More than 130 Dead in Philippine Storm, Flooding

People help to rescue flood victims in Lanao del Norte, Philippines, December 22, 2017 in this image taken from video footage obtained from social media. Aclimah Cabugatan Disumala/via REUTERS
People help to rescue flood victims in Lanao del Norte, Philippines, December 22, 2017 in this image taken from video footage obtained from social media. Aclimah Cabugatan Disumala/via REUTERS
TT

More than 130 Dead in Philippine Storm, Flooding

People help to rescue flood victims in Lanao del Norte, Philippines, December 22, 2017 in this image taken from video footage obtained from social media. Aclimah Cabugatan Disumala/via REUTERS
People help to rescue flood victims in Lanao del Norte, Philippines, December 22, 2017 in this image taken from video footage obtained from social media. Aclimah Cabugatan Disumala/via REUTERS

Mudslides and flooding triggered by Tembin tropical storm that hit southern Philippines leaving more than 130 people dead.

As death toll keeps on rising, dozens are reported to be missing, according to officials on Saturday.

Rescuers are pulling dozens of bodies from a swollen river, police said.

The Philippines is pummelled by 20 big storms each year on average.

Disaster officials said many residents had not taken into serious consideration the warnings to leave coastal areas and riverbanks.

"The river rose and most of the homes were swept away. The village is no longer there," police officer Gerry Parami told AFP by telephone from nearby Tubod town.

Most of casualties were caused late on Friday, all on the main southern island of Mindanao, officials said, adding three provinces were hardest hit.

Police, soldiers and volunteers used shovels to dig through mud and debris as they searched for bodies in the village of Dalama.

“Many people were swept to the sea as flood waters quickly rose due to the high tide,” Manuel Luis Ochotorena, a disaster agency official, said, Reuters reported.

“They never heeded the warnings. They thought it was a weak storm but it dumped more rains.”

Tembin struck less than a week after Tropical Storm Kai-Tak left 54 dead and 24 missing in the central Philippines, straining the disaster-prone nation's resources.

In 2013, super typhoon Haiyan killed nearly 8,000 people and left 200,000 families homeless.

"It is unfortunate that another tropical cyclone ... made its presence felt so near Christmas," Harry Roque, President Rodrigo Duterte's spokesman, said in a statement.



Macron Says it is Unrealistic to Open Hormuz Strait by Force

FILE PHOTO: A cargo ship in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah, near the border with Oman’s Musandam governance- REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A cargo ship in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah, near the border with Oman’s Musandam governance- REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
TT

Macron Says it is Unrealistic to Open Hormuz Strait by Force

FILE PHOTO: A cargo ship in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah, near the border with Oman’s Musandam governance- REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A cargo ship in the Gulf, near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from northern Ras al-Khaimah, near the border with Oman’s Musandam governance- REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday it would be unrealistic to launch a military operation to force open the Strait of Hormuz, after US President Donald Trump challenged US allies to work towards reopening it.

Thousands of people have been killed across the Middle East since February 28, when the US and Israel struck Iran, triggering Iranian attacks on Israel, US bases and the Gulf states, and Tehran effectively closing the waterway that carries about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.

"Some people defend the idea of freeing the Strait of Hormuz by force via a military operation, a position sometimes expressed by the United States, although it has varied," Macron told reporters during a trip to South Korea.

"This was never the option we have supported because it is unrealistic," he said. "It would take forever, and would expose all those who go through the Strait to risks from the guardians of the revolution but also ballistic missiles," he said.

Macron, who has worked with European and other allies to build a coalition to guarantee free passage through Hormuz once hostilities have stopped, said this could only be done by talking to Iran.

"What we say from the beginning is that this strait must be reopened because it is strategic for energy flows, fertilisers and international trade, but that it can only be done in consultation with Iran," he said.

Asked about Trump's criticism of NATO allies and threats to pull the US out of the alliance, Macron said: "I don't want to provide a running commentary of an operation the Americans have decided on their own with Israel. They can deplore the fact they're not being helped, but that's not our operation. We want peace as soon as possible."

Macron also said that Trump's comments mocking him and his wife Brigitte were "neither elegant, nor commensurate" with the moment.


Strike Hits Bridge Near Tehran Again

Smoke rises from the site of an airstrike on Tehran (File/AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of an airstrike on Tehran (File/AFP)
TT

Strike Hits Bridge Near Tehran Again

Smoke rises from the site of an airstrike on Tehran (File/AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of an airstrike on Tehran (File/AFP)

US-Israeli strikes hit a bridge near Tehran on Thursday, which had already been hit around an hour earlier, Iranian state TV reported.

"A few minutes ago, the American-Zionist enemy once again targeted the B1 bridge in Karaj," a city west of Tehran, state TV said, adding that the first strike had caused two civilian casualties, AFP reported.

It said the later attack took place as emergency teams were deployed to the site to help victims of the first strike.


Argentina Expels Iran's Charge D'affaires

Argentine flag flutters in front of the presidential palace, Casa Rosada, as Argentina's government expects the International Monetary Fund board will approve a $20 billion loan, in Buenos Aires, Argentina April 11, 2025. REUTERS/Irina Dambrauskas
Argentine flag flutters in front of the presidential palace, Casa Rosada, as Argentina's government expects the International Monetary Fund board will approve a $20 billion loan, in Buenos Aires, Argentina April 11, 2025. REUTERS/Irina Dambrauskas
TT

Argentina Expels Iran's Charge D'affaires

Argentine flag flutters in front of the presidential palace, Casa Rosada, as Argentina's government expects the International Monetary Fund board will approve a $20 billion loan, in Buenos Aires, Argentina April 11, 2025. REUTERS/Irina Dambrauskas
Argentine flag flutters in front of the presidential palace, Casa Rosada, as Argentina's government expects the International Monetary Fund board will approve a $20 billion loan, in Buenos Aires, Argentina April 11, 2025. REUTERS/Irina Dambrauskas

Argentina's government declared Iran's charge d'affaires, Mohsen Tehrani, "persona non grata" and expelled him from the country, Argentina's Foreign Minister said in a statement on Thursday.

The measure orders Tehrani to leave the country within 48 hours.

The decision comes in response to a statement released on Wednesday by Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which accused Argentina's president Javier Milei, an ally of US president Donald Trump, and his foreign minister Pablo Quirno, of being complicit in military attacks on its territory, Reuters reported.

Argentina's Foreign Minister said Iran's claims "contain false, offensive, and unfounded accusations against the Argentine Republic and its highest authorities."

Earlier this week, the Milei government had designated the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a terrorist organization.