- Taiwan recognises same-sex marriages between Chinese, Taiwanese
- Stock markets rally after jumbo US rate cut
- Gabon's ousted leader Bongo says renouncing politics for good
- Lebanon device blasts: what we know about deadly attacks
- Equity markets rally after jumbo US rate cut
- Late Harrods owner Al-Fayed accused of rape: BBC
- Hong Kong man sentenced 14 months for wearing 'seditious' T-shirt
- Lebanon's Hezbollah in disarray after second wave of deadly blasts
- Equity markets, yen rally after jumbo US rate cut
- Meta and Spotify blast EU decisions on AI
- Hasan takes three as Bangladesh rattle India in first Test
- Two killed during police operation in New Caledonia
- Flood-hit region leaders to meet in Poland to discuss EU aid
- Sri Lanka to vote in first poll since economic collapse
- Hong Kong probe finds Cathay Airbus defect could cause 'extensive' damage
- AI development cannot be left to market whim, UN experts warn
- All Blacks primed for 'hell' of a Wallabies clash
- Japan firm says no longer makes radio reportedly used in Lebanon blasts
- Zoom fatigue? Try some nature in your background: study
- Boeing to start large-scale furloughs with Seattle strike talks stalled
- Japan walkie-talkie maker says investigating after Lebanon blasts
- Slipper to become most-capped Wallaby in All Blacks clash
- Tokyo surges on weak yen as Asian traders cheer big US rate cut
- Vast France building project sunk by sea level rise fears
- UK campaigners in green energy standoff reject 'nimby' label
- Rainbow warriors: Three things to watch at cycling world championships
- Lebanon's Hezbollah in disarray after second wave of device blasts
- China's 'full-time dads' challenge patriarchal norms
- What we know about the fire 'pandemic' plaguing Brazil
- X says Brazil service restoration 'inadvertent' and 'temporary'
- Amazon drought leaves Colombian border town high and dry
- Some Cubans depend on sugar water as food shortages bite
- Saudi crown prince says no Israel ties without Palestinian state
- Canada to further cut international student, foreign worker permits
- YouTube launches new TV-focused tools for creators
- White Sox heading for worst season in MLB history
- China the top challenge in US history: senior diplomat
- Hong Kong democracy tycoon's son warns time running out
- New migraine drugs no better than cheap painkillers: big study
- Sean 'Diddy' Combs again denied bail in sex trafficking case
- Brewers clinch division title as MLB playoff race heats up
- Man City blunted by 'giant' Inter in Champions League stalemate
- US stocks dip despite larger Fed interest rate cut
- Man City held by Inter as PSG pinch win in Champions League
- All Blacks recall Beauden Barrett for Australia Test
- Fears of all-out war as new Lebanon device blasts kill 20, wound 450
- Spurs late show saves Postecoglou blushes at Coventry
- PSG snatch late goal to beat Champions League debutants Girona
- Gittens' late double gives Dortmund Champions League win at Brugge
- Man City blunted by Inter in Champions League stalemate
Storm Boris toll rises to 22 in central Europe
The death toll in the extreme weather and flooding let loose by Storm Boris in central Europe has risen to 22, authorities said on Tuesday, after three more victims were reported in Poland and one in Austria.
High winds and unusually heavy rainfall have hit swathes of Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia since last week.
Although the weather seemed to be stabilising in several places, the ground remained saturated and rivers were overflowing, with authorities asking people to remain cautious.
Two big cities in Poland -- Opole in the south and Wroclaw in the west -- were still awaiting the flood wave and there were concerns that the dykes there could break.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Tuesday announced additional government aid for those in Poland hit by the storm, bringing the total sum to two billion zloty ($520 million).
Polish police on Tuesday reported that three more people had died as a result of Storm Boris, raising the toll in the country to seven.
Police chief Marek Boron announced the updated figure of seven dead at a televised crisis meeting.
At least two of the new victims were discovered in the southwestern district of Klodzko.
"The body of an 82-year-old man was discovered in a car," district police spokeswoman Wioletta Martuszewska told AFP.
"A couple of hours later, mountain rescue services said the body of a man had been found near a riverbed," she added.
There were unofficial reports of additional victims elsewhere, but police cautioned against publishing unverified information.
"We ask everyone not to report false information about the number of flood victims in the media," the police said on X, formerly Twitter.
- 'Disaster' -
A new victim was also reported on Tuesday in Austria.
An 81-year-old woman was Austria's fifth victim of the floods, a police spokesman told AFP.
The fire brigade found the woman's body on Tuesday in her flooded home in Lower Austria, the worst-impacted province in the Alpine nation.
Storm Boris has caused the deaths of seven people in Romania and three in the Czech Republic, according to the latest tallies.
In Austria, on Tuesday, 26 communities were cut off and with the weather improving, "we are discovering the scale of the disaster", Lower Austrian governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner told reporters.
The largest Czech retention basin, the Rozmberk pond in the country's south, has been overflowing its banks.
Experts say climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions generated by human activities is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as torrential rains and floods.
Andreas von Weissenberg of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said studies to determine whether climate change is linked to these events are expected in the coming months.
Von Weissenberg said local Red Cross teams were helping the rescue and evacuation efforts, including attending to people's "emotional and mental health".
He said the floods have been "branded as historic", but warned that "climate change has a way of moving the goalposts".
burs-amj/bc
A.Gasser--BTB