عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Storm Claudia Kills Three in Portugal, Causes Flooding in Britain

A catamaran (C) makes it way down the Thames towards high-rise buildings partly obscured by clouds in London on November 14, 2025, as inclement weather affects much of the country due to Storm Claudia. (AFP)
A catamaran (C) makes it way down the Thames towards high-rise buildings partly obscured by clouds in London on November 14, 2025, as inclement weather affects much of the country due to Storm Claudia. (AFP)
TT
TT

Storm Claudia Kills Three in Portugal, Causes Flooding in Britain

A catamaran (C) makes it way down the Thames towards high-rise buildings partly obscured by clouds in London on November 14, 2025, as inclement weather affects much of the country due to Storm Claudia. (AFP)
A catamaran (C) makes it way down the Thames towards high-rise buildings partly obscured by clouds in London on November 14, 2025, as inclement weather affects much of the country due to Storm Claudia. (AFP)

Violent weather brought on by Storm Claudia killed three people and injured dozens in Portugal, authorities there said on Saturday, while in Britain rescue workers were organizing evacuations due to heavy flooding in Wales and England.

Portugal and parts of neighboring Spain have faced days of extreme conditions brought on by Storm Claudia, which had reached parts of Britain and Ireland by Saturday.

Rescue workers found the bodies of an elderly couple inside their flooded home in Fernao Ferro, across the River Tagus from Lisbon, on Thursday. They had apparently been sleeping and were unable to flee as the water rose during the night.

On Saturday, a tornado struck Albufeira in southern Portugal, emergency services said.

Footage shot from a distance that was posted online showed the tornado damaging and destroying caravans at a camping area, where regional civil protection commander Vitor Vaz Pinto said an 85-year-old British woman was killed.

Twenty-eight people were injured at a nearby hotel, he said, adding that two of them were in hospital with serious injuries.

In a statement on Saturday, Portugal's President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa expressed "his solidarity with the family of the victim who died" in Albufeira and wished a speedy recovery to those injured.

Portuguese weather service IPMA placed the entire Algarve and districts of Beja and Setubal on amber alert, its second-highest alert level.

STORM CLAUDIA CAUSES FLOODING IN WALES, ENGLAND

In Britain, severe flooding hit the town of Monmouth and surrounding areas in southeastern Wales on Saturday.

South Wales Fire and Rescue Service said it was conducting rescues, evacuations, and welfare checks.

"Storm Claudia has caused significant flooding in parts of Wales overnight, which continues to affect homes, businesses, transport and energy infrastructure," a spokesperson for the Welsh government said.

Aerial footage showed widespread flooding in Monmouth, with water inundating the town center and residential areas after a nearby river burst its banks overnight.

Natural Resources Wales has issued 11 flood warnings, four of which are severe, as well as 17 flood alerts.

In England, according to the Environment Agency's latest update, there were 49 active flood warnings and 134 flood alerts.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

Strikes Near Iran, Israel Nuclear Sites Risk ‘Unmitigated Catastrophe’, Says UN

A drone view shows a damage in a residential neighborhood, following a night of Iranian missile strikes which injured dozens of Israelis, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Dimona, southern Israel March 22, 2026. (Reuters)
A drone view shows a damage in a residential neighborhood, following a night of Iranian missile strikes which injured dozens of Israelis, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Dimona, southern Israel March 22, 2026. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Strikes Near Iran, Israel Nuclear Sites Risk ‘Unmitigated Catastrophe’, Says UN

A drone view shows a damage in a residential neighborhood, following a night of Iranian missile strikes which injured dozens of Israelis, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Dimona, southern Israel March 22, 2026. (Reuters)
A drone view shows a damage in a residential neighborhood, following a night of Iranian missile strikes which injured dozens of Israelis, amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Dimona, southern Israel March 22, 2026. (Reuters)

Strikes around Iran and Israel's nuclear sites risk unleashing an "unmitigated catastrophe", the United Nations rights chief said Wednesday, warning that the Middle East war had created an "extremely dangerous" situation.

Speaking before the UN Human Rights Council, where countries were holding an urgent debate on Tehran's attacks across the Gulf, Volker Turk warned that many of the strikes in the weeks-long war "raise serious concerns under international law".

In particular, Turk cautioned that "recent missile strikes near nuclear sites in both Israel and Iran underscore the immense danger of further escalation".

"States are flirting with unmitigated catastrophe."

His comments came after the UN nuclear watchdog said Iran had informed it that "another projectile hit the premises" of the Bushehr nuclear power plant on Tuesday, without damaging it.

Over the weekend, an Iranian strike hit the southern Israeli town of Dimona, home to a nuclear facility, in what Tehran said was in response to an earlier attack on its nuclear site at Natanz.

"The situation is extremely dangerous and unpredictable, and has created chaos across the region," Turk said, insisting that "we cannot go back to war as a tool of international relations".

The UN rights chief also warned that "this conflict has an unprecedented power to ensnare countries across borders and around the world".

"The complex dynamics could ignite further national, regional or global crises at any moment, with an appalling impact on civilians and people everywhere."

World

Hungary Says Will Phase Out Gas Deliveries to Ukraine

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks during an assembly of European far-right parties with Orban’s Patriots for Europe group, in Budapest, Hungary, Monday, March 23, 2026. (AP)
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks during an assembly of European far-right parties with Orban’s Patriots for Europe group, in Budapest, Hungary, Monday, March 23, 2026. (AP)
TT
TT

Hungary Says Will Phase Out Gas Deliveries to Ukraine

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks during an assembly of European far-right parties with Orban’s Patriots for Europe group, in Budapest, Hungary, Monday, March 23, 2026. (AP)
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks during an assembly of European far-right parties with Orban’s Patriots for Europe group, in Budapest, Hungary, Monday, March 23, 2026. (AP)

Hungary's prime minister said on Wednesday that Budapest would phase out gas deliveries to Ukraine, the latest salvo in a bitter feud between the two countries over a damaged pipeline transporting Russian oil. 

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whose country is a major gas supplier to Ukraine, has accused Kyiv of delaying repairs on the pipeline, effectively stopping the flow of Russian oil to Hungary and its neighbor Slovakia. 

"To break the oil blockade and guarantee the security of Hungary's energy supply, new measures are now necessary," Orban said in a video posted on Facebook. 

"We are gradually halting gas shipments from Hungary to Ukraine and storing the gas that remains here domestically. Until Ukraine supplies oil, it will receive no gas from Hungary," he added. 

Ukrainian authorities have said that the Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline, which crosses its territory, was damaged by Russian airstrikes on January 27. 

Hungary and Slovakia, which have obtained exemptions from the European Union to continue purchasing Russian oil, accuse Kyiv of dragging their feet to repair it. 

In retaliation, Orban -- who is facing crucial parliamentary elections next month -- is blocking a European loan of 90 billion euros ($104 billion) to Ukraine. 

Last week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that the EU would help reopen the Druzhba pipeline. 

Budapest and Bratislava are also blocking the official adoption of new economic sanctions against Russia, endorsed by other EU countries. 

According to analysts at the pro-government Hungarian Economic Research Foundation (Oeconomus), Hungary has become one of Ukraine's main gas suppliers. 

Ukraine imported 2.94 billion cubic meters of gas from Hungary in 2025, the top source for Ukrainian imports, accounting for 45.5 percent of all Ukrainian imports, Ukrainian consultancy ExPro said in a report. 

ExPro said separately that Ukraine's imports from Hungary were already slightly dropping as a share in 2026, down to 34 percent of Ukraine's import mix in March 2026. 

Ukraine's total gas consumption in 2025 was 21 billion cubic meters, the Dixi group consultancy said in a report in March, meaning Hungary accounted for 14 percent of Ukraine's total gas use in 2025. 

World

Iran Speaker Warns US Not to Test 'Resolve to Defend Our Land'

FILED - 12 October 2024, Lebanon, Beirut: Iranian Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf speaks during a press conference in Beirut. Photo: Hassan Ibrahim/Lebanese Parliament/dpa
FILED - 12 October 2024, Lebanon, Beirut: Iranian Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf speaks during a press conference in Beirut. Photo: Hassan Ibrahim/Lebanese Parliament/dpa
TT
TT

Iran Speaker Warns US Not to Test 'Resolve to Defend Our Land'

FILED - 12 October 2024, Lebanon, Beirut: Iranian Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf speaks during a press conference in Beirut. Photo: Hassan Ibrahim/Lebanese Parliament/dpa
FILED - 12 October 2024, Lebanon, Beirut: Iranian Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf speaks during a press conference in Beirut. Photo: Hassan Ibrahim/Lebanese Parliament/dpa

Iran's parliament speaker on Wednesday warned Washington not to test Tehran’s determination to defend its territory after the United States was reported to be sending more troops to the Middle East.

"We are closely monitoring all US movements in the region, especially troop deployments.

What the generals have broke, the soldiers can't fix; instead, they will fall victim to (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu's delusions," said Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf in an X post in English.

"Do not test our resolve to defend our land."

At least 1,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division will be sent to the Mideast in the coming days, three people with knowledge of the plans told The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military plans.

The Pentagon is also in the process of deploying two Marine units that will add about 5,000 Marines and thousands of sailors to the region.