World News

By Manas Mishra, Reuters Photo: Eduardo Munoz/Reuters via CNN Newsource Mangione and his mother were not UnitedHealthcare customers Woman charged in Florida with threatening her insurer UnitedHealth Group CEO makes first public comment since shooting The suspect in the murder of UnitedHealth Group executive Brian Thompson was not a customer of the health insurer, a company spokesperson said on Friday (US time). Ivy League-educated Luigi Mangione was charged with murder on 9 December for the killing of Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel before a company conference, following a five-day manhunt. Mangione suffered from chronic back pain that affected his daily life, according to friends and social media posts, though it is unclear whether his personal health played a role in the s...

Photo: CFOTO / NurPhoto via AFP By David Shepardson, Reuters The chair and top Democrat on a US House of Representatives committee on China told the chief executives of Google-parent Alphabet and Apple on Friday they must be ready to remove TikTok from their US app stores on 19 January. Last week, a US federal appeals court upheld a law requiring China-based ByteDance to divest TikTok in the United States or face a ban. Representative John Moolenaar, a Republican and chair of the committee, and the top Democrat on the committee, Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, separately urged TikTok chief executive Shou Zi Chew to sell the short-video app used by 170 million Americans. "Congress has acted decisively to defend the national security of the United States and protect TikTok-s American u...

By Sam Tobin and Michael Holden, Reuters Prince Andrew forged close ties with a businessman reportedly linked to the Chinese Communist Party and the United Front Work Department. Photo: ADRIAN DENNIS / AFP Security ban on Chinese businessman emerges in ruling Officials say businessman and Prince Andrew had close links Man hid ties to China's Communist Party, officials say A Chinese businessman who had forged close links with Prince Andrew and was authorised to act on his behalf to seek investors in China has been banned from Britain on national security grounds. The 50-year-old man, who has been granted anonymity and is named only as H6, was taken off a flight from Beijing to London in February 2023 and told that Britain intended to ban him from the country. This happened the ...

Allu Arjun in 'Pushpa 2: The Rule'. Photo: AR Film Studio / Muttamsetty Med An Indian actor has been arrested after his appearance at a movie screening allegedly prompted a stampede by fans that crushed a woman to death, police and local media said. Huge crowds had gathered at a theatre in the southern city of Hyderabad this month to catch a glimpse of actor Allu Arjun as he arrived for the screening of his film Pushpa 2: The Rule. The 42-year-old actor was arrested on suspicion of three offences, including voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means, a police officer told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to media. The officer added that seven other people had already been arrested in the case. A video on social media platform ...

By Samia Nakhoul, Maya Gebeily, Parisa Hafezi and Suleiman Al-Khalidi, Reuters Bashar al-Assad's flight from Syria ended more than half a century of his family's rule. Photo: AFP / Valery Sharifulin / Pool Assad's secret escape blindsided almost everyone, aides say He deceived army brass, saying Russian help on way - sources Leader kept plans from brother and cousins, officials say Russia secured Assad's passage, ending 50-year family rule Bashar al-Assad confided in almost no one about his plans to flee Syria as his reign collapsed. Instead, aides, officials and even relatives were deceived or kept in the dark, more than a dozen people with knowledge of the events told Reuters. Hours before he escaped for Moscow, Assad assured a meeting of about 30 army and security chiefs at ...

Workers attended an early evening reception at Buckingham Palace, pictured, before heading to a nearby bar to carry on the celebrations. (File image) Photo: AFP Buckingham Palace said it would investigate staff working for Britain's royal family following an after-party which the Sun newspaper reported ended in a "punch-up" and "bar brawl". Workers attended an early evening reception at Buckingham Palace before heading to a nearby bar to carry on the celebrations. But their partying got out of hand and police were called "after glasses were hurled and punches thrown", the Sun said. Buckingham Palace said on Friday that palace officials were aware of an incident which had taken place outside the workplace following a reception at the official London residence of King Charles. "While this...

By Stephen Collinson, CNN China's President Xi Jinping and US President-elect Donald Trump. Photo: AFP Analysis - Imagine the scene, at noon on 20 January, on the west front of the US Capitol. As Donald Trump swears to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution on the same spot where his supporters rioted four years ago, an extraordinary VIP guest looks on, overshadowing ex-presidents, military brass and members of Congress. Bundled up to ward off the winter chill is Xi Jinping, the hardline leader of China - the country almost everyone on the inaugural platform sees as an existential threat to US superpower dominance as a 21st century cold war accelerates. It's a fantastical picture, because even before sources on Thursday confirmed Xi wouldn't attend, it was obvious it could not...

By Rachael Merritt, ABC Acting South Australia Assistant Police Commissioner John De Candia said the couple has been arrested for alleged criminal neglect and deception. Photo: ABC News / Sarah Rohrsheim A couple from Adelaide has been arrested for allegedly falsely claiming their child had cancer - to claim tens of thousands of dollars in donations. Police say the man and woman shaved their six-year-old boy's head and eyebrows, put him in a wheelchair and applied bandages to make it look like he had received radiotherapy. It is alleged they sought donations for medical treatment and approximately $60,000 had been donated during a two-week period. Acting Assistant Commissioner John De Candia said the investigation has confirmed that the boy is not receiving medical treatment. "We bel...

By Kaitlan Collins, Ramishah Maruf and Clare Duffy, CNN Jeff Bezos. Photo: AFP / Getty Images Amazon is planning to donate US$1 million (NZ$1.7m) to President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration, a person familiar with the matter told CNN. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is expected to visit with Trump in person in the coming days, as he and other tech founders seek closer relationships with the incoming president. Amazon will donate US$1 million in cash to the inauguration and it will make a US$1 million in-kind donation by streaming the event on Amazon Video, the company confirmed to CNN Thursday evening local time. Bezos and Trump spoke over the summer after the first assassination attempt. Bezos publicly praised Trump at the time. "Our former President showed tremendous grace and courage...

Photo: ABC News One of Perth Zoo's beloved elephants is leaving much sooner than originally planned after showing signs of loneliness. Female elephant Permai will be relocated to South Australia's Monarto Safari Park next month, about six months ahead of schedule, and before male elephant Putra Mas, who will wait until he's completed his annual hormonal surge. In 2018 Perth Zoo announced it would relocate both Asian elephants after the 2022 death of matriarch Tricia, to ensure the herd animals would be able to live with other elephants. But successful training with her moving crate, and the arrival of another elephant, Burma, at Monarto from Auckland, has convinced keepers to move Permai earlier. Photo: ABC News: Tom Wildie She's also been exhibiting loneliness behaviour, such as ...