World News

Incoming US President Donald Trump's trade policies could impact New Zealand's economic growth. Photo: ALON SKUY / AFP Incoming US President Donald Trump's trade policies will reduce New Zealand's economic growth next year, and could even force an increase in interest rates in a worst case scenario, a new report has claimed. BMI, a unit of research and rating firm Fitch Solutions has published an updated outlook for New Zealand in 2025. It said economic growth would pick up next year, supported by lower interest rates. It expected the economy to have grown 0.4 percent this year, as it struggled with rising unemployment, high inflation and higher interest rates for most of the year. Although inflation had eased, headwinds continued, it said. It has reduced its forecast for next year from...

Tributes were left outside the school following the tragedy on Monday which claimed the life of a staff member. Photo: ABC / Stephanie Ferrier Victoria police are investigating whether an individual act of "bravery" by a teacher's aide may have saved the lives of several children following a crash north-west of Melbourne. A truck crashed into the playground of Macedon Ranges Montessori Pre-School in Riddells Creek on Monday, killing Eleanor Bryant, a teacher's aide at the school. Detective Senior Sergeant Christian Von Tunk, of the Major Collision Investigation Unit, said police were working through reports that Bryant may have managed to prevent children being struck. He said the death toll from the accident could have been much higher. "A tragic set of circumstances that actually coul...

Burma at Auckland Zoo. Photo: Supplied / Auckland Zoo Elephants sometimes cause stampedes - but a jumbo-sized new arrival in Australia might well have the opposite effect on peak-hour traffic along several Adelaide roads and a major highway. Incoming Asian elephant, Burma, is expected to touch down at Adelaide Airport on Tuesday after making the trans-Tasman journey from Auckland Zoo. Burma is one of five pachyderms that are expected to form a herd at South Australia's Monarto Safari Park by the end of next year - and, according to Zoos SA, her "trunk" has well and truly been "packed" for the trip ahead. SA police have teamed up with Zoos SA to provide a special police escort for the truck that will transport the 42-year-old elephant to her new home near Murray Bridge. "Our officers wil...

Luxon speaking to Trump on Tuesday. Photo: Supplied / PM's office via X Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has spoken with the US president elect Donald Trump. Since Trump's landslide victory last week he has spoken with several world leaders, including Russian president Vladimir Putin, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and China's Xi Jin Ping. Luxon's usual interview slot with Morning Report was moved to allow for the call from the United States. Posting on X, Luxon said New Zealand and the United States had a strong and enduring partnership. "Good to speak with President-elect @realDonaldTrump this morning to congratulate him on his historic election victory. "We agreed on the importance of deepening ties between our two nations and I look forward to doing just that." New Zeala...

Tom Homan will be in charge of in charge of US's borders, including the southern border with Mexico. Photo: Nick Monro/RNZ Tom Homan, US incoming president Donald Trump's "border czar", said he would prioritize deporting immigrants in the United States illegally who posed safety and security threats as well as those working at job sites. Trump, who takes office in January, said in a social media post overnight that the former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from his first administration would be in charge of the country's borders in his new administration starting 20 January. Trump made cracking down on illegal immigration the central element of his campaign, promising mass deportations. He is expected to mobilize agencies across the US government to help hi...

By Moira Warburton and Leah Douglas, Reuters Rick Scott attends a campaign rally for former President Donald Trump at the Trump National Doral Golf Club on 9 July, 2024 in Doral, Florida. Photo: JOE RAEDLE / AFP Businessman Elon Musk, an ally of President-elect Donald Trump, endorsed Republican Senator Rick Scott for US Senate majority leader on Sunday as the race to fill the influential post heats up after the party won control of the chamber. Republicans are expected to hold at least 52 seats in the 100-member Senate after capturing three previously held by Democrats in West Virginia, Ohio and Montana in last Tuesday's election. Current Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who has led his party in the chamber since 2007, has said he will step down from leadership after the ele...

By Anna Kelsey-Sugg and Lyn Gallacher, ABC News Then-teacher Rob Hunter (centre) with his students in 1977, just after their incredible ordeal. Photo: Victoria Police / supplied It took until 10.30am for an ordinary primary school day to take a very dramatic turn. Monday, 14 February, 1977 was the ninth day of term one at Wooreen primary, a tiny school nestled in the regional Victorian bush. All nine students, ranging from grades one to six, were enjoying their recess break when something stopped them in their tracks. What unfolded was a day none of them could have foreseen. It involved hostages, a car chase, a police shootout - and an outrageous ransom request. Failed kidnapper's escape from jail That day, students ran back inside from their break to tell their teacher, Rob Hunter, ...

By Eric Bradner, CNN Donald Trump's victory improved Republican margins nearly everywhere. Photo: JIM WATSON Former president Donald Trump won across the map - improving on Republican margins nearly everywhere and delivering on his promises to win over more non-White voters on his way to defeating Vice President Kamala Harris. Now that the dust has settled on the 2024 presidential election, a dive into CNN's exit polls and county-by-county results compared with previous races offers an even more detailed glimpse at how Trump won. And perhaps more important for Democrats, the results paint a daunting picture of a party whose national coalition has fractured - with suburbs where they've won squeezed as tight as they can be, Latinos rapidly realigning with the GOP, and Trump posting the...

By David Goldman, CNN Bitcoin is up 80 percent this year. Photo: Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images via CNN Newsource Bitcoin on Monday hit a new record above US$80,000 (NZ$136,355). The world's largest cryptocurrency surged in the run-up to last week's US presidential election, rose sharply immediately on election night after it became clear Donald Trump would win and has continued rising in the days since his victory. Bitcoin is up 80 percent this year, dwarfing the S&P 500's still-electric 25.7 percent gain this year. After briefly touching the US$80,000 milestone, bitcoin was trading just below it overnight Monday. The crypto industry believes Trump's victory is a bullish sign for bitcoin and other digital currencies. Although Trump was once a bitcoin sceptic, once saying it "was...

By Nidal al-Mughrabi, Reuters The Israeli strike on Jabalia in the northern Gaza strip killed or wounded dozens of people, Palestinian medics said. Photo: AFP / Omar Al-Qattaa Israeli strike kills dozens, Palestinian medics say Israeli military says strike targeted militants in Jabalia Hamas denies using civilians for military purposes Ceasefire efforts stalled, Qatar pauses mediation efforts Dozens of people were killed and wounded in an Israeli strike on a house in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip at dawn on Sunday, Palestinian medics said. Footage circulating on social media, which Reuters could not immediately verify, showed about a dozen bodies wrapped in blankets and laid on the ground at a hospital. Residents said the building that was hit had housed at least 30 people...