World News

The British tech tycoon and six others died when the family's yacht sank off the Italian coast last month. Photo: VesselFinder Initial examinations of four of the people killed when British tech tycoon Mike Lynch's family yacht sank off Sicily last month indicated they had died of suffocation as oxygen ran out on the stricken vessel, judicial sources said on Thursday. Lynch, his daughter Hannah, an onboard cook and four guests died when the Bayesian, a British-flagged 56-metre superyacht, sank during a severe and sudden weather event off the port of Porticello, near Palermo, on 19 August. First results from autopsies on four of the victims - Morgan Stanley International chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy, lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda - suggested that they died from suff...

By Jackie Luna for Reuters Hunter Biden, son of US President Joe Biden, intends to plead guilty to federal tax-related charges. Photo: AP / Matt Rourke Hunter Biden, son of US President Joe Biden, intends to plead guilty to federal tax-related charges, US television networks have reported - a move that would head off a potentially embarrassing trial shortly before the 5 November presidential election. NBC News, Fox News and CNN reported that the younger Biden would plead guilty in federal court in Los Angeles, where the trial was due to begin on Thursday. His lawyers and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. He was expected to appear in court at 11am Pacific time (6am NZT). Hunter Biden had previously pleaded not guilty in the criminal case, whi...

By Radhika Anilkumar and Catarina Demony, Reuters Some fans ended up paying more than double for the Oasis tickets. Photo: OLI SCARFF Britain's competition watchdog has launched an investigation into Ticketmaster over the sale of Oasis tickets, including the use of "dynamic pricing" to hike the cost to fans at the last minute. Thousands of fans waited long hours in virtual queues last weekend to get their hands on tickets for the British band's reunion shows next summer, only to find that prices had jumped in a "dynamic pricing" scheme. Many thought they would pay the advertised rate of £148.50 (NZ$320) but ended up paying more than double at £355.20 (NZ$765). The Competition and Markets Authority said on Thursday it was scrutinising whether the sale of Oasis tickets by Ticketmaster,...

By Helen Coster and Gram Slattery, Reuters Photo: AFP Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump says he will establish a government efficiency commission headed by billionaire supporter Elon Musk if he wins the 5 November election, during a wide-ranging speech in which he laid out his economic vision for the country. The former president has been discussing the idea of a government efficiency commission with aides for weeks, people with knowledge of those conversations have told Reuters. His speech to the New York Economic Club on Thursday, however, was the first time he had publicly endorsed the idea. It was also the first time Trump said that Musk has agreed to head the body. He did not detail precisely how such a commission would operate, besides saying it would develop a pl...

Harvey Weinstein in court in Los Angeles. Photo: AFP / Pool British prosecutors said on Thursday (local time) they had discontinued indecent assault charges against former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein after concluding there was no realistic chance of securing a conviction. When it authorised charges against Weinstein two years ago, Britain's Crown Prosecution Service said the alleged assault had taken place in August 1996 in London, with police adding the accusation had involved a woman now aged in her 50s. "Following a review of the evidence in this case, the CPS has decided to discontinue criminal proceedings against Harvey Weinstein," said Frank Ferguson, head of the CPS' Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division. "The CPS has a duty to keep all cases under continuous revie...

By Elizabeth Pineau and Ingrid Melander, Reuters Michel Barnier, a conservative politician, led talks with Britain over its exit from the European Union. Photo: AFP French President Emmanuel Macron appointed Michel Barnier, the European Union's former Brexit negotiator, as his new prime minister on Thursday (local time), after weeks of drawn out talks following an inconclusive snap election. Barnier, aged 73, led the EU's talks with Britain over its exit from the bloc from 2016-2021. Prior to that, the conservative politician held roles in various French governments and was also EU Commissioner. Macron had considered a string of potential prime ministers in recent weeks, none of which mustered enough support to guarantee a stable government, and there is no guarantee Barnier's govern...

Rome's Trevi Fountain is a popular destination for tourists. Photo: CC BY 3.0 Rome is considering limiting access to the Trevi Fountain, one of its busiest monuments, ahead of an expected bumper year for tourism in the Eternal City, city council officials say. The Italian capital is preparing to host the 2025 Jubilee, a year-long Roman Catholic event expected to attract 32 million tourists and pilgrims. Under the draft plans, visits to the fountain would require a prior reservation, with fixed time slots and a limited number of people allowed to access the steps around it. "For Romans we are thinking of making it free, while non-residents would be asked to make a symbolic contribution, one or two euros (NZ$1.80 - $3.60)," Rome's tourism councillor Alessandro Onorato told Thursday's Il M...

By Anja Guder, Reuters Police officers seen in Munich after a man was shot dead near the Israeli consulate. Photo: AFP / Peter Kneffel German police shot dead a man in an exchange of fire near the Israeli consulate and a Nazi history museum in Munich on Thursday, state Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann said. "It was a male person and we know that he acted here with a long-barrelled gun," a Munich police spokesperson said. "Due to the intervention of the police, the perpetrator was stopped and probably died at the scene," Herrmann told reporters. There were no indications of other suspects or incidents in the Bavarian state capital, Munich police said on X. The incident occurred on the anniversary of the 1972 attack at the Olympic Games in Munich in which Palestinian Black September ...

The Pentagon directs the US-led Olympic Defender space project. Photo: AFP/ Brendan Smialowski New Zealand has accepted a US invitation to join a top-level group that aims to deter hostile actors in space and reduce space debris. The US military made the invite in April to join Operation Olympic Defender, and extended it to France and Germany, too. Minister of Defence Judith Collins said New Zealand would gain experience from sending a liaison officer to US Space Command for two years. This "shows New Zealand's willingness to uphold the norms of responsible behaviour in space", she said in a statement on Thursday. The move will bring New Zealand in line with the Five Eyes intelligence grouping as Australia, the UK and Canada are already members of Olympic Defender. Germany and France re...

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 Ugandan marathon runner Rebecca Cheptegei, who competed in last month's Paris Olympics, has died after being attacked by her boyfriend, the head of the country's Olympics committee said on Thursday. "We have learnt of the sad passing on of our Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei ... following a vicious attack by her boyfriend," Donald Rukare, president of Uganda Olympics Committee, said in a post on X. More to come... - Reuters Source link