World News

An investigation into a Queensland helicopter crash that killed a Kiwi pilot in August has found he was intoxicated, broke aviation rules and appeared to be trying to evade being detected. But officials are none the wiser as to why he did it. Blake Wilson, 23, died after taking a helicopter from his employer's hangar in Cairns and flying into a no-fly zone over the city before crashing into the roof of the DoubleTree hotel. His employer, Nautilus Aviation, said he had been celebrating his promotion with workmates on Sunday night, before he took the helicopter in the early hours of Monday morning. Wilson, 23, held a New Zealand commercial helicopter licence, but was not authorised to fly in Australia. He was the only person killed in the accident. A report by the Australian Transport Safety...

Oscar Garcia, right, with his family stands outside his house after getting hit by a reported tornado in Fort Myers, Florida, on 9 October 2024, as Hurricane Milton approaches. Photo: CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP Hurricane Milton has begun making landfall. The National Hurricane Center is reporting that the most intense winds and eyewall of Hurricane Milton are coming onshore near the Florida city of Tampa. Landfall is not official until at least half of the hurricane's eye crosses over land - likely within the next hour or two, CNN said. Milton's eyewall has winds screaming at nearly 200km/h with higher gusts. Follow RNZ's live updates: Source link

By Luc Cohen for Reuters The voter registration deadline in Florida was on 7 October. (File photo) Photo: AFP Voting rights groups have asked a federal judge to extend Florida's voter registration deadline ahead of the 5 November US presidential election, citing disruptions from Hurricanes Helene and Milton. In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Tallahassee on Tuesday (local time), the League of Women Voters of Florida and the state NAACP chapter said they had asked Governor Ron DeSantis last week to extend the 7 October deadline by 10 days, but he declined. DeSantis' office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Millions of people on Florida's west coast are under evacuation orders as Hurricane Milton lashed the region with rain and wind hours ahead of its expected l...

People take shelter at Buffalo Creek Middle School ahead of Hurricane Milton making landfall in Bradenton, Florida. Photo: AFP / Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo Milton is expected to make landfall on the Gulf Coast of Florida on Thursday (NZ time) as a dangerous major hurricane, the second huge storm to hit the US in a fortnight. The storm has exploded in strength as it nears the Tampa region. "It's a matter of life and death, and that's not hyperbole," US President Biden said from the White House, urging those under orders to leave to "evacuate now, now, now". Across the southeastern United States, emergency workers are still struggling to provide relief after Hurricane Helene, which killed at least 230 people across several states. Follow RNZ's live updates: Source link

People take shelter at Buffalo Creek Middle School ahead of Hurricane Milton making landfall in Bradenton, Florida. Photo: AFP / Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo Milton is expected to make landfall on the Gulf Coast of Florida on Thursday NZ time as a dangerous major hurricane, the second huge storm to hit the US in a fortnight. The storm has exploded in strength as it nears the Tampa region. "It's a matter of life and death, and that's not hyperbole," US President Biden said from the White House, urging those under orders to leave to "evacuate now, now, now". Across the southeastern United States, emergency workers are still struggling to provide relief after Hurricane Helene, which killed at least 230 people across several states. Follow RNZ's live updates: Source link

A satellite image shows Hurricane Milton bearing down on Florida. Photo: AFP / NOAA Milton is the latest hurricane to strike the southeastern coast of the United States, just two weeks after Hurricane Helene caused widespread devastation and killed hundreds in the area. It is is the ninth hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season and the fourth major hurricane (defined as a hurricane forecast to cause devastating or catastrophic damage). Read more: But why do so many hurricanes form during this 'season'? When does it run until? And how does it differ throughout the world? Here's what you need to know. What is hurricane season? Hurricane season is a time of year when hurricanes (also referred to as typhoons or tropical cyclones) usually develop. There are seven different hurricane...

By Niklas Pollard and Johan Ahlander, Reuters A screen shows the laureates of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics, John J Hopfield and Geoffrey E Hinton, as Anders Irbaeck delivers a speech. Photo: JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP US scientist John Hopfield and British-Canadian Geoffrey Hinton won the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics on Tuesday for discoveries and inventions in machine learning that paved the way for the artificial intelligence boom. Heralded for its revolutionary potential in areas ranging from cutting-edge scientific discovery to more efficient admin, the emerging technology on which the duo worked has also raised fears humankind may soon be outsmarted and outcompeted by its own creation. Hinton has been widely credited as a godfather of AI and made headlines when he quit his job at...

By Nicholas McAnally and Laurent Banguet, AFP Saudi painter Omar bin Laden, the fourth-eldest son of former Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden. Photo: JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER / AFP Omar bin Laden, a son of slain Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, has been banned from returning to France where he made his home for several years before he was ordered to leave in 2023, France's Interior Minister announced Tuesday local time. Born in Saudi Arabia, bin Laden has also lived in Sudan and Afghanistan. The 43-year-old settled in the northern French region of Normandy with his British wife several years ago, taking up painting. France's new interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, said Omar bin Laden "posted comments on his social networks in 2023 that advocated terrorism." "As a result, the prefect of Or...

Workers board a window in Tampa, Florida, on October 8, 2024, ahead of Hurricane Milton's expected landfall. Photo: MIGUEL J. RODRIGUEZ CARRILLO / AFP Milton is expected to make landfall on the Gulf Coast of Florida overnight NZ time as a dangerous major hurricane, the second huge storm to hit the US in a fortnight. The storm has exploded in strength as it nears the Tampa region. "It's a matter of life and death, and that's not hyperbole," US President Biden said from the White House, urging those under orders to leave to "evacuate now, now, now." Across the southeastern United States, emergency workers are still struggling to provide relief after Hurricane Helene, which killed at least 230 people across several states. Follow RNZ's live updates: Source link

Hurricane Milton approaches Florida. Photo: Screenshot / Weather Channel Storm-battered Florida braced for a direct hit from Hurricane Milton which strengthened back to a Category 5 storm Tuesday, as US President Joe Biden begged residents to flee what he warned could be the worst natural disaster to hit the state in a century. As the second huge hurricane in as many weeks rumbled toward Florida's west coast, a sense of looming catastrophe spread as people raced to board up homes and flee. "It's a matter of life and death, and that's not hyperbole," Biden said from the White House, urging those under orders to leave to "evacuate now, now, now." Biden's warning came amid a bitter pre-election quarrel, with his Democratic vice president Kamala Harris castigating her rival Donald Trump for...