clear breach of the Chemical Weapons Convention." The new sanctions package also targets Iranians involved in the supply of ballistic missiles and drones to Russia, as well as Russians facilitating this trade. "New Zealand is part of a wider i...
Missing Canadian found after more than a month in icy wilderness
World News

Missing Canadian found after more than a month in icy wilderness

By Jennifer Hauser and Kia Fatahi, CNN Canadian hiker Sam Benastick was found alive after more than a month missing in the icy Canadian wilderness of British Columbia. Photo: Supplied/ Kamloops Search and Rescue It started out as a regular Tuesday morning for two men heading out on a trail for work in the backcountry of Canada's northeast British Columbia, when they spotted another man trudging out of the wilderness. They recognised him as the lost hiker Sam Benastick, who had been reported missing more than a month ago, on 19 October, according to the Northern Rockies Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). He was reportedly found on a service road, supporting himself with two walking sticks and a cut-up sleeping bag wrapped around his legs for warmth. Benastick was reported missing a...
The Mighty Boosh at 20: How the deranged cult hit captured an entire generation
World News

The Mighty Boosh at 20: How the deranged cult hit captured an entire generation

By ABC entertainment staff The Mighty Boosh, Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding Photo: Patrick Ford Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt's surrealist double act The Mighty Boosh was a gamble that ended up becoming a surprise TV hit. The comedy only ran for three seasons, from 2004 to 2007, but that was enough to garner a legion of obsessed fans who sold out a series of live The Mighty Boosh tour dates across the world. "I had people breaking into my flat to steal my clothes," Fielding recalled in a 2023 interview. "It was very rock and roll, which I quite liked, but upon reflection, it was bizarre." This year marks the 20th anniversary of the show's first broadcast, so there's never been a better time to look back at the unique cultural moment that was The Mighty Boosh's swift rise to cult...
Drake accuses record company of using bots to ‘artificially inflate’ Kendrick Lamar’s song ‘Not Like Us’ on Spotify
World News

Drake accuses record company of using bots to ‘artificially inflate’ Kendrick Lamar’s song ‘Not Like Us’ on Spotify

Drake accuses record company of using bots to ‘artificially inflate’ Kendrick Lamar’s song ‘Not Like Us’ on Spotify. Photo: CNN Newsource By Ally Rosenbloom, CNN Musician Drake alleges that Universal Music Group "conspired" to artificially boost Kendrick Lamar's searing diss track 'Not Like Us' on Spotify, according to a pre-action petition submitted to a New York court on Monday. According to a copy of the petition, obtained by CNN, the rapper claims that UMG "launched a campaign to manipulate and saturate the streaming services and airwaves" with Lamar's song "in order to make that song go viral, including by using 'bots' and pay-to-play agreements." The song, part of what has become a very public feud between Lamar and the 'Hotline Bling' rapper, debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100 when ...
Hezbollah vows to continue resistance despite ceasefire with Israel | World News
Business

Hezbollah vows to continue resistance despite ceasefire with Israel | World News

Hezbollah has vowed to continue its resistance to Israel after the ceasefire came into effect.Brokered by the US and France, the halt to fighting in Lebanon will see both Israeli and Hezbollah forces retreat. Its announcement was met by cheers on the streets of Lebanon, where people quickly began taking to the roads, streaming back to the war-ravaged south of the country.Cars and vans piled high with belongings snaked through parts of Lebanon, heading south.New data reveals impact of war on Lebanese civilians Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 3:20 ...
Trump administration picks targeted with bomb threats and intimidation
World News

Trump administration picks targeted with bomb threats and intimidation

By Tim Reid and Andrew Goudsward for Reuters Police had arrived at his home to tell him of the threat, Pete Hegseth says. Photo: Getty Images / Brett Carlsen Several of President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet and administration picks were targeted this week with actions including bomb threats and "swatting," a spokesperson for the transition team said on Wednesday. The threats were made on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, and law enforcement acted quickly to ensure the safety of those targeted, spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. Elise Stefanik, a Republican US representative and Trump's choice to be US ambassador to the United Nations, and Lee Zeldin, a former Republican congressman who is Trump's pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency, both said in separ...
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is denied bail for a third time
World News

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is denied bail for a third time

Photo: MARIA ALEJANDRA CARDONA/AFP By Kara Scannell, CNN Sean 'Diddy' Combs will remain in jail after a judge rejected his latest attempt for release while the rapper and music producer awaits trial on charges of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy. Judge Arun Subramanian denied Combs' team's motion for release on Wednesday. His decision followed a two-hour court hearing on Friday where he appeared to explore potential options and questioned prosecutors' allegation that Combs continued to obstruct the ongoing investigation. "The Court finds that the government has shown by clear and convincing evidence that no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the safety of the community," the judge wrote in a five-page order. CNN has reached out to representatives for...
A child beauty queen’s death, a botched investigation and decades of mystery: What we know about JonBenét Ramsey’s killing
World News

A child beauty queen’s death, a botched investigation and decades of mystery: What we know about JonBenét Ramsey’s killing

John and Patsy Ramsey, shown in May 1997, pleaded for the public's help in finding their daughter's killer. A $100,000 reward was established for information leading the the killer's arrest and conviction. Photo: CNN Newsource By Holly Yan and Jean Casarez, CNN Whoever duct-taped JonBenét Ramsey's mouth shut, bludgeoned the 6-year-old Colorado girl and strangled the child beauty queen in her own home has evaded capture for almost 28 years. Now, a new Netflix documentary series reexamines the gruesome December 1996 killing and suggests modern technology might help solve the homicide that has riveted and perplexed the country for decades. Cold Case: Who Killed JonBenét Ramsey features lengthy interviews with JonBenét's father and namesake, John Bennett Ramsey, who has lived under a cloud ...
How to avoid the four viruses known as the quaddemic
Life Style

How to avoid the four viruses known as the quaddemic

I’ve just recovered from a virus. A trifling one in the grand scheme of things, but I was nonetheless in bed for two solid days feeling sorry for myself. Between fever dreams, I scrolled on my phone for health advice. An insane thing to do while not quite sound of mind you may think – and you’d be right, because it was during one such session that I stumbled across the news of what’s being dubbed a quad-demic, aka what sounds like a hellish constellation: Covid-19, flu, norovirus, and respiratory syncytial virus (in layman’s terms: pretty much a cold). After that, I found myself down the rabbit’s hole. Apparently on the rise, Boots have launched a private RSV vaccination service to help reduce the likelihood of those most at risk, including the elderly and babies, from getting it. But what...
Three Americans freed in prisoner swap after spending years imprisoned in China | US News
Business

Three Americans freed in prisoner swap after spending years imprisoned in China | US News

Three American citizens who had been detained in China for years have been released, Sky's US partner network NBC News reports.Kai Li, Mark Swidan and John Leung will return to the US, reportedly after an agreement was reached as part of sensitive negotiations. It comes after Politico cited an unnamed US official claiming years-long attempts to free the trio have succeeded, in exchange for unidentified Chinese citizens in US custody."We are pleased to announce the release of Mark Swidan, Kai Li, and John Leung from detention in the People's Republic of China," a State Department spokesperson said."Soon they will return and be reunited with their families for the first time in many years. "Thanks to this administration's efforts and diplomacy with the PRC [People's Republic of China], all o...