Monday, March 9

Blog

US election updates : Kamala Harris gives final major speech
World News

US election updates : Kamala Harris gives final major speech

The latest polls have vice president Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump even in the critical southwest states of Arizona and Nevada. At 12.30pm on Wednesday (NZT), Harris gave her final speech on the Ellipse - the patch of park where Trump rallied his supporters on 6 January 2021, within view of the White House. Trump is still working to distance himself from the controversial Madison Square Gardens rally insisting he is "the opposite of a Nazi". Keep up to date with the latest US election coverage here: Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday. Source link
Former SAS soldier Jamie Pennell on Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan
World News

Former SAS soldier Jamie Pennell on Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan

In the latest episode of 30' with Guyon Espiner, former SAS soldier Jamie Pennell opens up on his thoughts on the Taliban returning to power after the US military withdrawal in 2021, and how he's still surprised to be alive. A rooftop firefight during the 2011 siege of the Kabul Intercontinental Hotel became a defining moment of New Zealand's role in the US-led war in Afghanistan. It was also a defining moment in Jamie Pennell's life. NZSAS operatives, coordinating with Afghan Crisis Response Unit personnel, were instrumental in clearing the building and rescuing civilians trapped inside, after Taliban insurgents attacked the hotel and began killing hostages. Pennell, who was among the SAS soldiers who battled their way to the top of the building, received the Gallantry Star for his leadin...
Several bodies found as flash floods sweep cars through streets in Spain | World News
Business

Several bodies found as flash floods sweep cars through streets in Spain | World News

Several bodies have been found in Spain's Valencia region after flash floods struck eastern and southern parts of the country.Torrential rains caused by a cold front flooded roads and towns on Tuesday, resulting in cars being swept through streets, a train being derailed and damaged houses and buildings. The exact number of people killed has not been disclosed by authorities in Valencia. Image: A man looks on at the destruction caused by the flash floods in Malaga province. Pic: AP Image: Cars are swept away by the water in Alora, Malaga province. Pic: AP Image: Pic: AP Earlier, the natio...
Australia to ramp up missile production as Indo Pacific enters new missile age
World News

Australia to ramp up missile production as Indo Pacific enters new missile age

By Kirsty Needham Australia's Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy (left) speaking in Honiara on 7 August 2022. File picture. Photo: AFP / Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade / Dion Isaacson Australia says it will establish domestic manufacture of artillery ammunition with France's Thales, and guided rocket systems with Lockheed Martin, to boost its weapons stockpiles and export to security partners including the United States. Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy said in a speech on Wednesday that Australia was boosting its missile defence and long-range strike capability. "Why do we need more missiles? Strategic competition between the United States and China is a primary feature of Australia's security environment," he told the National Press Club in Canber...
Exercising on weekends only may cut risk of mental decline, study shows | UK News
Business

Exercising on weekends only may cut risk of mental decline, study shows | UK News

Exercising at the weekends only may be just as beneficial for slowing mental decline as working out throughout the week, researchers have said.A study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that exercising on just one or two days was more effective at reducing the risk of mild dementia than more regular workouts. It adds to a growing body of evidence that it is not when you exercise, but the fact you are doing it, that improves health.A separate study published last month found that being a weekend exercise "warrior" cuts the risk of developing more than 200 diseases ranging from high blood pressure and diabetes to mood disorders and kidney disease.The latest study concluded: "The weekend warrior physical activity pattern may be a more convenient option for busy people around the ...
Several bodies found in flood-hit areas of southeast Spain
World News

Several bodies found in flood-hit areas of southeast Spain

By Emma Pinedo and David Latona A flooded street in Alora, near Malaga, on 29 October, 2024, after heavy rain hit southern Spain. Photo: AFP An unspecified number of bodies have been found in areas hit by flash flooding in southeastern Spain, the leader of the Valencia region told reporters early on Wednesday. Torrential rains caused by a cold front moving across southeastern Spain flooding roads and towns on Tuesday, prompting authorities in the worst-hit areas to advise citizens to stay at home and avoid all non-essential travel. "Dead bodies have been found, but out of respect for the families, we are not going to provide any further data," said the regional leader of Valencia Carlos Mazon. Spain's state weather agency AEMET declared a red alert in the eastern Valencia region, wi...
Harris warns of dangers of another Trump presidency, at Jan 6 speech site
World News

Harris warns of dangers of another Trump presidency, at Jan 6 speech site

By Jeff Mason and Steve Holland, Reuters US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris gestures as she arrives to speak on The Ellipse, just south of the White House. Photo: AFP Harris issues warning at site where Trump urged supporters to march on US Capitol in 2021 Campaign says over 75,000 gathered at event near White House Trump says New York rally where his allies made racist remarks was 'lovefest' Democrat Kamala Harris has warned the tens of thousands of people gathered in Washington at her biggest-ever rally that her Republican opponent Donald Trump was seeking unchecked power as their race for the White House enters its final week. Harris spoke on Tuesday evening to an outdoor rally estimated by her campaign to number more than 75,000 people, at ...
Oasis is cancelling reunion tour tickets sold by resellers
World News

Oasis is cancelling reunion tour tickets sold by resellers

By John Towfighi, CNN A photograph taken on 2 September 2024 shows a mural created by artist Scott Wilcock aka Snow Graffiti, depicting Liam Gallagher (L) and Noel Gallagher (R) members of the British rock band Oasis, and painted outside the pub Whitefield, near Heaton Park, in Manchester, northern England. Photo: AFP / PAUL ELLIS Oasis is cancelling around 50,000 tickets for its British tour dates that were resold on secondary websites like StubHub and Viagogo. The band's tour promoters are cancelling tickets resold through unofficial secondary sites to stop price gouging, a spokesperson for Live Nation and SJM, the Oasis tour promoters, told CNN. Oasis fans are the latest to deal with the issue of ticket scalpers, who purchase tickets at face value and resell them for profit. The p...
Alberta applying for judicial review of ‘unfair’ federal carbon price heating oil exemption
Politics

Alberta applying for judicial review of ‘unfair’ federal carbon price heating oil exemption

Premier Danielle Smith says Alberta has applied for a judicial review of Ottawa’s exemption of the carbon levy on home heating oil. At a Tuesday announcement, Smith said it is “blatantly” unfair to Albertans who rely on natural gas to heat their homes, and relief can’t wait with cold winter weather coming.Justice Minister Mickey Amery said it took about a year for the province to assemble its legal argument and he expects it will take another year to work its way through Federal Court.The province is asking the court to declare the exemption both unconstitutional and unlawful in hopes of seeing the carbon levy axed altogether.“The federal carbon tax has always been unfair, but the selective way it’s being applied now is also unconstitutional, and the impacts on Albertans will only get wors...
Gaza situation ‘disastrous’ and Israel ban on aid agency UNRWA ‘extremely worrying’ – UN peacekeeping chief | World News
Business

Gaza situation ‘disastrous’ and Israel ban on aid agency UNRWA ‘extremely worrying’ – UN peacekeeping chief | World News

Israel's decision to ban the main aid agency providing most of the humanitarian relief in Gaza is "extremely worrying", says the United Nations' peacekeeping chief.Jean-Pierre Lacroix told Sky News' The World With Yalda Hakim that UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) is "absolutely essential" to the delivery of such assistance to Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, where access is controlled by Israel. More than a year into the war which was sparked by Hamas's massacre in southern Israel on 7 October last year, the population in Gaza is in a "disastrous situation", he said.Latest updates: Israel warns new Hezbollah leaderThe Israeli parliament's decision on Monday to vote to ban the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, citing the alleged role of some local staff in the attack,...