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India Monsoon Floods, Landslides Kill More Than 100 Since July, Say Officials

Residents wade through a flooded street following heavy monsoon rains in Guwahati on August 4, 2026. (AFP)
Residents wade through a flooded street following heavy monsoon rains in Guwahati on August 4, 2026. (AFP)
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India Monsoon Floods, Landslides Kill More Than 100 Since July, Say Officials

Residents wade through a flooded street following heavy monsoon rains in Guwahati on August 4, 2026. (AFP)
Residents wade through a flooded street following heavy monsoon rains in Guwahati on August 4, 2026. (AFP)

Floods and landslides triggered by monsoon rains have killed more than 100 people across India since July, official data showed Wednesday, with thousands forced to flee their inundated homes.

While the annual monsoon brings rainfall that farmers depend on, scientists say climate change is making the phenomenon more erratic, unpredictable and deadly across the South Asia region.

India's northeastern state of Assam is among the hardest hit by the annual rains, with at least 87 people killed, according to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

In the state's worst-affected Sivasagar district, some 47 people have been killed as several areas remain under water.

State authorities have appealed for financial donations from the public to support relief and rehabilitation efforts.

"The devastation here is unlike anything these areas have witnessed before," Sarma posted on X.

"Material losses can be restored, but no compensation can replace a loved one."

- Severe weather -

AFP images showed residents using rafts and inflated boats to reach higher ground with the help of the state's disaster response officials.

In India's southern state of Kerala, Chief Minister VD Satheesan said at least 15 people have been killed and another seven were missing after heavy rains over several days.

More than 300 relief camps have been set up in the state, sheltering over 10,000 people, after rains triggered landslides and swollen rivers breached their banks.

In the Himalayan territory of Jammu and Kashmir, at least 31 people been killed in several short bursts of extremely intense rainfall, according to a report by the public state broadcaster.

Monsoon-related disasters are an annual occurrence across India after the region's long summers when many parts of the country face water scarcity and drought.

Neighboring Sri Lanka has also seen unusually heavy monsoon rains that have caused flash floods and mudslides, claiming the lives of at least eight people since Monday, according to the Disaster Management Centre.

Some 12,000 people have been driven out of their flooded homes in the central region.

At the same time, the country's eastern regions were in the grip of a severe drought, with authorities having to transport drinking water for residents in tanker trucks.

The government last month said the severe weather events were due to this year's El Nino weather phenomenon, which warms surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean.

The government is yet to estimate the potential loss to Sri Lanka's economy from the effects of El Nino, but has set up a ministerial task force to mitigate its impact.

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World

Israel Signs Three-billion-euro Arms Export Deal with Greece

Greece to buy a defense system from Israel (Reuters)
Greece to buy a defense system from Israel (Reuters)
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Israel Signs Three-billion-euro Arms Export Deal with Greece

Greece to buy a defense system from Israel (Reuters)
Greece to buy a defense system from Israel (Reuters)

Israel's defense ministry announced Monday it had signed a deal with Athens worth approximately three billion euros (almost $3.5 billion) to set up the "Achilles Shield" aerial defense system for Greece. 

"Under the deal, Israel will build Greece a comprehensive, multi-layered air defense array, drawing entirely on Israeli-made systems and on the extensive operational experience Israel's defense establishment has gained during the war," the ministry said in a statement. 

"This is the largest defense export deal in the history of Israel-Greece relations, and one of the largest in the history of the State of Israel," it added. 

The deal was signed by the Israeli defense ministry's director general, Major General (Res.) Amir Baram, and his Greek counterpart, Ioannis Bouras, in Tel Aviv. 

A Greek defense ministry source had told AFP in late July about an upcoming purchase of Israeli-made anti-missile, anti-aircraft and anti-drone systems, part of a broader defense investment for the Achilles Shield of 4.2 billion euro ($4.8 billion). 

In a statement, the Greek Defense Ministry said the multi-billion euro purchase was part of "the greatest reform of its armed forces in its history". 

Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias was quoted in the statement as saying that recent technological developments "have long rendered existing defense doctrines completely obsolete". 

"Greece is the first country in the European Union to adopt" a multi-layered air defense system such as the Israeli one, he added. 

According to the Israeli Defense Ministry, the export deal includes the David's Sling, Barak MX and SPYDER interception systems, air surveillance radars, and "a new national command and control system". 

All the equipment is manufactured by Israeli defense contractors Rafael and Israel Aerospace Industries and its subsidiary ELTA Systems. 

A supplementary 26 million euro deal was also signed to provide Greece with Rafael's defense systems against drones, the ministry said. 

"Israel and Greece share common strategic interests and face shared regional challenges," said Defense Minister Israel Katz, quoted in the statement. 

"At a time when actors with hegemonic ambitions are seeking to expand their influence and undermine stability in the region, Israel and Greece will continue to deepen their defense and strategic cooperation," he said, in a likely reference to Türkiye. 

Greece is now one of only four European NATO members to spend at least three percent of GDP on its military, amid decades of tensions with neighboring Türkiye. 

Israel has also increasingly locked horns with Türkiye, having struck a disused military base in northwest Syria, claiming it wanted to avert Turkish troops deploying to the facility. 

In 2023, Israel signed a deal with Germany to provide the Arrow 3 anti-ballistic missile defense system, which was expanded in December for a total value of $6.5 billion, the country's largest-ever military export contract. 

 

World

World Leaders Need to See Rising Oceans in Pacific, Says UN Official

View of a rock formation at the Pacific Ocean in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California state, Mexico on August 4, 2023. AFP
View of a rock formation at the Pacific Ocean in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California state, Mexico on August 4, 2023. AFP
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World Leaders Need to See Rising Oceans in Pacific, Says UN Official

View of a rock formation at the Pacific Ocean in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California state, Mexico on August 4, 2023. AFP
View of a rock formation at the Pacific Ocean in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California state, Mexico on August 4, 2023. AFP

Leaders from the world's top economies should stand on a Pacific atoll to see the reality of record sea level rise, a top UN official said in Palau on Monday.

Noting last week's deadly floods in Nepal, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said rising seas in the Pacific were the "other side of that story".

"We do already know that a warming climate is changing the world's ice at extraordinary speeds, not only threatening the communities below glaciers but adding more water to our oceans," she told reporters.

Mohammed was speaking in Palau, where Pacific leaders have gathered for an annual summit to discuss challenges including climate change, crime and regional security.

The United Nations is pushing for G20 leaders to attend and make commitments at a meeting hosted by the tiny nation of Tuvalu in October, ahead of the upcoming UN climate summit in Türkiye, according to Mohammed.

"We think they should turn up and really engage with the world on what they need to do," she said, even though there are concerns few leaders outside the Pacific will make the trip.

Tuvalu, which is among the most vulnerable countries in the climate crisis, is preparing to relocate its population after scientists predicted most of its land may become inundated.

Palau's minister for the environment Steven Victor said the Pacific was "not begging for any handouts" but had fewer resources to deal with rising seas that threaten its communities the most.

"We need them to come and see," he said.

A UN report published Monday showed a record pace of sea level rise driven by warming oceans and glacier melt.

Up to 1.2 billion people could be displaced by 2050, with Pacific island countries experiencing sea level rise at twice the global average, it said.

It also highlighted a financing gap, with developing countries needing $310-$365 billion to adapt, yet having only $26 billion in adaptation finance available in 2023.

- Coral reefs under pressure -

Coral reefs are facing a "staircase of decline", with global hard coral cover declining 9.5 percent due to climate change over 40 years, another report released Monday in Palau by scientists found.

The Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network analyzed data from 37,000 reefs in 120 countries, finding a narrowing window between major bleaching events.

Although reefs can recover after bleaching if they have enough time, the frequency of marine heatwaves means only partial progress is made.

The study found a major bleaching event every five to six years since 2010.

"We are steadily eroding the conditions they need to recover," said the study's lead author Manuel Gonzalez Rivero.

"Climate change is driving more frequent and severe marine heatwaves, but local pressures such as poor water quality, overfishing and coastal development are making reefs even less able to withstand them," he added.

Among the worst affected are reefs in Australia, the Pacific and Caribbean.

Around 100 million people live within five kilometers (3.1 miles) of a coral reef, a 46 percent increase over two decades.

The ocean was a highway for Pacific nations, connecting its people, but was in crisis, Palau's President Surangel Whipps said on Sunday.

World

Iran FM Accuses ‘Serpent’ Netanyahu of Tricking US into War

16 March 2018, Austria, Vienna: Abbas Araghchi, Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran, gives an interview in Vienna. (dpa)
16 March 2018, Austria, Vienna: Abbas Araghchi, Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran, gives an interview in Vienna. (dpa)
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Iran FM Accuses ‘Serpent’ Netanyahu of Tricking US into War

16 March 2018, Austria, Vienna: Abbas Araghchi, Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran, gives an interview in Vienna. (dpa)
16 March 2018, Austria, Vienna: Abbas Araghchi, Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran, gives an interview in Vienna. (dpa)

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a "serpent", accusing him of tricking Washington into going to war with the country.

"In Hebrew, Netanyahu openly crows that he suckered the US Administration into a war on Iran on behalf of Israel. Netanyahu explicitly laughs about how he 'influenced' America through 1,000 hours of airtime on US networks," Araghchi said in a post on X.

"In English, he praises POTUS' leadership. Serpent," he added.

War broke out between Iran and the United States on February 28 with US-Israeli strikes killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei along with senior military officials.

Iran retaliated with attacks across the region as the conflict continued to spread.

An April ceasefire put an end to the most intense fighting, but sporadic attacks mainly near the Strait of Hormuz have dimmed prospects for a final peace agreement, and the US recently shifted toward a campaign of what it calls "economic asphyxiation" of Iran.

The US struck the Iranian island of Larak late Sunday, its first such attack in a month.

In response, Iran says it launched attacks on Jordan and the UAE.

Last week, Netanyahu dismissed any prospect of an Iran-US deal and called Iran's leaders "savages".