Three spectators killed in motor rally accident in France
Three spectators died in central France after a car driven by a 22-year-old woman racer veered off the road during an auto rally, authorities said.
The driver of the modified Peugeot 208 that hit the spectators and her 51-year-old woman co-driver were taken to hospital but their lives were not
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RNZ News
15 hours ago
- RNZ News
Russian drone strikes on Ukraine hits all-time record in July
Ukrainian emergency workers amid the rubble of a residential building after an air attack in Kyiv on 31 July 2025. Photo: Sergii Volsky / AFP Russia fired more drones at Ukraine in July than in any month since it launched its 2022 invasion, intensifying its deadly bombardment of the country, as peace talks stalled, an AFP analysis shows. The analysis released on Friday (local time) used data published by Ukraine's air force, showing Russia fired 6297 long-range drones into Ukraine last month - up nearly 16 percent compared with June and the third straight monthly increase. Russia also fired 198 missiles into Ukraine in July, more than in any month this year except June, according to the data. The attacks, which trigger air raid sirens and send civilians scrambling for shelter, took place every night of the month. The Kremlin has consistently rejected a ceasefire in Ukraine, saying it saw no immediate diplomatic way out of its nearly three-and-a-half-year invasion. Three rounds of direct negotiation between Moscow and Kyiv since May have failed to yield a peace deal. Russia's escalation of drone and missile attacks on Ukraine led to a three-year high in the number of civilians killed or wounded in June, the United Nations said last month. A combined drone and missile strike on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early Thursday killed at least 31 people, 28 of whom were in a nine-storey apartment block partially reduced to rubble by a missile, authorities said. Five of the dead were children, rescue service spokesperson Pavlo Petrov said. US President Donald Trump, who has become increasingly frustrated with the Kremlin's refusal to accept a ceasefire, has given Moscow until next Friday to reach a deal or face sweeping sanctions. Footage on Russian state TV from the military channel Zvezda shows deadly attack drones being assembled in what it calls the biggest drone factory in the world. Photo: Zvezda / AFP Russia has ramped up its drone production to an industrial scale since the war began. Ukraine has sought to roll out new air defences in response, tasking manufacturers with producing thousands of cheap interceptor drones to destroy their Russian counterparts. - AFP
RNZ News
2 days ago
- RNZ News
Islamic Jihad publishes video of Israeli hostage in Gaza
By AFP Protesters stand with portraits of Israeli hostages Rom Braslavski, Romi Gonen and others during a demonstration by the families of the hostages taken captive in the Gaza Strip by Palestinian militants during the October 7, 2023 attacks. Photo: AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP The armed wing of the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad has published a video of an Israeli-German hostage who was abducted and taken to Gaza in October 2023 during the attack that sparked the war in the territory. In the six-minute video, the man, Rom Braslavski, speaking in Hebrew, is seen watching recent news footage of the hunger crisis in Gaza. He identifies himself and pleads with the Israeli government to secure his release. AFP was not immediately able to confirm the authenticity of the video nor the date it was filmed, but an organisation representing hostages' families identified the man as Braslavski, 21, a German-Israeli dual national. Islamic Jihad, which said last week it had lost contact with the hostage, repeated that claim in commentary at the beginning of the latest video, suggesting the images were filmed more than a week ago. A previous video of Braslavski was released on April 16. Originally from Jerusalem, Braslavski was a security agent at the Nova music festival, one of the sites attacked in October 2023 by Hamas and other Palestinian fighters, including members of Islamic Jihad. The footage, distributed by a movement considered a terrorist organisation by the United States and the European Union, shows the young man watching an Arabic-language television channel broadcasting a report on hunger in Gaza. "They managed to break Rom. Even the strongest person has a breaking point," his family said in a statement released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. "Rom is an example of all the hostages. They must all be brought home now." Before his abduction, Braslavski rescued several festival-goers, according to witnesses who managed to escape. Of the 251 people taken from Israel that day, 49 are still held in Gaza, 27 of whom are dead, according to the Israeli army. Israel has been fighting Hamas in Gaza since the kidnappings, but a truce from January 19 to March 17 allowed the return of 33 hostages to Israel, eight of them dead, in exchange for the release of approximately 1,800 Palestinians from Israeli jails. Others were released under a previous truce in 2023. - AFP
RNZ News
4 days ago
- RNZ News
Watch live: Wellington Phoenix hire Bev Priestman, former Canada coach who spied on Football Ferns
Bev Priestman, the former head coach of Canada's women's football team who was banned for her role in drone spying scandal at the Paris Olympics has been named as head coach of the Phoenix women's team. Priestman, who also guided Canada to Olympic glory in Tokyo, has signed a two year deal. She replaces Paul Temple who left following the conclusion of the last A-League season. Priestman recently finished serving a one-year ban from any football-related activity for her role in the Canadian team's misuse of drones at last year's Paris Olympics. Bev Priestman. Photo: JASON MOWRY / AFP Football's world governing FIFA suspended Priestman after an investigation revealed that she along with other coaching staff used a drone to spy on New Zealand's training session at the Olympics. Following an independent review of the incident by Canada Soccer Priestman was permanently stood down from the head coaching role. Phoenix Chairman Rob Morrison said the club was thrilled to have made a signing of Priestman's calibre. "We're really pleased to be able to welcome Bev back to football," Morrison said. "We all know she's had a period of time away from the game, but we understand the circumstances and we're really comfortable with this appointment. "Bev can't wait to get started and we're really happy that she's going to be coaching the Phoenix." Priestman had previously worked as head of football with New Zealand Football and mentored current Football Ferns coach Michael Mayne. In total Priestman has coached at four FIFA Women's World Cups, three Olympic Games and three FIFA youth world cups. She's twice been shortlisted for the Best FIFA women's coach award and holds the world's most prestigious coaching qualification, the UEFA pro licence. "Bev is a world class coach and a top person, and I have no doubt she will bring her winning mentality to the Wellington Phoenix," Morrison said. Head Coach Bev Priestman of Canada, 2024. Photo: ALEX BIERENS DE HAAN / AFP Priestman is grateful for the opportunity. "Huge thanks to Rob, Shaun Gill (director of football) and David Dome (general manager) for giving me this chance to come back to the game I love and hopefully bring some special moments to not only this city, but this country," Priestman said. "Coming back to New Zealand and seeing the Phoenix week in week out as the only professional women's team has been amazing. We have a responsibility now to fly the flag for this country and try to do something special. "On the pitch I want to see players express themselves and be brave. I want players to take risks, play forward, excite the fans and get them out of their seats." Morrison said the signing of Priestman is a big move for the club. "Securing Bev as head coach speaks to the ambition we have for this team. "Signing one of the world's best coaches is a statement for the club, but it is also a statement for the Ninja A-League, reflecting the ambition and investment from APL for the development of the women's game in Australasia." It is a full circle moment for Priestman, who 16 years ago headed up coach development in Wellington. She then went on to be New Zealand Football's director of football development and played a pivotal role in the award-winning Whole of Football Plan.
