- Pope calls for 'arms to be silenced' in Christmas appeal
- Syria authorities say torched 1 million captagon pills
- Pope calls for 'arms to be silenced' across world
- 32 survivors as Azerbaijani jet crashes in Kazakhstan
- Pakistan air strikes kill 46 in Afghanistan, Kabul says
- Liverpool host Foxes, Arsenal prepare for life without Saka
- Japan FM raises 'serious concerns' over China military buildup
- Pope's sombre message in Christmas under shadow of war
- Zelensky condemns Russian 'inhumane' Christmas attack on energy grid
- Sweeping Vietnam internet law comes into force
- Pope kicks off Christmas under shadow of war
- Catholics hold muted Christmas mass in Indonesia's Sharia stronghold
- Japan's top diplomat in China to address 'challenges'
- Thousands attend Christmas charity dinner in Buenos Aires
- Demand for Japanese content booms post 'Shogun'
- As India's Bollywood shifts, stars and snappers click
- Mystery drones won't interfere with Santa's work: US tracker
- Djokovic eyes more Slam glory as Swiatek returns under doping cloud
- Australia's in-form Head confirmed fit for Boxing Day Test
- Brazilian midfielder Oscar returns to Sao Paulo
- 'Wemby' and 'Ant-Man' to make NBA Christmas debuts
- US agency focused on foreign disinformation shuts down
- On Christmas Eve, Pope Francis launches holy Jubilee year
- 'Like a dream': AFP photographer's return to Syria
- Chiefs seek top seed in holiday test for playoff-bound NFL teams
- Panamanians protest 'public enemy' Trump's canal threat
- Cyclone death toll in Mayotte rises to 39
- Ecuador vice president says Noboa seeking her 'banishment'
- Leicester boss Van Nistelrooy aware of 'bigger picture' as Liverpool await
- Syria authorities say armed groups have agreed to disband
- Maresca expects Man City to be in title hunt as he downplays Chelsea's chancs
- Man Utd boss Amorim vows to stay on course despite Rashford row
- South Africa opt for all-pace attack against Pakistan
- Guardiola adamant Man City slump not all about Haaland
- Global stocks mostly higher in thin pre-Christmas trade
- Bethlehem marks sombre Christmas under shadow of war
- NASA probe makes closest ever pass by the Sun
- 11 killed in blast at Turkey explosives plant
- Indonesia considers parole for ex-terror chiefs: official
- Global stocks mostly rise in thin pre-Christmas trade
- Postecoglou says Spurs 'need to reinforce' in transfer window
- Le Pen says days of new French govt numbered
- Global stocks mostly rise after US tech rally
- Villa boss Emery set for 'very difficult' clash with Newcastle
- Investors swoop in to save German flying taxi startup
- How Finnish youth learn to spot disinformation
- South Korean opposition postpones decision to impeach acting president
- 12 killed in blast at Turkey explosives plant
- Panama leaders past and present reject Trump's threat of Canal takeover
- Hong Kong police issue fresh bounties for activists overseas
Malawians search mud for bodies as Cyclone Freddy eases
Lacking sniffer dogs and armed just with shovels, rescuers in storm-ravaged Malawi on Thursday made a grim hunt for buried bodies after Cyclone Freddy struck the southern African country, killing more than 300 people.
As the rains ceased for the first time in five days, rescuers dug up decomposing bodies from the mud and the debris of homes that had been swept away by the storm.
A joint operation by the military and local inhabitants recovered five bodies in Manje, a township around 15 kilometres (nine miles) south of the commercial capital Blantyre, after locals said they had spotted bubbles forming under the muddy rubble.
In a wrecked house half-covered in mud, five soldiers and 10 community members used three shovels to unearth the corpse of a middle-aged man.
The team created a makeshift stretcher using two logs and a sack, and wrapped his remains in a second sack in the absence of a body bag.
They then began a trek to the foot of the mountain, where an ambulance and military vehicles were waiting.
Along the rocky and muddy path, sombre villagers made way, whispering commiserations and condolences.
"Since yesterday, we noticed that there have been bubbles forming in the mud so we suspected that there were dead bodies down there, and we decided to alert the rescue teams," local resident Alfred Mbule told AFP.
"Just this morning alone, our group has recovered three bodies and another group has recovered two bodies. Yesterday afternoon we recovered three bodies," he said.
No one in the immediate community could identify the corpses, which were in a state of decomposition.
Manje, on the eastern side of Soche Mountain, straddles a mudslide triggered by the pounding rains.
"We suspect that these bodies may have come from up the mountain in the mudslide and they just happened to be trapped by these houses that are still standing," Mbule said.
- 'Stench' -
Freddy returned to the African coast at the weekend for the second time in less than three weeks, leaving swathes of destruction in its wake.
Travelling 8,000 kilometres, the cyclone crossed the Indian Ocean before striking Africa in late February.
It then looped back over the warm ocean waters, which fed energy into the storm, before it reversed course to smash into the continent a second time.
Meteorologists say the cyclone is exceptional in its duration and has characteristics consistent with warnings about climate change.
Before dissipating on Wednesday, Freddy set an unofficial record as the world's longest tropical storm, a benchmark set in 1994 for a 31-day storm named John.
Malawi's President Lazarus Chakwera, touring the devastation near Blantyre, said Thursday that "as of yesterday, the death toll from this disaster has risen from 225 to 326, the number of people displaced has more than doubled to 183,159."
But the grim discoveries being made in Manje suggest the numbers are set to rise.
"We believe there are hundreds more bodies under the mud," Mbule said.
At the foot of the mountain, an excavator dug through the mud as scores of villagers watched.
"The overwhelming stench in the air is a clear sign that the corpses are rotting underneath," said an elderly resident, Rose Phiri, as she watched the machine spade through the rubble.
- 'Miracle' -
Amidst the darkness and despair in Manje, there was one tale of hope.
Patrick Njolomole, a member of the rescue team, told AFP that a 13-year-old girl identified only as Promise had been saved after being trapped in a mud-filled house since Sunday.
"The house was then filled by mud, but the fridge's open doors allowed her just enough space to breath.
"So yesterday, she somehow gained consciousness and started screaming for help. That is when we went to rescue her. She was weak and confused, but alive."
C.Garcia--AMWN