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Heavy rains and flash flooding sweep across US’s Northeast

Heavy rains and flash flooding sweep across US’s Northeast
Above, a flooded subway station in New York, US on July 14, 2025 in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. (Juan Luis Landaeta via Reuters)
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Updated 15 July 2025

Heavy rains and flash flooding sweep across US’s Northeast

Heavy rains and flash flooding sweep across US’s Northeast
  • Flash flood watches and warnings were in place in parts of New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and surrounding areas
  • In New York City, some subway service was suspended while other lines were running with severe delays due to flooding

NEW YORK: Heavy rain swept across parts of the US Northeast on Monday night, inundating sections of New York and New Jersey with flash flooding that stranded vehicles in roadways, closed subway lines and led to the declaration of a state of emergency.

Flash flood watches and warnings were in place in parts of New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and surrounding areas as downpours moved through the region.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency due to flash flooding and heavy rainfall, advising people to stay indoors and avoid unnecessary travel. A video posted to social media by CBS showed flood waters bring a major roadway in Scotch Plains, New Jersey, to a standstill, stranding buses.

Some buses and trains in New Jersey were delayed due to flooding.

In New York City, some subway service was suspended while other lines were running with severe delays due to flooding, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. New York’s emergency services agency wrote on the social platform X that parts of the city and mid-Hudson were getting hit with flash floods.

Video posted on social media appears to show water flooding down into a Manhattan subway station, submerging the platform, while passengers inside a train watch. Another photo appears to show passengers standing on a train’s seats to avoid the water beginning to soak the floor.

Parts of major thoroughfares in New York, such as the northbound lanes of the Saw Mill River Parkway and the Cross Bronx Expressway, were temporarily closed due to flooding and at least one downed tree.

Officials in New York’s Westchester County were working to rescue people whose vehicles were submerged in water, according to Carolyn Fortino, a spokesperson for the county executive.

“At this time, residents are still strongly advised to avoid all travel unless fleeing an area that is subject to flooding, or under an evacuation order,” she said in an email.

A flood warning was also issued for Staten Island, which had seen about 10.2 to 15.2 centimeters (4 to 6 inches) of rain, according to NYC’s emergency notification system.

Mount Joy, in southeastern Pennsylvania, declared a disaster emergency as more than 17.8 centimeters (7 inches) of rain fell in less than five hours Monday, according to the Fire Department Mount Joy. Some people reported over 1.5 meters (5 feet) of water in their homes and emergency responders made 16 water rescues, although no injuries were reported.

“The declaration enables us to access additional resources to support residents and accelerate recovery efforts,” Borough Emergency Management Coordinator Philip Colvin said in a statement.

By Monday evening, the rainfall had lessened and water in Mount Joy had started to recede.

In Metuchen, New Jersey, about 54.7 kilometers (34 miles) southwest of New York City, Mayor Jonathan M. Busch, wrote on Facebook that the borough was significantly flooded, but by Monday evening water levels had already receded.

“It looks like the worst of the storm is behind us and thankfully, everyone is safe,” he said.


Archbishop criticizes Reform’s Farage over ‘knee-jerk’ UK asylum plans

Archbishop criticizes Reform’s Farage over ‘knee-jerk’ UK asylum plans
Updated 6 min 45 sec ago

Archbishop criticizes Reform’s Farage over ‘knee-jerk’ UK asylum plans

Archbishop criticizes Reform’s Farage over ‘knee-jerk’ UK asylum plans
  • Stephen Cottrell’s criticism is the latest in a growing row in Britain over how to deal with the large numbers of asylum seekers

LONDON: The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, has criticized the leader of Britain’s populist Reform UK party, Nigel Farage, describing his plans for mass deportations of asylum seekers as an “isolationist, short-term, knee-jerk” response.
Cottrell, the Church of England’s second most senior clergyman who is performing some functions of the Archbishop of Canterbury while a new head of the Church is selected, told Sky News that Brexit veteran Farage was “not offering any long-term solution to the big issues which are convulsing our world.”
He said in an pre-recorded interview aired on Sunday that people should “actively resist the kind of isolationist, short-term, knee-jerk ... send them home” policies.
In response, Reform UK’s deputy leader, Richard Tice, said “the role of the Archbishop is not actually to interfere with international migration policy that is determined by the government.”
Cottrell’s criticism is the latest in a growing row in Britain over how to deal with the large numbers of asylum seekers arriving in boats, an issue which has seen weeks of summer protests outside hotels where some of them are housed.
The Labour government says it is tackling a problem left by earlier, Conservative administrations by trying to process asylum claims more quickly and brokering return deals with other nations, but is under growing pressure to act fast.
Reform UK, which has a commanding lead in opinion polls before an election expected to take place in 2029, took the initiative to lead on the issue last week when Farage unveiled his party’s plans to remove asylum seekers by repealing or disapplying treaties used to block forced deportations.
Cottrell said those plans did little to address the main issue of why asylum seekers wanted to travel to Britain, and “so if you think that’s the answer you will discover, in due course, that all you have done is made the problem worse.”


Pakistan’s Punjab faces the biggest floods in its history, affecting 2 million people

Pakistan’s Punjab faces the biggest floods in its history, affecting 2 million people
Updated 22 min 37 sec ago

Pakistan’s Punjab faces the biggest floods in its history, affecting 2 million people

Pakistan’s Punjab faces the biggest floods in its history, affecting 2 million people
  • On Sunday, the senior minister for the province, Maryam Aurangzeb, said the flood affected two million people
  • Local authorities are using educational institutions and security facilities as rescue camps. Since June 26, 849 people have been killed and 1,130 injured nationwide in rain-related incidents

LAHORE: Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province is dealing with the biggest flood in its history, a senior official said Sunday, as water levels of rivers rise to all-time highs.
Global warming has worsened monsoon rains this year in Pakistan, one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change. Downpours and cloudbursts have triggered flash floods and landslides across the mountainous north and northwest in recent months.
Residents in eastern Punjab have also experienced abnormal amounts of rain, as well as cross-border flooding after India released water from swollen rivers and overflowing dams into Pakistan’s low-lying regions.
The senior minister for the province, Maryam Aurangzeb, told a press conference on Sunday: “This is the biggest flood in the history of the Punjab. The flood has affected two million people. It’s the first time that the three rivers — Sutlej, Chenab, and Ravi — have carried such high levels of water.”
Local authorities are using educational institutions, police, and security facilities as rescue camps, and evacuating people, including by boat, she said.
“The Foreign Ministry is collecting data regarding India’s deliberate release of water into Pakistan,” added Aurangzeb. There was no immediate comment from India.
India alerted its neighbor to the possibility of cross-border flooding last week, the first public diplomatic contact between the two countries since a crisis brought them close to war in May.
Punjab, home to some 150 million people, is a vital part of the country’s agricultural sector and is Pakistan’s main wheat producer. Ferocious flooding in 2022 wiped out huge swaths of crops in the east and south of the country, leading Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to warn that his country faced food shortages.
Figures from Pakistan’s national weather center show that Punjab received 26.5 percent more monsoon rain between July 1 and August 27 compared to the same period last year.
The country’s disaster management authority said 849 people have been killed and 1,130 injured nationwide in rain-related incidents since June 26.
Pakistan’s monsoon season usually runs to the end of September.


Indonesia accepts protesters’ demand to cut lawmakers perks amid unrest

Indonesia accepts protesters’ demand to cut lawmakers perks amid unrest
Updated 13 sec ago

Indonesia accepts protesters’ demand to cut lawmakers perks amid unrest

Indonesia accepts protesters’ demand to cut lawmakers perks amid unrest
  • Viral footage of a tactical van crashing into a young delivery driver in Indonesia’s capital before rolling over his body has sparked renewed anger against a police force

JAKARTA: Indonesian political parties have agreed to revoke a number of perks and privileges for parliamentarians, President Prabowo Subianto said on Sunday, in a major concession to anti-government protests that left five people dead.

Protests over what demonstrators termed excessive pay and housing allowances for parliamentarians started on Monday. They expanded into riots on Thursday after one person – a motorcycle rideshare driver – was killed in police action at a protest site. The homes of some political party members and state installations were ransacked or set ablaze.

Prabowo, speaking at a news conference at the Presidential Palace and flanked by the leaders of various political parties, said he had ordered the military and police to take stern action against rioters and looters, warning that some of the actions were indicative of “terrorism” and “treason.”

“Leaders in parliament have conveyed that they will revoke a number of parliament policies, including the size of allowances for members of parliament and a moratorium on overseas work trips,” Prabowo said.

“To the police and the military, I have ordered them to take action as firm as possible against the destruction of public facilities, looting at homes of individuals and economic centers, according to the laws,” he added.

The protests are the biggest test yet for Prabowo’s nearly one-year-old government, which has faced little or no political opposition since taking power last October.


Thousands in Australia march against immigration, government condemns rally

Thousands in Australia march against immigration, government condemns rally
Updated 31 August 2025

Thousands in Australia march against immigration, government condemns rally

Thousands in Australia march against immigration, government condemns rally
  • March for Australia rallies against immigration were held in Sydney and other state capitals and regional centers

SYDNEY: Thousands of Australians joined anti-immigration rallies across the country on Sunday that the center-left government condemned, saying they sought to spread hate and were linked to neo-Nazis.
March for Australia rallies against immigration were held in Sydney and other state capitals and regional centers, according to the group’s website.
“Mass migration has torn at the bonds that held our communities together,” the website says. The group posted on X on Saturday that the rallies aimed to do “what the mainstream politicians never have the courage to do: demand an end to mass immigration.”
The group also says it is concerned about culture, wages, traffic, housing and water supply, environmental destruction, infrastructure, hospitals, crime and loss of community.
Australia – where one in two people is either born overseas or has a parent born overseas – has been grappling with a rise in right-wing extremism, including protests by neo-Nazis.
“We absolutely condemn the March for Australia rally that’s going on today. It is not about increasing social harmony,” Murray Watt, a senior minister in the Labor government, told Sky News television, when asked about the rally in Sydney, the country’s most-populous city.
“We don’t support rallies like this that are about spreading hate and that are about dividing our community,” Watt said, asserting they were “organized and promoted” by neo-Nazi groups.
March for Australia organizers did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the neo-Nazi claims.
Laws banning the Nazi salute and the display or sale of symbols associated with terror groups came into effect in Australia this year in response to a string of antisemitic attacks on synagogues, buildings and cars since the beginning of Israel’s war in Gaza in October 2023.
Counter-protesters express ‘disgust, anger’
Some 5,000 to 8,000 people, many draped in Australian flags, had assembled for the Sydney rally, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported. It was held near the course of the Sydney Marathon, where 35,000 runners pounded the streets on Sunday, finishing at the city’s Opera House.
Also nearby, a counter-rally by the Refugee Action Coalition, a community activist organization, took place.
“Our event shows the depth of disgust and anger about the far-right agenda of March For Australia,” a coalition spokesperson said in a statement. Organizers said hundreds attended that event.
Police said hundreds of officers were deployed across Sydney in an operation that ended “with no significant incidents.”
A large March for Australia rally was held in central Melbourne, the capital of Victoria state, according to aerial footage from the ABC, which reported that riot officers used pepper spray on demonstrators. Victoria Police did not confirm the report but said it would provide details on the protest later on Sunday.
Bob Katter, the leader of a small populist party, attended a March for Australia rally in Queensland, a party spokesperson said, three days after the veteran lawmaker threatened a reporter for mentioning Katter’s Lebanese heritage at a press conference when the topic of his attendance at a March for Australia event was being discussed.
Katter was “swarmed with hundreds of supporters” at the rally in Townsville, Brisbane’s Courier-Mail reported.
In Sydney, March for Australia protester Glenn Allchin said he wanted a “slowdown” in immigration.
“It’s about our country bursting at the seams and our government bringing more and more people in,” Allchin said. “Our kids struggling to get homes, our hospitals – we have to wait seven hours – our roads, the lack of roads.”


Russian overnight drone attack cuts power to thousands in Odesa, Ukraine says

Russian overnight drone attack cuts power to thousands in Odesa, Ukraine says
Updated 31 August 2025

Russian overnight drone attack cuts power to thousands in Odesa, Ukraine says

Russian overnight drone attack cuts power to thousands in Odesa, Ukraine says
  • Hardest hit was the port city of Chornomorsk, just outside Odesa, where residential houses and administrative buildings were also damaged

KYIV: A Russian drone attack overnight damaged four power facilities near the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa, leaving more than 29,000 customers without electricity on Sunday morning, the region’s governor and power firm DTEK said.
Hardest hit was the port city of Chornomorsk, just outside Odesa, where residential houses and administrative buildings were also damaged, said Oleh Kiper, the governor of the broader Odesa region, on the Telegram messaging app.
“Critical infrastructure is operating on generators,” Kiper said, adding that one person had been injured as a result of the attack.
Reuters could not independently verify the report. In recent weeks, Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukrainian energy and gas infrastructure. Kyiv, in turn, has struck Russian oil refineries and pipelines.
There was no comment from Russia, which has hit Ukraine’s critical infrastructure continuously throughout the 42 months of the war that Moscow launched with a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine’s largest power producer DTEK said in a statement that four of its power facilities came under attack overnight.
“As soon as the energy workers receive permission from the military and rescue services, they will immediately begin inspecting the equipment and carrying out emergency repair work,” DTEK said. A sweeping attack by Russia on Thursday that targeted many regions of Ukraine killed 25 people in Kyiv.