World News

Jannik Sinner at the US Open. Photo: photosport By Amy Tennery, Reuters Italian top seed Jannik Sinner took down ailing Briton Jack Draper 7-5 7-6(3) 6-2 to reach the US Open final, overcoming muggy conditions at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Sinner appeared to have suffered a wrist injury when he fell over in the second set but rallied to reach his second major final after winning the Australian Open earlier this year. Little went right for Draper, who vomited three times in the second set as he struggled with the heat and humidity that also left his shirt soaked in sweat. Jack Draper of Great Britain is through to the semi-finals of the US Open. Photo: Afp/Matthew Stockman Ten double faults also failed to help the 22-year-old's bid to reach a Grand Slam final for the first time. "It was ...

By Joey Roulette, Reuters In this screen grab from a NASA livestream, the Boeing Starliner spacecraft can be seen pulling away from the International Space Station for its unmanned return to the surface of Earth. Photo: NASA / AFP Without astronauts, Boeing's Starliner undocks from space station Starliner undocks from ISS for six-hour return trip to Earth Boeing's Starliner faces technical issues, costing $125 million Boeing's future in space questioned amid Starliner struggles Boeing's Starliner spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station on Saturday (NZ time), leaving behind its first crew of US astronauts to return to Earth empty and finish a drawn-out test mission fraught with technical issues. NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who became the first t...

The attack was to be in support of Islamic State, prosecutors alleged. Photo: 123RF By Jasper Ward and Anna Mehler Paperny, Reuters A Pakistani citizen living in Canada was arrested on Wednesday and charged with planning an attack in New York City in support of the Islamic State, the Department of Justice said on Friday. Muhammad Shahzeb Khan, 20, is accused of plotting a mass shooting at a Jewish centre in Brooklyn around 7 October, 2024, nearly one year after Hamas' attack in Israel. US Attorney General Merrick Garland said Khan, who is also known as Shahzeb Jadoon, aimed to kill "as many Jewish people as possible". The Department of Justice was not able to confirm if Khan had obtained legal counsel. Khan attempted to travel from Canada to the United States where he intended to use au...

The Fijians government is backing the appointment of the country's new anti-corruption chief who was under investigation by the office she now heads, which has left the Fijian people asking questions. Photo: RNZ Pacific The Fijian government is backing the appointment of the country's new anti-corruption chief, who is under investigation by the office she now heads. Barbara Malimali - who was also the Electoral Commission chair - was revealed as the new Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption commissioner on Wednesday. Malimali's appointment, confirmed by the nation's president on the advice of the Judicial Services Commission, has been slammed as "unbelievable" by one opposition MP, while the opposition leader in parliament has said it raises "numerous questions ... that need an...

Uganda's Rebecca Cheptegei, left, competes in the women's marathon final during the World Athletics Championships in Budapest on 26 August, 2023. Photo: FERENC ISZA / AFP The French capital will pay tribute to Ugandan Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei, who was set on fire by her boyfriend, by naming a sports facility in her honour, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has announced. The marathon runner, who competed in the Paris Games last month died on Thursday, four days after she was doused in petrol and ignited by her boyfriend in Kenya, in the latest attack on a female athlete in the country. The 33-year-old, who finished 44th in her Olympic Games debut, suffered burns to more than 75 percent of her body in Sunday's attack, Kenyan and Ugandan media reported. "She dazzled us here in Paris. We saw her....

Photo: ALON SKUY / AFP A New York judge has delayed former US President Donald Trump's sentencing in his hush money criminal case until after the 5 November election, writing that he wants to avoid the unwarranted perception of a political motive. Trump, the Republican nominee for president, had previously been scheduled to be sentenced on 18 September. His lawyers in August asked Justice Juan Merchan to push back his sentencing date until after the vote, citing "naked election-interference objectives." Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought the charges against Trump, is a Democrat. Merchan said on Friday (Saturday NZT) he now planned to sentence Trump on 26 November, unless the case is dismissed before then. "The imposition of sentence will be adjourned to avoid any appear...

By Farah Master, Reuters Photo: 123rf China will no longer send children overseas for adoption, the government said, overturning a more than three-decade rule that was rooted in its once strict one-child policy. More than 160,000 Chinese children have been adopted by families across the world since 1992, when China first opened its doors to international adoption. Around 82,000 of these children, mostly girls, have been adopted in the United States, according to China's Children International (CCI). China was one of just seven countries that allow New Zealanders to adopt children not related to them, under the Hague Convention. The others are Chile, Hong Kong, India, Lithuania, the Philippines and Thailand. On Thursday (local time), Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Mao Ning said the Chine...

Photo: 123RF A fire at a primary boarding school in central Kenya has killed 17 students, a police spokeswoman said on Friday. President William Ruto said he had asked authorities to investigate and hold those responsible to account. More rescuers were on their way to the Hillside Endarasha Academy in Nyeri, the spokeswoman, Resila Onyango, said in a broadcast on Kenya's Hot 96 FM radio, and authorities would provide details later. "We have lost 17 pupils in the fire incident while 14 are injured ...," Onyango told Reuters by telephone. "Our team is at the scene at the scene at the moment." The fire had burnt the students beyond recognition, Citizen Television said earlier. "I instruct relevant authorities to thoroughly investigate this horrific incident. Those responsible will be held t...

Pope Francis speaks during an interreligious meeting with religious leaders at the Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta on 5 September 2024. Photo: AFP / Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana Papua New Guinea is preparing to roll out the red carpet for the head of the Catholic Church Pope Francis' arrival on Friday. It has been 30 years since a Pope stepped foot on the South Pacific nation. The last visit by a Pope to PNG was John Paul II in 1995. The visit is part of an 11-day, multi-country papal trip, where Pope Francis will travel to capital Port Moresby and Vanimo from 6 to 9 September. Today I begin an Apostolic Journey to several countries in Asia and Oceania. Please pray that this journey may bear fruit.— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) September 2, 2024 More than 37,000 people have already registered to atte...

By Rich McKay, Reuters Cars line the road as parents arrive to meet students after a shooting at Apalachee High School on 4 September, 2024 in Winder, Georgia. Photo: AFP / Getty Images North America Georgia state officials arrested the father of the 14-year-old suspected school shooter Colt Gray in connection with a shooting that killed four people and wounded nine at Apalachee High School. Colin Gray, 54, was charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said. "These charges stem from Mr Gray knowingly allowing his son Colt to possess a weapon," Chris Hosey, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, told a media conference. Colt Gray has been charged with f...