- New Hezbollah chief says open to truce with Israel if offer is made
- Spain’s warning system under scrutiny as flood toll rises
- France court jails ex-doctor in latest Rwandan genocide trial
- Champions Inter Milan thump Empoli in Serie A
- Johnson the inspiration for England's Itoje as All Blacks lie in wait
- US, S.Korea call for North to withdraw troops from Russia
- In hurricane-hit N.Carolina, voters find a way to cast ballots
- Yankee fans who interfered with Betts grab barred for game five
- Lebanon hospital's burns unit bears scars of Israel-Hezbollah war
- Migrant dies trying to cross Channel, three more bodies found
- Spain races to save victims as floods kill 73
- Smog-beset Pakistan megacity curbs rickshaws, restaurants
- England captain Stokes's house burgled by masked robbers while family inside
- McDavid will miss 2-3 weeks with ankle injury for NHL Oilers
- Brussels hopes to advance Ukraine, Moldova entry talks in 2025
- Georgia president refuses prosecutors' summons after alleging vote-rigging
- First case of latest mpox variant detected in UK: health authority
- I'll be backing Harris: Schwarzenegger endorses Democratic ticket
- Harris fends off 'garbage' fallout, Trump pushes 'cheating' claims
- 'Peace among ourselves' crucial to save nature: UN chief
- French court acquits man who killed incurably ill wife
- Brazil trial begins over murder of iconic activist Franco
- Russia eats away at territory, and Ukrainian morale
- Trump's election fraud claims raise alarms of 2020 repeat
- Medvedev loses to Australian Popyrin at Paris Masters
- Harris seeks distance from Biden 'garbage' comments
- Spain races to save victims as floods kill 64
- Riyadh Air orders 60 Airbus planes
- UBS smashes forecasts with $1.4 bn net profit
- Chinese EV giant BYD beats Tesla in quarterly revenue for first time
- Jurgen Klopp to target player welfare in Red Bull role
- Volkswagen sees 'painful' cost cuts ahead as profit plunges
- Spain races to save victims as floods kill 62
- Tuberculosis cases hit record high: WHO
- Volcanoes 'hidden source' of CO2 in past climate change: study
- Eurozone economy grows faster than expected
- Mediators to propose Gaza truce amid deadly Israeli strikes
- China's Hisense first sponsor of new Club World Cup
- Georgia prosecutors probe alleged election 'falsification'
- New Zealand's Ajaz 'emotional' on Mumbai return after perfect 10
- Trump, Harris in frantic campaign push as US election nears
- Worries for Japan economy after election shock
- Israel short on soldiers after year of war
- Volkswagen profit plunges on high costs, Chinese slump
- De Zorzi out for 177 as S.Africa power to 413-5 against Bangladesh
- 'CEO of supercute': Hello Kitty turns 50
- Australia head coach McDonald handed new deal until 2027
- Visual artist grabs 'decisive moment' to nurture Chad art scene
- Industrial slump leaves Germany on brink of recession
- 'I'm terrified': French auteur Audiard hits Oscars trail for 'Emilia Perez'
Spain races to save victims as floods kill 95
Spanish rescuers on Wednesday scrambled to save people trapped by surging tides of muddy water in floods that killed at least 95 people, tossed cars and wreaked transport havoc.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez urged citizens to remain vigilant as the danger persisted and three days of mourning were declared in the European nation's worst such disaster in more than 50 years.
Heavy downpours and fierce winds have lashed Spain since the beginning of the week after a storm formed over the Mediterranean Sea, with up to a year's worth of rain falling in just hours in some areas.
The body coordinating emergency services in the eastern Valencia region announced a provisional death toll of 92, adding that bodies were still being recovered and identified.
Two people died in neighbouring Castilla-La Mancha and another victim was reported in Andalusia in the south, both regions' leaders told journalists.
The toll is likely to rise because "there are many missing people", government minister Angel Victor Torres told public broadcaster TVE.
A sea of piled-up cars and mud swamped streets in Sedavi, a suburb of the Mediterranean coastal city of Valencia, AFP journalists saw.
Stunned residents attempted to clean the sludge and grabbed buckets to bail out water from their homes ahead of a long night without water or electricity.
In Ribarroja del Turia on the outskirts of Valencia city, town councillor Esther Gomez said workers were stuck overnight in an industrial estate "without a chance of rescuing them" as streams overflowed.
"It had been a long time since this happened and we're scared," she told AFP.
According to Spain's weather service AEMET, the town of Chiva, west of Valencia, recorded 491 mm of rain in just eight hours on Tuesday -- almost equalling a year's worth.
- 'Spain weeps' -
Sanchez said the government's "absolute priority" was to help the victims. "All of Spain weeps with all of you... We won't abandon you," he said in a televised address.
The disaster could not be considered over and "we will deploy all the necessary resources for as long as necessary so that we can recover from this tragedy," he added.
King Felipe VI said he was "devastated" by the news on X and offered "heartfelt condolences" to families of the victims, thanking emergency services for their "titanic" response.
Damage to telephone networks and flooded roads were hampering efforts to reach stricken communities in the Valencia region.
Some 155,000 homes are without electricity in Valencia region due to the storm, energy company Iberdrola said, adding that it had dispatched 500 workers to restore power there.
Defence Minister Margarita Robles told reporters more than 1,000 troops backed by helicopters were being deployed in the face of "an unprecedented phenomenon".
The European Union activated its Copernicus satellite system to help coordinate Spanish rescue teams, commission chief Ursula von der Leyen told a news conference in Brussels.
The bloc has also offered to use its civil protection mechanism to send further reinforcements, she said.
- 'Unprecedented phenomenon' -
Officials in the Valencia region announced survivors were being sheltered in temporary accommodation such as fire stations.
Rail and air transport remained severely disrupted. The high-speed line between Valencia and Madrid will remain suspended over the next four days at least, rail infrastructure authority Adif announced.
The downpours are expected to continue. AEMET issued a red alert for heavy rains in the countryside near the southern coastal city of Cadiz and rough weather was expected in the northeastern region of Catalonia.
The flood toll is Spain's deadliest since 1973 when at least 150 people were estimated to have died in the southeastern provinces of Granada, Murcia and Almeria.
Meteorologists have said the latest storm was caused by cold air moving over Mediterranean's warm waters, which produced intense rain clouds, a phenomenon common for the time of year.
Such extremes "can overwhelm the ability of existing defences and contingency plans to cope, even in a relatively wealthy country like Spain", said Leslie Mabon, senior lecturer in environmental systems at Britain's Open University.
The heavy death toll came after warnings for extreme rainfall, suggesting Valencia's flood alert system failed, said Hannah Cloke, hydrology professor at the University of Reading.
"People just don't know what to do when faced with a flood, or when they hear warnings."
N.Esteves--PC