World
At least 1 dead as Tropical Cyclone Belal batters Mauritius, Réunion
A tropical cyclone caused heavy flooding and at least one death in Mauritius on Monday as cars were washed away by surges of water in the Indian Ocean island’s capital city and elsewhere. A motorcyclist died in an accident caused by the flooding, the government said and imposed a curfew.
The government issued an order that everyone except emergency and health workers, members of the security services and those requiring medical treatment must return home and remain there.
Some people were also being evacuated as the floodwaters caused by Tropical Cyclone Belal threatened houses and other buildings. Schools were closed and hospitals were told to only keep their emergency departments open.
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The main airport was closed and flights into and out of the island nation of 1.2 million people were canceled until further notice, the government said.
The Mauritius newspaper L’Express published videos of cars floating down streets that looked more like raging rivers in the capital, Port Louis, and other parts of the island. Some people climbed onto the roof of their car and clung on, according to the images published by L’Express. Motorists who had escaped from cars were seen being pulled from the floodwaters and to safety by others.
Vehicles were left piled up, some of them overturned, after some of the floodwaters receded.
The water also entered buildings and flooded homes and the lobbies of offices. The Central Bank of Mauritius building was reportedly flooded.
Evacuations were being carried out, the government said in a statement.
Strong winds batter La Plaine Saint-Paul, Réunion, on January 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly)
Belal had earlier also battered the nearby French island of Reunion, where the intense rains and powerful winds left about a quarter of households without electricity after hitting Monday morning, according to the prefecture of Reunion.
Many people in Reunion had also lost internet and phone services, and water connections to tens of thousands of homes were cut. Authorities in the French outpost said a homeless person was found dead in Saint-Gilles on the island’s west coast. The circumstances of that death were unclear.
Reunion had declared the highest storm alert level on Sunday as Belal approached. But the alert was lifted after the worst of the storm passed Reunion on Monday afternoon and charged toward Mauritius, around 135 miles to the northeast.
Mauritius’ National Crisis Committee ordered everyone to return home at 8 p.m. local time. The curfew would remain in effect until noon on Tuesday, it said.
Mauritius’ national meteorological department said the eye of the storm was still expected to come closer to Mauritius and pass about 55 miles south of the island at its closest point early Tuesday morning, warning that the worst might still be ahead.
The island would feel the effects of the cyclone “for hours,” the Mauritius Meteorological Services said.
Cyclones are common between January and March in the Indian Ocean near southern Africa as seas in the southern hemisphere reach their warmest temperatures. The hotter water is fuel for cyclones.
Scientists say human-caused climate change has intensified extreme weather, making cyclones more frequent and rainier when they hit. Some climate scientists have identified a direct link between global warming and the intensity of some cyclones in the region.
In 2019, Cyclone Idai ripped into Africa from the Indian Ocean, leaving more than 1,000 people dead in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe and causing a humanitarian crisis. The United Nations said it was one of the deadliest storms on record in the southern hemisphere.
President Donald Trump on Friday threatened a 100% tariff on imports from any country that imposes a tax on digital services provided by United States companies.
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In a social media post, Trump took aim at European countries, he said, that are discussing the “imminent” implementation of taxes on American companies.
The US president has repeatedly sought to use tariffs to deter such taxes, but many countries are seeking revenue as their economies increasingly operate in digital realms dominated by American companies.
“Please let this statement serve to represent that any Country that imposes such a Tax will immediately be met with a 100% tariff on any and all Goods sent to the United States of America,” Trump wrote.
He added that the new tax would supersede any previously negotiated trade deals. Trump said the penalty would apply to any country that moves forward with such a tax, but he singled out European nations in his post.
Trump has consistently opposed international attempts to tax or regulate American tech giants. Last year, he threatened fresh tariffs on any nation attempting to do so, writing in a post last August that digital taxes and regulations “are all designed to harm, or discriminate against, American Technology.”
The warning arrives just ahead of Trump’s 4 July deadline for the European Union and the US to begin implementing a trade agreement that caps most tariffs on EU exports at 15%.
The EU finalised that trade deal with the United States in May. It followed months of internal EU debate after European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen initially reached a tentative agreement last year during a visit to Trump’s golf course in Scotland.
The issue of digital tax remained unresolved
Digital taxes were excluded from that pact and remain a primary source of friction between the US and the European bloc.
While the US government has previously launched Section 301 investigations into digital services taxes, it remains unclear how Trump intends to enforce his latest threat, or whether the tariffs would be applied globally or targeted at specific countries first.
Britain, having left the EU, has levied its own 2% digital services tax since 2020 on revenue generated by search engines, social media platforms and online marketplaces that “derive value” from UK users.
In a policy document released at the time, the British government argued that existing corporate tax rules for digital firms had “led to a misalignment between the place where profits are taxed and the place where value is created.”
The UK tax features specific thresholds, ensuring it is primarily paid by major multinational corporations. The policy was implemented to “ensure the large multinational businesses in-scope make a fair contribution to supporting vital public services,” the document noted.
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Video captured a large emergency response after a small plane crashed into Beijing’s tallest skyscraper on Friday, prompting an immediate information blackout from Chinese authorities, The Associated Press reported.
Video and photos shared on social media appear to show the aircraft plummeting to the ground after smashing a large hole in the 108-story CITIC Tower, located in the Chinese capital’s business district.
Police, fire and EMS workers were spotted at the scene preventing witnesses from taking photos and attempting to clear the area.
People gather near the CITIC Tower in Beijing on June 26, 2026, after an eyewitness reported plane debris at the base of Beijing’s tallest building. Video footage taken from a nearby building by the witness showed fire trucks blasting water at smoke billowing from the 528-metre (1,732-foot) CITIC Tower, while the wreck of a plane lay on the ground beside the building. (Adek Berry/AFP via Getty Images)
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A person working inside the high-rise said the plane crash triggered the building’s fire alarms.
Flight tracking data from Flightradar24 indicated the aircraft was a Sunward SA 60L Aurora, which took off about 30 miles east of the city and crashed shortly before 6 p.m. local time.
ADS-B data for the flight only includes a partial flight path and stops prior to the crash, according to air traffic data.
A hole is seen (R) on the side of the CITIC Tower in Beijing on June 26, 2026, after a reported plane crash. (Peter Catterall/AFP via Getty Images)
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The AP reported that photos and videos of the incident escaped the country’s “great firewall” and were circulated on social media platform X, though Chinese censors have removed content about the crash from the country’s restricted internet.
No information has been released by government officials or state-run media, as of Friday afternoon.
Police personnel block the road near the CITIC Tower in Beijing on June 26, 2026. (Adek Berry/AFP via Getty Images)
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The cause of the crash, identity of the pilot, and the number of casualties remain unclear.
The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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