Thursday, March 5

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Elon Musk promises to award $1.65m each day to a signer of his petition
World News

Elon Musk promises to award $1.65m each day to a signer of his petition

By Jarrett Renshaw, Reuters Elon Musk is backing Republican candidate Donald Trump in the presidential election. Photo: JIM WATSON / AFP Musk awards first US$1 million (NZ$1.65m) to event attendee He has given $75 million to America PAC to support Trump America PAC is helping to mobilise, register voters Billionaire Elon Musk has promised to give away US$1 million (NZ$1.65m) each day until November's election to someone who signs his online petition supporting the US Constitution. And he wasted no time on Saturday (local time), awarding a $1 million check to an attendee of his event in Pennsylvania aimed at rallying supporters behind Republican Donald Trump. The winner was a man named John Dreher, according to event staff. "By the way, John had no idea. So anyway, you're welcome...
‘At least 73 killed’ in strike on Gaza town, medics say – as Israel says drone launched at Netanyahu’s house | World News
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‘At least 73 killed’ in strike on Gaza town, medics say – as Israel says drone launched at Netanyahu’s house | World News

An Israeli airstrike that hit several houses and a multi-storey residential building in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya has killed at least 73 people, according to medics and Hamas-run media outlets.However, the Israeli military accused Hamas-affiliated organisations of "exaggerating" the number of dead, adding that the strike was directed at a Hamas target."This is a war of genocide and ethnic cleansing," the Hamas media office said. "The occupation has conducted a horrifying massacre in Beit Lahiya." Image: Medics and Hamas-run media outlets say at least 73 people were killed Image: Dozens were also injured in the strike Health officials said ongoi...
Gaza rescuers say at least 73 killed in Israel strike in territory’s north
World News

Gaza rescuers say at least 73 killed in Israel strike in territory’s north

Displaced Palestinians, ordered by the Israeli army to leave the school in Beit Lahia where they were sheltered, arrive in Gaza City on 19 October. Photo: MAHMOUD ISSA / AFP Gaza's civil defence agency said Sunday that an Israeli air strike on a residential area killed at least 73 Palestinians in Beit Lahia in the territory's north. Israel said it struck a "Hamas terror target". "Our civil defence crews recovered 73 martyrs and a large number of wounded as a result of the Israeli air force targeting a residential area... in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza," Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for the civil defence agency told AFP. "There are still martyrs under the rubble," he added. Bassal said residences of several families had been hit in the strike, which happened late on Saturday. Gaza government...
Dad of baby girl who died in the Channel says ‘she slipped from my hand’ | World News
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Dad of baby girl who died in the Channel says ‘she slipped from my hand’ | World News

The father of a baby girl killed in the English Channel says he fought desperately to hold on to her, but she slipped from his hands as people piled on to him and into the water when their dinghy capsized.Maryam Bahez is thought to have been born on her family's journey from Iraqi Kurdistan, as they travelled through Europe in the hope of making it to Britain.She was just 40 days old when her parents and their two older sons climbed into an overcrowded vessel in Wissant, France on Thursday night and set off for England.They wrapped the infant in a black bin bag, to try to keep her dry. But, barely 100m into the journey, the dinghy started to take on water, her father Aras told Sky News. Image: Maryam was just 40 days old "Our...
HMNZS Manawanui: ‘Challenging’ salvage efforts underway after Navy ship sank
World News

HMNZS Manawanui: ‘Challenging’ salvage efforts underway after Navy ship sank

By Susana Lei'ataua in Apia, Samoa The NZDF base off Upolo, near where the Manawanui sank. Photo: RNZ / Louise Ternouth An insurance surveyor has completed their work on the HMNZS Manawanui, which sank two weeks ago off the south coast of Upolo, Samoa. Samoa's Marine Pollution Advisory Committee said a contractor would now be selected to remove the remaining fuel from the vessel. The New Zealand Navy ship was carrying 950 tonnes -- the equivalent of 950,000 litres - of fuel when it ran aground on the Tafitoala Reef on 6 October and sank the following day. Committee chair Fui Tupai Mau Simanu said salvaging the fuel was expected to start in mid-November and take about 20 days, depending on the weather. The committee reported up to 200,000 litres of diesel leaked from three places on t...
Meet the people driving billions of dollars in deals for Formula 1
Business

Meet the people driving billions of dollars in deals for Formula 1

CNBC introduces you to the characters driving billions of dollars in deals off the F1 circuit, in the first of episode of this season of 'Inside Track: The Business of Formula 1.'In the high-octane world of Formula One, success is driven by more than just talented drivers and engineers. F1's dealmakers have brokered billions of dollars in revenue off the circuit, generating cash from several places, including media rights, ticket sales, merchandising and sponsorship."Racing today is not enough. Our main source of success is because we are able to connect with our fans, understanding that we are a worldwide business," said Stefano Domenicali, Formula One Group CEO, in an interview with CNBC's Inside Track: The Business of Formula 1.In fact, it was a major deal — Liberty Media's acquisition ...
King Charles attends Sydney church in first appearance of Australian tour
World News

King Charles attends Sydney church in first appearance of Australian tour

By Laura Chung, AFP King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrive to attend a Sunday morning service at St Thomas' Anglican Church in Sydney on 20 October. Photo: Dean Lewins / POOL / AFP King Charles III attended church Sunday as he began an Australian tour in earnest, giving antipodean admirers the first glimpse of their reigning monarch. The 75-year-old sovereign arrived in Sydney late on Friday evening, but had kept a low profile as he balances cancer recovery with royal duties. His first official public appearance was a Sunday morning service at St Thomas' Anglican Church in northern Sydney, a stone edifice built as a place of worship for British colonial settlers. A number of prominent British colonists are buried in the church's graveyard nearby, including Edward Wollstonecraft - ...
Funeral home in Poland apologises after corpse falls out of a hearse and into traffic | World News
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Funeral home in Poland apologises after corpse falls out of a hearse and into traffic | World News

A funeral home in Poland has apologised after a corpse fell out of a hearse and into traffic. Hades Funeral Service, the company transporting the body in Stalowa Wola, southeastern Poland, blamed the incident on "an unexpected technical failure" of the vehicle's lock. They apologised to "all those who were disappointed and upset by this event"."It is with deep regret that we inform you that as a result of an unexpected technical failure of the electric tailgate lock in the hearse, during the transport of the body of the deceased, an unfortunate event occurred which does not reflect the high standards of our company," the company wrote in a statement posted on its website."Our deep empathy towards the families of the deceased, and the respect we always show to the deceased." Polish media re...
At least 7 dead in Georgia dock collapse on US Atlantic coast
World News

At least 7 dead in Georgia dock collapse on US Atlantic coast

Photo: AFP / Andri Tambunan At least seven people were killed after part of a boat dock collapsed, sending at least 20 into the Atlantic waters off the coast of the US state of Georgia. US Coast Guard ships were searching Saturday night for missing people. The accident, which also caused multiple injuries, happened during a celebration of Sapelo Island's tiny Gullah-Geechee community of Black slave descendants, authorities said. A gangway that was crowded with people waiting for a ferryboat collapsed late Saturday afternoon local time on the Georgia barrier island about 97 km south of Savannah, said Tyler Jones, a spokesperson for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, which runs the ferry. "We and multiple agencies are searching for survivors," Jones said. Coast Guard helicopters ...
Moldovans head to the polls for presidential election and EU referendum | World News
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Moldovans head to the polls for presidential election and EU referendum | World News

Moldovans head to the polls today in a vote which could decide if the country moves closer to Europe or back towards Russia.Just over a million people are eligible to participate in both a presidential election and a referendum on joining the EU. The referendum asks people to vote yes or no on enshrining the aim of EU membership in the country's constitution.One of the poorest countries in Europe, Moldova applied to join the EU after Russia invaded Ukraine.Moscow isn't keen to give up influence in the former soviet state strategically positioned next to Ukraine and the Black Sea. Russia has nearly 1,500 troops stationed in Transnistria, a region run by pro-Russian separatists who broke away from the control of the Chisinau government in a brief war in the 1990s.Read more: Moldovans divided...