- Muslim women break taboos navigating east London's waterways
- Nepal dam-building spree powers electric vehicle boom
- More than 60 dead from storm Helene as rescue, cleanup efforts grow
- Dozens missing, 9 dead in migrant boat wreck off Spanish Canaries
- Death toll from Hurricane John hits eight in Mexico
- Storm Helene's toll rises as rescue and cleanup efforts gain pace
- SpaceX launches mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding as cleanup begins
- SpaceX set to launch mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Boeing strike grinds on as latest talks fail to reach agreement
- Iran 'news' sites, hackers target Trump ahead of US election
- US ports brace for potential dockworkers strike
- Japan's speedy, spotless Shinkansen bullet trains turn 60
- US hurricane deaths rise to 44, fears of more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Global stocks mostly rise, cheering Beijing stimulus
- Europe en route for Moon with new simulator, says astronaut Pesquet
- Fireworks forecast if comet survives risky Sun flypast
- Argentina judge orders dictionary to delete pejorative definition of 'Jewish'
- Global stocks rise on rate hopes, Beijing stimulus
- S.African woman turns 118, among the oldest in the world
- UK clears $4 bn AI partnership between Amazon, Anthropic
- Barca fans barred from Champions League away game over racist banner
- Chinese stocks extend surge, Europe higher on Beijing stimulus
- Pope says Church must 'seek forgiveness' for child sexual abuse
- China caps week of 'bazooka' stimulus for ailing economy with rate cut
- Cuts, cash, credit: China bids to jumpstart flagging economy
- France's debt weighs heavier ahead of budget debate
- Iran treads carefully, backing Hezbollah while avoiding war
- Return to sender: waste stranded at sea stirs toxic dispute
- 'Broken' news industry faces uncertain future
- On remote Greek island, migratory birds offer climate clues
- Taken from mother by nuns, victim seeks answers as pope visits Belgium
- China cuts amount banks hold in reserve to boost lending
- Hong Kong, Shanghai extend surge as China optimism boosts markets
- Vietnam president reiterates support for Cuba during official visit
- Drought reduces Amazon River in Colombia by as much as 90%: report
- Stay or go? Pacific Islanders face climate's grim choice
- Florida bracing for 'unsurvivable' Hurricane Helene
- Poverty rises to over 52 percent in Milei's Argentina
- Chloe's see-through look may not be for Kamala Harris
- Champagne houses abuzz over English sparkling wine
- Macron, Trudeau pledge to work for 'decarbonized' economies
- Hurricanes, storms, typhoons... Is September wetter than usual?
- China stimulus, tech optimism boost stock markets
- 'Unsurvivable' Hurricane Helene races towards Florida
- Macron meets Trudeau in Canada as both face political setbacks
- South Korea surges in UN innovation index
- Chloe's see-through look may not be for Kamala
- Floods threaten Niger's historic 'gateway to the desert'
Super Typhoon Saola hurtles towards southern China, Hong Kong
China issued its highest typhoon warning on Thursday as Super Typhoon Saola drew closer to Hong Kong and the mainland's southern coast, with several cities delaying the start of the school year as a precaution.
Saola's wind speeds topped 200 kilometres (125 miles) per hour by 6 pm (1000 GMT) on Thursday, with the storm around 370 kilometres southeast of the Chinese finance hub, according to the Hong Kong Observatory.
It will bring "heavy squally showers and violent winds" on Friday, the observatory said, adding that the threat level was expected to be upgraded to "T8" -- the city's third-highest -- early in the morning.
On the mainland, China issued the most severe warning in its four-tiered system, with the National Meteorological Centre predicting the typhoon would make landfall "somewhere in the coastal areas stretching from Huilai to Hong Kong" by Friday afternoon at the earliest.
But there was also a possibility it could move west and "pass through the waters of eastern Guangdong without making landfall".
Train services have been suspended across Guangdong, state news agency Xinhua said, while various cities in the southern province -- including Shantou, Shanwei, Jieyang and Chaozhou -- have pushed the start of the academic year to Monday.
Budget airline HK Express announced it was cancelling 70 flights in and out of Hong Kong on Friday and Saturday, while its parent company Cathay Pacific said an unspecified number of its flights would also be affected by the storm.
Hong Kong Airlines said it had cancelled more than 30 flights and start-up carrier Greater Bay Airlines said it was calling off 12.
Hong Kong's low-lying areas could see "serious flooding", its observatory said, and the storm surge may be similar to that seen during the 2018 Super Typhoon Mangkhut if Saola skirted the south of the territory.
Mangkhut -- which triggered Hong Kong's maximum "T10" typhoon alert -- caused severe damage to the city and injured more than 300 people.
Saola displaced thousands earlier this week as it passed the northern Philippines but no direct casualties have been reported from it so far.
Authorities in Hong Kong's neighbouring casino hub of Macau said they were eyeing the possibility of issuing its third-highest typhoon warning on Saturday.
Southern China is frequently hit in summer and autumn by typhoons that form in the warm oceans east of the Philippines and then travel west.
While they can cause temporary disruption to cities like Hong Kong and Macau, fatalities have become much less common thanks to stronger building codes and better flood management systems.
Ch.Lefebvre--CPN