The deluge hit 281 municipalities in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, affecting more than 370,000 people

The death toll from floods and mudslides triggered by torrential storms in southern Brazil has climbed to 56 people, with 74 injured and another 67 missing, the country's civil defense agency said Saturday. Fast-rising water levels in the state of Rio Grande do Sul were straining dams and threatening the metropolis of Porto Alegre, one of the largest cities in southern Brazil. Authorities there were scrambling to evacuate some neighborhoods that had been submerged -- in some cases using helicopters to rescue people stranded on roofs. And heavy rains of «very high severity» are expected to continue into Sunday, Civil Defense authorities said. The rapid rise of the Guaiba River, which runs through Porto Alegre, brought serious flooding to the city's historic center. - 'Going to be much worse' - With waters starting to overtop a dike along another local river, the Gravatai, Mayor Sebastiao Malo issued a stern warning on social media platform X, saying, «Communities must leave!» That warning came a day after the Rio Grande del Sul governor, Eduardo Leite, warned on X that «in the metropolitan region it's going to be much worse.» Leite called it the worst disaster in the state's history. Residential areas found themselves underwater as far as the eye can see, with roads destroyed and bridges swept away by powerful currents. Rescuers faced a colossal task, with entire towns -- some left without electricity or drinking water -- made inaccessible. At least 300 municipalities have suffered storm damage in Rio Grande do Sul since Monday, according to local officials, displacing more than 24,600. - 'Water up to my waist' - Roughly a third of the displaced have been brought to shelters set up in sports centers, schools and other facilities. «When I left the house, I was in water up to my waist,» a haggard-looking Claudio Almiro, 55, told AFP in a cultural center converted to a shelter in a suburb north of Porto Alegre. «I lost everything.» The rains also affected the southern state of Santa Catarina, where one man died Friday when his car was swept away by raging floodwaters in the municipality of Ipira. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva visited the region Thursday, vowing «there will be no lack of human or material resources» in responding to the disaster, which he blamed on climate change. Climatologist Francisco Eliseu Aquino told AFP on Friday that the devastating storms were the result of a «disastrous cocktail» of global warming and the El Nino weather phenomenon. South America's largest country has recently experienced a string of extreme weather events, including a cyclone in September that claimed at least 31 lives. Aquino said the region's particular geography meant it was often confronted by the effects of tropical and polar air masses colliding -- but these events have «intensified due to climate change.» © Agence France-Presse  

Recently the Colombian singer Sebasti­án Yatra and the Spanish singer Ait­ana released a song titled Ak­ur­eyri. However, this collaboration has been a source of some attention as they had a romantic relationship for several months in the last year but announced their break-up at the end of the year.

Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.

Police are investigating after a BMW exploded in the St-Lambert Exo train station parking lot on Montreal's South Shore.

Models in uniquely designed red dresses are taking to the runway in British Columbia this weekend to make a powerful fashion statement about missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people.

A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.

A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.

RIYADH: Saudi authorities arrested 19,662 people in one week for breaching residency, work and border security regulations, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Saturday. According to an official report, a total of 12,436 people were arrested for violations of residency laws, while 4,464 were held over illegal border crossing attempts, and a further 2,762 for labor-related issues. The report showed that among the 1,233 people arrested for trying to enter the Kingdom illegally, 65 percent were Ethiopian, 31 percent Yemeni, and 4 percent were of other nationalities.

RIYADH: Green cover in the Imam Turki bin Abdullah Royal Nature Reserve has grown to 8.5 percent, the reserve’s development authority has said, according to the Saudi Press Agency. Covering an area of 91,000 sq. km, the reserve is located in the northeastern part of the Kingdom. It is a popular destination for visitors, particularly people interested in eco-tourism, bird watching, hiking and similar activities.

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia on Saturday mourned the loss of poet and national literary icon Prince Badr bin Abdul Mohsen, who died at the age of 75 in Paris after an illness. The prince, affectionately known as the “word engineer,” was a legendary figure in contemporary Saudi poetry whose influence in the art form was felt across the country and the wider Gulf region, where his eloquent verses and poignant prose left an indelible mark on the people’s hearts and minds.

RIYADH: The Saudi Yoga Committee and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development on Saturday signed an agreement to collaborate on promoting the benefits of yoga in the community, with the aim of enhancing well-being and presenting the activity as a way to improve quality of life.

BANJUL, The Gambia: Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan reaffirmed on Saturday the Kingdom’s call for an immediate and lasting ceasefire in Gaza, safe humanitarian corridors, and the fulfillment of Palestinians’ legitimate rights, including their right to self-determination and an independent state. Prince Faisal, who was speciaking at the 15th Islamic Summit Conference in The Gambia, also called for restructuring, developing, and reforming the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to tackle regional and international challenges.

The Ministry of Health (MOH), through the National Surveillance Unit, reported three new leptospirosis cases at the Saint Patrick's College on Ambae.

Labour mobility, such as seasonal work, is a family journey and not an individual one.

A Saratamata landowner representative, Gabriel Vusilai, said that they embrace development and not oppose it, dismissing speculation from their letter to the PENAMA Provincial Government Council (PPGC).

On April 30, 2024, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) intercepted two Vanuatu Registered tugboats at the port of Darwin.

Vanuatu is proud to announce its achievement of ranking #1 out of over 150 countries worldwide on the Happy Planet Index (HPI), for the second time since the index was first published in 2006.

A motorcyclist was shot and killed along the Junction main road in Temple Hall, St Andrew early this morning. The incident happened about 1 o'clock while the man was heading to Brandon Hill, where he lived. It is also reported that the...

The Russian Defense Ministry noted that the strikes also hit temporary deployment locations of Ukrainian neo-Nazi militias and foreign mercenaries, as well as concentrations of military vehicles

A database entry says Poroshenko is wanted for a criminal offense, without naming specific charges

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said more than 9,000 people, aircraft and 75 units of military equipment will take part in the parade on Red Squar

The talks took place in Istanbul on May 3

Pavlyuk was appointed Ground Forces commander on February 11

A New Brunswick woman suffering from sarcoidosis, a disease that limits your lung capacity, is in need of a double lung transplant.

York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.

The road to the 2025 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in Seychelles has officially begun with the launch of the event one year-ahead, which took place on Friday. The 2025 tournament will take place between May 1 to May 11, with 16 nations set to compete, including the hosts, Seychelles, who will be participating in a first ever global football tournament. The event to launch the World Cup took place at the Kempinski Resort in the south of the main island of Mahe, where guests included the President of Seychelles, Wavel Ramkalawan, who is also the patron for of the Seychelles Football Federation (SFF), the SFF's president, Elvis Chetty, and the director of competitions at FIFA (the football world governing body), Jaime Yarza.  Young Seychellois beach soccer players take part in the ceremony to launch the world cup (Seychelles News Agency) Photo License: CC:BY During his address at the event, Chetty explained the importance of the tournament that will take place in Seychelles, stating that this sporting event is a beacon of opportunity for Seychelles. “Hosting an event of this magnitude brings along a significant impact, promising to usher in an era of unparalleled growth and development for our islands and football community at large,” said Chetty, highlighting the expected surge in tourism from the games. He also noted the various infrastructure developments that this tournament will also bring. In fact, a new beach soccer stadium is expected to be constructed in Roche Caiman, near the existing venue, with a 4,000-capacity arena to be built, which will then be dismantled and put into other areas in Seychelles as two smaller stadiums, that will be used to continue the development of beach soccer in Seychelles. On his part, Yarza joked that when FIFA announced that the tournament would be held in Seychelles, they received more volunteers than ever to join the tournament. “Attending a world cup is a very special moment and we want to honour the people that love this sport, by bringing them the best teams, the best organisation and we are convinced that Seychelles can offer that,” Yarza added.  With Seychelles set to host the event almost exactly one year from now, the preparations for the games have already begun, where during the ceremony, the official logo was unveiled, along with the winner’s trophy, and tournament theme song, which is called “Kot mon ne” in Seychellois Creole or “Where is was born”, in English, sang by popular local artist known as Mercenary. Meanwhile, President Ramkalawan said that the people of Seychelles need to understand that this tournament is much bigger than anything Seychelles has hosted before. “We are now overtaking the Indian Ocean or a zone in Africa, now we are going global,” he said, adding that “with Seychelles' size, we will never be able to host a normal football world cup, but as small as we are, we can host the Beach Soccer World Cup.” He added that he hopes that the Seychelles team can do well, and that the tournament will be the catalyst that re-invigorates our local 11-a-side football and brings us back to the heights of previous years.

A power-sharing deal in Gaza could be agreed in exchange for a normalization of ties with Saudi Arabia, officials have told the NYT Read Full Article at RT.com

Hargeisa (HOL) — The breakaway region of Somaliland's military has officially disavowed reports that surfaced on its Facebook page. The document criticized various governments and political parties and suggested a realignment in international alliances.

Mogadishu (HOL) - At least 28 cases of violations against Somali journalists, including killings and arrests, have been recorded between May 2023 and May 2024, highlighting Somalia's status as one of the most dangerous environments for journalists.