- Flash flooding kills three in northern Thailand
- Kaur leads India to victory over Pakistan in Women's T20 World Cup
- Juventus held by Cagliari after late penalty drama
- In France's Marseille, teen 'stabbed 50 times' then burned alive
- Ruthless Gauff beats Muchova in straight sets to win China Open
- India restrict Pakistan to 105-8 in Women's T20 World Cup
- England target repeat of Pakistan Test whitewash
- Penrith Panthers win fourth straight NRL title after downing Storm
- Weary Sinner happy for day off after battling into Shanghai last 16
- Pakistan's Masood warns England still a force without Stokes
- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- 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
Search for survivors in Philippine villages hit by landslides
Rescuers hampered by mud and rain searched Tuesday for survivors of landslides that smashed into villages in the central Philippines, as the death toll from tropical storm Megi rose to 27.
More than 17,000 people fled their homes as the storm pummelled the disaster-prone region in recent daysflooding houses, severing roads and knocking out power.
At least 21 people were dead after landslides slammed into several villages in Leyte province -- one of the hardest hit by the storm -- local authorities said.
Three people were also killed in the central province of Negros Oriental and three on the main southern island of Mindanao, according to the national disaster agency.
Photos showed the rooftops of several homes in Bunga, one of the Leyte communities affected, poking above a river of mud.
Rescue efforts were focused on the nearby village of Kantagnos, which an official said had been hit by two landslides.
Some residents managed to escape or were pulled out of the mud alive, but many are still feared trapped.
Five people have been confirmed dead in Kantagnos, but it is not clear how many are still missing.
A Philippine Coast Guard video shared on Facebook showed six rescuers carrying a mud-caked woman on a stretcher to safety.
"There was a small landslide and some people were able to run to safety, and then a big one followed which covered the entire village," Jose Carlos Cari, mayor of Leyte's Baybay City, told local broadcaster DZMM Teleradyo.
"We're looking for many people, there are 210 households there."
Cari said the bad weather was hampering rescue efforts.
"We're pushing, but we're having a hard time because it's dangerous," he said.
"Equipment has been mobilised, everything is ready, but we're unable to move because it's still raining heavily and rivers are still swollen."
The military has joined coast guard, police and fire protection officers in the search and rescue efforts.
National disaster agency spokesman Mark Timbal said landslides around Baybay City had reached settlements "outside the danger zone", catching many people by surprise.
"There were people in their homes that were hit directly by the landslide," Timbal told AFP.
Tropical storm Megi -- known in the Philippines by its local name Agaton -- is the first major storm to hit the country this year.
Whipping up seas, it forced dozens of ports to suspend operations and stranded nearly 8,000 people at the start of Holy Week, one of the busiest travel periods of the year.
The Philippines re-opened to fully vaccinated tourists from most countries in February after lifting practically all Covid-19 restrictions, and Easter is a popular holiday for domestic tourists.
The storm comes four months after a super typhoon devastated swathes of the archipelago nation, killing more than 400 people and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless.
Scientists have long warned typhoons are strengthening more rapidly as the world becomes warmer due to climate change.
The Philippines -- ranked among the most vulnerable nations to its impacts -- is hit by an average of 20 storms every year.
A.Santos--PC