World News

By James Redmayne and Alasdair Pal, Reuters King Charles delivers his speech at CHOGM in Apia. Photo: RNZ / Russell Palmer King Charles says the Commonwealth should acknowledge its "painful" history, as African and Caribbean nations push for reparations for Britain's role in transatlantic slavery. Representatives of 56 countries, most with roots in Britain's empire, are attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting that began in Samoa on Monday, with slavery and the threat of climate change emerging as major themes. "I understand from listening to people across the Commonwealth how the most painful aspects of our past continue to resonate," Charles said in a speech to the summit. "It is vital, therefore, that we understand our history, to guide us towards making the right ch...

A horse carriage at sunset, in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, on 17 October. There are about 80,000 Amish in Pennsylvania - and the Democrats won the state by about that amount in 2020. Photo: APF/ Paul Nolp The Amish people of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, are a throwback to another era, with their quiet farm life, horse-drawn carriages and rejection of modern technology. But the Donald Trump signs outside some of their farms serve as stark reminders that they live in today's turbulent world - and that 5 November is Election Day for them, too, even if most won't vote. Christian faith, not politics, is what drives the Amish, who trace their roots to Switzerland, Germany and elsewhere in Europe and started arriving in Pennsylvania in the 18th century. They live on the margins of contemporary...

A Pakistani Frontier Police constable on guard (file photo). Islamist militants have reportedly killed Pakistani frontier police in an attack near Dera Ismail Khan. Photo: AFP/ Banaras Khan At least 10 Pakistani frontier police have been killed in a militant attack on an outpost near the northwestern city of Dera Ismail Khan, police sources say. Thursday's attack, claimed by Islamist militant group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), comes as Pakistan battles a resurgence of militant attacks in its rugged northwest, as well as a growing ethnic separatist insurgency in the south. Three senior police sources confirmed the attack, saying a large group of militants stormed the outpost, killing members of the frontier constabulary security force. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity, as...

By Steve Holland, Reuters Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump doesn't think impeachment charges would be filed if he fired Jack Smith. Photo: AFP / JIM WATSON Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said that if elected he would fire the federal prosecutor leading the criminal probes into his attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat and alleged mishandling of classified documents after leaving office. Former president Trump, asked during an interview whether he would pardon himself or fire Special Counsel Jack Smith, said: "It's so easy. I would fire him within two seconds." US Attorney General Merrick Garland in November 2022 appointed Smith to the special counsel role, one meant to give him independence in leading the politically charged investigations into T...

Vladimir Putin Photo: ALEXANDER KAZAKOV / AFP Putin says mutual defence clause is Russia's business Putin says the West escalated the Ukraine war Putin says any deal to end war must reflect reality on ground President Vladimir Putin did not deny US claims that North Korea had sent troops to Russia but said it is up to Moscow how to run its mutual defence clause with Pyongyang and accused the West of escalating the Ukraine war. The United States said that it had seen evidence that North Korea has sent 3000 troops to Russia for possible deployment in Ukraine, a move that the West is casting as a significant escalation of the Ukraine war. Asked by a reporter about satellite imagery showing North Korean troop movements, Putin said: "Images are a serious thing. If there are images, the...

Erik and Lyle Menendez have spent 34 years in prison. Photo: AFP / VINCE BUCCI A Los Angeles prosecutor said he is asking the court to resentence Erik and Lyle Menendez after they have spent 34 years in prison for the shotgun murder of their parents, the Associated Press reported, after new evidence emerged indicating they were sexually abused by their father for years. Los Angeles county district attorney George Gascon was due to announced his decision at a press conference on Friday. The AP, citing an official with knowledge of the decision, said Gascon would recommend to a judge that the brothers be resentenced. They are both serving life in prison without parole for the 1989 murders. The Menendez brothers, now 56 and 53, were convicted after the second of two highly publicised trial...

First published on By Alexander Gillespie, University of Waikato professor of law* Police seized 35 firearms and 15,000 rounds of ammunition from a New Lynn property in Auckland last week. Photo: Supplied / NZ Police The current inquest into the worshippers killed in the Christchurch mosque attacks has been examining gun laws at the time of the 2019 atrocities, and how lax controls helped the terrorist acquire his weapons. Inevitably, it has also put the spotlight on the coalition government's proposed changes to the Arms Act, and how changes to licence vetting procedures and regulation might affect public safety. Firearms control is a complex and contentious issue - but New Zealand can learn from other countries' experience. It may surprise many, but one such coun...

By Brad Brooks, Reuters Quarter Pounders are marked as unavailable and 'Back Soon' in the Drive Thru lane at a McDonald's restaurant on 22 October 2024 in Omaha, Nebraska. Photo: Mario Tama / Getty Images via AFP US fast-food chains are pulling fresh onions out of their menu items after the vegetable was named as the likely source of an E. coli outbreak at McDonald's restaurants that has sickened 49 people and killed one. Restaurant Brands International, parent of McDonald's rival Burger King, and Yum Brands said they were removing fresh onions from menu items. Roughly 5 percent of Burger King locations have removed onions from the menu, a Burger King spokesperson said in a statement. McDonald's said on Thursday that Taylor Farms was the supplier of the sliced onions that have been r...

Musician Bruce Springsteen performs during a campaign event for Democratic presidential nominee, US Vice President Kamala Harris with former President Barack Obama at the James R Hallford Stadium on October 24, 2024 in Clarkston, Georgia. Photo: Alex Wong By Jarrett Renshaw and Nandita Bose, Reuters Thousands gathered to hear US Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris in the battleground state of Georgia for a star-studded rally with rock legend Bruce Springsteen, entertainer Tyler Perry and former President Barack Obama. Ahead of Harris' remarks, film director Spike Lee warned a packed crowd at the James R. Hallford Stadium not to be "bamboozled" into voting for Donald Trump, and Springsteen performed melancholy laments "The Promised Land," and "Land of Hope and Dreams." "Donal...

This file photo taken on November 9, 2016 shows President-elect Donald Trump with son-in-law Jared Kushner (R) during an election night party at a hotel in New York. Photo: AFP By Aram Roston and Alexandra Ulmer, Reuters The Democratic chair of the US Senate Finance Committee and a prominent Democratic congressman asked the US attorney general to appoint a special counsel to investigate whether Jared Kushner, former President Donald Trump's son-in-law, was functioning as an unregistered foreign agent for Saudi Arabia, according to a letter from the lawmakers. The letter from US Senator Ron Wyden and US Representative Jamie Raskin cited an 4 October Reuters report that revealed that Kushner on multiple occasions had discussed US-Saudi diplomacy concerning Israel with Saudi Arabia's de fa...