Over 30 People Killed as Heavy Rain Causes Flooding, Landslides in Northern India 

Water flows down the overflowing Tawi River following heavy rainfall in Jammu, Indian Kashmir, August 26, 2025. (Reuters) 
Water flows down the overflowing Tawi River following heavy rainfall in Jammu, Indian Kashmir, August 26, 2025. (Reuters) 
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Over 30 People Killed as Heavy Rain Causes Flooding, Landslides in Northern India 

Water flows down the overflowing Tawi River following heavy rainfall in Jammu, Indian Kashmir, August 26, 2025. (Reuters) 
Water flows down the overflowing Tawi River following heavy rainfall in Jammu, Indian Kashmir, August 26, 2025. (Reuters) 

Heavy rain has caused flooding and landslides in northern parts of India, cutting off amenities and killing around 34 people, officials and local media reported, with more rain forecast for Wednesday.

A landslide on Tuesday near the shrine of Vaishno Devi on the famous pilgrims' route has killed at least 30 people, ANI, in which Reuters holds a minority stake, reported on Wednesday.

It was the latest catastrophe caused by downpours in the Himalayan region that killed 60 people and left 200 missing in Kishtwar in Indian Kashmir last week.

In nearby Jammu, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said rain reached 368 mm (14.5 inches) on Tuesday.

IMD forecast more rain and thunderstorms with gusty winds for the mountainous region of Ladakh, and heavy rain for Himachal Pradesh and the federal territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

Schools were ordered shut in many parts of Jammu, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab in India's north.

Authorities were battling to restore "almost nonexistent" telecommunications services, said Omar Abdullah, chief minister for Jammu and Kashmir.

Overflowing water in the Tawi, Chenab, Jhelum and Basantar rivers caused floods in low-lying areas, officials said, with three people killed as a result in Doda district in Jammu.

"The immediate priority is restoration of electricity, water supply and mobile services, for which the authorities have been working continuously overnight," Jitendra Singh, India's science and technology minister, said in a post on X.

Singh also said the Madhopur bridge suffered significant damage on Wednesday morning.

Television images showed vehicles falling from the bridge as it collapsed. Some highways linking Jammu to the rest of India were also damaged.

Neighboring Pakistan has also grappled with monsoon rain in recent weeks.

On Tuesday, Pakistan said its eastern province of Punjab faced "very high to exceptionally high" danger of flooding from heavy rain and India's decision to release water from two dams.

The number of displaced people in the province has exceeded 150,000 including nearly 35,000 who left their homes voluntarily since August 14 after flood warnings, officials said.



More Than 300 US Troops Injured Since Start of Iran War

US Navy sailors taxi an F/A-18F Super Hornet on the flight deck aboard Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in support of the Operation Epic Fury attack on Iran from an undisclosed location March 17, 2026. (US Navy/Handout via Reuters)
US Navy sailors taxi an F/A-18F Super Hornet on the flight deck aboard Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in support of the Operation Epic Fury attack on Iran from an undisclosed location March 17, 2026. (US Navy/Handout via Reuters)
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More Than 300 US Troops Injured Since Start of Iran War

US Navy sailors taxi an F/A-18F Super Hornet on the flight deck aboard Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in support of the Operation Epic Fury attack on Iran from an undisclosed location March 17, 2026. (US Navy/Handout via Reuters)
US Navy sailors taxi an F/A-18F Super Hornet on the flight deck aboard Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in support of the Operation Epic Fury attack on Iran from an undisclosed location March 17, 2026. (US Navy/Handout via Reuters)

More than 300 US troops have been wounded since the start of the Iran war on February 28, US Central Command said on Friday.

"Since the start of Operation Epic Fury, approximately 303 US service members have been wounded. The vast majority of these injuries have been minor, and 273 troops have returned to duty," US Navy Captain Tim Hawkins said.

A US official who asked not to be identified told AFP that 10 troops remain seriously wounded.

A further 13 troops have been killed in the war, according to the latest figures, with seven killed in the Gulf and six in Iraq.

In a separate development Friday, Iran's military said that hotels housing US soldiers in the region would be considered targets.

"When all the Americans (forces) go into a hotel, then from our perspective that hotel becomes American," armed forces spokesman Abolfazl Shekarchi told state television on Thursday.

Iran's government has not released an updated casualty toll, but a US-based activist group said on March 23 that some 1,167 Iranian troops had been killed and 658 troops' status is unknown. AFP is not able to independently verify tolls in Iran due to reporting restrictions.

The war began on February 28 when the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran, killing its supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

Since then, the conflict has spread across the Middle East. Iran has fired drone and missiles at Gulf states home to American military bases and other interests.

US President Donald Trump insisted on Thursday that talks to end the conflict were "ongoing" and "going very well".


UN Appeals for $80 Mn for Refugees, Hosts in Iran

 A man clears debris from a building damaged after a nearby residential building was hit in a US-Israeli strike in Tehran, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP)
A man clears debris from a building damaged after a nearby residential building was hit in a US-Israeli strike in Tehran, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP)
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UN Appeals for $80 Mn for Refugees, Hosts in Iran

 A man clears debris from a building damaged after a nearby residential building was hit in a US-Israeli strike in Tehran, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP)
A man clears debris from a building damaged after a nearby residential building was hit in a US-Israeli strike in Tehran, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP)

The United Nations said Friday it had launched an $80-million appeal to address the urgent humanitarian needs of nearly two million refugees in Iran and their host communities as the Middle East war rages.

Iran hosts the largest number of refugees in the world and has a significant migrant population, including 4.5 million Afghans, according to Tehran, and, according to the UN, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis.

"With the recent escalation of conflict, refugees, other Afghans and host communities in Iran are struggling with concerns for their safety, job losses, psychological distress and urgent shelter needs," said Babar Baloch, spokesman for UNHCR, the UN refugee agency.

UNHCR and its humanitarian partners have put together a flash refugee response plan, urgently seeking $80 million to respond to the immediate humanitarian needs from March to May.

"This will cover 1.8 million Afghan refugees and Afghans under other status living in Iran, plus also a million in their hosting communities who have also been affected," Baloch told a press conference.

"In Iran, most Afghan refugees, they live with the urban communities side by side, and everyone is affected," he said, adding that UNHCR was getting "thousands of desperate calls every day" from Afghans seeking support.

The Middle East war erupted on February 28 when Washington and Israel launched strikes on Iran, with Tehran in turn attacking targets in Israel and Gulf nations.

The UN's International Organization for Migration said no atypical outflows of people from Iran had been detected.

Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross said the month of war had upended the lives of millions and sent shockwaves far beyond the region at a speed "that threatens to overwhelm the humanitarian response".

"Essential infrastructure critical for the supply of energy, water and health care has been damaged or destroyed. The use of heavy explosive weapons with wide area impact in urban settings has caused suffering and fear," the ICRC said in a statement.

"Without respect for the rules of war, civilians will continue to suffer profound consequences that could outlast the current conflict."


France Hits Back at Lavrov, Says Russia Does Not Defend International Law

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the Russian Foreign Ministry headquarters in Moscow on Jan 20, 2026. (AFP)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the Russian Foreign Ministry headquarters in Moscow on Jan 20, 2026. (AFP)
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France Hits Back at Lavrov, Says Russia Does Not Defend International Law

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the Russian Foreign Ministry headquarters in Moscow on Jan 20, 2026. (AFP)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the Russian Foreign Ministry headquarters in Moscow on Jan 20, 2026. (AFP)

France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Friday that Russia does not defend international law either in Ukraine or Iran with its actions, in response to comments made by his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in an interview on French TV.

"Mr. Lavrov was able to calmly spread his propaganda last night on a French television channel... You do not defend international law by launching a war of aggression," Barrot told reporters on the sidelines of a G7 meeting in France, Reuters reported.

Speaking to France Television on Thursday, Lavrov said that by standing with Iran in its war against the US and Israel, Russia's focus was upholding international law.