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People walk past the damaged Gaza City headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in February 2024. Photo: AFP An Israeli air strike on a single residential block killed nearly 100 people, Gaza's civil defence agency said, leaving rescuers scrambling through rubble for survivors as Israel pressed on with its offensives in Gaza and Lebanon. The latest bombing came as Israel faced a chorus of international criticism after its parliament voted overwhelmingly to ban UNRWA, the main United Nations aid agency working with Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Palestinian rescuers and desperate family members gathered round the demolished five-storey block in Beit Lahia in the north of Gaza. A charred body with long hair hung out of an upper-st...

Susan Cutforth moved to US 14 years ago and voted for Harris. Photo: Nick Monro/RNZ A New Zealander who has lived in the United States for 14 years says the election campaign is a "nightmare" and Donald Trump is a "fascist". Polls were showing Kamala Harris and Donald Trump were neck and neck in the critical southwest states of Arizona and Nevada. RNZ's Corin Dann caught up with a group of New Zealanders and Australians in an Irish pub in Phoenix, Arizona. Susan Cutforth, who has lived in the US for 14 years and was based in Phoenix, said the election campaign had been a "nightmare" to live through. And she was worried what another Trump presidency might mean. "It's such polarity, the two, between them. All the things that Trump threatened that he would do, like becoming a dictator, he...

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

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...

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...

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...