- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
- Thousands march in London in support of Palestinians, 1 year after Oct 7
- Israel readying response to Iran missile attack
- Schutt, Mooney help Australia beat Sri Lanka in Women's T20 World Cup
- Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
- Djokovic 'shakes rust off' to make third round of Shanghai Masters
- 'Imperfect' PSG fighting on all fronts - Luis Enrique
- Struggling Pakistan look to thwart adaptable England
- Child 'trampled to death' in asylum seekers' Channel crossing: minister
Recovery of crashed China Eastern jet hampered by heavy rain
Heavy rains on Wednesday hampered the recovery of a China Eastern jet that nosedived into a mountain with 132 passengers onboard, a disaster that has mystified crash investigators who are yet to locate the black boxes.
Three days on from Monday's crash and there are no signs of survivors, yet officials have refrained from declaring all of the passengers dead, in what is almost certain to be China's deadliest plane crash in nearly 30 years.
Hundreds of firefighters, officials and volunteers have scoured the rugged terrain near Wuzhou in southern China for signs of the 123 passengers and nine crew onboard the ill-fated flight MU5735, which crashed on Monday afternoon after losing contact with air traffic control.
Aviation investigators say they need the flight recorders on the Boeing 737-800 before they can assess why the jet plunged.
Flight tracking website FlightRadar24 showed the plane sharply dropped from an altitude of 29,100 to 7,850 feet (about 8,900 to 2,400 metres) in just over a minute.
After a brief upswing, it dropped again to 3,225 feet (983 metres), the tracker said.
On Wednesday, rescuers were forced to pause the search as rains raised risks to teams working in a zone marked by pulverised bits of metal, debris and charred belongings.
A reporter for state broadcaster CCTV given access to the crash area said there were risks of "small-scale landslides" as rain had destabilised the steep slopes.
"There is a huge pit at the crash site caused by the plane... there is a lot of water in the pit," the reporter said, adding drainage work may now be needed before the search "for missing persons and for black boxes" can resume.
President Xi Jinping was swift to order a probe into the crash, dispatching senior Communist Party officials to the scene, including close aide Vice Premier Liu He.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China has said it will conduct a two-week safety inspection across the industry.
Authorities have sealed off access to the crash site and blocked foreign media from speaking to the distraught relatives who have gathered in Wuzhou.
At a roadside checkpoint on the north of the crash site, officials -- some wearing military fatigues -- ushered a convoy of government-marked vehicles into the restricted zone, an AFP reporter said, as around a dozen people in civilian clothes stood off to one side, some linking arms.
China Eastern said the crashed plane, which was nearly seven years old, had met all airworthiness requirements pre-flight.
Aviation authorities said more painstaking evidence gathering was needed before coming to any conclusions.
Until then, "we are unable to make a clear judgment on the cause of the accident," Zhu Tao, director of the aviation safety office at China's aviation authority, told reporters.
burs-apj/mjw/lb
N.Esteves--PC