Weather-related disasters have surged over the past 50 years, causing swelling economic damage even as early warning systems have meant dramatically fewer deaths, the United Nations said Monday.. - Surging economic losses - WMO meanwhile warned that while deaths have plunged, the economic losses incurred when weather, climate and water extremes hit have soared.
Authorities on the French Indian Ocean island of Mayotte on Monday began demolishing homes in a large slum in an operation against sub-standard housing and illegal migration, AFP journalists saw.. Gendarmes wielding crowbars entered the homes to check no one was inside before the destruction began, AFP journalists reported, while the electricity and water supply was cut.
Every year, a small group of elderly people in well-worn World War II uniforms bedecked with Communist paraphernalia queue in Belgrade to pay their respects to their former leader, Josip Broz Tito.. - The rise and fall - Formed in the ashes of World War II by Tito and his band of socialist partisans, Yugoslavia stretched from the Adriatic coast bordering Italy to the frontier with Greece to the south, comprising six republics and two autonomous areas.
Competition for the coveted Palme d'Or remains open in Cannes as the film festival enters its second week, with well-known directors including previous laureates Wim Wenders, Nanni Moretti and Ken Loach on the programme.. Ten films will be trying their luck for the Palme d'Or prize, including entries from previous laureate directors, Germany's cult favourite Wenders and Italy's Moretti.
Papua New Guinea will sign a defence pact with the United States on Monday, giving US forces access to its airfields and ports as Washington vies with China's growing footprint in the Pacific region.. The State Department said the pact with PNG would "enhance security cooperation and further strengthen our bilateral relationship, improve the capacity of the PNG Defence Force, and increase stability and security in the region".
A G20 tourism meeting was set to begin on Monday amid high security in Indian-administered Kashmir, with China and Pakistan condemning holding the event in the disputed territory.. - Hundreds detained - Non-G20 member Pakistan controls a smaller part of Kashmir and said holding the tourism meeting in the territory violated international law, UN Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreements.
Young Iraqis row a flotilla of traditional wooden boats down the Tigris river in Baghdad, celebrating an ancient nautical heritage in the now drought-stricken country.. The flotilla on the Tigris in Baghdad was a landmark event in Salim's efforts -- 18 of the boats took to the water on a spring afternoon as part of a cultural festival.
Papua New Guinea will sign a defence pact with the United States on Monday, as it hosts Washington's top diplomat and India's prime minister for separate talks that will focus on China's rising influence.. Before that meeting, Blinken is expected to sign a defence cooperation agreement with Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape that will give US troops access to the Pacific nation's ports and airports.
A day after national elections, Greece on Monday was bracing for a new ballot which vote-winner Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' party is poised to seek in order to govern alone.. But it fell short of an outright majority, leaving Mitsotakis with the option of either seeking a coalition or calling a new vote.
Whether Bakhmut has fallen or not, Moscow is being pulled deeper into an ever more costly fight for the frontline city as Kyiv readies a major offensive, experts said.. Ukraine has tamped down speculation that the advances are its long-awaited offensive but drawing growing numbers of Russian troops into the deadly fight in Bakhmut carries significant advantages for Kyiv's fightback.
