Connect with us

Published

on

Verviers is nicknamed the water capital of its region because the city used the River Meuse to build its wealth in the textile industry.

The river flows through the centre of the Belgian town.

That’s why there was so much damage when it exploded over its banks a few days ago, turning the streets into torrents of water flowing several metres deep.

The town of Verviers is focused around the river
Image:
The town of Verviers is focused around the river

:: Subscribe to ClimateCast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Spreaker

The city, like so many others, simply wasn’t prepared.

As Verviers residents wearily clean the stinking mud out of their ruined homes, thoughts are turning to the fragility of the infrastructure that supports life here; how quickly all the fabric of our modern world was ripped apart.

There is still no power, no cabled internet, patchy mobile phone signal, and in some areas, no fresh water.

More on Belgium

Many of the roads and bridges are shut, and the pavements are piled high with rubbish.

Nameer Laghzaoui takes us into his ruined pizza shop. Piles of gluey flour line the floor. He shows us the basement – all his wiring and fuse boxes sit, dripping.

Nameer Laghzaoui's pizzeria, Pizza Grano, has no power or water
Image:
Nameer Laghzaoui’s pizzeria, Pizza Grano, has no power or water
Nameer Laghzaoui's pizzeria, Pizza Grano, has no power or water
Image:
The water destroyed the kitchen

He said: “It is all gone. Ruined.”

I ask if he wants to go, move further away from the water.

“No, I will stay, I have to.”

His whole life savings are in this business, and he has no choice but to wait for insurance to pay out and hope it doesn’t happen again.

A few metres away we find Louis Pirout working hard to find out just how badly the town’s power supply and wiring has been damaged.

His job is to restore TV services

Louis Pirout checks the power to the town of Verviers in Belgium
Image:
Louis Pirout checks the power to the town of Verviers in Belgium
A destroyed car in Verviers, Belgium. Pic Associated Press
Image:
A destroyed car in Verviers. Pic: Associated Press

Was the town ready, I asked?

“No. Absolutely not.

“We are a crowded town around the river which is why it was so bad.”

He doesn’t know how long it will take to get everything back on line.

There are huge holes in the pavements everywhere, exposing mangled pipes and cabling. It doesn’t look like a quick job.

Up and down the streets there are people delivering bottles of fresh water.

One of the reasons for that is businesses nearby aren’t open to sell anything.

There are holes in the pavement around Verviers
Image:
There are holes in the pavement around Verviers
People are not abandoning their homes however
Image:
People are not abandoning their homes however

We ventured into an all but destroyed supermarket to find the owner, Francoise Wilmain, surveying the damage.

He cannot see how he will be able to reopen.

“It was my business, my life, it is finished.”

On one street closest to the river Meuse a huge clean up is underway. Mountains of furniture, pots, books pile high under the hot sun as people salvage what they can.

Valerie Corman told us how she thought the city didn’t give them enough warning.

The supermarket was destroyed during the floods
Image:
The supermarket was destroyed during the floods

She said: “The city is going to have to change.”

She also said that she hopes during the rebuilding process, they find a way to create better flood defences, so if it happens again, the damage won’t be so great.

Continue Reading

World

Two dead and hundreds of arrests across France after PSG’s Champions League win

Published

on

By

Two dead and hundreds of arrests across France after PSG's Champions League win

Two people are dead and nearly 560 people were arrested after disorder broke out in France following Paris Saint-Germain’s victory in the Champions League final, the French interior ministry has said.

The ministry added 192 people were injured and there were 692 fires, including 264 involving vehicles.

A 17-year-old boy was stabbed to death in the city of Dax during a PSG street party after Saturday night’s final in Munich, the national police service said.

The second person killed was a man who was hit by a car while riding a scooter during PSG celebrations, the interior minister’s office said.

Paris police chief Laurent Nuñez has said the man was in his 20s and although the incident is still being investigated, it appears his death was linked to the disorder.

Meanwhile, French authorities have reported that a police officer is in a coma following the clashes.

Soccer Football - Champions League - Final - Paris St Germain fans gather in Paris - Paris, France - May 31, 2025 A burning bike is seen on
Image:
A burning bike on the Champs Elysees during the disorder. Pic: Reuters

The officer had been hit by a firecracker that emerged from a crowd of supporters in Coutances in the Manche department of northwestern France, according to reports in the country.

Initial investigations reportedly suggest the incident was accidental and the police officer was not deliberately targeted.

The perpetrator has not been identified.

A man walks past teargas during incidents after the Champions League final soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan. Pic: AP
Image:
A man walks past teargas during incidents after the Champions League final soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan. Pic: AP

Soccer Football - Champions League - Final - Paris St Germain fans gather in Paris - Paris, France - May 31, 2025 A burning bike is seen on
Image:
A burning bike on the Champs Elysees during the disorder. Pic: Reuters

The interior ministry earlier said 22 security forces workers were injured during the chaos – including 18 who were injured in Paris, along with seven firefighters.

In a news conference today, Mr Nuñez said only nine of the force’s officers had been injured in the French capital.

He added that fireworks were directed at police and firefighters were attacked while responding to car fires.

There were 559 arrests across the country during the disorder, including 491 in Paris. Of those detained across the country, 320 were taken into police custody – with 254 in the French capital.

Mr Nuñez said although most people wanted to celebrate PSG’s win, some only wanted to get involved in fights with police.

He also said the force is only at “half-time” in its response because the PSG team will be celebrating their Champions League victory on the Champs Élysées later today.

Soccer Football - Champions League - Final - Paris St Germain fans gather in Paris - Paris, France - May 31, 2025 Riot police on the Champs
Image:
Police in Paris during the disorder. Pic: Reuters

Soccer Football - Champions League - Final - Paris St Germain fans gather in Paris - Paris, France - May 31, 2025 Riot police on the Champs
Image:
Police in Paris during the disorder. Pic: Reuters

Mr Nuñez said that the police presence and military presence in Paris will be increased on the ground for the parade.

It comes after flares and fireworks were set off in the French capital after PSG beat Inter Milan 5-0 in Munich – the biggest ever victory in a Champions League final.

Around 5,400 police were deployed across Paris after the game, with officers using tear gas and pepper spray on the Champs Élysées.

A man runs away from teargas during incidents on the Champs Elysees avenue after PSG won the Champions League. Pic: AP
Image:
Pic: AP

Fireworks explode over police in Paris after PSG win the Champions League. Pic: AP
Image:
Pic: AP

At the top of the Champs Élysées, a water cannon was used to protect the Place de l’Etoile, near the landmark Arc de Triomphe.

Police said a large crowd not watching the match tried to push through a barrier to make contact with officers.

Some 131 arrests were made, including 30 who broke into a shoe shop on the Champs Élysées.

Police have said a total of four shops, including a car dealership and a barbers, were targeted during the disorder in Paris.

Two cars were set alight close to Parc des Princes, police said.

PSG forward Ousmane Dembélé appealed for calm in a post-match interview with Canal+, saying: “Let’s celebrate this but not tear everything up in Paris.”

A PSG supporter on a traffic sign in Paris while red flares are set off after the team won the Champions League. Pic: AP
Image:
Pics: AP

PSG supporters invade a street in Paris after the team won the Champions League. Pic: AP

After the final played at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, thousands of supporters also tried to rush the field.

Police lined up in front of the PSG end of the stadium at the final whistle, but struggled to contain the fans for several minutes when they came down from the stands following the trophy presentation.

PSG fans rush the field at Allianz Arena in Munich after the team win the Champions League. Pic: AP
Image:
Pics: AP

Police try to contain PSG fans on the field at Allianz Arena in Munich. Pic: AP

Désiré Doué, the 19-year-old who scored two goals and assisted one in the final, said after the game: “I don’t have words. But what I can say is, ‘Thank you Paris,’ we did it.”

Despite being a supporter of PSG’s rivals Olympique de Marseille, French President Emmanuel Macron also said on social media: “A glorious day for PSG!

“Bravo, we are all proud. Paris, the capital of Europe this evening.”

Mr Macron’s office said the president would receive the players at the Elysee Palace on Sunday.

Follow The World
Follow The World

Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday

Tap to follow

Continue Reading

World

Hamburg hospital fire kills three as people call for help from windows

Published

on

By

Hamburg hospital fire kills three as people call for help from windows

Three patients have been killed and dozens of other people were reportedly injured after a fire at a hospital in Germany.

The blaze broke out in a room in the geriatric ward of the Marienkrankenhaus early on Sunday.

It started on the ground floor and spread to the level above, with smoke affecting much of the four-storey building in the city of Hamburg.

Firefighters were alerted soon after midnight.

They said they found several patients calling for help from windows, and some people were rescued using ladders.

Fire at the Marienkrankenhaus hospital. Pic: AP
Image:
Pic: AP

Hospital fire. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Pic: Reuters

Three adults died and more than 30 were injured in the fire, the German news agency dpa said.

One of the injured is in a life-threatening condition, while 18 have serious injuries and 15 have minor injuries, the agency added.

Read more from Sky News:
Two dead and hundreds of arrests in France after PSG win
Britain has ‘lost control’ of its borders, says minister

Follow the World
Follow the World

Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday

Tap to follow

Part of the building had to be evacuated, though the wounded were mostly treated at the hospital.

Two injured people were taken to other nearby clinics.

The blaze was put out within about 20 minutes. The cause is not yet known.

Continue Reading

World

At least 26 people killed in Israeli attack near aid distribution site, Gaza health ministry says

Published

on

By

At least 26 people killed in Israeli attack near aid distribution site, Gaza health ministry says

At least 26 people have been killed near an aid distribution centre in the Rafah area of southern Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Palestinian health ministry.

Earlier, a nearby hospital run by the Red Cross reported that at least 21 people had been killed. The hospital, which has been receiving bodies and the wounded, also said another 175 people had been injured.

Witnesses said the deaths came after Israeli forces opened fire at a roundabout near the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation hub, a new aid organisation backed by Israel and the US.

However, Palestinian and Hamas-linked media have attributed the deaths it has reported on to an Israeli airstrike.

It is not yet clear if eyewitnesses and Hamas-affiliated media are giving different accounts of the same incident.

Sky News has contacted the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) for comment.

Witnesses tell of shooting

The area where the reported shooting took place is controlled by Israeli forces.

Ibrahim Abu Saoud, an eyewitness, said Israeli forces opened fire at people moving toward the aid distribution centre.

“There were many martyrs, including women,” the 40-year-old man said. “We were about 300 metres away from the military.”

Abu Saoud said he saw many people with gunshot wounds, including a young man who he said had died at the scene. “We weren’t able to help him,” he said.

Mohammed Abu Teaima, 33, said he saw Israeli forces open fire and kill his cousin and another woman as they were heading to the hub.

He said his cousin was shot in his chest and died at the scene. Many others were wounded, including his brother-in-law, he said.

“They opened heavy fire directly toward us,” he said as he was waiting outside the Red Cross field hospital for word on his wounded relative.

Palestinians arrived to collect aid from a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation hub in Rafah last week. File pic: Reuters
Image:
Palestinians arrived to collect aid from a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation hub in Rafah last week. File pic: Reuters

Controversial new aid system

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) operates as part of a controversial aid system which Israel and the US says is aimed at preventing Hamas from siphoning off assistance.

Israel has not provided any evidence of systematic diversion, and the UN denies it has occurred.

The foundation’s distribution of aid has been marred by chaos, and multiple witnesses have said Israeli troops fired on crowds near the delivery sites.

UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to work with the new system, saying it violates humanitarian principles because it allows Israel to control who receives aid and forces people to relocate to distribution sites, risking yet more mass displacement in the territory.

Before Sunday, at least six people had been killed and more than 50 wounded, according to local health officials.

Read more:
Israel confirms Hamas chief killed
Last hospital in northern Gaza out of service
Calls for UK to offer Gaza children life-saving treatment

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

From 31 May: Moment Israeli warplane strikes Gaza

GHF says aid distributed ‘without incident’

The foundation says the private security contractors guarding its sites did not fire on the crowds, while the Israeli military has acknowledged firing warning shots on previous occasions.

The foundation did not immediately respond to a request for comment following the hospital’s claims.

In an earlier statement, it said it distributed 16 truckloads of aid early on Sunday “without incident”. It dismissed what it referred to as “false reporting about deaths, mass injuries and chaos”.

Meanwhile, the UN’s aid system has struggled to bring in aid after Israel slightly eased its total blockade of the territory last month.

Those groups say Israeli restrictions, the breakdown of law and order, and widespread looting make it extremely difficult to deliver aid to Gaza’s roughly two million Palestinians.

Experts have warned that the Palestinian territory is at risk of famine if more aid is not brought in.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

From 29 May: Meet Gaza’s paramedics

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251.

They are still holding 58 hostages, around a third of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 54,000 people, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants.

The offensive has destroyed vast areas of the territory, displaced around 90% of Gaza’s population and left people almost completely reliant on international aid.

Continue Reading

Trending