World News

It is understandable that human errors - like the one that led to the sinking of the HMNZS Manawanui - happen, a Samoan official involved in the recovery and clean-up says. An interim report released on Friday found that the grounding of the New Zealand Navy ship in early October was due to a series of human errors, including the crew not turning off the ship's autopilot when they should have. Afioga Fui Tupai Mau Simanu, who is the chair of Samoa's Marine Pollution Advisory Committee, said he had been briefed about the interim report by the New Zealand Defence Force's representative in Samoa, Commodore Andrew Brown. "We're humans and those things happen," he said of the interim findings. "We just appreciate the fact that the New Zealand government continues to be transparent and is upfron...

By Doug Dingwall Pacific Islanders have led the campaign for the ICJ to consider states' obligations to prevent climate change. Photo: ABC News: Doug Dingwall The International Court of Justice is set to begin two weeks of hearings on Monday in a landmark case on the obligations of states to protect the climate from greenhouse gases. The idea for the case came from a group of students studying law at a university in Vanuatu. Experts say the court's findings could bolster the cases of nations taking legal action against big polluters failing to reduce emissions. A landmark case that began in a Pacific classroom and could change the course of future climate talks is about to be heard in the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The court will begin hearings involving a record numb...

By Eyad Kourdi, Gul Tuysuz and Sophie Tanno, CNN Rebels brandish their guns as they ride through Aleppo. Photo: AFP / Omar Haj Kadour Syrian opposition forces have taken control of much of the country's second largest city Aleppo, according to video verified by CNN and residents in the city. A rebel alliance launched a surprise attack this week, sweeping eastward through villages outside the city and reigniting a conflict that had been largely static for years. It is the first time Syrian rebels have set foot in Aleppo since government forces regained control during the Civil War in 2016. By Saturday morning local time (Saturday night NZ time), rebel fighters had taken control of large swathes of the city, according to footage geolocated by CNN. Rebel fighters have been seen at key l...

The Australian government's bill to ban children and young teenagers from social media is expected to pass this week. Photo: ABC / Luke Stephenson By Geraden Cann, ABC Dani said it took just four months for her 13-year-old son to become "addicted" to the mobile phone app Snapchat. "When he woke up in the morning ... he'd go straight to the phone," she said. The Melbourne mum says she tried to put in place measures to restrict his usage - even drawing up a "contract" laying out the rules - but it wasn't enough. "There was a lot of notifications, constant notifications coming up on his phone ... you couldn't hold a conversation with him because he was wanting to check his notifications," she said. Several parents say their children have developed addictive behaviours towards the messag...

By Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Keith Kellogg, Donald Trump's special envoy to Ukraine. Photo: AP / Mariam Zuhaib Analysis - In a single post, the US president-elect told the world what the end of the Ukraine war might look like. And it is going to be a big diplomatic ask, to say the least. "I am very pleased to nominate General Keith Kellogg to serve as Assistant to the President and Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia," Trump wrote on his Truth Social channel. "Together, we will secure PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH, and Make America, and the World, SAFE AGAIN!" By appointing Keith Kellogg as his special envoy to Ukraine, Donald Trump has also chosen a very specific, pre-announced plan for the thorniest foreign policy issue on his plate. Kellogg, Trump's 80-year-old former national security advi...

The rebels are returning to the city for the first time since 2016, when Assad and his allies Russia, Iran, and regional Shi'ite militias retook it. Photo: AFP / BAKR ALKASEM By Suleiman Al-Khalidi, Reuters Syrian authorities closed Aleppo airport as well as all roads leading into the city, three military sources told Reuters, as rebels opposed to President Bashar al-Assad said they had reached the heart of Aleppo. The opposition fighters, led by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, carried out a surprise sweep through government-held towns this week and reached Aleppo nearly a decade after having been forced out by Assad and his allies. Russia, one of Assad's key allies, has promised Damascus extra military aid to thwart the rebels, two military sources said, adding new ha...

President Joe Biden said that his administration was working with the FBI to address the bomb threats and swatting incidents. Photo: AFP / ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS By Jeff Mason and Rich McKay, Reuters US President Joe Biden said that his administration was working with the FBI to address "swatting" and bomb threats made this week targeting lawmakers and several of President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet picks. Seth Magaziner, a House Democrat from Rhode Island, said on Friday local time he was targeted by a bomb threat at home, a day after six Democratic lawmakers from Connecticut reported similar threats to their homes over the Thanksgiving Day holiday. Law enforcement in each case found no evidence of explosive devices, the lawmakers said. Pete Hegseth, Trump's choice to become US de...

By Felix Light, Reuters Protesters carrying Georgian and EU flags pressed towards the parliament building in the nation's capital, Tbilisi. Photo: AFP / GIORGI ARJEVANIDZE Police deploying water cannon and pepper spray moved against thousands of pro-European protesters massed in the centre of Tbilisi after Georgia's ruling party said it was halting EU accession talks until 2028. EU accession is overwhelmingly popular in Georgia according to opinion polls, and the move saw thousands protest outside the parliament building in Tbilisi on Thursday, with riot police using water cannon and gas to disperse them. Protesters carrying Georgian and EU flags pressed towards the Soviet-built fortress-like parliament building and hurled fireworks at police officers trying to disperse them. Elene K...

Offering Ukraine NATO membership while allowing Russia to keep captured territories could end the "hot stage" of the war, Volodymyr Zelensky told Sky News. Photo: LUDOVIC MARIN / AFP By John Irish and Tom Balmforth, Reuters Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has urged his NATO counterparts to issue an invitation to Kyiv at a meeting in Brussels next week to join the Western military alliance, according to the text of a letter seen by Reuters on Friday. The letter reflects Ukraine's renewed push to secure an invitation to join NATO, which is part of a "victory plan" outlined last month by President Volodymyr Zelensky to end the war triggered by Russia's 2022 invasion. Zelensky told UK-based Sky News that offering Ukraine NATO membership while allowing Russia to keep for the moment ...

Dozens of Palestinians returned to areas where the army had retreated to check on damage to their homes. Photo: AFP / EYAD BABA By Nidal al-Mughrabi, Reuters Israeli military strikes killed at least 40 Palestinians overnight and on Friday in the Gaza Strip, medics said, as efforts to revive Gaza ceasefire talks received a boost with officials from the Palestinian group Hamas headed to Cairo for a new round of talks. Medics said they had recovered 19 bodies of Palestinians killed in northern areas of Nuseirat, one of the enclave's eight long-standing refugee camps. Later on Friday, an Israeli air strike killed at least 10 Palestinians in a house in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, medics said. Others were killed in the northern and southern areas of the Gaza Strip, medics added. There was n...