- 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
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Thousands march for Palestinians ahead of Oct 7 anniversary
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Toddler crushed to death in migrant Channel crossing
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
- Thousands march in London in support of Palestinians, 1 year after Oct 7
- Israel readying response to Iran missile attack
- Schutt, Mooney help Australia beat Sri Lanka in Women's T20 World Cup
- Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
- Djokovic 'shakes rust off' to make third round of Shanghai Masters
- 'Imperfect' PSG fighting on all fronts - Luis Enrique
- Struggling Pakistan look to thwart adaptable England
Myanmar villagers battle to save rice crop as flood death toll jumps to 226
War-weary Myanmar villagers salvaged crops from flooded fields Tuesday as the country's death toll in the wake of Typhoon Yagi doubled to 226 and the UN warned as many as 630,000 people could need assistance.
Yagi swept across northern Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar more than a week ago with powerful winds and an enormous amount of rain, triggering floods and landslides that have killed more than 500 people, according to official figures.
State TV in junta-ruled Myanmar confirmed 226 fatalities late on Monday, with 77 people missing, doubling the previous toll of 113.
The crisis has only deepened people's miseries in Myanmar, where millions have suffered through more than three years of war since the military seized power in 2021.
In Loikaw district in eastern Kayah state -- which has seen fierce fighting between junta forces and armed groups opposed to its rule -- villagers rued their latest trial.
"We have already faced wars and fled from villages many times," local Chit Thein told AFP.
"We have many troubles and now it's floods again -- so much suffering in our lives."
In nearby fields, farmers laboured to save a rice crop completely submerged in paddies by the floodwaters.
More than 150,000 homes have been flooded and nearly 260,000 hectares (640,000 acres) of rice paddies and other crops destroyed, according to Myanmar state media.
The junta has begun relief efforts, opening more than 400 camps according to state media, and appealed for international aid.
But in Loikaw district, Chit Thein said the people of Phayarphyu village were still waiting for help.
"There are many things we have lost. We lost houses, clothes in the wars, and now floods have hit our house so we have nothing left," he said.
"We are sheltering at a monastery. But there is not much food for us and no donations, and no-one has come to help us."
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said an estimated 631,000 people had been affected by flooding across Myanmar.
Food, drinking water, shelter and clothes are all urgently needed, UNOCHA said, warning blocked roads and damaged bridges were all severely hampering relief efforts.
The UN's World Food Programme on Monday said the floods were the worst in Myanmar's recent history, without giving precise details.
Severe flooding hit the country in 2011 and 2015, with more than 100 deaths reported on both occasions, while in 2008 Cyclone Nargis left more than 138,000 people dead or missing.
The junta issued a rare appeal for foreign aid at the weekend, with neighbour India so far the only country to respond, sending 10 tonnes of materials, including dry rations, clothing and medicine.
UNOCHA said more resources are urgently needed.
In recent years Myanmar's military has blocked or frustrated humanitarian assistance from abroad, including after powerful Cyclone Mocha last year when it suspended travel authorisations for aid groups trying to reach around a million people.
Even before the latest floods, people in Myanmar were grappling with the effects of three years of war between the junta and armed groups opposed to its rule, with millions forced from their homes by the conflict.
- Thailand compensation -
Across southeast Asia, hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee over the past week as Yagi rains swelled rivers and creeks beyond bursting point.
Many had to wade through murky brown waters up their chins, while others used whatever means they could -- including elephants in Myanmar and jetskis in Thailand.
Thailand's northern provinces were hit hard, with one district reporting its worst inundations in 80 years.
The death toll in the kingdom rose to 15 on Tuesday, according to new figures from the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra's government said it would make $90 million available for flood relief, announcing financial aid of up to $6,000 per household for those affected by the floods.
In Vietnam, the death toll stands at 292, with 38 missing, more than 230,000 homes damaged and 280,000 hectares of crops destroyed, according to authorities.
Yagi, the strongest typhoon to hit the north of the country in decades, tore across the densely populated Red River delta -- a vital agricultural region that is also home to major manufacturing hubs -- damaging factories and infrastructure, and inundating farmland.
The typhoon caused an estimated 40 trillion dong ($1.6 billion) in economic losses, state media reported, citing an initial government assessment.
burs-pdw/fox
M.Fischer--AMWN