- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Gaza cultural heritage brought to light in Geneva
- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
- Padres pitcher Musgrove needs elbow surgery
- Supreme Court lets stand rules to curb mercury, methane emissions
- Boston beat Denver in NBA exhibition season opener, but Jokic says omens are good
- Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate
- Biden says 'not confident' of peaceful US election
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- Lukaku stars as Napoli beat Como to hold Serie A top spot
- Ohtani set for MLB playoff debut as Dodgers face Padres
- Pogba's drug ban cut to 18 months from four years
- Devine leads New Zealand to big win over India in Women's T20 World Cup
- Bosnia floods kill 16 people
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Prosecutors seek dismissal of rape charges against French rugby players
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- Bolivia's Morales says claims he raped a minor are a 'lie'
- MLB Reds hire two-time champion Francona as manager
- Daniel Maldini receives first Italy call-up for Nations League
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- Ancelotti points finger at Madrid's 'lack of intensity'
- Haiti reeling after 70 killed in gang attack
- Five Czech kids in hospital over TikTok 'piercing challenge'
- What happens next in Iran-Israel conflict?
- Country star Garth Brooks denies rape accusations
- Stubbs hits maiden century as South Africa make 343-4 against Ireland
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Odegaard injury has forced Arsenal to be 'different', says Arteta
- Ratcliffe refuses to guarantee Ten Hag's Man Utd future
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
- Mauritius to hold legislative election on November 10
- Britain qualify for America's Cup final after 60-year wait
- IMF asks Sri Lanka to protect hard-won gains
- Morata returns to Spain Nations League squad after injury
- Irish regulator to probe Ryanair use of facial recognition
- Public allowed to see video evidence in France mass rape trial
- US hiring soars past expectations in sign of resilient market
- Under-fire Ten Hag 'together' with Man Utd hierarchy
- Guardiola talks of Man City love affair as financial hearing rumbles on
- De Bruyne out of Belgium Nations League squad
- Japanese trainer Yahagi hopes Shin Emperor achieves 50-year-old Arc dream
- UK's Starmer hails 'landmark' carbon capture funding
- As EU targets Chinese cars, European rivals sputter
- Bosnia floods kill 14 people
- Tennis world number one Swiatek splits with coach Wiktorowski
Cyclone Batsurai injures 12 on France's La Reunion island
At least twelve people were injured on the French Indian Ocean territory of La Reunion Thursday as tropical cyclone Batsirai skirted the island, hitting it with torrential rains and powerful winds and leaving all residents confined to their homes.
The island was placed on red alert on Wednesday, forcing its 860,000 inhabitants to barricade themselves indoors, with the eye of the intense cyclone expected to pass nearly 200 kilometres (124 miles) from the coast early Thursday.
"The worst is not over," said La Reunion's Prefect Jacques Billant, warning the island will be hit with heavy rainfall as the storm bears down.
Of the injured, 10 "had carbon monoxide poisoning", a firefighter was "electrified" attending a roof fire and another was injured after "a fall from a roof", he told a press conference.
The Meteo-France weather agency confirmed to AFP Thursday the cyclone remained on course to pass around 180 kilometres off La Reunion's coast, but was to hit later than expected "during the morning" Thursday as it had slowed overnight.
The warning came after Batsirai left thousands of homes without power in Mauritius to the east Wednesday, but passed over the island without inflicting major damage despite cyclone winds bringing life to a standstill.
The cyclone passed within 130 kilometres (80 miles) of the popular holiday destination, bringing heavy downpours and winds of 120 kilometres per hour before it moved on with La Reunion in its sights.
At 6:30 am (0230 GMT), the storm remained an "intense tropical cyclone" as it approached La Reunion, located around 200 kilometres from the island and moving at nine kilometres per hour, the prefecture of La Reunion said.
The red alert -- the third degree of four in the scale of hurricane alerts -- for the island "remains in full force", it said.
It left the island's airport closed, shops shuttered and major roads shut for residents as they hunkered down and waited for the cyclone to pass.
- Heavy rain 'to come' -
Batsirai remains "very concentrated" but will release significant amounts of rain with the weather set to deteriorate even though the night had passed "relatively well", Meteo-France said.
"The bulk of the precipitation is still to come because it is at the rear" of Batsirai's formation, it said.
Strong winds of up to 150 kmh have been reported on the island, according to the agency, compared to intense gusts of 260 kmh at sea.
Heavy rain has hit the island since midday Wednesday, with the majority falling to the south, including a metre within 24 hours in the uninhabited region of Piton de la Fournaise, Meteo-France said.
After passing La Reunion, Batsirai is set to touch the east coast of Madagascar in southern Africa by the end of the week, Meteo-France forecast, potentially at the level of an "intense tropical cyclone" which could cause a "major" impact for the region.
Other tropical storms and torrential rains have wreaked havoc in southern Africa in recent days, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake.
Tropical Storm Ana claimed the lives of 86 people in Mozambique, Madagascar and Malawi last week.
C.Cassis--PC