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Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes in the Costa del Sol as storms are set to bring fresh misery to parts of southern Spain.

More than 220 people were killed in the country’s worst floods in modern history just two weeks ago, with homes and buildings destroyed and streets turned to rivers of mud.

Now, people are covering their cars in plastic wrap and anchoring them to lamp posts as part of efforts to prepare for more flooding.

Authorities have issued a red alert for heavy rain in the Costa del Sol, with areas around Malaga and Granada also subject to warnings that up to 180 millimetres (7 inches) could fall in 12 hours.

Winds of up to 74 mph (119 kmph) and high seas were also predicted for Tarragona, Barcelona and Murcia.

National weather office AEMET also placed parts of Catalonia in northeast Spain on a red alert, with areas along the coast in Tarragona at high risk of “very strong to torrential rain”.

A man walks through a flooded street amid the overflow of the Campanillas river, due to heavy rains in Malaga, Spain.
Pic: Reuters
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A man walks through a flooded street after the Campanillas river overflowed, due to heavy rains in Malaga, Spain. Pic: Reuters

A cyclist crosses a road after the Campanillas river overflows in the Campanillas neighbourhood, after Spanish meteorological agency AEMET issued red alerts due to expected heavy rains, in Malaga,
Pic: Reuters
Image:
Pic: Reuters

Videos on social media showed deep water filling some of Malaga’s main streets this afternoon as residents were told to stay at home.

Police closed roads, bus lines across the city were suspended along with some high-speed trains, and parts of Malaga airport were underwater.

Staff at the Hospital Clinico were filmed wading through water after the laboratory area flooded.

Empty train tracks and a beach, as Spain braces for a new DANA storm system, near Tarragona.
Pic: Reuters
Image:
Empty train tracks near a beach, as Spain braces for fresh flooding, near Tarragona. Pic: Reuters

Meanwhile, people living close to the Campanillas River were told to leave their homes as the water began to rise.

Earlier, 3,000 homes were evacuated as a precaution on the banks of the Guadalhorce River.

In the tourist resort of Marbella, a waterspout was seen moving for several minutes through the sea just off the coast.

The opening tie of the Billie Jean King Cup Finals tennis event between Spain and Poland was also postponed because of the storms.

Previously flood-hit areas around Valencia were issued a less severe weather warning prompting some schools to close until Friday.

Thousands of workers are still removing mud and debris that has accumulated on the roads and clogged sewage pipes and drains in towns around Valencia after the recent deadly floods.

There were fears the mud-filled sewers would struggle to cope even if the new downpours weren’t as torrential.

A man walks past stacked up cars after floods in Catarroja.
Pic: AP
Image:
A man walks past stacked up cars after floods in Catarroja. Pic: AP

Flooding in Spain two weeks ago left cars damaged and covered in mud. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Flooding in Spain two weeks ago left cars damaged and covered in mud. Pic: Reuters

Army personnel clean a drainage system blocked by mud in Paiporta, Valencia. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Army personnel clean a drainage system blocked by mud in Paiporta, Valencia. Pic: Reuters

As the new weather front moved in, authorities confirmed the bodies of two young brothers who went missing when floods hit their home in October had been found.

Ruben and Izan Matias, aged 3 and 5, were discovered in separate locations near Catarroja, almost six miles downstream from their house in Torrent, according to the Civil Guard.

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It comes after thousands of people marched in Valencia over the weekend to demand the resignation of the region’s president following the response to the devastating flooding.

Protesters filled the centre of the eastern Spanish city and chanted “killers!” as they called for Carlos Mazon to go, while others dumped muddy boots outside a regional government building.

One banner read: “Our hands are stained with mud, yours with blood.”

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South Korea’s parliament impeaches acting president

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South Korea's parliament impeaches acting president

South Korea’s parliament has voted to impeach acting President Han Duck-soo.

The move could deepen a constitutional crisis triggered by a short-lived period of martial law declared by Mr Han’s predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol.

After the vote on Friday, Mr Han said he will step aside to avoid more chaos.

The opposition brought impeachment proceedings against him over his refusal to immediately fill three places on South Korea’s Constitutional Court – where the former president is on trial.

Three justices had been approved by parliament – where the opposition Democratic Party has a majority – but Mr Han said he would not formally appoint them without bipartisan agreement.

South Korea’s constitution says that six justices on the nine-member Constitutional Court must agree to remove an impeached president, meaning the current justices must vote unanimously to remove Mr Yoon.

The court has said it can deliberate without the full nine-member bench.

Leader of the opposition Lee Jae-myung had vowed to go ahead with the impeachment, accusing Mr Han of “acting for insurrection”.

A man waves a South Korean flag at an anti-Yoon Suk Yeol protest.
Pic: AP
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A man waves a South Korean flag at an anti-Yoon Suk Yeol protest. Pic: AP

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Now that Mr Han – who is also prime minister – has been impeached, his finance minister Choi Sang-mok is set to take over as acting president.

Politicians in the 300 parliament voted 192-0 to impeach him. Governing party politicians boycotted the vote.

Following the vote, Mr Han said he would respect the decision and will await a ruling from the Constitutional Court on the impeachment motion.

Mr Han will be stripped of the powers and duties of the president until the Constitutional Court decides whether to dismiss or reinstate him – the same as with Mr Yoon.

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Ukraine War: Vladimir Putin open to peace talks in Slovakia

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Ukraine War: Vladimir Putin open to peace talks in Slovakia

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he would be open to peace talks with Ukraine in Slovakia “if it comes to that”. 

Mr Putin said Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, who this week visited the Kremlin, had offered his country as a location for negotiations as the war in Ukraine nears the three-year mark.

The Russian president said the Slovakian authorities “would be happy to provide their own country as a platform for negotiations”.

“We are not opposed, if it comes to that. Why not? Since Slovakia takes such a neutral position,” Mr Putin said, adding he was resolved to end the conflict in Ukraine, which started with a land, air and sea invasion of Russia’s smaller neighbour in February 2022.

Follow the latest updates on the war in Ukraine

Ukraine is yet to comment on Slovakia’s offer but President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly criticised the country, which borders Ukraine, for the friendly tone Mr Fico has struck towards Russia since his return to power after an election in 2023.

Mr Fico has been critical of EU support for Ukraine, where millions have been displaced since Mr Putin’s decision to launch a “special military operation” to “denazify” and “demilitarise” the 37 million-strong country.

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Mr Putin has repeatedly said Russia is open to talks to end the conflict with Kyiv, but that it would nevertheless achieve its goals in Ukraine.

He has previously demanded Ukraine withdraw its bid to join NATO and asked it to recognise Russia’s gains. Both Kyiv and the West have rejected those demands.

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But while Mr Zelenskyy had for most of the conflict insisted Ukraine would keep fighting until it regained control of its territories, his position on negotiations now appears to have shifted.

In an interview with Sky News, Mr Zelenskyy suggested a ceasefire deal could be struck if the Ukrainian territory he controls could be taken “under the NATO umbrella”.

This would then allow him to negotiate the return of the rest later “in a diplomatic way”.

The Ukrainian leader admitted last week his forces would be unable to recapture any territories occupied by Russia in the east of Ukraine and the Crimean peninsula.

While Kyiv would never recognise Russia’s rule, he said diplomacy is the only option to get Mr Putin to withdraw his army.

The war in Ukraine has taken a devastating toll on Russia too. UK government and military analysis estimates that Russia has lost around half a million troops killed or wounded in Ukraine.

Such is the pressure on manpower that The Kremlin turned to one of its remaining allies, North Korea, to provide additional forces.

It’s thought 10,000 to 12,000 troops were sent in October to fight alongside the Russian military in the fighting in the Kursk region.

However it’s suggested their lack of combat experience has resulted in heavy losses, with Mr Zelenskyy saying earlier this week that 3,000 North Korean troops have already been killed and wounded.

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Donald Trump: President-elect targets Canada, Greenland and Panama Canal in Christmas message

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Donald Trump: President-elect targets Canada, Greenland and Panama Canal in Christmas message

Donald Trump has suggested the US could take control of Canada, Greenland and the Panama Canal in a series of Christmas Day social media posts.

The president-elect wished a merry Christmas to all on his Truth Social platform, “including to the wonderful soldiers of China, who are lovingly, but illegally, operating the Panama Canal”.

In the lengthy posts, Mr Trump referred to the American lives lost during the canal’s construction and said the US “puts in billions of dollars in ‘repair’ money, but will have absolutely nothing to say about ‘anything’.”

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He also mocked Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as “governor” and again suggested the country could be turned into a US state – following similar comments made in recent weeks.

“If Canada was to become our 51st state, their taxes would be cut by more than 60%, their businesses would immediately double in size, and they would be militarily protected like no other country anywhere in the world,” he wrote.

FILE - A cargo ship traverses the Agua Clara Locks of the Panama Canal in Colon, Panama, Sept. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)
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A cargo ship traverses the Panama Canal in Colon, Panama. Pic: AP

In another post, Mr Trump, 78, said he had encouraged former ice hockey star Wayne Gretzky to run for prime minister but he “had no interest”.

He also addressed “the people of Greenland, which is needed by the United States for national security purposes and, who want the US to be there, and we will!”

It comes after Mr Trump renewed the call he made during his first term in office for the US to buy Greenland from Denmark.

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The world’s largest island, which sits between the Atlantic and Arctic oceans, is 80% covered by an ice sheet and is home to a large US military base. Greenland gained autonomy from Denmark in 1979.

The island’s Prime Minister Mute Egede has insisted Greenland is not for sale.

Mr Trump has also previously threatened to retake control of the Panama Canal, accusing Panama of charging excessive rates to use the crucial trade passage and warning of potential Chinese influence.

Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino previously said his country’s independence was non-negotiable and that China had no influence on the canal’s administration.

The canal is a critical waterway for world trade, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and allows ships to avoid lengthy and hazardous journeys around the southernmost tip of South America by cutting through the middle of the Americas.

After the ambitious project was opened in 1914, the canal and surrounding territory were controlled by the US until an agreement with Panama in 1977 paved the way for it to return to full Panamanian control in 1999.

China does not control the canal but a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings has long managed two ports at the canal’s Caribbean and Pacific entrances.

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