World News

Fishing boats take shelter from Typhoon Bebinca at Shenjiamen Fishing Port in Zhoushan, China. Photo: CFOTO Shanghai halted transportation links, recalled ships and shut tourism spots including Shanghai Disney Resort on Sunday as it braced for Typhoon Bebinca, in what could be the strongest tropical cyclone to hit the Chinese financial hub since 1949. The Category 1 typhoon, packing maximum sustained wind speeds near its centre of around 144 kilometres per hour was about 500km southeast of Shanghai as of 1pm local time (5pm NZT). It was expected to make landfall along China's eastern coast after midnight on Monday. The strongest storm to make landfall in Shanghai in recent decades was Typhoon Gloria in 1949, which tore through the city with gusts of 144km/h. Shanghai was last threatened...

Armed Yemeni men step over a US and an Israeli flag painted on the asphalt in the Houthi-run capital Sanaa, during a march in support of the Palestinians. Photo: AFP / Mohammed Huwais The Iran-aligned Houthis who control northern Yemen hit central Israel with a missile for the first time on Sunday and promised more strikes to come in solidarity with the Palestinians. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said the group struck with a new hypersonic ballistic missile that travelled 2040km in just 11-and-a-half minutes. Israel's military said the missile fell in an open area and nobody was hurt. Air raid sirens had sounded in Tel Aviv and across central Israel moments before the missile landed at around 6.35am local time (3.35pm NZT), sending residents running for shelter. Loud booms were ...

Singer Alison Moyet Photo: Naomi Davison Alison Moyet has always had an uneasy relationship with fame, she says. It's been 40 years since the British singer-songwriter began her solo career with the multi-platinum Alf album from which three huge world-wide hits 'Love Resurrection', 'Invisible' and 'All Cried Out' came. Prior to going solo Moyet had already had major hits, 'Only You' 'Don't Go' and 'Situation', as the lead singer of Synth pop band Yazoo. But despite her career soaring in the early 80s, she disliked the show biz scene, she told RNZ's Sunday Morning. "I was a big Elvis Costello fan when I was younger, a massive fan, and I'd been in these little punk bands and blues bands, and I'd supported people like Dr Feelgood. "And I remember one time I'd gone to a party at Dr Feelgo...

By Nandita Bose, Reuters Kamala Harris made the revelation that she owns a gun during last week's debate with Donald Trump. Photo: AFP / SAUL LOEB Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris said during Tuesday's debate with Republican Donald Trump that she owns a gun, a revelation that surprised some voters but carried a deliberate political message. Harris owns a handgun for personal safety reasons, and it is stowed away in a secure location at her California home, a White House source said on Friday. The source declined to identify the make of gun, but said it is the same gun Harris mentioned in 2019 on the campaign trail. Key quotes "This business about taking everyone's guns away - Tim Walz and I are both gun owners. We're not taking anybody's guns away, so stop with the continuous ly...

By Hanan Dervisevic, ABC News Moo Deng has captured hearts on social media. Photo: Khao Kheow Open Zoo With her pink cheeks and natural charisma, two-month-old pygmy hippo Moo Deng is drawing large crowds to the Thai zoo where she lives. Moo Deng, which roughly translates to 'bouncy pig' in Thai, has been a social media hit since her keepers started uploading snippets of her life online. Born in July to parents Jonah and Tony, Moo Deng has two siblings, who are also called variations of pork dishes. Her half-sisters are called Moo Tun, meaning stewed pork, and Moo Wan, meaning sweet pork. Moo Deng's name was chosen by a popular vote held by the zoo. Since her birth, visitor numbers have almost doubled, according to Khao Kheow Open Zoo. But not all the attention Moo Deng is receiving ...

By Ahmed Kingimi for Reuters Photo: Okay.ng At least 64 people are feared dead following a boat accident on a river in Zamfara State in northwest Nigeria, local officials say. A wooden boat carrying 70 farmers capsized as it was transporting them across the river to reach their farmlands close to Gummi town on Saturday morning. Local authorities swiftly mobilised residents for a rescue operation, and after three hours, six survivors were pulled from the water. "This is the second time such an incident has occurred in the Gummi Local Government Area," said Aminu Nuhu Falale, a local administrator who led the rescue efforts. He added that emergency teams were intensifying their search in the hope of finding more survivors. More than 900 farmers rely on crossing the river daily to acce...

By Harold Isaac and Steven Aristil, Reuters Haiti Prime Minister Garry Conille says the government stands in solidarity with the victims and their families. (File photo) Photo: Clarens SIFFROY / AFP A fuel truck explosion on a road in Haiti on Saturday has killed at least 25 people, according to local media, leaving dozens of survivors with serious burns. Haiti Prime Minister Garry Conille visited the site near the coastal city of Miragoane, in the department of Nippes, and said some of the most seriously injured victims were evacuated by helicopter to receive medical care. "This is a horrible scene, what I have just witnessed," he said in a statement. Earlier, he said emergency teams were working to "save the lives of the seriously injured," and pledged government support for the vi...

Venezuela's Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello announces foreigners are being held on suspicion of trying to destabilise the country, and displays weapons seized by authorities, in Caracas on 14 September, 2024. Photo: AFP/ handout from Venezuela's Interior and Justice Ministry Two Spaniards, three US citizens and a Czech have been arrested in Venezuela on suspicion of links to alleged plans to destabilise the South American country, a top Venezuela official said on Saturday. A spokesperson for the US State Department said "a US military member" had been detained in Venezuela and that it was aware of unconfirmed reports of two additional US citizens being detained there, but rejected a Venezuelan claim of US involvement in any plot to overthrow the government. The Venezuelan announcemen...

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Joe Biden announce further details of Aukus in March 2023. (File photo) Photo: AFP The Australian military is getting new quantum atomic clocks under the Aukus Pillar Two pact. Quantum technology is one of eight technologies that the US, Australia and UK are sharing more of under Aukus. The Australian Defence Force said quantum clocks from an Adelaide company would be used in communication and navigation systems. They would give a "capability edge for the warfighter". Read more: The portable clocks are the result of initial work by the University of Adelaide, "in close partnership" with Defence. Atomic clocks are essential for determining positional accuracy because all GPS satellites must transmit their data signals at the ex...

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and leader of the Labour Party, and his wife Victoria on the steps of 10 Downing Street in London. Photo: AFP/JUSTIN TALLIS British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has breached parliamentary rules by not declaring a wealthy businessman and Labour Party donor bought high-end clothes for his wife Victoria, the Sunday Times reported on Saturday. According to the Sunday Times, Starmer, in power since July, faces an investigation after "neglecting to disclose" that major Labour donor Waheed Alli covered the cost of a personal shopper, clothes and alterations for his wife. The premier's registered financial interests, listed on the parliament's website, show that he has received several donations from Alli, including multiple pairs of glasses, work clothes and ...