Latest News
Record rains drive flooding in Vietnam, submerging ancient city
Heavy rains have triggered record-breaking floods in some parts of central Vietnam, especially in top tourism destinations Hue, a former imperial capital, and the ancient town of Hoi An.
On Tuesday, Vietnam’s disaster management agency recorded more than 1,000 millimetres (39.4 inches) of rainfall over a 24-hour period ending late on Monday in parts of Hue and Hoi An.
Vietnam’s National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting said the volume of rainfall in Hue marked the highest ever for a 24-hour period since the country started its record-keeping.
The newspaper VNExpress reported that water levels in the Huong and Bo rivers, which flow through Hue, reached 5.25m (17.2 ft) on Monday afternoon, shattering the previous historical high recorded in 2020.
As of Tuesday morning, water levels from both rivers have receded, but Hue remains submerged by more than one metre (3.3ft) of water.
Images showed a wide area of the ancient city, including the palace grounds, under murky waters.
Authorities in Hue were quoted by the state news agency Vietnam News as saying that the rain and flooding may last until Friday.
The area was designated a world heritage site in 1993 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
The heavy rain also triggered a massive landslide of red mud on Tuesday morning about 3km (1.9 miles) long in coastal Quang Ngai province, leaving about 1,700 people isolated, authorities said.
As of Tuesday, more than 8,600 people in four central provinces were evacuated due to risks from severe flooding and landslides.
Heavy flooding has also forced the state-run Vietnam Railways Corp to suspend services between the capital Hanoi and the business hub Ho Chi Minh City.
The government said in a separate report that more than 306,000 households and businesses in Hue, Danang and Quang Tri provinces were suffering from blackouts.
Scientists warn that storms are becoming increasingly powerful as the planet warms due to human-induced climate change.
This month’s rainfall comes after Typhoon Bualoi battered the country in September, leaving at least 13 people dead and 20 others missing.
According to the General Statistics Office, natural disasters — mostly storms, floods and landslides — left 187 people dead or missing in the country in the first nine months of 2025, with total economic losses estimated at more than $610m.
[Aljazeera]
An estimated 550,000 people took part in demonstrations across France today to protest against teaching conditions in schools, rising fuel prices and the cost of living.
Marches were largely peaceful and took place in several major French cities, including Paris, where 110,000 people attended.
“We just want to study, we just want a future” one student taking part in the protest in the capital told BBC News, while another said they were ” just trying to make things change”.
But French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said some groups “at the margins of these protests” caused the situation to “degenerate”.
According to the French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, 1200 people were arrested. Officials also reported looting in cities such as Marseille, where masked 8ntruders also entered the city hall. In Lyon, the tourist office was set on fire and shops were damaged.
French President Emmanuel Macron said any vandals and looters would be “prosecuted and punished”, while Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the leader of left-wing party La France Insoumise, said demonstrations had been calmly mobilised.
Meanwhile, firefighters are continuing to battle a blaze at Limoges City Hall after a reported break-in and arson inside the 19th-century building during protests there.
(BBC)
A large fire near a Canadian military base in Alberta has killed and injured some people, the defence minister said, without confirming the number of casualties.
The Canadian Armed Forces were working with local authorities to manage the fire and were looking into what caused it, David McGuinty said, describing the situation as “very, very active and delicate”.
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney said on X that a “serious incident creating a major fire” had occurred, adding his “thoughts are with all the brave women and men affected”.
Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, where the fire broke out, is one of the country’s busiest military training bases.
The blaze “spread rapidly due to high winds” and had torn through the fences of the base, the Municipal District of Wainwright said.
McGuinty told reporters he “cannot recall an incident like this in recent memory”.
It is unclear when the fire broke out, but the district first posted about the incident at about 17:30 local time.
Local authorities have urged residents to avoid the area and give all emergency vehicles right of way.
(BBC)
The Asian Youth Games gold medallist who has run sub four minutes previously returned a time of 3:55.97 seconds to become the first athlete in his age category at these championships to run the distance under four minutes.
Achintha who has a personal best of 3:53.05 from last year was representing Prince College Ratnapura today.
In another impressive 1,500 m feat Tharushi Abhisheka of Lyceum International School, Wattala established a new meet record in the Under-20 Girls’ 1,500m as she returned a time of 4:34.59 seconds to win.
By the end of the second day of the meet seven new meet records had been established.
D. V. C. de Soysa (of Galewela Central College) Under-16 Boys’ Discus Throw – 55.83m.
D. G. Lahiru Achintha (of Ratnapura Kumara Vidyalaya) Under-18 Boys’ 1,500m – 3:55.97 secs.
W. P. Nethula Induwara (Rahula College, Matara) Under-14 Boys’ 100m – 11.70 seconds
K. V. R. Gayesha (Ira Handa Kotuwa Wewa Maha Vidyalaya, Polonnaruwa) Under-16 Girls’ High Jump – 1.70m
H. M. D. S. Herath (Maris Stella College, Thimbirigaskatuwa) Under-20 Boys’ Long Jump – 7.65m
P. M. Amaya Semindi (Vijitha Central College, Dikwella) Under-14 Girls’ High Jump – 1.58m
Record 1,600 students take Russian Classical Ballet examination in Sri Lanka
Half a million people join protests in France, but some turn violent
Deadly fire breaks out at Canada military base
Showers or thundershowers will occur in most parts of the island after 1.00 p.m.
Buddhist hierarchy demands prison perks for monk convicts
Debate on NCM against Speaker postponed indefinitely
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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