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AFP's Pictures of the Year 2025 shows some of the world's top events and stories over the past year.
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A renewed search for flight MH370 aims to find answers for families
9:18 pm todayIs the new search likely to find new evidence more than a decade after the flight went missing?
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Those we lost: Remembering the most notable world deaths of 2025
5:14 pm todayA look back at some of the most notable world figures who died this year, from Jane Goodall to Hulk Hogan.
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'The Wire' actor Isiah Whitlock Jr. dies aged 71
5:56 pm todayThe American actor had a storied career spanning more than three decades in both TV and film.
World headlines with summaries.
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NZ tourist thought grounded cruise ship was 'going to sink'
9:15 am todayAn angry passenger has confronted cruise ship staff after her dream Christmas voyage came to a crashing halt off the Papua New Guinea coast on the weekend.
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Stranded PNG cruise ship passengers to be flown home
30 Dec 2025Some Kiwis are among passengers on an Australian cruise ship that ran aground off Papua New Guinea will fly out of the country after efforts to refloat the vessel failed.
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Denmark becomes first country in world to end letter delivery
1:43 pm todayIn Denmark, posting a letter in one of its iconic red mailboxes is no longer an option as the country fully embraces the digital age.
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US President John F Kennedy's granddaughter dead at 35
10:48 am todayTatiana Schlossberg, an environmental journalist who was a granddaughter of US President John F. Kennedy, has died, her family announced.
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UAE to pull forces out of Yemen as 24-hour deadline set
4:11 pm todayThe United Arab Emirates' defence ministry said it was withdrawing "counter-terrorism teams...of its own volition".
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Burst tyre and speed contributed to Anthony Joshua crash, say investigators
10:01 am todayThe British boxer was in a "stable condition" in hospital after the Monday car accident that killed two close associates.
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'Princess Bride' star's emotional tribute to Rob Reiner
11:21 am todayThe star of one of Rob Reiner's most celebrated films says he "can finally put my grief into words", more than two weeks after Reiner and his wife were found dead.
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George Clooney becomes French citizen
10:07 am todayThe American actor and director has long been vocal about his privacy concerns surrounding his family.
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China encircles Taiwan in massive military display
5:04 am todayChina has carried out 10 hours of live-firing drills around Taiwan as its military rehearses a blockade of the island's north and south.
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Germany bank heist nets about 30m euros in cash, valuables
5:04 am todayA police spokesman said that the break-in was "indeed very professionally executed", likening it to the heist movie 'Ocean's Eleven'.
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Inside Big Ben, a London icon that's been ringing since 1859
30 Dec 2025It's among the world's most photographed landmarks, but London's Big Ben also has an important job to do as it rings in the new year.
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China fires live rounds in military drills near Taiwan
30 Dec 2025China has fired live rounds in the waters to the north of Taiwan, with 130 Chinese military aircraft detected near the island in a 24-hour period.
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Beyonce declared a billionaire by Forbes magazine
The 44-year-old entertainer joins a select club that includes her husband, rapper Jay-Z, as well as Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen and Rihanna.
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New York City's first Muslim mayor gets ready to take office
30 Dec 2025At the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve, New York Attorney General Letitia James will swear in the new mayor in a private ceremony.
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No evidence Bondi attack gunmen operated as part of a terror cell - police
30 Dec 2025There is no evidence the pair were directed by others to allegedly carry out the antisemitic attack, which left 15 people dead, say Australian police.
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Americans in 1998 tried to predict 2025. Here’s what they got right
30 Dec 2025In the year 1998, Bill Clinton was facing impeachment proceedings, Titanic was cleaning up at the Oscars and most households still had landline phones.
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Trump 'very angry' over reports of attack attempt on Putin; Ukraine denies
Russia accused Ukraine of trying to attack President Vladimir Putin's residence in northern Russia, although it provided no evidence.
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Two of boxer Anthony Joshua's team killed in crash
30 Dec 2025Joshua, who recently returned to boxing and is expected to fight Tyson Fury in 2026, sustained minor injuries in the crash.
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Sick Trump, end to war? What the shaman sees for 2026
30 Dec 2025Shamans in Peru gathered for an annual New Year's ritual where they made predictions for the year to come, including illness for US President Donald Trump and the downfall of Venezuelan counterpart…
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Why Starbucks doesn't want to be everywhere anymore
30 Dec 2025The coffee chain spent years trying to become an inescapable storefront on the streets of New York, Los Angeles and other big cities in America. Now that's coming to an end.
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News of the weird: The strangest stories of 2025
29 Dec 2025There was no shortage of strange news filed by RNZ reporters and our international partners in the past 12 months - here's the year in review.
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Idris Elba, former All Blacks coach recognised in UK honours list
30 Dec 2025Actor Idris Elba and a former All Blacks coach were among the country's traditional New Year Honours on Monday.
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Watch: UN chief says 'get serious' in grim New Year message
"As we enter the new year, the world stands at a crossroads," said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Video
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Brazil's ex-president has surgery for chronic hiccups
30 Dec 2025Brazil's imprisoned former President Jair Bolsonaro underwent a medical procedure to treat persistent hiccups for the second time in three days.
