- Russian activist killed on front line in Ukraine
- Openda strike briefly sends Leipzig top of Bundesliga
- Goal-shy Man Utd have to 'step up', says Ten Hag
- India bowl out Bangladesh for 127 in T20 opener
- Madueke rescues Chelsea in draw with 10-man Forest
- Beckett's belief rewarded as Bluestocking storms to Arc glory
- Trump on the stump, Harris hits airwaves in razor-edge US election
- Flash flooding kills three in northern Thailand
- Kaur leads India to victory over Pakistan in Women's T20 World Cup
- Juventus held by Cagliari after late penalty drama
- 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
Mayor orders 'mass evacuations' in Russia flood city
Flooding in the Russian city of Orenburg became "critical" Friday forcing "mass evacuations" as the Ural river level rises, the mayor said.
Fast-rising temperatures have melted snow and ice, and along with heavy rains have caused a number of major rivers that cross Russia and Kazakhstan to overflow.
"Sirens are sounding in the city. This is not an exercise," Orenburg Mayor Sergei Salmin said on Telegram.
"Mass evacuations are ongoing," he said. "The situation is critical, do not waste time," he said, calling on people in several city districts to evacuate.
The Ural river has flooded much of Orsk, and Orenburg -- the regional capital -- has been preparing for the peak of the rising water.
The city has a population of some 550,000 people.
"In the last 10 hours the level of water on the Ural river rose by 40 centimetres (15.7 inches)," Salmin said, describing the situation as "dangerous".
Authorities have said that around 2,500 Orenburg houses have been affected by the water and almost 5,000 allotments.
Images on Russian state media showed an alley leading up to a monument that marks the border between Europe and Asia flooded, with lamp-posts partly submerged. They also showed water reaching many houses.
In Western Siberia, the Ishim river has also risen to dangerous levels, according to authorities in the Tyumen region. Officials have predicted that the Ishim and Tobol rivers will only reach a peak level around April 23-25.
A regional official, Sergey Balykin, told the RIA Novosti state news agency that the peak in Orenburg would come only on Friday or Saturday.
Russia has evacuated around 10,000 people from rising water, mostly from the Orenburg region.
Several villages have also been evacuated in the Kurgan and Tomsk regions further east.
Authorities said however that conditions had improved in Orsk, which was badly hit after dam breached. Officials said water levels were falling again.
Kazakhstan has evacuated more than 96,000 people, with the city of Petropavlovsk also bracing for the worst of the flooding.
No direct link has been made between the floods and global warming. But experts say the higher temperatures across the planet will cause the heavy rains blamed for the flooding.
Y.Aukaiv--AMWN