- Test debut 'so much fun' for Suaalii as Wallabies triumph at Twickenham
- Bestaven ready to 'write a new story' as Vendee Globe yacht race starts
- Mauritius votes in poll clouded by phone-tapping scandal
- France's Dupont wary of New Zealand 'threat'
- France's Dupont wary of New Zeland 'threat'
- Cycling great Cavendish wins final race in Singapore
- Lebanon says 20 killed in Israeli strike north of Beirut
- Deadly strikes on Gaza, Lebanon as Israel faces aid deadline
- Pakistan win first ODI series in Australia since 2002
- Olympics star Kim takes break from shooting for family
- Gunmen kill 10 in central Mexico bar attack
- Egyptians exhume the dead as historic cemetery partially razed
- Syrians, Iraqis archive IS jail crimes in virtual museum
- N. Korea's World Cup-winning footballers get heroes' welcome home
- Female artists set to dominate MTV Europe Music Awards
- Mauritius votes in election clouded by wire-tapping scandal
- Pakistan on fire as Australia crumble to 140 in deciding ODI
- Kim A-lim edges Guseva in Hawaii to win second LPGA crown
- Ennis overpowers Chukhadzhian to retain IBF welterweight crown
- Asia, the world's economic engine, prepares for Trump shock
- Cuba says it made arrests after protests over hurricane blackout
- Cavaliers stay unbeaten after comeback win over Nets
- Trump completes swing state sweep by taking Arizona
- Messi and Miami eliminated from MLS Cup playoffs in first round
- Trump victory poses challenges for the Fed's independence
- US farmers gird for trade wars on Trump tariff pledges
- Balinese hope construction freeze can tame tourism
- Economic woes sour prospects for China's dairy farmers
- Two months on, post-Olympic blues grip Paris
- McSweeney wins race to open for Australia against India
- Mauritius votes in close-fought election race
- Award-winning writer absent from major Algerian book fair
- Egyptians exhume the dead as historic cemetery razed
- NBA Jazz get second win despite big night for Wemby
- Salt peppers West Indies as England romp to T20 win
- 'Hungry' Dupont stars in France's win over Japan
- Liverpool sink Villa to open up five-point Premier League lead
- Lee, Barcola star as PSG stay six points clear of Monaco in Ligue 1
- Man City beaten again at Brighton as Liverpool move five points clear
- McSweeney set to open for Australia against India
- France skipper Dupont delights on return in Japan stroll
- Man City can't compete for 90 minutes admits shell-shocked Guardiola
- Liverpool open up five-point Premier League lead
- Juventus win derby to move into top three, AC Milan held in thriller
- Catherine, Princess of Wales, steps up return to work at UK memorial event
- Qatar suspends Gaza mediation, in sign of impasse
- Pelicans lose Williamson indefinitely to hamstring strain
- Afghanistan says to attend UN climate talks, first since Taliban takeover
- Tens of thousands march in Spain over handling of deadly floods
- Schmidt elated by 'aerial freak' Suaalii as Australia edge England
Durban cleans up after record floods hit South Africa
Residents on Wednesday started sifting through the remains of shattered homes after floods and landslips stoked by record rains devastated the South African city of Durban city and surrounding area, killing at least 59 and leaving many missing.
Storms struck the southeastern province of KwaZulu-Natal as Durban, its main city, was still struggling to recover from deadly riots last July which claimed more than 350 lives.
A lull in the rain saw residents begin clearing debris from roads and fill up holes left by raging waters to allow cars pass, an AFP correspondent said.
Schools not affected by the floods re-opened Wednesday but few students turned up. A teacher at a primary in Durban's Inanda suburb said only two of 48 pupils reported for classes.
Parts of the province received more than 300 millimetres (13 inches) of rain on Monday, the heaviest one-day downpour in over 60 years, the South African Weather Service said.
"Some areas in KwaZulu-Natal have received more than double the maximum rainfall recorded during previous record rainfalls," the agency's spokeswoman, Hannelee Doubell, told AFP.
President Cyril Ramaphosa was visiting Durban on Wednesday where he was expected to declare a state of emergency.
The provincial government said the disaster "wreaked untold havoc and unleashed massive damage to lives and infrastructure."
"This is a tragic toll of the force of nature and this situation calls for an effective response by government," Ramaphosa said late Tuesday.
Days of driving rain flooded several areas, tore houses apart and ravaged infrastructure across the city, while landslides forced train services to be suspended across the province.
The rains flooded highways to such depths that only the tops of traffic lights poked out, resembling submarine periscopes.
Torrents tore several bridges apart, submerged cars and collapsed houses. A fuel tanker floated at sea after being swept off the road.
Several stacked shipping containers fell like dominoes and lay strewn round a yard, while some spilled onto a main road in the city, one of southern Africa's largest gateways to the sea.
More than 2,000 houses and 4,000 "informal" homes, or shacks, were damaged.
Rescue operations, aided by the military, evacuated people trapped in the worst-affected areas.
The city had only just recovered from July's rioting which saw shopping malls looted and warehouses set on fire, in South Africa's worst unrest since the end of apartheid.
After TV footage showed people stealing from shipping containers, the provincial government condemned "reports of the looting of containers" during the flooding.
Southern parts of the continent's most industrialised country are bearing the brunt of climate change -- suffering recurrent and worsening torrential rains and flooding.
Floods killed around 70 people in April 2019.
"We know it's climate change getting worse, it's moved from 2017 with extreme storms to supposedly having record floods in 2019, and now 2022 clearly exceeding that," University of Johannesburg development studies professor Mary Galvin said.
The South African Weather Service admitted "the exceptionally heavy rainfall... exceeded even the expectations".
C.Kovalenko--BTB