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.
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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.
The military government, in power since a coup in 2022, accused France of having ‘neo-colonial ambitions’.
Published On 26 Jun 2026
Burkina Faso has broken off diplomatic relations with France, further widening the rift with its former colonial ruler.
“The government of Burkina Faso hereby informs the national and international community that it has decided to sever diplomatic relations with France with effect from today, June 26, 2026,” said Friday’s statement read out on national television.
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The military government led by Captain Ibrahim Traore, in power since a coup in September 2022, is pursuing a policy against critical voices and Western countries, especially France.
In the TV announcement, the government accused France of persistently acting against its interests.
“The essential conditions for promoting relations based on mutual respect, reciprocal trust, respect for the principle of non-interference in internal affairs and national sovereignty are not in place,” said Communications Minister, Gilbert Ouedraogo.
He said the decision followed a review of relations with Paris. He accused France of having “neo-colonial ambitions, made evident by its active support for subversive networks and the terrorists who are plunging our country and the Sahel into mourning”.
In January, political parties in Burkina Faso were formally dissolved by the military government, which has also seized all their assets in a move analysts say is a major blow for democracy in the West African nation.
Landlocked Burkina Faso is grappling with several armed groups which have seized control of land in the country’s north, south and west. These include the al-Qaeda-backed Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) and Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP), which also operate in neighbouring Mali and Niger.
Burkina Faso’s military has been accused of committing atrocities, including the ethnic cleansing of Fulani civilians, amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity, Human Rights Watch found last April.
According to the government statement released on Friday, the decision to cut ties with France “exclusively concerns diplomatic relations between the two states” and “does not call into question the historical, human, cultural and social ties between the people of Burkina Faso and France”.
It added that French nationals in Burkina Faso will continue to be protected in accordance with the law.
Once a significant power in northern, central and western Africa, France has seen its influence shrink in recent years, especially as many of its former African colonies, particularly in the Sahel, have distanced themselves and become more closely aligned with Russia and China.
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