Storm Marta hits Spain and Portugal (representative picture)
Fresh storms and torrential rains battered Spain and Portugal on Saturday, triggering widespread flooding, evacuations and major transport disruptions across the Iberian Peninsula, just days after earlier storms wreaked deadly damage in the region.In Portugal, the latest weather system – dubbed Storm Marta – prompted authorities to deploy more than 26,500 rescue workers to deal with rising water levels, landslides and flood risks in several areas. Flood warnings remain in place in Portugal and neighboring Spain, with hundreds of roads blocked, rail services disrupted and thousands of residents forced to leave their homes.In Spain, southern regions, particularly Andalusia, are under an orange alert due to heavy rain and severe storms, while parts of the northwest are also facing severe weather warnings. Andalusia regional president Juan Manuel Moreno described the situation as “complex”, with dozens of roads cut off, rail traffic basically suspended and more than 11,000 people evacuated. The agricultural sector has been severely affected and the cost of repairing damaged infrastructure is expected to exceed 500 million euros.Authorities closed Cordoba’s historic Roman Bridge over the Guadalquivir River as a precaution, while Sevilla Football Club’s home game against Girona was postponed to ensure public safety. Residents evacuated from hard-hit areas such as Grazalema were placed in temporary accommodation, including stadiums in nearby cities.Bad weather has also disrupted civil life in Portugal, with three Portuguese cities postponing presidential votes scheduled for Sunday due to security concerns. Although flooding south of the Sado River has begun to recede, the risk of flooding remains at its highest along the Tagus River in the Santarem region.casualtiesThe storm claimed another life on Saturday, when a 46-year-old Portuguese emergency services volunteer drowned while trying to cross flooded areas near Campomayor in central Portalegre. Local media reported that the man became the first confirmed victim of Storm Mata after he encountered difficulties in strong flooding.The death toll from a recent series of storms continues to rise. Storm Christian killed five people in Portugal last week, while Storm Leonardo claimed another life earlier this week. Leonardo also forced the evacuation of about 1,100 people across the country, authorities said.Background: A series of deadly stormsSpain and Portugal have faced a series of unusually strong weather systems in recent weeks, with meteorologists citing increasingly unstable conditions in the region. Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro described 2026 as a “particularly unusual year” characterized by “unusually violent” weather events.During the latest storms, dams across the country were forced to release as much water as Portugal consumes in a year in just three days, underscoring the scale of the rainfall, according to Portugal’s environment agency.The Iberian Peninsula is considered one of the regions in Europe most affected by climate change, with scientists warning that heatwaves have lasted longer and extreme rainfall has become more frequent in recent years. The recent storms have heightened concerns about increased weather volatility in southern Europe.The impact has spread beyond the peninsula, with Morocco also reporting severe storms in recent days, displacing some 150,000 people in the country’s northwest.
‘Beyond calling for genocide’: Congress slams BJP over Himanta Sarma’s ‘straightforward’ video, seeks judicial action India News
NEW DELHI: After an alleged video posted on the ruling party’s Assam unitThe now-deleted video, titled “Point Close Shot,” shows Salma allegedly aiming a rifle at two people, one of whom was wearing a skullcap and the other with a beard. Congress said the video amounted to direct incitement to violence and could not be considered an online prank.Venugopal calls video a call for genocideThe Congress general secretary in charge of organizing KC Venugopal said the video represented a dangerous escalation of hatred.
Gogoi’s wife Elizabeth works for Pakistani agent Ali Tauqeer Sheikh: Assam Cm Sue Biswa Sarma
“An official leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party has released a video showing the ‘straightforward’ targeted murder of minorities. This is nothing more than a call for genocide – a dream that this fascist regime has harbored for decades,” Venugopal said on X.He said the matter required immediate judicial intervention.He said: “This is not a harmless video that cannot be dismissed as troll content, but poison is spreading from the top and there will be consequences.”“It is impossible for Narendra Modi to condemn or oppose this act but the judiciary must take action and should not show any leniency in this case,” Venugopal added.Congress says removing video isn’t enoughCongress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said deleting the video did not absolve her of responsibility.“This is the real BJP: a mass murderer. Mr. Modi, you are filled with venom, hatred and violence. Are the courts and other institutions sleeping?” she said on X.Another Congress spokesperson Shama Mohammad accused the BJP of undermining constitutional values.“@narendramodi, you talk about ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ but your favorite man Himanta Biswa Sarma made a video of shooting Muslims and released it through the official account of the BJP Assam,” she said.“This is an attack on the Constitution of India. It shocks me that the Supreme Court of India has acted as a silent spectator. The court’s silence and failure to make findings calls its role into question,” she added.Opposition leaders also target BJP, E.C.Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi also criticized the BJP and the Election Commission.Chaturvedi said on“It is shameless that the EC will ignore this most despicable form of hatred and political objectives. They are, quite literally, toothless and useless in front of the PPP,” she added.The BJP has so far not responded to the Congress party’s accusations.