Nepal floods death toll climbs to 1,252 as rescue efforts continue
An aerial view of houses surrounded by mud, rocks and debris following flash floods on Sept. 3, 2026, in Betravati village, Rasuwa, Nepal. (Ritesh Shukla/Getty Images)
(LONDON) — The death toll following an unprecedented flash flood at the Nepal-Tibet border has climbed to 1,252, with an additional 4,216 people believed to still be missing, officials said.
These figures have increased from 1,114 and 3,916, respectively, a day earlier, according to the Nepali Government’s National Disaster Management Authority’s latest update, as of Thursday at noon.
Chinese state media have reported an additional death toll of 16, and 546 missing persons in Tibet, bringing the total death toll to 1,268, with 4,762 missing on both sides of the border.
Relief and rescue efforts are continuing, with almost all communication towers restored and nearly 12,000 people rescued thanks to international and domestic aid.
Additionally, almost 21,500 security personnel have been mobilized in attempts to speed up the search and rescue operations, with over 5,000 people receiving treatment for injuries, officials said.
Nepali Prime Minister Shah said earlier this week his government would begin focusing on “rehabilitation” as the length of time since the initial disaster grows.
The flooding, caused by part of a glacier failing, has revived conversations about anthropogenic climate change. The World Meteorological Organisationforecast on Thursday a “very strong” El Nino, which raises the risk of extreme weather.
Russian President Vladimir Putin. (Contributor/Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing on Tuesday ahead of talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Putin was welcomed by Chinese officials, including Foreign Minister Wang Yi, upon landing late Tuesday local time at an airport in Beijing.
On Wednesday, talks between Putin and Xi are set to occur at the Grand Hall of the People, followed by a formal reception, according to the Kremlin.
The two leaders “will discuss China-Russia relations, cooperation in various fields and international and regional issues of mutual interest,” the spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The state visit marks Putin’s 25th trip to China, according to the spokesperson.
The two discussed the U.S. war in Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, fentanyl and increasing Chinese purchases of American farm products, according to a White House official.
Xi also warned that if the issue of Taiwan is handled “improperly,” the two nations could “come into conflict,” according to China’s official state broadcaster Xinhua.
Boat off the Dhigurah island coastline with its long white sand beach lined with palm trees in the Maldives (@Didier Marti/Getty Images)
(MALDIVES) Five Italian nationals, including a mother and her daughter, died while scuba diving in a deep underwater cave in the Maldives, according to Italian and Maldivian officials, as a risky search effort attempts to recover the remaining missing divers.
The body of one of the divers has since been recovered in a cave about 200 feet deep, authorities said. The remaining four divers are believed to be inside the 200-foot-long cave, according to the Maldives National Defense Force.
Additional divers and special equipment were being sent to the area Friday for the “very dangerous, high-risk operation,” it said. The search was suspended Friday due to bad weather and the recovery operation is expected to resume on Saturday, The Associated Press reported.
Maldivian presidential spokesperson Mohamed Hussain Shareef extended his “deepest condolences” to the people of Italy following the “tragic diving incident” in a statement on Friday. He said the search for the four remaining divers “remains our highest priority.”
Italy’s Foreign Ministry said the five Italian nationals died in a scuba diving accident. They were reported to have died “while attempting to explore caves at a depth of 50 meters,” it said.
“The reconstruction of the incident is still underway by the Maldivian authorities,” the ministry said.
The Italian National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology and the University of Genoa (UniGe) identified the deceased divers as Monica Montefalcone, a marine scientist and associate professor at UniGe; her daughter, Giorgia Sommacal, a UniGe biomedical engineering student; Muriel Oddenino, a UniGe research fellow; and marine biologist Federico Gualtieril, a recent UniGe graduate in marine biology and ecology.
The institute also identified one of the victims as diving instructor Gianluca Benedetti.
Montefalcone had won multiple awards for her work to study and protect the marine environment, the institute said.
The Italian ambassador from the embassy in Colombo arrived in the Maldives on Friday to meet with Maldives National Defence Force Coast Guard officials, the ministry said.
The Italian Embassy in Colombo is in contact with the victims’ families and is providing assistance to 20 other Italian nationals aboard the Duke of Yoke who participated in the expedition, the ministry said.
“The vessel is awaiting an improvement in weather conditions in order to return to Malé,” the ministry said Friday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy April 23, 2026. (Photo by Byron Smith/Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Ukrainian drones hit one of Russia’s largest oil terminals in St. Petersburg overnight into Wednesday morning, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, sending plumes of black smoke towering over the city as the landmark St. Petersburg International Economic Forum prepared to open.
Zelenskyy said Ukrainian long-range drones struck targets including the Petersburg Oil Terminal overnight — just under 700 miles from Ukrainian territory.
The latest round of “long-range sanctions,” as officials in Kyiv refer to Ukrainian drone strikes inside Russia, “yielded good results. Important facilities on Russian territory were hit last night,” Zelenskyy said in a post to Telegram.
St. Petersburg is known as Russia’s “second capital,” and is a regular target of Ukrainian drone attacks given its political and economic significance, plus its role as a key export hub for Russian oil.
Video from the city showed attendees of the International Economic Forum arriving at the venue with clouds of black smoke hanging over the city.
St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov said in a post to Telegram that “infrastructure facilities in the Kronstadt, Kirovsky and Krasnoselsky districts were attacked” by Ukrainian drones.
“Several facilities were damaged. Currently, efforts are underway to mitigate the consequences. Several people were injured. There were no fatalities. An operational headquarters is in operation. Forces and resources have been put on high alert,” Beglov wrote.
Conceived of as Russia’s version of Davos, the annual International Economic Forum gathers Russia’s political and business elite in St. Petersburg. Prior to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the event also hosted many international leaders.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is due to deliver his keynote speech to the event on Friday.
Robert Mims Cook — the head of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, who is overseeing President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project and his planned triumphal arch in Washington — is set to attend the forum, which would make him the first American official to do so since 2022.
High profile radical conservative influencer Candace Owens has also been invited to speak at the forum, while the pro-Trump right-wing influencers Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan are also in Russia.
Russia’s federal air transport agency, Rosaviatsiya, said in a post to Telegram that temporary flight restrictions were introduced at St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport during the overnight attacks.
Temporary restrictions were also imposed on airports in the Russian cities of Saratov, Yaroslavl, Nizhny Novgorod and Pskov, Rosaviatsiya said.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a post to Telegram that its air defenses shot down at least 354 Ukrainian drones overnight into Wednesday morning.
Elsewhere, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said the capital also came under Ukrainian attack. The mayor said in posts to Telegram that air defenses intercepted at least 22 Ukrainian drones heading toward the capital on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
