World News

By Tom Hals, Reuters US President Joe Biden has pardoned his son, Hunter Biden. Photo: Mandel NGAN / AFP US President Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter Biden after repeatedly pledging not to. Below is a look at the circumstances leading up to the pardon and its legal consequences. What did the pardon cover? Hunter Biden was pardoned for his conviction by a jury in Delaware and a guilty plea in California. Hunter Biden was also pardoned for federal crimes "he committed or may have committed" between 1 January 2014 through the end of this year. What crimes was Hunter Biden convicted of? A Delaware jury in June found the president's son guilty of lying about his addiction to illegal drugs on a disclosure form that is required to purchase a firearm. The trial included hours of embarrass...

Ousted President Alpha Conde said the event had been badly organised at an uneasy time for the country. Photo: AFP / John Wessels By Saliou Samb and Bate Felix, Reuters Witness describes deadly crush after dispute over red card Many children among victims, says local official Deposed president criticises event organisation A controversial refereeing decision sparked violence and a crush at a soccer match in southeast Guinea, killing 56 people, according to a provisional toll, the government said on Monday, as a witness described scenes of chaos. The fatalities occurred during the final of a tournament in honour of Guinea's military leader Mamady Doumbouya at a stadium in Nzerekore, one of the West African nation's largest cities. Fans threw stones, triggering panic and a crush, the go...

By Sam Tobin, Reuters A group of Bulgarian nationals accused of spying for Russia targeted investigative journalist Christo Grozev (pictured), trying to lure him into a "honey trap" via Facebook. Photo: ARTURO HOLMES/ Getty Images via AFP A group of Bulgarian nationals accused of spying for Russia targeted an investigative journalist with the Bellingcat news outlet and tried to lure him into a "honey trap" via Facebook, prosecutors told a London court on Monday. Katrin Ivanova, 33, Vanya Gaberova, 30, and Tihomir Ivanchev, 39, are accused of being part of a highly sophisticated spying network, run by a Russian agent named as Jan Marsalek, which targeted people including dissidents. Prosecutors say the trio, along with two men, Orlin Roussev and Bizer Dzhambazov, who have admitted ...

By Zachary B. Wolf, CNN US President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden hug on stage at the conclusion of the first day of the Democratic National Convention 19 August. Photo: AFP / BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI Analysis - President Joe Biden made history Sunday when he granted a pardon to his son Hunter Biden for criminal convictions on gun and tax charges. The power to grant pardons for federal crimes is uniquely bestowed by the Constitution on only the US president: "... he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment." Presidents have doled out pardons to friends and donors, to political allies, and to make political points, but no president until Biden has pardoned his son. In a statement, Biden argued his son's crim...

People stand holding supplies, including buckets and toilet paper in an aid shelter in Lebanon. Photo: Supplied by Aya Moghrabi/World Vision Lebanon An aid worker on the ground in Lebanon says tens of thousands of civilians are going to be left in the cold this winter without proper access to basic services. World Vision Lebanon said the number of people at humanitarian shelters set up in public schools across the country had halved two days into the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. Almost a week on, the truce appeared to be holding. "After the ceasefire, the need does not end," World Vision's Josephine Haddad said. She was based just outside of the country's capital Beirut and said more than 100,000 people had left aid shelters within 48 hours of the ceasefire being announced. ...

By Suleiman Al-Khalidi, Reuters Anti-government fighters ride military vehicles as they drive along a road in the eastern part of Aleppo province. Photo: AREF TAMMAWI/AFP Russian and Syrian jets struck the rebel-held city of Idlib in northern Syria, military sources said, as President Bashar al-Assad vowed to crush insurgents who had swept into the city of Aleppo. Residents said one attack on the second day of raids hit a crowded residential area in the centre of Idlib, the largest city in a rebel enclave near the Turkish border where around four million people live in makeshift tents and dwellings. At least seven people were killed and dozens injured, according to rescuers at the scene. The Syrian army and its ally Russia say they target the hideouts of insurgent groups and deny att...

Elon Musk, right, with Donald Trump on stage at a campaign rally ahead of the US presidential election in November. Photo: JIM WATSON / AFP X is out, Bluesky is in and Mastodon is for the birds - and the nerds. The fight for the top spot in an ever-evolving social media landscape is political. The social media landscape has shifted dramatically, with platforms like Threads, Bluesky, and Mastodon growing quickly as alternatives to X (formerly Twitter), which has struggled since Elon Musk's acquisition two years ago. The Detail looks at the different platforms, who's in, who's out and who to follow, talking to two tech and social media experts - Dr Neil Curtis, an associate professor of media and communication at Auckland University, and independent tech specialist Allyn Robins. Curtis r...

US President Joe Biden Photo: AFP / SAUL LOEB US President Joe Biden says he has pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, who had been convicted of making false statements on a gun background check and illegally possessing a firearm and plead guilty to federal tax charges. "Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter. From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department's decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted," he said in a statement released by the White House. The White House had said repeatedly that Biden would not pardon or commute the sentences of his son, a recovering drug addict who became a target of Republicans, including President-elect Donald Trump. Hunter Biden, son of US Preside...

Members of New Zealand's Samoan Community, including those now eligible for citizenship came to Parliament to watch the bill pass its third reading. Photo: VNP/Louis Collins The Samoa Citizenship Bill officially passed in Parliament and has been enacted into law, creating a pathway for Samoans born between 1924 and 1948 to reclaim what they lost. The bill, which passed unanimously on 20 November, seeks to redress the impact of the Citizenship (Western Samoa) Act 1982, which revoked the rights of many Samoans to New Zealand citizenship. While the passing of the bill has been hailed as "historic" and celebrated by many in the Samoan community, for others, its exclusion of descendants of those Samoans are to benefit from the law has ignited fierce debate. Under the new law, only those born...

By Esther Linder, ABC, with wires Anti-government fighters celebrate in a street in Maaret al-Numan in Syria's northwestern Idlib province on November 30, 2024. Photo: ABDULAZIZ KETAZ Syria's civil war has ground on in the Middle Eastern country for 13 years, but the capture of a major city could signal a change in the devastating conflict. Sparked by protests across the Middle East that turned into the Arab Spring, the Assad regime has been fighting multiple rebel groups with the support of Russia and Iran since 2011. But now, a lightning offensive against government forces that began on Wednesday and focused on the city of Aleppo in north-west Syria has seen rebel forces take territory not ceded since 2016. What's changed in Syria and how could this affect its roughly 23.5 million ...