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By Richard Cowan, Andy Sullivan, Katharine Jackson and Bo Erickson, Reuters Photo: AFP / Jim Watson Republicans in the US Congress huddled to find a path forward after President-elect Donald Trump rejected a bipartisan deal to avert a partial government shutdown and demanded lawmakers abolish the nation's debt ceiling. Unless a deal passes the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and Democratic-majority Senate, the US government will begin a partial shutdown on Saturday (Sunday NZT) that would interrupt funding for everything from air travel to law enforcement in the days leading up to Christmas and cut off paychecks for more than 2 million federal workers. Many government operations, such as Social Security retirement payments, would continue. Trump dug in his heels, sayi...

Paris 2024 Olympic Games - Cycling Road Photo: PHOTOSPORT The Summer Olympics returned to Europe for the first time in 12 years as Paris hosted a sumptuous visual event that hogged the global spotlight for weeks and reinvigorated the brand after the previous two Games had been hit by the pandemic. The International Olympic Committee had not seen fans in their last Summer and Winter Games -- at Tokyo in 2021 and a year later in Beijing -- due to Covid and it desperately needed Paris to be a hit for a much-needed image and revenue boost. The Olympic body had been under pressure from sponsors and broadcasters and could barely afford another miss but as it turned out France delivered a spectacular extravaganza, complete with the city's landmarks as venues and gripping competition. Local her...

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...