- In France's Marseille, teen 'stabbed 50 times' then burned alive
- Ruthless Gauff beats Muchova in straight sets to win China Open
- India restrict Pakistan to 105-8 in Women's T20 World Cup
- England target repeat of Pakistan Test whitewash
- Penrith Panthers win fourth straight NRL title after downing Storm
- Weary Sinner happy for day off after battling into Shanghai last 16
- Pakistan's Masood warns England still a force without Stokes
- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Israel pounds Lebanon ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Toddler among 4 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says 'very violent' Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Guardians maul Tigers, miracle Mets rally in MLB series openers
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Madrid beat Villarreal but Carvajal suffers knee injury
- Madrid beat Villarreal to move level with Liga leaders Barcelona
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- French rugby player on rape charge whistled but 'serene' on return
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Toddler among 3 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Kovacic stars as Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
Australians flee floods as toll rises to 12, Sydney on alert
Floodwaters crashed into more towns on Australia's east coast as a deadly storm front barrelled south on Wednesday towards Sydney, where the main dam began to spill water.
The death toll rose to 12 in a week-long disaster that has washed cars from roads and forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate their homes as waters lapped at balconies and roofs.
"This is terrible. This is terrible. One life lost is too many," said New South Wales deputy premier Paul Toole after confirming a third death in the flood-hit town of Lismore.
After bringing havoc to Queensland, the storm front moved southwards, dumping vast quantities of water and sparking a string of flood alerts in New South Wales including Sydney, Australia's largest city.
"Today, the focus is on Sydney. We are expecting heavy rainfall over the afternoon into the night and into tomorrow," Toole warned in a news conference.
Sydney's main Warragamba dam, lying southwest of the city, had reached capacity and started spilling water in the early hours of Wednesday morning, Toole said.
He told residents at risk to flee if they are told to do so.
"If you are getting a knock on the door, if you are asked to leave, please leave," Toole told a news conference.
"We are looking at substantial rainfall over the coming days. We don't want to see those images where people were standing on the roofs of their houses, not leaving and then having to be rescued."
In the coastal town of Ballina in New South Wales, some 55 hospital patients were evacuated overnight -- hours before a high tide from the sea combined with waters overflowing the banks of Richmond River.
A "makeshift emergency department" was set up in a Catholic college for urgent cases, regional health officials said.
- 'Eerie' -
An hour inland from the coast, water levels in Lismore were falling but resident Tom Wolff prepared to head out for rescues.
"It all feels kind of eerie now, is how I would describe it," he said.
The hardest part was trying to navigate around power lines and other hazards in a boat, Wolff said.
"We know the streets of Lismore, but it's just totally different when you're 10-12 metres above them," he said.
"There are signs around town for the '74 flood levels, but they were underwater."
At one house, they rescued a sausage dog that had been left at the highest point of the house.
"She must have just been treading water for god knows how long, maybe hours. Her heart rate was through the roof when we found her," he said.
In an airfield in Grafton -- where residents saw buildings submerged almost to roof level this week -- flight club president Bob King rowed out in a metal dingy to check on his aircraft as the smell of fuel hung in the air.
Most of the 25 aircraft at the field were now underwater, he said.
Flight instructor Peter Clement surveyed the damage done to his planes -- four light aircraft each worth Aus$100,000 ($73,000) -- sitting half-submerged in a hangar where the mud-brown waters came up to his waist.
"I'm hoping it's not a total loss," he said.
"This is the biggest flood I've ever seen and I've been here 20 years."
Australia has been on the sharp end of climate change.
Droughts, deadly bushfires, bleaching events on the Great Barrier Reef and floods have become more common and intense.
Because a warmer atmosphere holds more water, scientists say climate change increases the risk and intensity of flooding from extreme rainfall.
Ch.Kahalev--AMWN