The natural arch, part of the Sant’Andrea sea stacks near the town of Melendugno in the southern region of Puglia, had long been a popular backdrop for wedding proposals and tourist photos

International News via Reuters:

A famous rock structure on Italy’s Adriatic coast known as the “Lovers’ Arch” collapsed on Valentine’s Day after days of bad weather, prompting local officials to warn that other stretches of the fragile coastline could be at risk.

The natural arch, part of the Sant’Andrea sea stacks near the town of Melendugno in the southern region of Puglia, had long been a popular backdrop for wedding proposals and tourist photos.

“This is an unwanted Valentine’s Day gift,” Melendugno Mayor Maurizio Cisternino told the local Corriere Salentino newspaper, calling the collapse “a very hard blow” for the area’s image and for tourism.

Cisternino said days of heavy rain, strong winds and rough seas had battered the coastline and ultimately destroyed the arch. “Nature has taken back what it created,” he said.

Officials have warned that other parts of the rocky coastline could also collapse, with cracks visible along the cliff, underscoring the growing threat of coastal erosion.

Storms and heavy rain in recent days have also eaten away at long stretches of coastline on the Ionian Sea, from Ugento to the beaches of Gallipoli, damaging beach structures, causing small cliff falls and harming ports.

Weeks of terrible weather this year have also caused damage estimated at well over a billion euros in southern Italy, including a landslide that has forced more than 1,500 people to evacuate their homes in the Sicilian town of Niscemi.

Reporting by Crispian BalmerEditing by Ros Russell

Domestic media reported a few flights had resumed operating by afternoon from the airport in Wellington although cancellations were still widespread after airport authorities said most morning flights were disrupted

International News via Reuters:

Heavy rain and strong winds disrupted flights, trains and ferries, forcing the closure of roads across large parts of New Zealand’s North Island on Monday, while snapping power links to tens of thousands.

Domestic media reported a few flights had resumed operating by afternoon from the airport in Wellington, the capital, although cancellations were still widespread after airport authorities said most morning flights were disrupted.

Air New Zealand said it hoped to resume services when conditions ease later on Monday, after it paused operations at Wellington, Napier and Palmerston North airports.

Online images showed flooded semi-rural neighbourhoods, inundated homes, trees fallen on vehicles and collapsed sections of road after waters receded.

The weather had been “absolutely terrifying”, Marilyn Bulford, who lives in the rural town of Bunnythorpe, about 160 km (100 miles) north of Wellington, told the New Zealand Herald newspaper.

“I’ve never seen huge trees blowing around this much,” she added. “It’s so bad. I haven’t seen anything like it.”

The Wellington region accounted for more than half the 852 emergency calls received overnight, said Ken Cooper, assistant national commander of the emergency services.

“We had a very busy night, and our firefighters are continuing to respond to calls,” he added.

More than 30,000 properties were without power, including about 10,000 customers in Wellington, said authorities, who have urged motorists to stay off roads, while several schools were closed as emergency crews tackled widespread damage.

The storm is forecast to bring heavy rains as it heads for the east coast of the South Island on Tuesday, the weather bureau said, with authorities warning of further disruption.

Raw sewage discharged after this month’s failure of Wellington’s main wastewater treatment plant in a storm was washed back onto the south coast by the weekend storm, in an incident some residents called a “poonami” on social media.

A low-pressure system east of the North Island has battered several regions since the weekend, bringing heavy rain and severe gales. A man was found dead on Saturday in a submerged vehicle on a highway.

The storm follows six deaths last month in a landslide triggered by heavy rains at Mount Maunganui on the North Island’s east coast, bringing down soil and rubble on a site crowded with families on summer holidays.

Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Stephen Coates and Clarence Fernandez

The 23-year-old died on Saturday, having fallen into a coma after being violently beaten on Thursday outside a conference given by Rima Hassan, a far-left member of the European Parliament

International News via Reuters:

French President Emmanuel Macron urged calm and restraint at the weekend after an activist died from injuries sustained during a beating, an incident that has become a political flashpoint.

The 23-year-old died on Saturday, having fallen into a coma after being violently beaten on Thursday outside a conference given by Rima Hassan, a far-left member of the European Parliament.

Hassan called on Friday for an investigation and for the perpetrators to be brought to justice, a call that Macron repeated late on Saturday, after a wave of mutual recriminations around the beating.

“It is essential that the perpetrators of this ignominy be prosecuted, brought to justice and convicted. Hatred that kills has no place among us. I call for calm, restraint and respect,” Macron said on X.

The activist, whose name the government has given only as Quentin, had been present to help protect members of the anti-immigration feminist association Nemesis, which was protesting against the event, the group said in a statement.

Le Monde newspaper quoted prosecutors as saying they had opened an investigation for aggravated manslaughter but that the perpetrators had not been identified.

Politicians quickly weighed in.

Bruno Retailleau, head of the conservative Republicans party and a declared candidate for the 2027 presidential election, blamed the far left.

Far-right National Rally (RN) heavyweight Marine Le Pen said the perpetrators must be brought to justice “with the utmost severity.”

Jean-Luc Mélenchon, head of far-left France Unbowed (LFI) of which Hassan is a member, said some of his party’s local offices had been “attacked” following statements by Retailleau and Le Pen. He did not give details.

Reporting by Leigh Thomas; editing by Alexandra Hudson and Philippa Fletcher