
-
Kenya's economy faces climate change risks: World Bank
-
AI only just beginning to revolutionize the NBA game
-
Despite Trump pause, overall US tariff rate at highest in a century
-
'A pain that doesn't subside' at funerals for Dominican nightclub disaster victims
-
US auto union praises some Trump tariffs
-
Tesla opens first showroom in oil-rich Saudi
-
Oscars to add new award for stunts
-
Argentina braves 24-hour strike as it awaits word on IMF loan
-
Why did a Dominican nightclub roof cave in?
-
US-China trade war surges, overshadowing Trump climbdown
-
Charles and Camilla visit Dante's tomb, Byzantine mosaics
-
OpenAI countersues Musk as feud deepens
-
Global plastic recycling rates 'stagnant' at under 10%: study
-
Miuccia Prada's path from activist to top designer
-
Pope in surprise St Peter's visit a day after meeting King Charles
-
Wall Street rally fizzles as tariff worries resurface
-
US consumer inflation cools in March on falling gas prices
-
Cannes Festival: Films in competition
-
Cartier exhibition to bedazzle London crowds
-
Shanghai finance workers worry after front-row seat to tariff turmoil
-
Charles and Camilla visit tomb of Dante, Italy's greatest poet
-
EU halts counter-tariffs but no pause in US-China trade war
-
Scarlett Johansson to star at Cannes as festival unveils line-up
-
Trump tariffs weigh on Germany as institutes cut forecasts
-
Stocks zoom higher as Trump delays painful tariffs
-
Vatican releases image of Charles, Camilla meeting pope
-
Taiwan's TSMC says first quarter revenue up 42 percent
-
Vietnam says it will start trade talks with United States
-
Expo 2025 in Japan: five things to know
-
Trump's tariff pause gives market relief, but China trade war intensifies
-
Papua New Guinea lifts ban on forest carbon credits
-
Asian stocks crack higher as Trump delays painful tariffs
-
Cannes to unveil film selection under pressure over industry abuse
-
Companies keen to start deep-sea mining off Norway
-
China consumer prices slump for second straight month: data
-
Amazon satellite launch scrubbed due to weather
-
Bahrain Launches Informational Website and Hotline for the Golden Residency to Attract Global Professionals and Investors
-
US stocks soar on Trump tariff reversal, oil prices jump
-
Author of explosive Meta memoir stars at US Senate hearing
-
King Charles addresses Italian parliament, greets pope on visit to Rome
-
Trump stuns with tariff backtrack but punishes China
-
Strength in numbers: Latin America urges unity in face of Trump tariffs
-
Volkswagen says first-quarter profits impacted by Trump tariffs
-
Herd of animal puppets treks from Africa to Europe in climate action
-
Amazon to launch first batch of satellites rivaling Musk
-
Pentagon chief in Panama vows to counter China 'threat'
-
Trump's NASA chief pick says will 'prioritize' Mars mission
-
Trump tells US to 'be cool' as China, EU strike back
-
Delta to trim capacity in light of weakening travel demand
-
French group gets death threats over renaming of 'Negresse' district

'Heavenly' Pakistan mountain town becomes site of ruin
Bahrain is a town in ruins –- reduced to rubble by the incredible force of flash floods that swelled the river running through it, severing a lifeline bridge.
Hundreds of settlements in Pakistan's north have been cut off by monsoon rains that came to a head last week, causing the worst floods in the country's history.
But in the past few days, the heavily damaged road heading through the Swat Valley has slowly opened up, revealing the extent of the destruction.
In Bahrain, hotels have disappeared, the town's mosque is a bare shell, and waist-high water still gushes through the main bazaar.
"It was a heavenly place but now it is a wreckage," Muhammad Asif, a 22-year-old college student, told AFP on Wednesday.
"In the past week, everything has changed dramatically. The river added to the beauty, but now it is a threat."
The town usually bustles with more than a thousand summer tourists every day, drawn by majestic mountain views from hotels and restaurants perched on the riverbank.
It will likely take years for them to return, and with tourists gone, the fear of economic ruin is also setting in.
"My hotel is still partly under water," said Muhammad Nawaz, whose 40 employees at his various establishments are now jobless.
"I am pulling sand out of my restaurant and searching for furniture in the ruins."
The road north ends at the edge of the Swat River, where the bridge that once connected the two halves of the town is now a mass of debris.
Rickety wooden planks stand in its place, crossed by men carrying sacks of rice, flour and sugar to their villages -- hours away by foot.
Further north, their valleys remain cut off.
- Desperate for help -
What was once a 20-minute journey by motorbike for Karim Farman is now close to a four-hour walk over crumbling roads.
No help has reached his flooded village of Balakot yet.
"We are desperate for any sort of assistance. We are in dire need of medicine, it is very tough to bring patients here," said Muhammad Amir, who is from the same village.
"There has been no electricity in our village for nearly a week, people don't even have a candle for light. Several people are sick with diarrhoea."
Bahrain's destruction unfolded late last Thursday night.
Many locals reported not receiving any warnings, but as the river rapidly rose tourists began to evacuate from hotels.
Like in many riverside villages and towns, locals believed only the homes on the banks were vulnerable.
But just hours later the full scale of the water's rage became clear.
"In a few minutes the water suddenly encircled my shop from every side," said Aftab Khan.
"I couldn't take anything with me because I had to save my life."
The army arrived on Wednesday, local residents said, to oversee the chaos of diggers clearing rubble and to manage the flow of foot traffic across the river.
Helicopters fly overhead, dropping food packages to the stranded valleys.
A district government official who asked not to be named told AFP it could be months before the road and bridge are repaired.
"Before, this place was like a paradise but now even locals want to escape," said restaurant owner Sheer Bahadur.
A.Levy--CPN