- Three Spaniards, three Afghans killed in shooting in Afghanistan
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- Swiatek 'staying humble' for French Open after third Rome title
- Chinese director Jia mines leftover footage for top Cannes film
- Zelensky expects Russia offensive in northeast Ukraine to intensify
- Bengaluru win six in row to make IPL play-offs, Chennai out
- Klopp joins social media to cement Liverpool 'love affair'
- Bengaluru beat Chennai to seal IPL play-off berth
- Inter chief Zhang says 'stability' threatened by debt deadline
- Santa Claus helps Celtic celebrate Scottish title
- UN says 800,000 have fled fierce fighting in Rafah
- Formula One pays tribute to Senna, 30 years after tragic death
- S.Africa's Zuma stages rally despite candidacy doubts
- Narco sex-change musical early favourite at Cannes
- Olympic champion Jacobs wins on Rome return
- Schauffele tees off with lead at PGA with Scheffler close behind
- Sale stun Saracens to secure play-off spot despite Tuilagi injury
- Seven fashion moments on the Cannes red carpet
- 'We want it over', says Mueller after Bayern hit 13-year low
- 'Can I kill someone?': Richard Gere's dilemma in 'Oh, Canada'
- Ferrari under-estimated rivals pace at Imola - Leclerc
- Leverkusen become first team to complete Bundesliga season unbeaten
- Alonso is 'why we are successful', says Leverkusen's Tah
- Verstappen 'still pumping' after equalling Senna pole record
- Swiatek demolishes Sabalenka to win third Rome title
- AI deepfake Putin film sells big at Cannes
- Scheffler's attorney denies golfer assaulted police officer
- Fierce fighting on streets of Gaza's Rafah
- Chelsea crowned Women's Super League champions as Hayes bows out in style
- Pink panther Pogacar extends Giro lead after time trial
- Leverkusen complete Bundesliga season unbeaten, Cologne relegated
- Bologna's Motta claims undecided on future with Juventus lurking
- Verstappen matches Senna pole record at Imola
- Major-record 78 make record-tying low 1-under cut at PGA
- Celtic celebrate Scottish title with comeback win over St Mirren
- Brighton boss De Zerbi to leave at end of season
- New Caledonia 'under siege' as French troops bid to restore order
- Retiring Hart thanks Celtic fans for making him feel 'special'
- Threats and bullets: Mexico's candidates risk lives to compete
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- Piastri on top at Imola as McLaren lead Ferrari in final practice
- Sevilla confirm coach leaving, captain Navas decides to stay
- Barca convey me 'calmness and confidence': coach Xavi, despite sack reports
- Germany cleans up after massive floods
- Pope leads forum for peace in Italy's Verona
Brazil mounts frantic rescue effort as flooding kills 75
Authorities in southern Brazil scrambled Sunday to rescue people from raging floods and mudslides that have killed at least 75 and forced more than 88,000 to flee their homes.
All over Porto Alegre, the capital of Rio Grande do Sul state, people stood on rooftops hoping to be rescued as others in canoes or small boats navigated streets that have become rivers.
Viewed from the air, Porto Alegre was completely flooded, with streets under water and the roofs of some houses barely visible.
Civil defense officials said at least 103 people were missing in the latest of a string of catastrophic weather events to hit the South American giant.
More than 3,000 soldiers, firefighters and other crews worked frantically to save people stranded by the floods over the past few days, in many cases without basics like running water or electricity.
"It looks like a scene out of a war, and after it is over it will require a post-war approach," Rio Grande do Sul governor Eduardo Leite said, flanked by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and several government ministers.
Lula promised the government would provide all necessary resources for reconstruction.
Besides Porto Alegre, another 334 towns and villages have been hit by the flooding, caused by torrential rain.
Soldiers are setting up field hospitals after hundreds of patients had to be evacuated from regular hospitals.
Seventy percent of Porto Alegre is without running water and much of the metropolitan area is under water, officials said.
The Guaiba River, which flows through the city of 1.4 million people, reached a record high level of 5.3 meters (17.4 feet), according to the local municipality, well above the historic peak of 4.76 meters that had stood as a record since devastating 1941 floods.
Rosana Custodio, a 37-year-old nurse, fled her flooded Porto Alegre home with her husband and three children.
"During the night on Thursday the waters began to rise very quickly," she told AFP via a WhatsApp message.
"In a hurry, we went out to look for a safer place. But we couldn't walk... My husband put our two little ones in a kayak and rowed with a bamboo. My son and I swam to the end of the street," she said.
Her family was safe but "we've lost everything we had."
- 'It's terrifying' -
Authorities scrambled to evacuate swamped neighborhoods as rescue workers used four-wheel-drive vehicles -- and even jet skis -- to maneuver through waist-deep water in search of the stranded.
Governor Leite said his state, normally one of Brazil's most prosperous, would need a Marshall Plan of heavy investment to rebuild.
Sunday will be a key day for the rescue effort, said Paulo Pimenta, a senior communications official under Lula.
Long lines formed as people tried to board buses in many places, although bus services to and from the city center were canceled.
The Porto Alegre international airport suspended all flights on Friday for an undetermined period. Its runways are under water.
Lula posted a video of a helicopter depositing a soldier atop a house, who then used a brick to pound a hole in the roof and rescue a baby wrapped in a blanket.
The speed of the rising waters unnerved many.
"It's terrifying because we saw the water rise in an absurd way, it rose at a very high speed," said Greta Bittencourt, a 32-year-old professional poker player.
- 'Disastrous cocktail' -
Leite said this was the worst natural disaster in the history of Rio Grande do Sul, which is home to agroindustrial production of soy, rice, wheat and corn.
Rescuers faced a colossal task, with entire towns inaccessible.
Lula, who visited the state twice in a matter of days, has blamed the disaster on climate change.
The devastating storms were the result of a "disastrous cocktail" of global warming and the El Nino weather phenomenon, climatologist Francisco Eliseu Aquino told AFP on Friday.
South America's largest country has recently experienced a string of extreme weather events, including a cyclone in September that killed at least 31 people.
M.Odermatt--BTB