Deadly Tropical Storm Nate Kills 22 in Central America

People look at a street collapsed by the Tiribi river flooded by heavy rains from Tropical Storm Nate in San Jose, Costa Rica October 5, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Carlos Ulate
People look at a street collapsed by the Tiribi river flooded by heavy rains from Tropical Storm Nate in San Jose, Costa Rica October 5, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Carlos Ulate
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Deadly Tropical Storm Nate Kills 22 in Central America

People look at a street collapsed by the Tiribi river flooded by heavy rains from Tropical Storm Nate in San Jose, Costa Rica October 5, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Carlos Ulate
People look at a street collapsed by the Tiribi river flooded by heavy rains from Tropical Storm Nate in San Jose, Costa Rica October 5, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Carlos Ulate

Tropical Storm Nate has killed at least 22 people in Central America on Thursday as it pummeled the region with torrential rains.

The deadly storm forced thousands from their homes and caused destruction to bridges, trees, and roads while heading toward Mexico’s Caribbean resorts and the US Gulf Coast, where it will spike into a hurricane, according to Forecasters.

Officials in Costa Rica said eight people died including a three-year-old girl after they were hit by falling trees and mudslides, and two young Nicaraguan farm workers. At least 17 people were missing.

Two youths also drowned in Honduras due to the sudden swell in a river, while a man was killed in a mudslide in El Salvador and another person was missing, emergency services said, according to Reuters.

“Sometimes we think we think we can cross a river and the hardest thing to understand is that we must wait,” Nicaragua’s Murillo told state radio, warning people to avoid dangerous waters.

“It’s better to be late than not to get there at all.”

Murillo added that 800 people had been evacuated, nearly 600 homes were flooded and 14 communities were isolated because of rains that had been falling for days.

Costa Rica’s government declared a state of emergency, closing schools and all other non-essential services.

Also Government offices and banks across the Central American nation were closed.

The storm will be almost a hurricane intensity when it becomes near to Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula late on Friday, where up to 8 inches (20 cm) of rain were possible, the The Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) stated.

Nate is predicted to boost into a Category 1 hurricane by the time it hits the US Gulf Coast on Sunday, NHC spokesman Dennis Feltgen said.

“The threat of the impact is increasing, so folks along the northern Gulf Coast should be paying attention to this thing,” he added.

Major Gulf of Mexico offshore oil producers including Chevron (CVX.N), BP plc (BP.L), Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N), Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L) and Statoil (STL.OL) were being evacuated ahead of the storm, the US government Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said in a statement.

The United States is recovering from two major hurricanes: Hurricane Harvey that tore through Texas in August, and Hurricane Irma in September.



New Round of Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks Set for Wednesday

Firefighters work in a destroyed apartment building after a Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, July 21, 2025 (dpa) 
Firefighters work in a destroyed apartment building after a Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, July 21, 2025 (dpa) 
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New Round of Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks Set for Wednesday

Firefighters work in a destroyed apartment building after a Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, July 21, 2025 (dpa) 
Firefighters work in a destroyed apartment building after a Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, July 21, 2025 (dpa) 

While Moscow confirmed its readiness to participate in a new round of negotiations with the Ukrainian side, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday the next set of peace talks are planned for Wednesday in Istanbul.

“Today, I discussed with (Ukrainian Security Council chief) Rustem Umerov the preparations for the exchange and another meeting in Türkiye with the Russian side. Umerov reported that the meeting is scheduled for Wednesday. More details will be available tomorrow,” Zelensky said in his daily address Monday.

Ukraine and Russia have so far held two rounds of talks in Istanbul, on May 16 and June 2, that led to the exchange of thousands of prisoners of war and the remains of dead soldiers.

The third meeting will include “technical discussions on a limited range of issues,” several Russian media outlets said quoting sources. The parties are expected to discuss humanitarian aid, prisoner exchanges, infrastructure security, and border protection measures.

Kiev had proposed to Moscow a new round of peace talks this week. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state television in a clip published on Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to move toward a peace settlement for Ukraine but Moscow's main objective is to achieve its goals.

“The Russian Federation supports a third round of negotiations with Ukraine; as soon as an agreement on the dates is reached, the Kremlin will inform immediately,” Peskov said. The composition of the Russian negotiating team on the Ukrainian resolution has not changed, he noted.

Peskov commented on US President Donald Trump's sometimes “harsh” rhetoric but pointed out that Trump had also underscored in comments on Russia that he would continue to search for a peace deal.

“President Putin has repeatedly spoken of his desire to bring the Ukrainian settlement to a peaceful conclusion as soon as possible. This is a long process, it requires effort, and it is not easy,” Peskov told state television reporter Pavel Zarubin.

“The main thing for us is to achieve our goals. Our goals are clear,” Peskov said.

On Monday, Trump announced a tougher stance on Russia, pledging a new wave of military aid to Ukraine, including Patriot missile defense systems. He also gave Russia a 50-day deadline to agree to a ceasefire or face additional sanctions.

Peskov did not rule out the possibility of a meeting between Putin and Trump if the Russian and US presidents were both in Beijing at the same time in September.

“You know that we are preparing for a trip to Beijing, our president is preparing for this trip... But we have not heard that President Trump is also going there, to Beijing,” Peskov said when asked if the two leaders could meet, including possibly in a three-way format with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“If it so happens that (Trump) is there, then, of course, we cannot rule out that the question of the expediency of holding a meeting will be raised,” Peskov told reporters.

The new round of talks between Russia and Ukraine comes amid renewed fighting.

Major Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia sowed chaos at major airports serving Moscow on Monday, with thousands of passengers waiting in lines or sleeping on the floor after flights were cancelled or delayed, Russian media reported.

Videos published by Russian media showed people sleeping on the floor of Sheremetyevo, Russia's busiest airport by passenger numbers, amid long queues.

In return, Russia on Monday launched a barrage of drones and missiles at Ukraine in an overnight attack, killing two people, wounding 15 and causing multiple fires in several parts of the country.

Russia's defense ministry said it had downed 117 drones overnight, including 30 over the Moscow region.

Russia’s civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsiya, briefly imposed restrictions on flights overnight at Moscow’s main airports - Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo, Domodedovo and Zhukovskiy.

Several thousand people were stranded in the far east of Russia due to the cancellation of flights in European Russia, while extra trains were put on to bring passengers back to Moscow from the northern Russian city of St Petersburg, Russian media said.

Moscow and its surrounding region has a population of at least 21.5 million.