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Farmers harvest peanuts at the New Halfa irrigated agricultural project in Kassala state in eastern Sudan. Photo: AFP Ahmed Othman's farm has been spared from the deadly fighting that has spread across Sudan, but the war's toll on the economy and labour market has still reached him. "I had to sell two vehicles" to afford to harvest this season's crops, he told AFP from his large sesame farm in eastern Sudan's Gedaref state. A year and a half of war in Sudan between the army and paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises and devastated harvests. Last month, United Nations experts accused the warring sides of using "starvation tactics" against 25 million civilians, and three major aid organisations warned of a "historic" hun...

By Brianna Morris-Grant, ABC Twenty-two tonnes of clothbound cheeses have seemingly vanished into thin air Photo: Screenshot / Instagram nealsyarddairy When a French supermarket placed an order at Neal's Yard Dairy in London, it seemed too good to be true. The London-based artisan cheese seller was ecstatic - the order for 22 tonnes of cheddar was one of the largest they had ever received. The sheer size of the order forced them to enlist three different cheese producers to meet the demand. But their initial reaction - that the whole thing was just too good to be true - turned out to be correct. There was no deal with a French supermarket chain. The 300,000 British pounds (NZ$650,367) owed was never going to be paid. And the 22 tonnes of clothbound cheeses have seemingly vanished int...

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are turning their attention to the key "blue wall" states, and are likely to remain there in the final days of the election, says RNZ's Corin Dann. Dann has been providing updates for RNZ's listeners and visitors to rnz.co.nz and spoke from Philadelphia International Airport shortly after landing at 6pm, local time (11am NZT). The candidates had finished their swing through the "sun belt" states of Nevada and Arizona and headed back to the blue wall states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania -the latter being "really critical" in this election for its 19 votes in the US Electoral College, he said. RNZ presenter Corrin Dann at the US-Mexico border near Nogales, Arizona for his coverage of the US presidential election. Photo: Nick Monro Dann was among...

Keeper Toody Scott feeds Cassius in this photo from 2011. Photo: Supplied / Marineland Melanesia A 5.48-metre Australian crocodile that held the world record as the largest crocodile in captivity has died, a wildlife sanctuary said on Saturday. He was thought to be more than 110 years old. Cassius, weighing in at more than one tonne, had been in declining health since 15 October, Marineland Melanesia Crocodile Habitat said on Facebook. "He was very old and believed to be living beyond the years of a wild Croc," according to a post by the organisation, based on Green Island near the Queensland tourist town of Cairns. "Cassius will be deeply missed, but our love and memories of him will remain in our hearts forever." The group's website said he had lived at the sanctuary since 1987 aft...

By Andrew Chung for Reuters People wait in line to vote on the last day of early voting at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia. Photo: ELIJAH NOUVELAGE / AFP Following the 2020 election that he lost to Joe Biden, Donald Trump and his allies brought a storm of legal cases challenging the outcome. After losses in lower courts, some of these cases made their way to the US Supreme Court, whose conservative justices Trump was hoping would ultimately come through for him. They did not, as the court opted not to hear his appeals. The last three of these were rejected four months post election. For this year's election - with Trump now seeking to regain the presidency as the Republican candidate facing Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris - there may be a sense of déjà vu for the t...

New Zealand and Ireland have proposed a scientific panel be set up to examine the effects of a nuclear war. Photo: 123RF New Zealand and Ireland have proposed a scientific panel be set up to examine the effects of a nuclear war. In a statement delivered to the United Nations, Ireland's permanent representative Fergal Mythen said the last UN-mandated study was done in 1989. He said since then, scientific progress has advanced markedly - including climate and data modelling. Mythen said the 21 experts on the panel would focus on the physical effects and consequences to society of a nuclear war. He believed the study would also aid nuclear disarmament and arms control. The comments were posted on the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade website. In a statement, the UN said the...