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By Tom Balmforth and Dan Peleschuk, Reuters A car and buildings destroyed as the result of a drone attack in Mykolaiv, Ukraine. Photo: Supplied / Ukrainian Emergency Service Russia stages first big missile attack since August Severe damage to power system reported as winter sets in Attack piles pressure on Ukraine at critical juncture Attack prompted Poland to scramble its air force Russia unleashed its largest wave of airstrikes on Ukraine in almost three months on Sunday, firing 120 missiles and 90 drones in a sweeping attack that killed at least seven people and caused "severe damage" to the power system, officials said. Ukrainians have been bracing for weeks for an attack on the hobbled energy system, fearing crippling damage that would cause long blackouts as winter sets in...

NZ Prime Minister Christopher Luxon meets with China's President, Xi Jinping in Lima. Photo: Pool / Chris Skelton Analysis - Consider China an 'opportunity and partner rather than a challenge or threat' - that was the message Xi Jinping delivered to Christopher Luxon at their face-to-face meeting, according to Chinese state-run media. It's an insight into how China is pitching itself to the Asia-Pacific region and beyond as threats of worldwide tariffs from the incoming Donald Trump Administration put small trade-dependent economies on edge. While the prime minister said Trump's promised tariffs weren't specifically raised with him in any of his roughly a dozen bilaterals and pull-asides on the margins of the APEC Summit in Peru, he did say increasing protectionism and the breakdown of ...

Podcaster Joe Rogan and President-elect Donald Trump pose for a photo during the UFC 309 event at Madison Square Garden on 16 November 2024 in New York City. Photo: SARAH STIER Dominant left-wing cultural values are ceding ground online to right wing ideologies, Times columnist James Marriott says. Speaking to Sunday Morning Marriott - who is also a book reviewer - said the rise of podcasters such as Joe Rogan and Theo Von was a sign of a potential shift away from the ostensibly dominant "overwhelmingly liberal" arts and cultural sphere. "This new popular culture that is more right wing... has become apparent to us in the aftermath of the election of Donald Trump, who, as part of his election campaign, went on an awful lot of right-wing podcasts," he said. "I think this was pretty impor...

By Adam Plowright, AFP Pete Hegseth is president-elect Donald Trump's nominee for defence secretary. Photo: Getty Images / Brett Carlsen Facing questions about an alleged sexual assault and medieval-themed tattoos linked to extremist groups, Donald Trump's defence secretary nominee Pete Hegseth would struggle to be confirmed for the job under normal circumstances. But these are not normal times in Washington. Hegseth, a Fox News host, was picked by Trump on Tuesday in one of several nominations that wrong-footed even some in his remodeled Republican Party and threw down a challenge to the Senate. To take up the position as head of the Pentagon and oversee 3.4 million employees, Hegseth will require confirmation from the upper house - and Trump is publicly pressuring lawmakers to show...

By Gloria Dickie, Reuters Photo: Biosphoto / Vincent Premel Methane emissions rose faster in past five years than any other period on record Tropics identified as main source of methane surge, driven by wetlands Methane cuts beyond 30 percent pledge may be needed to meet climate goals, scientists warn The world's warming tropical wetlands are releasing more methane than ever before, research shows - an alarming sign that the world's climate goals are slipping further out of reach. A massive surge in wetlands methane - unaccounted for by national emissions plans and undercounted in scientific models - could raise the pressure on governments to make deeper cuts from their fossil fuel and agriculture industries, according to researchers. Wetlands hold huge stores of carbon in the fo...

By Lucia Stein and Rebecca Armitage, ABC News Britain's Prince William, Prince of Wales, visits the Earthshot Prize Climate Leaders Youth Programme at Rooftop on Bree in Cape Town. Photo: GIANLUIGI GUERCIA / POOL / AFP After a "brutal" year of family health battles, Prince William has used a recent trip abroad to lay out his vision for his future reign. The Prince of Wales was in South Africa to deliver five awards as part of his environmental foundation, The Earthshot Prize, when he unveiled his grand plans for the House of Windsor in a surprisingly candid interview. Dressed casually and sporting a grown-out beard from the summer, the 42-year-old said he hoped to use his role to "do things differently" for a younger generation. "To give you more of an understanding around it, I'm do...