Four of six women rescued from the back of a lorry in France on Wednesday must leave the country within 30 days, a French public prosecutor said.

The four Vietnamese and two Iraqi women were found by police after getting into the lorry, which they believed was heading for the UK. One of the women spoke from inside the vehicle to a BBC journalist, who then contacted French police. It is unclear which of the four women are to be deported.

The other two have been authorised to stay in France pending asylum requests, a statement from the prosecutor said. The women got into the lorry thinking the Irish-registered vehicle would likely transport them to England, Laetitia Francart, public prosecutor at the judicial court of Villefranche-sur-Saône said.

In fact, the lorry was delivering a shipment of bananas to Dunkirk and would then be heading to Italy. When the women – thought to be migrants – noticed that the direction of the lorry had changed by checking their phone locations, they started to panic.

Struggling to breathe, one of the women managed to contact a BBC journalist and told them about their situation. Khue Luu was then able to alert French authorities.

At least 11 people have been killed after heavy rain and winds hit South Africa’s Western Cape province, including Cape Town, over the weekend leaving a trail of destruction.

Authorities warn that the death toll may rise as the floodwater subsides.

The destructive weather flooded homes, tore off roofs, destroyed crops and damaged roads and other infrastructure. Rescue teams are still searching for people who are feared trapped in their partially submerged homes.

Eight of the 11 people who died were electrocuted in an informal settlement when waters swamped illegal connections to the power lines.

Seventy-two primary school pupils and 10 adults were trapped in a resort in the town of Oudtshoorn after the nearby Le Roux River overflowed. They were rescued on Wednesday morning, after the water had subsided. About 200 farm workers remain stranded in areas that were cut off by flooding. Efforts are being made to rescue them.

More than 80 roads were closed and at least 15,000 homes were cut off from the power grid, Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said. Rail services in parts of both the Western and Eastern Cape provinces have been suspended.

The floods also badly affected the area’s farmland, including its famous vineyards, with the impact on harvests expected to be severe.

(BBC)

Donald Trump “repeatedly” misrepresented his wealth by hundreds of millions of dollars to banks and insurers, a New York judge has ruled.

The decision resolves the key claim made by New York’s attorney general in her civil lawsuit against the former president.

“The documents here clearly contain fraudulent valuations that defendants used in business,” the judge wrote.

It is a major blow for the former President before the case goes to trial next Monday.

An attorney for Donald Trump called the judge’s decision “a miscarriage of justice” in a statement on Tuesday evening.

Attorney General Letitia James sued Donald Trump last September, accusing him, his two adult sons and the Trump Organization of lying about his net worth and asset values between 2011 and 2021.

Ms James claimed the defendants issued false business records and financial statements in order to get better terms on bank loans and insurance deals, and to pay less tax.

In a trial that will now resolve six remaining claims in her suit, she will seek $250m in penalties and a ban on Mr Trump doing business in his home state.

The non-jury trial is scheduled to begin 2 October and last until at least December.

(BBC)