Rescue Teams Search for Missing in Bosnia’s Floods

A damaged car is seen after flood hit the village of Donja Jablanica, Bosnia, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP)
A damaged car is seen after flood hit the village of Donja Jablanica, Bosnia, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP)
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Rescue Teams Search for Missing in Bosnia’s Floods

A damaged car is seen after flood hit the village of Donja Jablanica, Bosnia, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP)
A damaged car is seen after flood hit the village of Donja Jablanica, Bosnia, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (AP)

Rescuers dug through rubble in the village of Donja Jablanica on Saturday morning in search for people who went missing in Bosnia's deadliest floods in years that hit the Balkan country on Friday.

The N1 TV reported that 21 people died and that dozens went missing in the Jablanica area, 70 kilometers (43.5 miles)southwest of Sarajevo.

The government is due to hold a press conference later.

"There are some villages in the area that still cannot be reached, and we don't know what we will find there," said a spokesperson for the Mountain Rescue Service whose teams are involved in search.

Heavy rain overnight halted search, Bosnian media reported, but as it stopped the search continued. In Donja Jablanica many houses were still under rubble.

Nezima Begovic, 62, was lucky. Her house is damaged, but she came out unhurt.

"I heard people screaming and suddenly it was all quiet. Then I said everyone is dead there," she told Reuters.

Due to flash flooding on Friday a quarry above Donja Jablanica collapsed and rubble poured over houses and cars in the village.

Enes Imamovic, 66, said he was woken by loud noises at around 5 a.m. (0300 GMT) on Friday.

"Everything was white (from the stones and dust that came down from the quarry), My friends' house was gone. I heard screams," Imamovic told Reuters.

The Bosnian Football Association (NFSBIH) has postponed all matches due to floods.

Bosnia's election commission decided to postpone local elections this weekend in municipalities affected by floods, but to carry on with voting elsewhere.

The floods follow an unprecedented summer drought which caused many rivers and lakes to dry up, and affected agriculture and the supply of water to urban areas throughout the Balkans and much of Europe.

Meteorologists said extreme weather changes can be attributed to climate change.



Rubio Says Progress Made on Iran

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio looks on as he speaks with reporters during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers, in Helsingborg, Sweden May 22, 2026. Julia Demaree Nikhinson/Pool via REUTERS
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio looks on as he speaks with reporters during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers, in Helsingborg, Sweden May 22, 2026. Julia Demaree Nikhinson/Pool via REUTERS
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Rubio Says Progress Made on Iran

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio looks on as he speaks with reporters during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers, in Helsingborg, Sweden May 22, 2026. Julia Demaree Nikhinson/Pool via REUTERS
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio looks on as he speaks with reporters during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers, in Helsingborg, Sweden May 22, 2026. Julia Demaree Nikhinson/Pool via REUTERS

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday that some progress has been made on Washington's dispute with Iran and that the US might have "something to say" on the issue in the coming days.

"There's been some progress done, some progress made, even as I speak to you now, there's some work being done. There is a chance that, whether it's later today, tomorrow, in a couple days, we may have something to say," Rubio told reporters during his visit to New Delhi.

Meanwhile, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on Saturday that Tehran was in the final stages of drafting a framework for a deal to end the war with the United States.

"Within a reasonable period of 30 to 60 days, the details of these points will be discussed and a final agreement will ultimately be concluded. We are currently in the process of finalizing these memoranda of understanding," he told state broadcaster IRIB.

 

 

 

 

 

 


France Bans Israeli Security Minister Ben Gvir from Country

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir during an event in Jerusalem on May 14, 2026 (AFP)
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir during an event in Jerusalem on May 14, 2026 (AFP)
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France Bans Israeli Security Minister Ben Gvir from Country

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir during an event in Jerusalem on May 14, 2026 (AFP)
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir during an event in Jerusalem on May 14, 2026 (AFP)

France announced on Saturday it had banned Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir from the country after he posted a video mocking bound activists seized by Israeli soldiers on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, AFP reported.

"From today, Itamar Ben Gvir is banned from entering French territory" after "his reprehensible actions towards French and European citizens" who were part of the flotilla, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on X.

He added that, with Italy, he was also calling for European Union-level sanctions against the far-right Ben Gvir.


Taiwan Security Chief: China Deployed 'Over 100 Vessels' in Regional Waters

People walk past the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas at Lotus Pond in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, May 15, 2026. REUTERS/Ann Wang
People walk past the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas at Lotus Pond in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, May 15, 2026. REUTERS/Ann Wang
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Taiwan Security Chief: China Deployed 'Over 100 Vessels' in Regional Waters

People walk past the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas at Lotus Pond in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, May 15, 2026. REUTERS/Ann Wang
People walk past the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas at Lotus Pond in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, May 15, 2026. REUTERS/Ann Wang

Taiwan's security chief said Saturday that China has deployed more than 100 navy, coast guard and other vessels in regional waters stretching from the Yellow Sea to the South China Sea and Western Pacific.

The deployment happened in the past few days after US President Donald Trump's meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing, National Security Council chief Joseph Wu said on X.

"In this part of the world,#China is the one & only PROBLEM wrecking the #StatusQuo & threatening regional peace & stability," Wu said in the post.

China claims Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to seize it.

Wu's remarks came after Trump on Wednesday referred to "the Taiwan problem" when asked if he would speak to Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te about arms sales to the democratic island.

"I'll speak to him. I speak to everybody," Trump said, adding that he had a great meeting with Xi during his state visit.

"We'll work on that, the Taiwan problem," Trump said.

A Taiwan security official told AFP on the condition of anonymity that Chinese vessels had been detected before the summit in Beijing, but that the numbers went above 100 in recent days.

Meanwhile, a source said US arms sales to Taiwan take years to process and are unrelated to the war with Iran, after a senior US official suggested there was a pause due to the need to have enough arms for the conflict.

Taiwan has been waiting for the US to approve an arms sale that Reuters reported could be worth up to $14 billion.

On Thursday, ⁠acting US Navy ⁠Secretary Hung Cao told a Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing that there was a pause on arms sales to Taiwan to make sure the US had the munitions needed for the Operation Epic Fury attack on Iran.

The source familiar with the matter noted that Trump has said he would decide on the Taiwan arms sales soon.

"These sales take years to process and are unrelated to Operation Epic Fury," the source ⁠said, referring to the war the US and Israel launched in February. "The United States military has more than enough munitions, ammo, and stockpiles to serve all of President Trump's strategic goals and beyond."