US

Monkeypox cases investigated in Europe, US and Canada

The latest new cases were reported in France, Italy and Sweden.

It follows the confirmation of cases in the US, Spain and Portugal on Wednesday, as well as the investigation of 13 suspected cases in Canada.

Monkeypox is most common in remote parts of Central and West Africa.

Cases of the disease outside of the region are often linked to travel to the area.

Monkeypox is a rare viral infection which is usually mild and from which most people recover in a few weeks, according to the UK's National Health Service.

US, Russia swap prisoners amid war tensions

The swap was not part of broader diplomatic talks and did not represent an American change in approach on Ukraine, US officials said. Russian-American ties have been at their worst since the Cold War era following Russia's 24 February invasion of Ukraine and subsequent Western sanctions imposed on Moscow.

Reed, from Texas, was expected to arrive back in the United States on Wednesday night, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said. Senior US officials said the 30-year-old was in "good spirits."

Biting 'unruly' passenger among two women hit with largest-ever US fines

The five-figure penalties on the two flyers accused of violence are part of $US2 million ($NZ2.9m) in fines levied this year.

US airlines have seen record numbers of disruptive passengers since early 2021, with many incidents involving the refusal to wear an anti-viral facemask.

The fines were announced by transport secretary Pete Buttigieg on Friday.

"If you are on an airplane, don't be a jerk and don't endanger the flight crews and fellow passengers," he said in an appearance on ABC's The View. "If you do, you will be fined by the FAA."

Biden agrees in principle to summit with Putin over Ukraine tensions

The talks proposed by France will only take place if Russia does not invade its neighbour, the White House said.

The meeting could offer a possible diplomatic solution to one of the worst security crises in Europe in decades.

US officials say intelligence suggests Russia is ready to launch a military operation, which Moscow denies.

The proposal was announced by the French presidency after two phone calls between President Emmanuel Macron and Mr Putin, which went on for almost three hours in total.

US girl missing since 2019 found alive in secret room

Paislee Shultis, now six, was discovered in a house in the town of Saugerties after a search on Monday.

She is in good health and has now been reunited with her legal guardian and older sister, the police say.

Her non-custodial parents have been charged with custodial interference and endangering the welfare of a child.

Paislee was reported missing from Tioga County, New York, in July 2019, according to a police statement. She was aged four.

Authorities at the time believed she had been abducted by her parents, Kimberly Cooper, 33, and Kirk Shultis Jr., 32.

Ukraine crisis: Biden and Johnson say still hope for diplomatic agreement

In a 40-minute call, Joe Biden and Boris Johnson agreed a deal was still possible despite a chorus of warnings of imminent Russian military action.

Russia has always denied plans to invade Ukraine, despite massing more than 100,000 troops on the border.

On Monday its foreign minister said diplomacy was "far from exhausted".

More than a dozen nations have urged their citizens to leave Ukraine, and the US has said aerial bombardments could begin "at any time".

New Zealander jailed in US for producing child pornography

Aucklander Troy George Skinner made headlines when he travelled to the US state of Virginia to meet a teenage girl he had chatted to online.

The girl's mother shot him in the neck as he was trying to smash his way into their home on 22 June, 2018.

Skinner fled from the house but collapsed in a neighbour's yard, where he was caught by members of the local Goochland County sheriff's office.

A local newspaper, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, reported Skinner created 49 videos around sexual acts that he had persuaded the 14-year-old to perform online.

 

US delays Covid vaccine for children under five by at least two months

The FDA had planned to decide on the vaccine based on early trial data as soon as next week with the government planning to roll it out on 21 February. It had asked Pfizer to speed up its application as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus caused a surge of infections, including among children.

On Friday, the agency said it had reviewed new trial information that arrived after Pfizer and BioNTech's request for emergency authorisation and decided it needed more data before weighing in on the authorisation.

Ukraine tensions: Russia invasion could begin any day, US warns

An invasion could start with aerial bombing that would make departures difficult and endanger civilians, the White House said on Friday.

A host of other countries have also urged their nationals to leave Ukraine.

Moscow has repeatedly denied any plans to invade Ukraine despite massing more than 100,000 troops near the border.

Russia's foreign ministry on Friday accused Western countries of spreading false information.

US trying to draw Russia into war says Putin

In his first significant comments on the crisis in several weeks, he said America's goal was to use a confrontation as a pretext to impose more sanctions on Russia.

He also said the US was ignoring Russia's concerns about Nato alliance forces in Europe.

Tension is high over a Russian troop build-up close to Ukraine's borders.

Russia denies Western accusations that it is planning an invasion, nearly eight years after it annexed Crimea and backed a bloody rebellion in Ukraine's eastern regions.