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At least 115 dead and missing in massive flooding and landslides in Philippines

At least 115 dead and missing in massive flooding and landslides in Philippines
Rescuers search for bodies after a landslide triggered by Tropical Storm Trami struck homes in Talisay, Batangas province, Philippines on Oct. 26, 2024. (AP)
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Updated 26 October 2024

At least 115 dead and missing in massive flooding and landslides in Philippines

At least 115 dead and missing in massive flooding and landslides in Philippines
  • Dozens of police, firefighters and other emergency personnel, backed by three backhoes and sniffer dogs, dug up one of the last two missing villagers in the lakeside town of Talisay
  • More than 4.2 million people were in the path of the storm, including nearly half a million, who mostly fled to more than 6,400 emergency shelters in several provinces

TALISAY, Philippines: The number of dead and missing in massive flooding and landslides wrought by Tropical Storm Trami in the Philippines has exceeded 100 and the president said Saturday that many areas remained isolated with people in need of rescue.
Trami blew away from the northwestern Philippines on Friday, leaving at least 81 people dead and 34 others missing in in one of the Southeast Asian archipelago’s deadliest and most destructive storms so far this year, the government’s disaster-response agency said. The death toll was expected to rise as reports come in from previously isolated areas.
Dozens of police, firefighters and other emergency personnel, backed by three backhoes and sniffer dogs, dug up one of the last two missing villagers in the lakeside town of Talisay in Batangas province Saturday.
A father, who was waiting for word on his missing 14-year-old daughter, wept as rescuers placed the remains in a black body bag. Distraught, he followed police officers, who carried the body bag down a mud-strewn village alley to a police van when one weeping resident approaching him to express her sympathies.
The man said he was sure it was his daughter, but authorities needed to do checks to confirm the identity of the villager dug up in the mound.
In a nearby basketball gym at the town center, more than a dozen white coffins were laid side by side, bearing the remains of those found in the heaps of mud, boulders and trees that cascaded Thursday afternoon down the steep slope of a wooded ridge in Talisay’s Sampaloc village.
President Ferdinand Marcos, who inspected another hard-hit region southeast of Manila Saturday, said the unusually large volume of rainfall dumped by the storm — including in some areas that saw one to two months’ worth of rainfall in just 24 hours — overwhelmed flood controls in provinces lashed by Trami.
“The water was just too much,” Marcos told reporters.
“We’re not done yet with our rescue work,” he said. “Our problem here, there are still many areas that remained flooded and could not be accessed even big trucks.”
His administration, Marcos said, would plan to start work on a major flood control project that can meet the unprecedented threats posed by climate change.
More than 4.2 million people were in the path of the storm, including nearly half a million, who mostly fled to more than 6,400 emergency shelters in several provinces, the government agency said.
In an emergency Cainet meeting, Marcos raised concerns over reports by government forecasters that the storm — the 11th to hit the Philippines this year — could make a U-turn next week as it is pushed back by high-pressure winds in the South China Sea.
The storm was forecast to batter Vietnam over the weekend if it would not veer off course.
The Philippine government shut down schools and government offices for the third day on Friday to keep millions of people safe on the main northern island of Luzon. Inter-island ferry services were also suspended, stranding thousands.
Weather has cleared in many areas on Saturday, allowing cleanup work in most areas.
Each year, about 20 storms and typhoons batter the Philippines, a Southeast Asian archipelago which lies between the Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea. In 2013, Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest recorded tropical cyclones, left more than 7,300 people dead or missing and flattened entire villages.


It took only 4 minutes for thieves to steal crown jewels from Louvre Museum in Paris, say officials

It took only 4 minutes for thieves to steal crown jewels from Louvre Museum in Paris, say officials
Updated 5 sec ago

It took only 4 minutes for thieves to steal crown jewels from Louvre Museum in Paris, say officials

It took only 4 minutes for thieves to steal crown jewels from Louvre Museum in Paris, say officials
  • Thieves bypassed security by using a basket lift via the riverfront facade, forcing a window open, and opening glass display cases using power tools
  • The daylight heist about 30 minutes after opening, with visitors already inside, was among the highest-profile museum thefts in living memory

PARIS: In a minutes-long strike Sunday inside the world’s most-visited museum, thieves rode a basket lift up the Louvre‘s facade, forced a window, smashed display cases and fled with priceless Napoleonic jewels, officials said.
The daylight heist about 30 minutes after opening, with visitors already inside, was among the highest-profile museum thefts in living memory and comes as staff complained that crowding and thin staffing are straining security.
The theft unfolded just 250 meters (270 yards) from the Mona Lisa, in what Culture Minister Rachida Dati described as a professional “four-minute operation.”
One object, the emerald-set imperial crown of Napoleon III’s wife, Empress Eugénie, containing more than 1,300 diamonds, was later found outside the museum, French authorities said. It was reportedly recovered broken.
Images from the scene showed confused tourists being steered out of the glass pyramid and adjoining courtyards as officers closed nearby streets along the Seine.
A lift — which officials say the thieves brought and which was later removed — stood against the Seine-facing façade, their entry route and, observers said, a revealing weakness: that such machinery could be brought to a palace-museum unchecked.
 

French police officers stand next to a furniture elevator used by robbers to enter the Louvre Museum, on Quai Francois Mitterrand, in Paris on October 19, 2025. (AFP)

A museum already under strain
Around 9:30 a.m., several intruders forced a window, cut panes with a disc cutter and went straight for the glass display cases, officials said. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the crew entered from outside using a basket lift via the riverfront facade to reach the hall with the 23-item royal collection.
Their target was the gilded Apollon Gallery, where the Crown Diamonds are displayed, including the Regent, the Sancy and the Hortensia.
The thieves smashed two display cases and fled on motorbikes, Nunez said. No one was hurt. Alarms brought Louvre agents to the room, forcing the intruders to bolt, but the theft was already done.
Eight objects were taken, according to officials: a sapphire diadem, necklace and single earring from a matching set linked to 19th-century French queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense; an emerald necklace and earrings from the matching set of Empress Marie-Louise, Napoleon Bonaparte’s second wife; a reliquary brooch; Empress Eugénie’s diadem; and her large corsage-bow brooch — a prized 19th-century imperial ensemble.
“It’s a major robbery,” Nunez said, noting that security measures at the Louvre had been strengthened in recent years and would be reinforced further as part of the museum’s upcoming overhaul plan. Officials said security upgrades include new-generation cameras, perimeter detection, and a new security control room. But critics say the measures come far too late.

The Louvre closed for the rest of Sunday for the forensic investigation to begin as police sealed gates, cleared courtyards and shut nearby streets along the Seine.
Daylight robberies during public hours are rare. Pulling one off inside the Louvre with visitors present ranks among Europe’s most audacious in recent history, and at least since Dresden’s Green Vault museum in 2019.
It also collides with a deeper tension the Louvre has struggled to resolve: swelling crowds and stretched staff. The museum delayed opening during a June staff walkout over overcrowding and chronic understaffing. Unions say mass tourism leaves too few eyes on too many rooms and creates pressure points where construction zones, freight routes and visitor flows meet.
Security around marquee works remains tight — the Mona Lisa sits behind bulletproof glass in a climate-controlled case — but Sunday’s theft also underscored that protections are not uniformly as robust across the museum’s more than 33,000 objects.

This picture shows the "Gallerie d'Apollon" ("Apollo's Gallery") on January 14, 2020 at the Louvre museum in Paris after the reopening of the Gallery following ten months of renovations. (AFP)

The theft is a fresh embarrassment for a museum already under scrutiny.
“How can they ride a lift to a window and take jewels in the middle of the day?” said Magali Cunel, a French teacher from near Lyon. “It’s just unbelievable that a museum this famous can have such obvious security gaps.”
The Louvre has a long history of thefts and attempted robberies. The most famous came in 1911, when the Mona Lisa vanished from its frame, stolen by Vincenzo Peruggia and recovered two years later in Florence. Another notorious episode came in 1956, when a visitor hurled a stone at her world-famous smile, chipping paint near her left elbow and hastening the move to display the work behind protective glass.
Today the former royal palace holds a roll call of civilization: Leonardo’s Mona Lisa; the armless serenity of the Venus de Milo; the Winged Victory of Samothrace, wind-lashed on the Daru staircase; the Code of Hammurabi’s carved laws; Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People; Géricault’s The Raft of the Medusa. The objects — from Mesopotamia, Egypt and the classical world to Europe’s masters — draw a daily tide of up to 30,000 visitors even as investigators now begin to sweep those gilded corridors for clues.
 

This photograph shows the "parure de la reine Marie-Amelie et de la Reine Hortense" (set of jewelry of Queen Marie-Amelie and Queen Hortense) displayed at Apollon's Gallery on January 14, 2020 at the Louvre museum in Paris. (AFP)

Politics at the door
The heist spilled instantly into politics. Far-right leader Jordan Bardella used it to attack President Emmanuel Macron, weakened at home and facing a fractured parliament.
“The Louvre is a global symbol of our culture,” Bardella wrote on X. “This robbery, which allowed thieves to steal jewels from the French Crown, is an unbearable humiliation for our country. How far will the decay of the state go?”
The criticism lands as Macron touts a decade-long “Louvre New Renaissance” plan — about €700 million ($760 million) to modernize infrastructure, ease crowding and give the Mona Lisa a dedicated gallery by 2031. For workers on the floor, the relief has felt slower than the pressure.
What we know — and don’t
Forensic teams are examining the site of the crime and adjoining access points while a full inventory is taken, authorities said. Officials have described the haul as of “inestimable” historical value.
Recovery may prove difficult. “It’s unlikely these jewels will ever be seen again,” said Tobias Kormind, managing director of 77 Diamonds. “Professional crews often break down and re-cut large, recognizable stones to evade detection, effectively erasing their provenance.”
Key questions still unanswered are how many people took part in the theft and whether they had inside assistance, authorities said. According to French media, there were four perpetrators: two dressed as construction workers in yellow safety vests on the lift, and two each on a scooter. French authorities did not immediately comment on this.
Investigators are reviewing CCTV from the Denon wing and the riverfront, inspecting the basket lift used to reach the gallery and interviewing staff who were on site when the museum opened, authorities said.


Russia attacks Ukraine coal mine, second energy site, companies say

Russia attacks Ukraine coal mine, second energy site, companies say
Updated 19 October 2025

Russia attacks Ukraine coal mine, second energy site, companies say

Russia attacks Ukraine coal mine, second energy site, companies say
  • Russian forces launched an attack on a colliery in Dnipropetrovsk region
  • It is the fourth Russian assault in two months on coal mining operations in Ukraine

Russian forces on Sunday attacked a coal mine in southeastern Ukraine and an unidentified energy site in the north near the Russian border, the operators of the sites said, adding to a series of recent assaults on Ukraine’s energy network.
Private Ukrainian energy firm DTEK said Russian forces launched an attack on a colliery in Dnipropetrovsk region. The company said 192 miners were safely brought to the surface, with no injuries.
The company said it was the fourth Russian assault in two months on coal mining operations in Ukraine.
The regional energy company in the northern border region of Chernihiv, Chernihivoblenergo, said an attack there caused extensive damage and cut off electricity to 55,000 users. Emergency crews would restore power in the area once it was safe to do so, it said.
Russian attacks in recent weeks have focused on Ukraine’s power grid and other energy sites.
Power cuts were imposed in many areas in the past week in the aftermath of an attack earlier this month that cut electricity to more than one million consumers.


Bangladesh probes cause of airport fire

Bangladesh probes cause of airport fire
Updated 19 October 2025

Bangladesh probes cause of airport fire

Bangladesh probes cause of airport fire
  • The National Board of Revenue said it had begun assessing the damage, with business groups warning that direct losses and subsequent impacts on trade could run into the millions of dollars

DHAKA: Bangladeshi traders on Sunday assessed heavy losses after a devastating fire tore through the cargo complex of the country’s main international airport, as the government opened an investigation into possible arson.
Firefighters had brought the blaze under control and flight operations resumed late Saturday, airport executive director S. M. Ragib Samad told AFP, after thick black smoke swept across the runway, forcing authorities to briefly suspend flights.
But Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport’s cargo complex — which stores fabrics, garment accessories, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and other imports — was left in ruins.
The National Board of Revenue said it had begun assessing the damage, with business groups warning that direct losses and subsequent impacts on trade could run into the millions of dollars.
Bangladesh is the world’s second-biggest garment manufacturer, and textile and garment production accounts for about 80 percent of exports.
“We have started our assessment,” NBR official Moshiur Rahman told AFP.
The fire was intense, with 37 firefighting units and security forces battling the flames for hours. Smoke was still rising from the charred remains on Sunday.
“The fire spread to every corner — I don’t know if any consignment could escape,” said one exhausted firefighter, whose uniform was greyed and hands blackened. 
“We were supposed to deliver the consignments to our clients today. All burnt to ashes, I guess,” said importer Anand Kumar Ghosh, who said he had lost 52 consignments.
Moinul Ahsan, a senior official at the Directorate of Health, said four people had been taken to hospital with minor injuries. 
The cause of the blaze was not immediately known.
But the government said it was aware of growing public concern following a string of major fires in recent days -- including in Chittagong’s export processing zone and a chemical and garment factory in Dhaka, where 16 people were killed.

 


Northern Irish minister faces legal challenge over stance on trade with Israel

Northern Irish minister faces legal challenge over stance on trade with Israel
Updated 19 October 2025

Northern Irish minister faces legal challenge over stance on trade with Israel

Northern Irish minister faces legal challenge over stance on trade with Israel
  • Pre-action protocol letter, sent by pro-Union think tank Unionist Voice Policy Studies, claims Sinn Fein minister acted beyond her powers

LONDON: Northern Ireland’s Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald is facing a legal challenge over her decision to exclude the region from UK trade talks with Israel and instruct officials not to assist companies supplying arms to the country, it was reported on Saturday.

The pre-action protocol letter, sent by pro-Union think tank Unionist Voice Policy Studies (UVPS), claims the Sinn Fein minister acted beyond her powers, as international trade policy is not a devolved matter, .

Archibald made the announcement in a written statement to the Assembly on Thursday, saying Invest NI had confirmed it “does not support projects that manufacture arms or their components for supply to Israel.”

She outlined a series of new measures aimed at “eliminating any risk of public funds being used to support the manufacture of arms or components that are used for genocide.” 

These included a commitment that her department “will not engage in the British Government’s trade talks with Israel while it continues to illegally occupy and impose apartheid on Palestine.”

The DUP has called for the issue to be referred to the wider Stormont Executive, while TUV leader Jim Allister has requested an urgent debate in Westminster. 

Under power-sharing rules, ministers must refer “significant and controversial” matters to the Executive for collective decision-making.

In a statement, UVPS director Jamie Bryson said: “The decision of the Minister for Economy to purport to exclude Northern Ireland from the sovereign Government’s trade talks with Israel is plainly unlawful. It is significant and controversial, and therefore should have been referred to the Executive. The minister is purporting to act in a non-devolved area, far beyond her lawful powers.”

He added that Archibald’s direction to Invest NI “amounts to clear discrimination on the ground of political opinion against any business who supports Israel.”

Bryson’s group said it has “consistently challenged unlawful acts of Executive ministers,” calling the decision “the latest example of a Sinn Féin minister acting far beyond their lawful powers.”

The Department for the Economy was approached for comment by The Independent.


Italian coast guard says rescues dozens of migrants, two dead

Italian coast guard says rescues dozens of migrants, two dead
Updated 19 October 2025

Italian coast guard says rescues dozens of migrants, two dead

Italian coast guard says rescues dozens of migrants, two dead
  • Boat was drifting some 16 nautical miles from Lampedusa island
  • 85 men, one woman and five presumed minors have survived

ROME: Italy’s coast guard said Sunday it had rescued 91 people from a migrant boat adrift off the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa, but two males were found dead.
The boat was drifting some 16 nautical miles from the Italian island when it was located by an EU border agency plane, the coast guard said in a statement, adding it had dispatched two patrol boats.
“During the inspection of the below-deck areas, additional migrants in serious health conditions and two bodies, both male, were discovered,” it said.
The survivors — 85 men, one woman and five presumed minors — were disembarked and some taken to hospital by helicopter.
Italian news agency Ansa said that 14 of the migrants were in serious condition, with three requiring intubation.
Ansa said the two migrants died after inhaling petrol while below deck, with 14 others ill for the same reason.
The migrants came from Pakistan, Eritrea and Somalia, it said.
The waters off Lampedusa were the site of another migrant disaster on Friday, when about 20 people went missing after a shipwreck.
The coast guard said Friday that 11 people had been rescued, and one body was recovered, but the rest of the approximately 30 people from that boat were unaccounted for.