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Clean-up ongoing in Mayotte after Cyclone Chido devastates island

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Clean-up ongoing in Mayotte after Cyclone Chido devastates island

Chido brought winds in excess of 220kph when it made landfall on Saturday, according to the French weather service, ripping roofs off houses in the archipelago which has a population of just over 300,000.

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Clean-up operations have begun in the French overseas territory of Mayotte, a day after Cyclone Chido barrelled across the archipelago.

Footage released by the French Civil Protection agency showed rescue services and armed forces cleaning up debris and trees strewn across the streets.

The French Interior Ministry said it was proving difficult to get a precise tally of the dead and injured in Mayotte but so far 11 deaths have been confirmed.

Speaking to a local TV station earlier on Sunday, Mayotte Prefect François-Xavier Bieuville said, “I think there are some several hundred dead, maybe we’ll get close to a thousand.”

A hospital in Mayotte reported that nine people were in critical condition there and 246 others were injured.

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Cyclone Chido blew through the southeastern Indian Ocean, also affecting the nearby islands of Comoros and Madagascar.

Mayotte was directly in the path of the cyclone and suffered extensive damage on Saturday, officials said.

Chido brought winds in excess of 220kph, according to the French weather service, ripping roofs off houses in the archipelago which has a population of just over 300,000.

In some parts, entire neighbourhoods of metal shacks and huts were flattened, while residents reported many trees had been uprooted, boats flipped or sunk and the electricity supply knocked out.

Officials in Mayotte said it was the worst cyclone to hit the territory almost a century.

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The French Interior Ministry said 1,600 police and gendarmerie officers have been deployed to “help the population and prevent potential looting.”

More than 100 rescuers and firefighters have been deployed in Mayotte from France and the nearby territory of Reunion and an additional reinforcement of 140 people was sent on Sunday.

France has also sent aid to the island aboard military planes.

Mayotte is France’s poorest department and has previously struggled with drought and lack of investment.

It’s also been plagued by gang violence and tensions spiked earlier this year due to a widespread water shortage.

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The cyclone has now made landfall on the east coast of Africa, slamming into northern Mozambique.

UNICEF said Cabo Delgado province, home to around two million people, had been hit hard.

“UNICEF is concerned about the immediate impacts of this cyclone: the loss of life, the damage to schools, to people’s homes, to health care facilities,” said Guy Taylor, UNICEF Mozambique’s chief advocacy and communications officer.

“We’re also worried about the longer-term impacts: children potentially being cut off from learning for weeks on end, people unable to get access to health care and the potential spread of waterborne diseases like cholera and malaria,” said Guy Taylor, UNICEF Mozambique’s chief advocacy and communications officer.”

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Gunfire shatters Toronto Latin street festival, leaving at least 2 dead and multiple wounded

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Gunfire shatters Toronto Latin street festival, leaving at least 2 dead and multiple wounded

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The Toronto Police Service is investigating after gunfire broke out Saturday night at a large Latin street festival in Midtown Toronto, leaving at least two people dead and four others wounded.

Police said they received reports of a shooting at St. Clair Avenue West and Arlington Avenue at 8:12 p.m. local time and discovered an active shooter situation.

First responders found six people suffering from gunshot wounds, officials said. Two of the victims were pronounced dead at the scene.

Police respond to an active shooter at the Salsa on St. Clair event in Toronto, Saturday, July 11, 2026. (Keito Newman/The Canadian Press via AP)

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It is unclear what led to the shooting, and authorities said suspect(s) are still “outstanding.” No arrests have been made as of Saturday evening, police said. 

Toronto Police Deputy Chief Frank Barredo said during a news conference there seemed to be an “exchange of gunfire” between two individuals targeting each other.

“This is a very chaotic scene,” he said. “I think we had something in the neighborhood of 13,000 people participating in this festival.”

Police initially described the incident as an active shooter situation before later determining that was not the case.

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Police officers stand guard at the site of a deadly shooting at a salsa-themed street festival in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, July 11, 2026. (REUTERS/Cole Burston)

“There was some concern of an active shooter. That turned out not to be the case,” Barredo said.

Barredo said authorities were managing three separate crime scenes connected to the shooting. Two firearms have been recovered, he added.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he was “horrified” by the shooting.

“My prayers are with the families grieving their loved ones, those who are in critical condition, and everyone who has been affected by this horrific event,” he said in a statement.

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“My thanks to the police officers and other first responders whose courage and fast action prevented further tragedy,” he continued. “Police have my full support as they work to apprehend the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

Paramedics respond to an active shooter at the Salsa on St. Clair event in Toronto, Saturday.  (Keito Newman/The Canadian Press via AP)

FOUR DEAD AND 29 SHOT IN CHICAGO WEEKEND VIOLENCE AS LEADERS TOUT CRIME PROGRESS

Following the shooting, the Toronto Transit Commission suspended train stops at the nearby St. Clair West station on Line 1 Yonge-University due to what officials described as a “security incident.”

Regular transit service has since resumed.

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Authorities urged the public to avoid the area and follow all directives from police at the scene.

The TD Salsa on St. Clair Festival, Toronto’s biggest Latin culture celebration, was celebrating its 22nd annual event in Toronto’s Hillcrest Village.

Emergency Task Force vehicles and police officers are seen on the site of a shooting in Toronto on Saturday. (Jorge UZON / AFP via Getty Images)

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The Toronto Police Service told Fox News Digital no further information is available.

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This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, architect of modern Qatar

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Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, architect of modern Qatar

Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the former emir of Qatar who transformed the small Gulf state into one of the world’s wealthiest and most influential nations through its vast natural gas wealth and an ambitious programme of political, economic and social reforms, has died. He was 74.

A charismatic figure with a friendly demeanor, the father Emir assumed the reins of power in 1995. Regarded as the architect of modern Qatar, he embarked on forging development and reform plans and education programs.

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During his reign, Qatar’s GDP increased more than twenty-fourfold, while production from the North Field turned the country into the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas by 2006. After four years, the small nation’s LNG production capacity reached 77 million tons per annum, according to government’s figure.

His tenure also saw the establishment of the Qatar Foundation, the launch of Al Jazeera News Channel in 1996, the promulgation of Qatar’s first permanent constitution in 2004 and the introduction of municipal elections in which women were granted the right to vote and stand as candidates. Under his leadership, the Gulf nation also adopted the Qatar National Vision 2030 and secured the right to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

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Born in Doha in January 1952, Sheikh Hamad graduated from the British Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst before becoming commander of Qatar’s armed forces. He became heir apparent and defence minister in 1977, assumed power as emir on June 27, 1995, and handed over leadership to his son, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, on June 25, 2013.

“The future lies ahead of you, the children of this homeland, as you usher into a new era where young leadership hoists the banner,” Sheikh Hamad said as he announced his abdication and the carefully crafted transition to his son, the British-educated crown prince Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who was then 33.

The peaceful, voluntary transfer of power was rare in a region where such change usually results from death or overthrow.

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Iranians Bury Slain Leader Amid Renewed Fighting

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Iranians mourning the country’s supreme leader condemned U.S. strikes that Washington called retaliation for Iran’s attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. At a tightly controlled state funeral in Mashhad — one of Iran’s most conservative cities, where opponents of the government were unlikely to be found in the crowd — mourners voiced defiance and called for revenge.

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