- As Great Salt Lake dries, Utah Republicans pardon Trump climate skepticism
- Amazon activist warns of 'critical situation' ahead of UN forum
- Mourners pay tribute to latest victims of deadly Channel crossing
- Phillies win thriller to level Mets series
- Yu bags first PGA Tour win with playoff win
- PSG held by Nice to leave Monaco clear at top of Ligue 1
- Lewandowski treble for leaders Barca as Atletico held
- Fresh Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Sucic stunner earns Real Sociedad draw against Atletico
- PSG draw with Nice, fail to reclaim top spot in Ligue 1
- Gudmundsson downs AC Milan after De Gea's penalty heroics for Fiorentina
- 'Yes' vote prevails in Kazakhstan nuclear plant vote: TV
- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- 'Nothing gets in way of team,' says Celtics' MVP hopeful Tatum
- 'We will win!': Mozambique's ruling party confident at final vote rally
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Florida braces for Milton, FEMA head slams 'dangerous' Helene misinformation
- Postecoglou slams 'unacceptable' Spurs after 'terrible' loss at Brighton
- Marmoush double denies Bayern outright Bundesliga top spot
- Rallies worldwide call for Gaza, Lebanon ceasefire
- New 'Joker' film, a dark musical, tops N.America box office
- Man Utd stalemate keeps Ten Hag in danger, Spurs rocked by Brighton
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Vikings hold off Jets in London to stay unbeaten
- Ahead of attack anniversary, Netanyahu says: 'We will win'
- West Indies cruise to T20 World Cup win over Scotland
- Man Utd fire another blank in Aston Villa stalemate
- Lewandowski treble powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Russian activist killed on front line in Ukraine
- Openda strike briefly sends Leipzig top of Bundesliga
- Goal-shy Man Utd have to 'step up', says Ten Hag
- India bowl out Bangladesh for 127 in T20 opener
- Madueke rescues Chelsea in draw with 10-man Forest
- Beckett's belief rewarded as Bluestocking storms to Arc glory
- Trump on the stump, Harris hits airwaves in razor-edge US election
- 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
Pakistan orders mass evacuations ahead of cyclone landfall
Pakistan authorities on Monday began an evacuation effort to move 80,000 citizens out of the path of an approaching cyclone, which is expected to bring winds of up to 120 kilometres per hour.
The cyclone is making its way across the Arabian Sea towards the coastlines of Pakistan and India, forecast to make landfall later this week.
Swathes of coastal communities in southern Sindh province are set to suffer storm surges up to 3.5 metres (12 feet), which could inundate low-lying settlements, as well as up to 30 centimetres of rain.
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said an emergency has been declared and the army drafted in to help relocate "more than 80,000 people" at risk.
"We will not request people but demand them to evacuate," Shah told reporters, adding that the order was being issued through social media, mosques and radio stations.
A spokesman for Shah said around 2,000 people have already been evacuated to "safe places" from the area of Shah Bandar, a fishing town nestled among mangrove deltas 45 kilometres (28 miles) west of India's Gujarat state.
However, in the nearby village of Gul Muhammad Uplano, authorities struggled to persuade families to leave.
"We will become helpless in the government camps, that is why we are better off at our own place," said 46-year-old Gul Hasan.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department has warned that traditional mud and straw homes which house the poorest in Pakistan will be vulnerable to disintegration in high winds.
But in the settlement of Haji Ibrahim, a cluster of such structures, fisherman Abu Bakar said concerns over losing their livelihoods prevail.
"Our boat, goats and camels are our assets," the 20-year-old said. "We cannot compromise on their safety."
"But if the danger becomes imminent, we will be forced to leave to save our lives," he conceded.
- 'Adverse effects of climate change' -
Provincial lawmaker Muhammad Ali Malkani told AFP a decision had been made to evacuate the population living up to eight kilometres inland.
Karachi -- a port city home to around 20 million -- is also due to be deluged by dust and thunder storms with winds whipping up to 80 kilometres per hour.
Billboards will be removed and 70 vulnerable buildings evacuated in the city, while construction will be stopped over the entire affected area.
India's Meteorological Department said Monday the storm will hit western Gujarat state around noon on Thursday, with winds gusting up to 150 kilometres per hour causing "total destruction of thatched houses".
Heavy rains and strong winds late Saturday killed 27 people in northwest Pakistan, including eight children, officials said.
"Undoubtedly, these are the adverse effects of climate change," Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Twitter Sunday.
Last summer, Pakistan was hit by massive monsoon rains which put a third of the country under water, damaged two million homes and killed more than 1,700 people.
Pakistan, the world's fifth most populous country with 220 million inhabitants, is responsible for only 0.8 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
But the nation ranks highly among those vulnerable to extreme weather events, which scientists say are becoming more frequent and more severe owing to climate change.
M.A.Vaz--PC