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Rescue workers at the site of a crumpled building Port Vila after a 7.3 magnitude earthquake. Photo: AFP As the death toll from a massive earthquake climbs, search and rescue specialists in Vanuatu's Port Vila are still hopeful they can find survivors in multi-storey collapsed buildings. On Thursday night, Vanuatu's president said the police had put the death toll from the earthquake at about 16, with more than 200 people injured. New Zealand's Urban Search and Rescue team has been focussed on finding survivors in the Billabong building, which pancaked in Tuesday's 7.3 magnitude earthquake. The crew joined their Australian counterparts, who arrived 24 hours earlier. According to the ABC, they had pulled seven survivors from the rubble so far. Up to eight people were thought to be trappe...

By Julio-Cesar Chavez and Jonathan Allen, Reuters Luigi Mangione consented to surrender New York police officers when he appeared in court on Friday morning NZ time. Photo: CNN Newsource Suspect on way to Manhattan, waives right to extradition proceedings Defence lawyer says Mangione has been 'overcharged' Mangione faces 11-count indictment in New York, including murder as an act of terrorism New York Times reports Mangione would also face federal charges The suspect in the killing of UnitedHealth Group executive Brian Thompson was transferred into the New York Police Department custody on Thursday to face murder charges after he waived his right to extradition proceedings in a Pennsylvania court hearing. Luigi Mangione, 26, appeared in an orange jail jumpsuit at the Blair County ...

Katelyn Polantz and Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. Photo: AFP / Alex Slitz A Georgia Court of Appeals has disqualified Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from prosecuting the case against President-elect Donald Trump and his accused co-conspirators over alleged 2020 election subversion. The long-awaited decision, in a state criminal case against Trump that was already on hold, raises questions about whether the case can move forward in court. The appeals court found that Willis' office cannot prosecute the case, so a new special prosecutor would need to be appointed for the case to continue. The appeals court found that a "significant appearance of impropriety" was enough to potentially taint the case in the public eye. The appellate cour...

Local authorities have been working around the clock since Tuesday to try to locate and rescue people trapped in the rubble left by the magnitude 7.3 earthquake. December 2024 Photo: Vanuatu Police Force The search for people trapped in rubble and landslides is continuing today as the New Zealand Defence Force arrives in Port Vila. The Defence Force was delayed arriving into Vanuatu after a fault on one of the older Hercules plane. Labour said it was embarrassing, but a new Hercules plane has landed in Port Vila and a second is on the way to Noumea. More than 300 aftershocks have been felt since the big quake on Tuesday. And the official death toll was revised down to nine, though it was expected to rise. Two Chinese nationals were among the dead. Follow RNZ's liveblog for the latest u...