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☆ Police search for three missing people in deadly Spain floods, trains resume
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

David Fernandez, 52, shows damage on the homes of his parents and their neighbours following heavy rain, in El Alamo, Spain. REUTERS/Susana Vera Acquire Licensing RightsMADRID, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Police and rescue services searched on Tuesday for three people missing after devastating floods hit central Spain as trains to the south resumed after thousands of passengers were left stranded. The heaviest damage was in the provinces of Toledo and Madrid in the country's centre. Railway infrastructure manager Adif said high-speed rail traffic between Madrid and the southern region of Andalusia had resumed on Monday morning after overnight repairs to damage caused by the storm. The train connection between Madrid and Toledo, 70 kilometres (45 miles) south, remained closed.

Persons: David Fernandez, Susana Vera, Teresa Ribera, Ribera, Adif, David Latona, Emma Pinedo, Inti Landauro, Ed Osmond Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Police, Sunday, Renfe, Thomson Locations: El Alamo, Spain, Rights MADRID, Toledo, Madrid, Aldea del Fresno, Toledo province, Andalusia

☆ A woman and her dog were swept away by flash flooding that suddenly surged through a Utah slot canyon. They were saved after the SOS emergency feature on her iPhone notified rescuers.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A woman was hiking with her dog in a Utah slot canyon Thursday when she heard flash flooding coming. Rescuers were able to find them after she used the emergency satellite SOS feature on her iPhone. AdvertisementAdvertisementShe then used the emergency satellite SOS feature on her iPhone to send a message for help. However, the woman got a message back to her phone that said, "Emergency Services: Message Send Failure." It's unclear why the woman received a message to her iPhone that said her request for help was not sent.

Persons: Mary Jane Canyon, GCSAR Organizations: Rescuers, Facebook, Apple Locations: Utah

Islamabad, Pakistan CNN —Battling anxiety and nausea, they huddled together in the ruptured cable car, gripped by fear as they dangled precariously hundreds of feet in the air. A soldier slings down from a helicopter during a rescue mission to recover students stuck in a cable car in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan on August 22. As they waited to be rescued, two of the students in the cable car were slipping in and out of consciousness, one of the passengers told Pakistani outlet Geo News. Battagram district, where the cable car is located, is deeply impoverished and lacks infrastructure and development. Last December, 12 children were rescued from another cable car in eastern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Persons: Tanveer Ur Rehman, “, Anwaar ul Haq Kakar Organizations: Pakistan CNN, AFP, Geo, Battagram, Twitter, Cable Locations: Islamabad, Pakistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Batangi, Battagram, Battagram district

☆ Jakarta orders civil servants to work from home to fight soaring pollution
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Heather Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

“The air quality in the Greater Jakarta Area has been very, very bad,” Widodo said. ASEAN is a regional bloc that brings together 10 Southeast Asian countries, many of which have long suffered high pollution levels in their major cities. Ministers in the Southeast Asian country confirmed this week that President Widodo had been battling a cough for weeks and suggested it could be related to worsening air pollution in Jakarta. Air pollution has long plagued the Greater Jakarta area, with factories, coal-fired power plants and traffic congestion all contributing to the smog, according to experts. Experts previously told CNN the health costs of Indonesia’s air pollution cannot be underestimated.

Persons: Joko, Widodo, ” Widodo, Heru Budi, Sigit Wijatmoko, ” Wijatmoko, “, Wijatmoko, Sandiaga Uno Organizations: CNN, Jakarta Gov, CNN Indonesia, 43rd ASEAN Summit, Jakarta Convention Center, ASEAN, Ministers, Tourism, ” Tourism Locations: Jakarta, Swiss, Greater Jakarta Area, Greater Jakarta

CNN —Italy is facing multiple kinds of extreme weather at once, with southern parts of the country scorched by blistering heat, while the north is battered by deadly storms. On Tuesday alone, extreme weather killed at least three people, according to Italian authorities. Fabrizio Radaelli/EPA-EFE/ShutterstockAs storms disrupt the north, the south is sweltering under an extreme heat wave. Ufficio Stampa Gesap via ReutersMost budget airlines have been diverted to Trapani airport, according to the Palermo airport authority. Catania has also been affected by power and water supply cuts in part because of the extreme heat, according to Reuters.

Persons: Fabrizio Radaelli, Palermo’s Falcone, Falcone, Borsellino, Stampa, Nello Musumeci, ” Musumeci Organizations: CNN, Firefighters, SkyTG24, Stampa Gesap, Reuters, Twitter Locations: Italy, Veneto, Sicily, Palermo, Trapani, Catania

☆ Cities brace for floods as heavier-than-usual storms drench China
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, July 21 (Reuters) - Rescue services braced for flooding as heavier-than-expected summer storms rolled across China as forecast on Friday, drenching Beijing and other major cities. Historically, China enters its peak rainy season in late July, but extreme weather has made storms more intense and unpredictable, exposing heavily built-up megacities with poor drainage to sudden floods and waterlogging. In Beijing, authorities have deployed this week over 2,600 people to drain 87 pumping stations in advance and clear thousands of water drainage outlets along roads, municipal authorities said in a statement on Friday. In July 2021, extreme rain in the central Henan city of Zhengzhou killed nearly 400 people, including 14 who drowned in a submerged subway line. Reporting by Ryan Woo and Liz Lee in Beijing; Editing by Miral FahmyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: drenching, Ryan Woo, Liz Lee, Miral Organizations: Beijing Public Transport, Authorities, Xinhua, China Meteorological Administration, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, drenching Beijing, Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Henan, Hubei, Jiangsu, Wuxi city, Gansu, Zhengzhou

☆ Over 100 people trapped for several hours in mystery writer Agatha Christie’s former home
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-15 | by ( Niamh Kennedy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

London CNN —Over 100 people were trapped for several hours in Greenway, the former home of famed British mystery writer Agatha Christie, in the English countryside on Friday. Caroline Heaven, a tourist who was visiting Greenway, contacted local news outlet Devon Live to spread the word that roughly 100 tourists were trapped in the grounds of Christie’s former holiday home. Britain’s National Trust which manages the historic site quickly put a message on its website, announcing that a large tree had fallen on the single-track road leading into Greenway. A spokesperson for the National Trust said it was aware that there were “visitors, staff and volunteers still at Greenway unable to leave,” adding that the National Trust was “doing everything” to ensure their comfort whilst they waited. Christie herself was known to while away the hours on Greenway’s lawns, playing clock golf and croquet and entertaining guests with snippets from her latest mystery novels, according to the National Trust website.

Persons: Agatha Christie, Caroline Heaven, Christie Organizations: London CNN, Greenway, Devon, National Trust Locations: Greenway, Devon, England, Britain’s

☆ Mayor says home ‘rammed’ and set on fire as France detains hundreds more protesters
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( Jake Kwon Heather Chen Xiaofei Xu Martin Goillandeau Alex Hardie Alex Stambaugh | Jake Kwon | Heather Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

He said the mayor’s wife and two children, aged 5 and 7, fled through the back garden. While running away, the mayor’s wife hurt her shin which “appears to be broken,” according to the prosecutor. His mother, Mounia, told television station France 5 on Friday that she blamed only the officer who shot her son for his death. Hundreds detainedWhile the French government has deployed security forces and riot police across the country, the unrest continued with another night of protests. More than 700 people were detained across France overnight, according to a provisional tally from the Interior Ministry.

Persons: ”, Vincent Jeanbrun, “, ” Jeanbrun, Stéphane Hardouin, Hardouin, Nahel, Mounia, Gérald Darmanin Organizations: CNN, France, Interior Ministry, China’s Locations: Paris, Jeanbrun’s, France, Nanterre, China, Marseille

CNN —A 21-year-old American woman died after being assaulted and pushed down a slope by an American man near one of Germany’s most popular tourist sights, Neuschwanstein Castle, in Bavaria, according to local police. The victim had gone for a hike on Wednesday with her friend, a 22-year-old American woman, near the historic “Marienbrücke,” a bridge known for its views of the Neuschwanstein Castle. The two women then met a 30-year-old American man who persuaded them to follow him down a hidden trail leading to a viewpoint, according to police. After leading the women down the trail, the man “physically attacked” the 21-year-old woman, according to police. The man then choked the 22-year-old woman and pushed her down a steep slope after she intervened to help her friend.

Persons: Neuschwanstein, Thomas Hoermann Organizations: CNN, Police, Rescue, US Embassy Locations: American, Bavaria, Kempten, Germany, Munich

☆ Ukraine lifts air raid alerts, says downed more than 30 missiles and drones
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 2 (Reuters) - Ukrainian authorities on Friday lifted air raid alerts across most of the nation, and officials in the capital Kyiv said defences appeared to have shot down more than 30 missiles and drones fired by Russia. Moscow has launched around 20 separate missile and drone strikes against Ukrainian cities since the start of May. Kyiv military authorities, writing on Telegram, said Russia had launched drones and cruise missiles at the same time. "According to preliminary information, more than 30 air targets of various types were detected and destroyed in the airspace over and around Kyiv by air defence forces," they said in a statement. Ukraine regularly says its defences knock down the majority of Russia's missiles and drones.

Persons: Vitali Klitschko, David Ljunggren, Jacqueline Wong, Shri Navaratnam, Tom Hogue Organizations: Thomson Locations: Russia, Moscow, Kyiv, Ukraine

☆ Ukraine says it downed 36 Russian missiles and drones
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Pavel Polityuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KYIV, June 2 (Reuters) - Ukrainian forces in Kyiv said on Friday they shot down 36 Russian missiles and drones in and around the capital overnight, with two people injured by falling debris before authorities lifted air raid alerts across most of the country. An Air Force statement said its air defences had shot down 15 cruise missiles and 21 drones. It said a wave of drones had been launched late on Thursday, followed by a volley of cruise missiles as people slept at around 0300 local time. "The occupiers are not stopping their attempts to terrorise the Ukrainian capital with strike drones and missiles," it said. A view shows an office building damaged during Russian missile strikes, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine June 1, 2023.

Persons: Vitali Klitschko, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, David Ljunggren, Tom Balmforth, Jacqueline Wong, Shri Navaratnam, Tom Hogue, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: An Air Force, Russian, Press, State Emergency Service of, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Kyiv, Russian, Russia, Ukraine, State Emergency Service of Ukraine, Handout

[1/3] Smoke from the Tantallon wildfire rises over houses in nearby Bedford, Nova Scotia, Canada, May 28, 2023. REUTERS/Eric MartynHALIFAX, May 29 (Reuters) - A wildfire in the eastern Canadian city of Halifax led to mandatory evacuation orders for thousands of homes, with officials saying residents are not allowed to return until advised by municipal authorities. These suburban communities are home to many of the city's workers and are situated about 15 miles from Halifax. The wildfire, aided by strong winds and tinder-dry woods, damaged dozens of homes and also hampered rescue services. But most of those fires have since been brought under control, helping oil and gas production to resume.

☆ A Ukrainian farmer stripped pieces off wrecked Russian tanks to make an armored, remote-controlled, mine-sweeping tractor
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Ukrainian farmer has redesigned his tractor to remove mines from his crop fields. He stripped materials from wrecked Russian tanks to make the tractor armored and remote-controlled. The farmer told Reuters that rescue services are too busy to remove mines from the fields. While these Russian booby traps often require experience and intense focus to remove, one Ukrainian farmer has taken matters into his own hands: He's decked out a tractor with pieces from wrecked Russian tanks to remotely de-mine his farmland. By scavenging armor from wrecked Russian tanks and military vehicles, he's reconfigured a tractor into a machine able to detect and remove mines.

☆ Ukrainian farmer comes up with novel way to demine his fields
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Vitalii Hnidyi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Vitalii HnidyiHRAKOVE, Ukraine, May 2 (Reuters) - A Ukrainian farmer has come up with a novel way to remove mines left in his fields after Russia's invasion -- he's kitted out his tractor with protective panels stripped from Russian tanks and operates it by remote control. After Russian forces were driven back from parts of eastern Ukraine by a Ukrainian counteroffensive last year, mines remained in many fields, making it perilous for farmers to sow grain for the next harvest. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said last week about 30% of Ukrainian territory had been mined by Russians and that the government was focused on de-mining agricultural land as quickly as possible. The amount of work is enormous," said Serhii Dudak, head of the demining unit now overseeing the tractor's work. "It would take years to demine this particular field by hand and to guarantee that there are no mines here."

☆ London police failed to learn from serial killer case, review finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, April 27 (Reuters) - London's police force has failed to learn enough from its failures in a 2016 serial killer case to stop similar crimes happening again, a police watchdog said on Thursday in a damning report. The review of the case of serial killer Stephen Port, who was jailed for life for the murder of four men he met on dating websites between 2014 and 2015, said the force had failed to recognise the deaths were connected until too late, despite obvious similarities. "The Met has still not learned enough from the calamitous litany of failures in that (Port) case," Inspector of the Constabulary Matt Parr said. However, the Met’s problems with competence and professionalism run even deeper: too often, they don’t get the basics right. The report said despite some improvements made since the case, police officers at the Met acknowledged they still rely on luck to identify links between deaths at a local level.

☆ Fifth body found in French Alps following avalanche
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A general view shows an avalanche in the French Alps, in Les Contamines-Montjoie, France, April 9, 2023 in this still image obtained from a social media video. Domaine Skiable des Contamines-Montjoie SECMH / Twitter @domaineskiable via REUTERSPARIS, April 10 (Reuters) - French rescue services have found a fifth body following an avalanche southwest of Mont Blanc in the French Alps, local authorities said on Monday. The avalanche occurred in the middle of the day on Sunday on the Armancette glacier, which is near the village and ski resort of Les Contamines-Montjoie. Prosecutors in Bonneville who are investigating the incident did not immediately respond to questions regarding the identify of those killed in the avalanche, but local media said two of the dead were mountain guides. Reporting by Layli Foroudi Editing by Gareth JonesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Building collapses in Marseille, at least six injured
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Smoke envelopes the area as police officers work at the scene of a fire following a gas explosion in Marseille, France, April 9, 2023 in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. Naima Haoulia/via REUTERSPARIS, April 9 (Reuters) - French rescue services were searching for victims and trying to put out a fire after an explosion caused a residential building to collapse in the centre of Marseille in the early hours of Sunday, with six injured identified so far. "I would like us to prepare for a difficult situation - we could have victims today," Payan said, adding that five of the six injured are in hospital in a "relatively urgent" situation. Firefighters were continuing to tackle the blaze and 80 people have been evacuated, according to the rescue services. "The fire makes it harder to find the victims," Commander Laurent of the rescue services in Marseille told BFMTV.

☆ Four killed in avalanche in the French Alps
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

PARIS, April 9 (Reuters) - Four people have died and nine others have been injured in an avalanche southwest of Mont Blanc in the French Alps, interior minister Gerald Darmanin said on Sunday. The avalanche occurred in the middle of the day on the Armancette glacier, he wrote on Twitter. He said the avalanche was extensive, covering an area of one km by 500 metres (half a mile by 550 yards) at an altitude of 3,500 metres and that its causes are being investigated. President Emmanuel Macron wrote on Twitter that rescue services were continuing to search for further casualties and that his thoughts were with the victims and their families. Reporting by Layli Foroudi; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Philippa FletcherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russia strikes many Ukrainian regions, cutting off power
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/6] Emergency workers extinguish fire in vehicles at the site of a Russian missile strike, amid Russia?s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine March 9, 2023. REUTERS/Gleb GaranichMarch 9 (Reuters) - Russian strikes hit a series of Ukrainian regions early on Thursday, including the capital Kyiv, the Black Sea port of Odesa and the second-largest city Kharkiv, knocking out power to several areas, regional officials said. Power supply has been cut pre-emptively to about 15% of Kyiv residents, he said. Kharkiv region Governor Oleh Synehubov said the city and region had been hit by about 15 strikes. According to Ukrainian news outlet Obozrevatel.ua, two people were injured by a missile strike in Kharkiv which landed near their house.

☆ Missile hits dwelling in Ukraine's Kharkiv: 1 dead, 3 injured
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] Ukrainian firefighters work at a site of an apartment building severely damaged by a Russian missile, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine January 29, 2023. REUTERS/Vitalii HnidyiJan 29 (Reuters) - A missile hit an apartment building on Sunday in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, killing one person, injuring at least three and causing widespread damage, regional governor Oleh Synehubov said. A Reuters picture from the scene showed fire engulfing part of a residential building in the country's second most-populous city. Synehubov said the strike took place in the city's central Kyiv district. Anatoly Torianyk, deputy head of Kharkiv rescue services, said the building was made of wood.

☆ 5 children among 10 dead in France apartment fire
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Chantal Da Silva | Chantal Da Silva Is A Breaking News Editor For Nbc News Digital Based In London. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

At least ten people, including five children, were killed after a fire broke out overnight Friday at an apartment building near the French city of Lyon, officials said. First responders were first alerted to the fire at the 7-story building in the Vaulx-en-Velin suburb at around 3:12 a.m. local time (9:12 p.m. Officials said a preliminary death toll found that 10 people had died, with five children among them. Four others were left in critical condition, while 10 sustained minor injuries, including two firefighters, they said. French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said he would be visiting the site along with France's housing minister on Friday morning.

☆ A man in Alaska stranded while riding a snow machine was rescued after using his iPhone 14's emergency satellite SOS feature
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Britney Nguyen | Antonio Villas-Boas | Junior Reporter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

He used Apple's iPhone Emergency SOS via satellite feature, on iPhone 14 and 14 Pro, to be rescued. The area where the stranded Alaska man was rescued using Apple's Emergency SOS via Satellite on iPhone 14. Apple's Emergency SOS via Satellite feature that communicates with Apple's Emergency Response Center allowed the rescue team to receive this information faster than a typical satellite communication device. The Emergency SOS via Satellite feature is available on iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models for free for two years after activating the phone. You can demo Apple's Emergency SOS via Satellite feature without actually alerting rescue services before setting off on an adventure or journey to get a feel for the feature and how it works.

☆ Small plane crash causes mass power outages near Washington
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Tim Reid | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 27 (Reuters) - A small plane crashed into high-voltage power lines about 30 miles north of Washington, D.C., on Sunday, causing mass outages, with rescue services working into the night to rescue two people on board the aircraft still entangled in the cables. The aircraft crashed about 5.30 p.m. (2230 GMT) in misty and wet conditions in Montgomery Village, Maryland, according to the Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service. The impact caused power outages to over 120,000 customers, according to Pepco, the Washington-area utility company. Scott Goldstein, Montgomery County Fire Chief, said rescue officials were in contact with the occupants, by calling their cell phones at regular intervals. Goldstein said the plane also needs to be secured to the electrical tower before the occupants can be removed.

Apple's Emergency SOS via Satellite service allows you to contact emergency services while outside of cellular or Wi-Fi range. How to demo Apple's Emergency SOS via SatelliteEmergency SOS via Satellite starts from the phone app if you don't have cell service while calling 911. What it's like to try Emergency SOSThe Emergency SOS via Satellite feature asks you a few simple questions that you answer with preset options to avoid typing and wasting too much time. Once you're connected to emergency services with the Emergency SOS via Satellite feature, you can add finer details about your situation. That's why the Emergency SOS via Satellite demo mode is such a key feature.

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