Author: Press Room

Marianne Faithfull, the British pop star, muse, libertine and old soul who inspired and helped write some of the Rolling Stones’ greatest songs and endured as a torch singer and survivor of the lifestyle she once embodied, has died. She was 78.Faithfull died in London, her music promotion company Republic Media said.“It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of the singer, songwriter and actress Marianne Faithfull,” a company spokesperson said in a statement. “Marianne passed away peacefully in London today, in the company of her loving family. She will be dearly missed.”Faithfull was a celebrity before turning…

Several vehicles have been impounded and fines have been issued to drivers at an Auckland beach where the speed limit was recently lowered.Karioitahi Beach, a black sand beach in the southwest of the Auckland region, has a 20km/h speed limit — introduced before Christmas.Classified as a public road, the speed limit used to be 60km/h. It was one of only two beaches in the region where driving was allowed.Police conducted Operation Beaches at Karioitahi and Muriwai at the beginning of summer.Counties Manukau South area prevention manager Matt Hoyes said a number of vehicles were impounded at Karioitahi, including a pink-stickered…

Even if the joint parliamentary committee finds a compromise, there is no guarantee the budget bill will be adopted by the lower house next week. ADVERTISEMENTSeven MPs and seven senators have met behind closed doors on Thursday in Paris to negotiate the final draft of France’s 2025 budget plan. But even if they succeed, the plan’s adoption by Parliament cannot be taken for granted. The outcome of the talks promises to be decisive for the future of newly appointed Prime Minister François Bayrou and his government. Who is part of the negotiations and what is at stake?The parliamentary committee has…

A pair of dogs who went missing after a wasp attack in Waikato have been reunited with their owner — after being found by an “eagle-eyed” waka ama crew.The two dogs from Huntly were walking with their owner alongside the Waikato River when they were set upon by wasps.Panicked, the animals bolted to escape the swarm but became stranded on a sand bank.Waahi Waka, a local waka ama group, spotted the dogs on the river and ferried them to safety in their boats.They contacted animal control, which called for vet assistance to treat the dogs for wasp stings.Because they were…

Dominique Pelicot, who was jailed in December for repeatedly drugging and raping his then-wife Gisèle, is a suspect in other cases of rape and murder. ADVERTISEMENTDominique Pélicot, the convicted French rapist who drugged his then-wife, Gisèle, so that other men could rape her, was questioned on Thursday about other cases of rape and murder in which he is a suspect, according to his lawyer. The 72-year-old is serving a 20-year prison sentence after he was found guilty in December for repeatedly drugging and raping his now ex-wife. Pélicot’s lawyer, Béatrice Zavarro, said he now faces renewed questioning by an investigating…

A large vegetation fire in mixed scrub and wetland on Southland’s Tiwai Peninsula has exploded in size this afternoon, increasing nearly fivefold.The fire, which broke out shortly after midnight, has grown to 1200 hectares across the centre of the peninsula due to higher temperatures and wind speed this afternoon.Sixty firefighters and eight fire trucks are in attendance with ten helicopters in support, said Fire and Emergency NZ.Incident controller Hamish Angus said the fire was not an immediate threat to people, homes, the smelter, or the Tiwai Bridge.”The Tiwai Bridge is closed to all traffic except our crews and the smelter…

Diplomatic sources say the bloc is facing calls to suspend its wide-ranging minerals agreement with Rwanda amid fears it is inflaming the escalating conflict in eastern DRC. ADVERTISEMENTThe conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has prompted calls on Brussels to review an agreement with the Rwandan government intended to secure the supply of critical materials used in smartphones and electric cars.The deal, signed in February last year, was hailed by Brussels as a key step in securing the supply of highly-sought materials needed to power the so-called green and digital transition, but criticised for turning a blind eye…

Prospective Dunedin homeowners should feel confident they are able to find a property “regardless of what your budget is”, a realtor in the city says.    New data released by realestate.co.nz this week highlighted “striking million-dollar price gaps” between the highest and lowest-priced suburbs across New Zealand’s main centres.    The district-level data reflected the annual average asking prices of suburbs with ten or more new listings in 2024.  In the Dunedin area, the highest-ranked suburb was North Taieri with an average asking price of $1,767,643, followed by East Taieri, Maori Hill, St Leonards and St Clair.   The lowest…

More than 150 remote traps set to catch predators across a South Island national park have been “systematically tampered” with and disarmed, the Department of Conservation said.High-trapping lines between Dart Valley and the west Matukituki Valley were checked by volunteers and staff who found all 45 traps blocked off by “strategically placed” rocks.Staff also found all the traps from Shelter Rock Hut to Dart Hut and down the Rees Valley had been triggered or also had rocks placed in front of their doors.DOC Whakatipu operations manager David Butt said it was “very concerning” that someone had made the effort to…

In Sumy, a Russian drone strike killed four people, including a child, and injured nine. Over 100 residents were evacuated. ADVERTISEMENTIn another series of overnight drone strikes on Ukraine, Russian Shahed UAV hit a ten-storey residential building in Sumy in the country’s northeast, killing at least four people, including a child, according to local authorities. Nine others were injured, including an eight-year-old. The attack forced the evacuation of more than 100 residents, the regional administration reported.Rescue efforts are ongoing, with people possibly still trapped under the rubble.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the drone attack a “horrific tragedy, a terrible Russian…