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EU Sends Aircraft as Belgium Fights Record Wildfire

Washington state Department of Natural Resources South Puget Sound region firefighter Kayla Tolbert assists in wildfire suppression efforts in Spokane County, Washington, U.S., August 5, 2026. REUTERS
Washington state Department of Natural Resources South Puget Sound region firefighter Kayla Tolbert assists in wildfire suppression efforts in Spokane County, Washington, U.S., August 5, 2026. REUTERS
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EU Sends Aircraft as Belgium Fights Record Wildfire

Washington state Department of Natural Resources South Puget Sound region firefighter Kayla Tolbert assists in wildfire suppression efforts in Spokane County, Washington, U.S., August 5, 2026. REUTERS
Washington state Department of Natural Resources South Puget Sound region firefighter Kayla Tolbert assists in wildfire suppression efforts in Spokane County, Washington, U.S., August 5, 2026. REUTERS

The European Union deployed three helicopters and two water bomber aircraft to tackle a record wildfire in eastern Belgium, the bloc's crisis commissioner said on Saturday, after Belgium requested emergency reinforcements.

The blaze in the High Fens, Belgium's largest nature reserve, has been burning since Friday and local firefighters, farmers and the army have sought to contain it.

By early Saturday afternoon, it had burned 1,600 hectares, a spokesperson for the administration of the Wallonia region in Belgium told Reuters.

That makes the fire the biggest on record in Belgium, surpassing a blaze in 2011 that burned nearly 1,400 hectares, data from the European Forest Fire Information System showed.

Local authorities on Saturday told residents in the village of Sourbrodt to prepare for a possible evacuation. A children's summer camp in the region was already being evacuated, Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken said in a post on X. European countries including Belgium suffered their fifth heatwave of the summer this week. Scientists say human-caused climate change has increased the likelihood of the hot and dry conditions that allow wildfires to spread faster and burn longer.

The EU coordinates the deployment of extra resources pooled from European countries, when a country requests emergency help. The aircraft sent to Belgium on Saturday were from the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Netherlands, EU Crisis Commissioner Hadja Lahbib said in a post on X.

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World

Homes Submerged, Tens of Thousands Relocated in China’s South as Flooding Intensifies

Rescue workers evacuate flood-affected residents by boat after heavy rainfall brought by Typhoon Narra caused flooding in Longzhou county, Chongzuo, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China August 24, 2026. (cnsphoto via Reuters)
Rescue workers evacuate flood-affected residents by boat after heavy rainfall brought by Typhoon Narra caused flooding in Longzhou county, Chongzuo, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China August 24, 2026. (cnsphoto via Reuters)
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Homes Submerged, Tens of Thousands Relocated in China’s South as Flooding Intensifies

Rescue workers evacuate flood-affected residents by boat after heavy rainfall brought by Typhoon Narra caused flooding in Longzhou county, Chongzuo, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China August 24, 2026. (cnsphoto via Reuters)
Rescue workers evacuate flood-affected residents by boat after heavy rainfall brought by Typhoon Narra caused flooding in Longzhou county, Chongzuo, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China August 24, 2026. (cnsphoto via Reuters)

Widespread floods triggered by heavy rain from Typhoon Narra intensified on Tuesday across southern China, with homes and shops submerged and thousands of people relocated, while another storm system made its way towards Japan and Taiwan.

Authorities in Chongzuo, in China's Guangxi region, famous for its giant waterfalls and karst limestone mountains, evacuated more than 15,000 people after water levels surpassed a record high set in 2008.

Rising floodwaters have prompted China to relocate a total of 54,000 people in Guangxi, state television said.

Narra has lingered over the Beibu Gulf, ‌also known as ‌the Gulf of Tonkin, in the northwestern part of ‌the ⁠South China Sea for ⁠several days, dumping heavy rain on Guangxi and the nearby provinces of Hainan and Guangdong.

Heavy rain is expected to persist across parts of Vietnam and southern China through Wednesday, with areas of Guangxi, Guangdong, Hainan and Fujian forecast to receive torrential rain, state media said.

In Chongzuo, river water overflowed into the city, with water levels reaching the rooftops of some buildings and power lines.

A notice from Chongzuo authorities on ⁠Monday ordered all businesses and tourist operations to cease and ‌urged evacuated residents not to return to high-risk ‌areas.

TYPHOON SAUDEL APPROACHES JAPAN, TAIWAN

Meanwhile, medium-strength Typhoon Saudel moved towards southern Japan and northern ‌Taiwan where it is expected to bring sporadic heavy rain, as Taiwan reported ‌one dead and four missing from a separate weather system over its south and east.

Japan's weather agency warned of destructive gusts as Typhoon Saudel approached the southwestern islands of Okinawa prefecture, also causing extremely strong winds and high seas.

Saudel is expected to pass ‌to the north of Taiwan and dump water on its north starting late Thursday and into Friday, though its intensity ⁠is forecast to ⁠gradually weaken and its storm-force wind radius to shrink, the island's Central Weather Administration said.

However, there is uncertainty about the timing and extent of the typhoon's rainfall impact, it added.

In southern and eastern Taiwan, the government reported one person dead and four missing from a tropical depression that brought flooding in the cities of Tainan and Kaohsiung, home to more than 4 million people.

During the three days from Sunday to Tuesday, almost a meter (3.9 feet) of rain fell in Kaohsiung, which the government said exceeded rainfall during 2009's devastating Typhoon Morakot that killed about 700 people and caused damage of up to $3 billion.

Saudel is forecast to hit the coast in the southeastern Chinese province of Fujian from late Thursday to early Friday.

World

China Says Will ‘Safeguard Own Interests’ After US Vows Iran Sanctions

25 August 2026, China, Peking: Lin Jian, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, speaks during a press conference. (dpa)
25 August 2026, China, Peking: Lin Jian, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, speaks during a press conference. (dpa)
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China Says Will ‘Safeguard Own Interests’ After US Vows Iran Sanctions

25 August 2026, China, Peking: Lin Jian, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, speaks during a press conference. (dpa)
25 August 2026, China, Peking: Lin Jian, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, speaks during a press conference. (dpa)

China said on Tuesday it would safeguard its interests after Washington laid out plans for the "economic asphyxiation" of Beijing's economic partner Iran.

Almost six months into its war with Iran, the United States issued new penalties on some entities including in China and expanded secondary sanctions threats, urging governments worldwide to join its economic campaign.

China has advocated for a ceasefire and insisted US sanctions will not resolve the conflict.

"Cooperation between China and Iran has always been conducted within the framework of international law and should not be interfered with or disrupted," foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a regular news briefing on Tuesday.

"China has already stated many times that it firmly opposes illegal unilateral sanctions... China will take all necessary measures to firmly safeguard its own rights and interests," he added.

Beijing is a key customer for Iranian oil and is directly affected by the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has weathered sanctions for decades, using complex international financial networks to evade restrictions. Before the war, it continued to export millions of barrels of oil, mostly to China.

Asked on Monday if Chinese banks would be targeted by the new penalties, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said: "No one is above the reach of US sanctions".

World

Tornado in Southwestern France Damages over 300 Homes, Injures Dozens

This video grab taken from Villefloure, shows a tornado hitting Pomas, southwestern France, on August 24, 2026. (Photo by Cyrille Kaldor / UGC / AFP / AFP)
This video grab taken from Villefloure, shows a tornado hitting Pomas, southwestern France, on August 24, 2026. (Photo by Cyrille Kaldor / UGC / AFP / AFP)
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Tornado in Southwestern France Damages over 300 Homes, Injures Dozens

This video grab taken from Villefloure, shows a tornado hitting Pomas, southwestern France, on August 24, 2026. (Photo by Cyrille Kaldor / UGC / AFP / AFP)
This video grab taken from Villefloure, shows a tornado hitting Pomas, southwestern France, on August 24, 2026. (Photo by Cyrille Kaldor / UGC / AFP / AFP)

A tornado swept through the Aude region of southwestern France late on Monday, damaging more than 300 homes and injuring dozens, authorities said.

Thirty-nine people were injured, including two in critical condition in the village of Pomas, ⁠local authorities said. ⁠By Tuesday morning some 21,000 households were without power in southern France, including 1,600 in the Aude, local grid operator ENEDIS said.

"A ⁠tornado of rare intensity struck the Aude region late yesterday afternoon, severely damaging the village of Pomas," Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on X.

Social media footage verified by Reuters showed the tornado swirling above the nearby village of Verzeille in ⁠Aude, ⁠late on Monday. Many of the homes caught up in its path had their windows smashed.

The tornado struck as this summer's intense heatwave gave way this week to thunderstorms in many areas of southern France.