Thousands Evacuated as Typhoon Haikui Heads for Taiwan

Huge waves are seen in Yilan as Typhoon Haikui makes its way to eastern Taiwan. I-Hwa Cheng / AFP
Huge waves are seen in Yilan as Typhoon Haikui makes its way to eastern Taiwan. I-Hwa Cheng / AFP
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Thousands Evacuated as Typhoon Haikui Heads for Taiwan

Huge waves are seen in Yilan as Typhoon Haikui makes its way to eastern Taiwan. I-Hwa Cheng / AFP
Huge waves are seen in Yilan as Typhoon Haikui makes its way to eastern Taiwan. I-Hwa Cheng / AFP

Thousands of people were evacuated in Taiwan ahead of Typhoon Haikui, with hundreds of flights canceled and businesses closed as authorities prepared Sunday for the first tropical storm to directly hit the island in four years.

Haikui -- which had already brought heavy rains by Sunday morning -- is expected to make landfall by 5:00 pm (0900 GMT) in Taitung, a mountainous county in less-populated eastern Taiwan, said AFP.

The storm was around 180 kilometers (110 miles) east of Taiwan just before 9:00 am, Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau said in a press conference.

"It is expected to pose a considerable threat to most areas in Taiwan with winds, rains and waves," said deputy director Fong Chin-tzu, urging to public to be "on guard".

"It has gathered some strength since yesterday," he said, adding that the storm would move west to the Taiwan Strait by Monday.

The typhoon was packing a sustained wind speed of about 140 kilometers (39 miles) per hour, as schools and businesses in the southern and eastern parts of the island were closed Sunday.

More than 200 domestic flights were canceled.

"I remind the people to make preparations for the typhoon and watch out for your safety, avoid going out or any dangerous activities," Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said.

Authorities said they had evacuated more than 2,800 people across seven cities -- the majority of them from the mountainous county of Hualien, which neighbors Taitung.

The streets of Hualien were deserted Sunday morning, battered by unrelenting torrential rain, while a fishing harbor in northeastern coastal Yilan county saw towering waves slam against the shore.

The military had mobilized soldiers and equipment -- such as amphibious vehicles and inflatable rubber boats -- around the parts of Taiwan where Haikui is expected to have the heaviest impact.

The last major storm to hit Taiwan was Typhoon Bailu in 2019, which left one person dead.

Haikui is expected to be less severe than Saola, which bypassed Taiwan but triggered the highest threat level in nearby Hong Kong and southern China before it weakened into a tropical storm by Saturday.



Türkiye Arrests Five Mayors from CHP Opposition Party 

Residential buildings and business towers are seen in the city's Kagithane and Sariyer districts in Istanbul, Türkiye, May 30, 2025. (Reuters)
Residential buildings and business towers are seen in the city's Kagithane and Sariyer districts in Istanbul, Türkiye, May 30, 2025. (Reuters)
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Türkiye Arrests Five Mayors from CHP Opposition Party 

Residential buildings and business towers are seen in the city's Kagithane and Sariyer districts in Istanbul, Türkiye, May 30, 2025. (Reuters)
Residential buildings and business towers are seen in the city's Kagithane and Sariyer districts in Istanbul, Türkiye, May 30, 2025. (Reuters)

Turkish police arrested five opposition mayors early Wednesday alongside 17 others as part of a probe into corruption allegations at CHP-held municipalities, a party spokesman told AFP.

The latest arrests targeted a former lawmaker and three CHP mayors in Istanbul, and two more in the southern province of Adana, the spokesman said.

The latest round of arrests brings to nine the total number of jailed CHP mayors, including Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu -- the main political rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The latest investigation began at the weekend when a court issued arrest orders for 47 municipal officials in connection with four separate corruption investigations centered on Istanbul, local media reported.

The March 19 arrest and jailing of Imamoglu sparked the biggest street protests Türkiye had seen in more than a decade.

Police had already detained nearly 70 people in subsequent raids linked to alleged corruption at Istanbul City Hall, including Imamoglu's private secretary and his private protection officer.

The CHP has nominated Imamoglu as its candidate in presidential elections due in 2028 but whether he can run in the elections depends on the fate of numerous trials and probes.