A fireball lit up the North Island night sky on Wednesday, exciting meteorite hunters.

Hendrix John Haerewa rammed two police cars before fleeing on foot.

Amid growing momentum for a ceasefire with Russia, Ukraine has all but lost a valuable bargaining chip.

The Ukrainian army stunned Russia last August by attacking across the border and taking control of an estimated 1300 square kilometres of land. It was a much-needed morale boost for Ukraine, but more importantly, the country's leaders believed the capture of Russian territory might help in any future peace negotiations with its enemy.

Now, after months of intense pressure from Russian forces supported by troops from North Korea, Ukraine only holds about 30 per cent of the Russian land it had seized and its forces are in retreat after a rapid near-defeat in the city of Sudzha.

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The Ukrainian army on Thursday was trying to quickly build up defensive lines near the border to prevent Russia from turning its assault on Sudzha into a launchpad for advancing into northeastern Ukraine.

Politically speaking, the retreat from large parts of Russia's Kursk region could be a moment of reckoning for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his military advisers.

The invasion of Kursk was intended to redirect Russian forces from inside Ukraine — and the land gained was supposed to help Ukraine get back at least some of the 20 per cent of its country taken by Russia since its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

But many soldiers and commanders have long questioned whether it was worth diluting their forces available to defend Ukraine — and those doubts only grew as the retreat from Kursk accelerated.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that he agrees in principle with a US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, but that the details still need to be worked out. Putin made the remarks just hours after the arrival of US President Donald Trump's envoy in Moscow.

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Defeat caps months of struggle in Kursk

Combat is ongoing in the periphery of Sudzha as some Ukrainian soldiers try to fight their way out of Russia's Kursk region back into the neighbouring Sumy region of Ukraine.

Ukrainian soldiers and commanders fear that Russia's air superiority will enable them to wipe out the logistics routes vital to sustaining the soldiers who are still in Kursk.

Russia has retaken control of about 70 per cent of the territory Ukraine captured in the first weeks of its August incursion into Kursk, according to the Institute for the Study of War in Washington.

To flee the Kursk region, Ukrainian soldiers must walk dozens of kilometres to get back into Ukraine, while avoiding Russian forces. Some soldiers are angry that commanders did not order them to withdraw weeks ago, when it would have been safer to do so.

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Was the invasion of Kursk worth it?

Some of Ukraine's military leaders believe the daring push into Russian territory was essential to preventing further Russian advances along the country's north-east. And, by degrading and redirecting Russian forces, it enabled Ukraine to push back the enemy in the east for the first time since a successful counteroffensive in 2022.

Other military leaders say the Kursk offensive — whose political aim appears to have ultimately failed — cost Ukraine some of its best units and most precious weapons.

After the fall of Sudzha — the largest settlement in Kursk they controlled, with a pre-war population of 5000 — Ukrainian soldiers are pessimistic about their ability to hold what land they have left in the Russian region. And they recognise the political stakes of the defeat.

"I understand that the (Russian) side is delaying (ceasefire negotiations) until they reclaim Kursk, and only then they will talk," said one Ukrainian commander, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "But we already, to put it mildly, will not have any levers of influence to return any of our territory."

North Korean soldiers changed the battlefield

Soldiers said their ability to hold Kursk began to deteriorate the moment soldiers from North Korea entered the battle late last year. As time went on, Pyongyang's troops only became more effective, Ukrainian soldiers said.

When one Ukrainian drone operator spotted some 40 North Korean soldiers near a tree line a few weeks ago, he said he was amazed by the physical fitness of North Korean troops. Some were capable of quickly running long distances carrying heavy ammunition, he said.

"I've never seen anything like that before," he said.

Shortages of manpower, weaponry and ammunition also hampered Ukrainian soldiers, who said that they were outnumbered five to one, on average — and 10 to one in some areas.

Last days in the battle for Sudzha

Over the past three months, the Russians gradually wore down the Ukrainians. Under heavy air assault from the Russians, Ukrainian troops often had to carry on their backs, for 20km or 30km, reinforcements of ammunition, food and medical supplies.

It is unclear how the recent US pause in intelligence sharing influenced the battle for Kursk. Russian forces seized an estimated 166 square kilometres in Kursk between March 7 and March 10, a period that the pause was in effect.

Also last week, several hundred Russian special forces launched a surprise attack from behind Ukraine's defensive lines after crawling 15km through a natural gas pipeline.

Kiwifruit orchards were developed while leaving much of the natural environment untouched.

A Muscovy duck was found with tape on its back and a broken wing.

An American Airlines plane engine caught fire at Denver International Airport after the aircraft was diverted there Thursday evening, officials said, forcing passengers to deplane onto the aircraft's wing as smoke enveloped the plane.

Passengers onboard American Airlines flight 1006 were evacuated at the gate, according to a government source familiar with the incident.

The flight, en route to Dallas-Fort Worth from Colorado Springs, landed in Denver around 5 pm local time, data from FlightAware.com shows.

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Video from inside the airport shows dozens of passengers exiting the aircraft and standing on the plane's wing as smoke filled the air.

Six crew members and 172 passengers deplaned the Boeing 737-800 aircraft after the plane's engine caught fire at the Denver airport, an American Airlines spokesperson told CNN in a statement.

The flight crew and passengers were relocated to the airport's terminal, according to the statement. "We thank our crew members, DEN team and first responders for their quick and decisive action with the safety of everyone on board and on the ground as the priority," the airline said.

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The plane landed at gate C38, where it caught fire, a Denver International Airport spokesperson told CNN.

The fire was extinguished, all passengers were evacuated and there were no injuries, the spokesperson said.

Video captured by a Montana woman waiting for a connecting flight inside the airport shows a large cloud of smoke from the plane rising as dozens of passengers are seen exiting the plane and running away.

Leonard, who was flying in from Helena, Montana, told CNN she was waiting inside the Denver International Airport for her connecting flight to Colorado Springs. That is when she looked outside and saw flames and smoke engulfing the plane.

"I was terrified for those passengers," Leonard said. "I can't even imagine how scared they must've been."

More to come.

The US influencer who briefly took a baby wombat from its mother in footage shared on Instagram has left Australia, the government has confirmed.

9News understands Montana-based hunting enthusiast Sam Jones flew out of Australia this morning.

"There's never been a better day to be a baby wombat in Australia," Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said.

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Jones faced intense backlash yesterday after an undated video circulated online of her picking up a baby wombat from the side of the road as its distressed mother watched on.

The video erupted online, sparking swift backlash from the Prime Minister and native wildlife advocates.

Before she left Australia, the Department of Home Affairs said it was reviewing the woman's tourist visa.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the footage as an "outrage" when asked about it at a press conference in Perth.

"To take a baby wombat from its mother, and clearly causing distress from the mother is just an outrage," the PM said.

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"And I suggest to this so-called influencer, maybe she might try some other Australian animals. Take a baby crocodile from its mother and see how you go there.

"Take another animal that can actually fight back, rather than stealing a baby wombat from its mother.

"See how you go there."

It is not yet known which Airport the Influencer left Australia from.

More to come.

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Australian researchers have made a huge breakthrough in the fight against Parkinson's disease after solving a decades-long mystery.

Scientists at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) have for the first time been able to observe a key protein directly linked to the awful disease, and determine what it looks like.

The protein, PINK1, supports cell survival by detecting damaged mitochondria and tagging them for removal.

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In a healthy person, when mitochondria are damaged, PINK1 gathers on mitochondrial membranes and signals through a small protein called ubiquitin, that the broken mitochondria need to be removed.

The PINK1 ubiquitin signal is unique to damaged mitochondria, and when PINK1 is mutated in patients, broken mitochondria accumulate in cells.

In a person with Parkinson's and a PINK1 mutation, the mitophagy process no longer functions correctly and toxins accumulate in the cell, eventually killing it.

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Brain cells need a lot of energy and are especially sensitive to this damage.

Although PINK1 has been linked to Parkinson's, and in particular Young Onset Parkinson's Disease, researchers had been unable to visualise it and did not understand how it attaches to mitochondria and is switched on.

The idea of using PINK1 as a target for potential drug therapies has long been touted but not yet achieved because of the unknowns.

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The research team hope to use this new breakthrough to find a drug to slow or stop Parkinson's in people with a PINK1 mutation.

Parkinson's disease is insidious, often taking years, sometimes decades to diagnose.

Often associated with tremors, there are close to 40 symptoms including cognitive impairment, speech issues, body temperature regulation and vision problems.

In Australia, over 200,000 people live with Parkinson's and between 10 per cent and 20 per cent have Young Onset Parkinson's Disease – meaning they are diagnosed under the age of fifty.

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The impact of Parkinson's on the Australian economy and healthcare systems is estimated to be over $10 billion each year.

"This is a significant milestone for research into Parkinson's. It is incredible to finally see PINK1 and understand how it binds to mitochondria," corresponding author on the study Professor David Komander said.

"Our structure reveals many new ways to change PINK1, essentially switching it on, which will be life-changing for people with Parkinson's."

The full study can be found online here.

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Australia's youngest-ever convicted murderer will walk from prison following a court's refusal to keep him locked up four years after his sentence ended.

The child killer has spent almost two thirds of his life behind bars after abducting and fatally stabbing his three-year-old neighbour Courtney Morley-Clarke when he was 13.

His 20-year sentence expired in 2021 but concerns over his stunted maturity, institutionalisation and threats of inflicting violence against others have led to rare post-sentence detention orders.

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A brief foray in the community in 2023 on court-ordered close supervision resulted in him approaching about 200 women across 95 days, including several mothers with young children.

One unlawful interaction – talking to a mother dressing her young child at a beach – forced his return to jail.

An application to detain him for a further year was heard in the NSW Supreme Court as the state argued he posed too great a risk to the community.

Concerns were aired the man was "very institutionalised", had suffered a "deep freeze maturation process" and kept ruminating about taking revenge on a community corrections officer.

Psychiatrists previously diagnosed the 38-year-old with a severe personality disorder that made him self-centred and unempathetic.

But Justice Mark Ierace on Friday dismissed the state's application to detain the killer further.

His written reasons are expected to be published later in the day.

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It likely means Courtney's killer falls back onto his prior extended supervision order, requiring him to stick to a pre-determined schedule of movements, stay off encrypted apps and other conditions.

The order runs the maximum five years.

He entered custody the day he murdered Courtney, having left his adoptive parents' home on the Central Coast in the middle of a hot summer night before pulling the girl from her bedroom.

He later told police how he took the youngster to a nearby field.

"I stabbed her in the heart," the then-teenager said.

The boy then directed police to a pool of blood on a concrete driveway and a steak knife lying nearby.

The girl's naked and lifeless body was found in tall grass soon after.

The sentencing judge described the "exceedingly disturbing killing of a very young child" as utterly inexplicable and cruel.

"Somewhat disturbingly he gave one answer (in his police interview) which suggested that, once he had killed one person, he expected that it would become easier killing the next one and the one after that," the judge said.

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A Sydney tradie has woken up as a multi-millionaire after he won $10 million in last night's Powerball.

The Manly resident, on Sydney's Northern Beaches, held the only division one winning entry nationally and took home the entire prize.

The man said he had a sleepless night after the unlikely win.

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"I honestly thought I'd wake up and it wouldn't be there in the morning, like it was all a dream," the tradesman said.

"I started shaking and I definitely wasn't sleepy after that. I couldn't help but shed a tear.

"Although I'm running on no sleep, I'm at work today like normal."

The man said he would seek financial advice after the multi-million dollar win.

"I'm going to see a financial advisor and set myself up," he said.

"It means I might not have to work anymore. I'll be able to help my family too."

There are many different ways to get help and information about gambling. You can visit the National Gambling Helpline or call on 1800 858 858.

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