INTERNATIONAL

Rescuers are searching for at least 30 people feared trapped in a building collapse in Mumbai. Local reports say a three-storey building in India’s financial capital toppled early on Thursday. “Forty people are believed to be stuck inside and a 43-member team is conducting rescue operations,” an official for India’s National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) told AFP. Mumbai is recovering ...

A chemical plant near the flooded city of Houston is expected to explode or catch fire in the coming days. During heavy rainfall from Hurricane Harvey, the Arkema plant at Crosby lost refrigeration of chemical compounds which need to be kept cool, and there is no way to prevent a possible fire, the company said. At least 33 people have ...

Monsoon rains have killed at least five people, including two toddlers, in Mumbai as India’s financial capital ground to a halt under flooding. Roads were hit by waist-deep flooding, flights cancelled and train services suspended, stranding tens of thousands. More rain is expected but the situation has improved for now, the BBC’s Suranjana Tewari says. The rains in Mumbai follow ...

Venezuela’s new constituent assembly has unanimously voted to put opposition leaders on trial for treason. The assembly said it would pursue those it accuses of supporting US economic sanctions against the country. Washington approved the measures last week in response to what it called the “dictatorship” of President Nicolás Maduro. President Maduro has accused the US of trying to cripple ...

North Korea says its firing of a missile over Japan was “the first step” of military operations in the Pacific, signalling plans for more launches. State media also repeated threats to the US Pacific island of Guam, which it called “an advanced base of invasion”. The missile launched on Tuesday crossed Japan’s northern Hokkaido island, triggering public alerts to take ...

The US city of Houston has declared a night-time curfew as it battles the impact of Hurricane Harvey. The storm has dumped record rainfall, leaving large parts of the city underwater, homes destroyed and over 20 people reported dead. Houston mayor Sylvester Turner said the curfew was needed to head off looting in America’s fourth most populous city. President Donald ...

A major dam outside Houston has begun spilling over as Storm Harvey pushes the reservoir past capacity, Texas officials say. Engineers have tried to prevent nearby communities from being inundated by releasing some of the water held by the Addicks dam. But flood control official Jeff Lindner says water levels are now over the height of the reservoir edge. Harvey ...

North Korea has fired a missile over northern Japan in a move Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called an “unprecedented” threat to his country. The missile, launched early on Tuesday Korean time, flew over Hokkaido island before crashing into the sea. The UN Security Council is expected to hold an emergency meeting in response. North Korea has conducted a flurry of ...

“Catastrophic” flooding in the US state of Texas is only expected to worsen in coming days as waters rise following a storm of historic proportions. A record 30in of rain (75cm) has already fallen on the city of Houston in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, turning roads into rivers. But forecasters say that number could nearly double later this week. ...

A controversial Indian guru convicted of rape on Friday has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. Indian media reported that Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh’s followers set a vehicle alight just ahead of sentencing. Violence after Friday’s verdict in Panchkula in northern Haryana state had killed some 38 people. The self-styled holy man was found guilty of sexually assaulting two ...