WASHINGTON (AFP) – Fierce storms pounded a large stretch of the central-eastern United States (US) overnight, with officials reporting at least seven deaths and warning the system continued to bring severe threats.
The line of storms, which stretched from Arkansas northeastward into Ohio, produced dozens of tornadoes and heavy rains that forecasters said could last for days.
Western Tennessee was particularly hard-hit by the system, with state and local authorities reporting at least five deaths across several counties.
A father and his teenage daughter were killed in Tennessee’s Fayette County when their modular home was overturned by a tornado, local media reported, citing the sheriff’s office.
Three others were hospitalised, including the mother, who was extracted from the home wreckage by emergency responders.
Photos shared on social and local media showed widespread damage from the storm across several states, with homes torn apart, toppled trees, downed power lines and overturned cars. “A multi-day, potentially historic heavy rainfall event may produce catastrophic and life-threatening flooding through Saturday,” the National Weather Service (NWS) said.
Other deaths were reported in Indiana – where a man was reportedly electrocuted after his car hit a downed power line – and Missouri, with the Perryville Fire Department saying a nearby district’s fire chief “made the ultimate sacrifice” in an unspecified storm-related incident.
Schools were closed in various areas impacted by the storm, including Tennessee’s state capital Nashville. Before the storm’s arrival in Kentucky, Governor Andy Beshear warned residents that the state was “facing one of the most serious weather events we’ve had forecast”.
As of Thursday, electricity was out for around 230,000 customers across the central-eastern US, according to the PowerOutage.us website.
Debris from a building destroyed by a tornado in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. PHOTO: AFP
AP – Nestled among tulip fields not far from Amsterdam, the world-famous Keukenhof garden has opened for the spring, welcoming camera-wielding visitors to its increasingly selfie-friendly grounds.
On a sunny day, the paths, park benches and cafes are crowded with tourists taking photos and selfies with one of the Netherlands’ most iconic products – the tulip. Those kinds of pics, posted on social media, are what drew Austrian lawyer Daniel Magnus.
“Whenever you see the kind of pictures which were taken from an influencer, they make something with you. You get a new impression of new locations, traditions, people and so on…. You want also to be there,” Magnus told The Associated Press (AP).
Magnus had just finished taking his own photos on a small boat, staged in one of the park’s canals for visitors to take their own Instagrammable images.
Staff plant and nurture a staggering seven million flower bulbs to ensure visitors who flock to the Keukenhof from around the world all get to see a vibrant spectacle during the just eight weeks the garden is open.
In recent years, the garden has increasingly catered to the public’s thirst for social media content and created spaces where guests are encouraged to pose.
Selfie spots include flower archways, pink velvet couches and another Dutch classic – oversized wooden clogs.
The Keukenhof’s own social media channels have some suggestions about the best locations and the Dutch tourism board even advises on how to get the perfect tulip selfie.
“Make your image come alive and place the subject of your photo slightly off-centre. This will make your photo look more dynamic,” the Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions said.
The Keukenhof garden’s more than one million expected visitors don’t need too much encouragement to snap pics among the tulips, hyacinths, daffodils and myriad other flowers.
The blossoms are meticulously handplanted throughout its manicured lawns by a small army of gardeners.
“There’s always something blooming. I think that’s the reason why everyone is happy.
There’s also always something to see,” gardener Patrick van Dijk told the AP.
Not everyone is always happy with tourists taking photos. Some flower farmers have put up signs and barriers to deter aspiring influencers from trampling tulips in nearby fields. – Molly Quell
Tourists enjoy blooming tulips at the Keukenhof park in Lisse, Netherlands. PHOTO: AP & XINHUAA couple take photos with tulips. PHOTO: AP & XINHUAFarmers use acrylic cloth for insulation to grow tulips in the season. PHOTO: AP & XINHUAVisitors take selfies with tulips at the park. PHOTO: AP & XINHUAABOVE & BELOW: Visitors taking photos; exploring tulip fields; and an employee plants tulips. PHOTO: AP & XINHUAPHOTO: AP & XINHUAPHOTO: AP & XINHUA
TRENTON (AP) – The number of lawsuits alleging sexual assaults and other abuse at state-run child treatment centres in New Jersey has risen to more than 100 after two more were filed this week.
Two suits involving 16 people were presented in Superior Court in Monmouth and Somerset counties by victims whose names have been withheld. They are seeking damages stemming from alleged abuse at the former Arthur Brisbane Treatment Centre and the Training School at Skillman, both of which have been shuttered for decades.
The suits are the latest of dozens of claims filed against the state in the past year.
Attorneys for the firm Levy Konigsberg said the total number of suits has now reached 150.
The majority of the earlier cases revolve around open facilities, including the New Jersey Training School, which the governor has said would be closed. New Jersey overhauled its civil statute of limitations on childhood sex abuse claims in 2019.
The new law allows child victims to sue until they turn 55 or within seven years of their first realisation that the abuse caused them harm.
The previous statute of limitations was age 20 or two years after first realising the abuse caused harm.
AFP – Wearing a helmet and strapped securely into his four-wheel-drive, Abdelilah al-Rabea tore off across the Saudi desert, kicking up clouds of sand as a crowd of hundreds cheered him on.
Every year through the end of April, droves of people flock to Zulfi, more than 200 kilometres northwest of Riyadh, where adrenaline-seeking motorists drive superpowered cars across steep dunes.
Dune bashing, or tatees in Arabic, is an adventure sport that involves driving off-road across challenging desert landscapes, and has long been a popular pastime in the oil-rich kingdom.
“This is a popular sport in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf because we have these dunes,” Rabea said.
It requires “considerable effort”, he added, but the payoff is “a real rush of adrenaline”.
Abdallah al-Amar, who came to watch the show with his son, said spectators were willing to “travel great distances” for the meets, flocking from all over the country to watch the drivers perform their stunts.
Saudi Arabia, as the world’s biggest oil exporter, enjoys bargain-basement gasoline prices, with a litre costing just SAR2.33 (USD0.62).
ABOVE & BELOW: Saudis gather to watch a drifting competition in the Quseiba area in the Az Zulfi desert, Saudi Arabia; and a vehicle driven up a dune. PHOTO: AFPPHOTO: AFPSpectators watch a car being driven up a dune. PHOTO: AFP
The cheap fuel, combined with prolonged periods of extreme heat, means cars reign supreme in the kingdom – further fuelling a passion for motorsports.
In Zulfi, hundreds of cars and pick-up trucks dotted the sands as far as the eye can see, while nearby a motorist raced up a 100-metre-tall dune.
“The cars you see here are specially equipped” for the challenge, Rabea told AFP.
Crowds made up almost exclusively of men looked on, drinking coffee and tea on carpets strewn on the sand.
Engines roared, crowds cheered and plumes of dust rose with every turn of the wheels.
“We wait for this moment all year. We optimise the engine, the car, every single detail,” Rabea said.
At the foot of the dune, modified cars and trucks with oversized tyres and powerful engines were lined up, waiting to take on the dunes.
Their drivers were making final adjustments to the vehicles, preparing to defy gravity racing uphill at dizzying speed.
For many, dune bashing and desert drifting is a passion that began in adolescence.
A 33-year-old man from al-Qassim, Badr al-Ghamas, began practising the sport when he was only 15 years old.
“For some, sports means to play football or swimming. For us, it’s going dune bashing,” he said with a smile.
One experienced drifter, Ahmed al-Rumi told AFP that drivers modified their cars to improve performance months in advance. But the extreme sport is not without risk. “A while ago, there was an accident because the car was not fully safe,” Rumi said, adding that no one was hurt.
Many of the drivers, however, brushed off the risk of accidents, citing safety precautions they take.
In his 2014 book Joyriding in Riyadh: Oil, Urbanism, and Road Revolt, researcher Pascal Menoret said this passion for speed and high-risk manoeuvres was rooted in a desire to project an image of power and masculinity.
AP – At Miu Miu, the little sister brand of Miuccia Prada, the feminine wasn’t just celebrated – it was deconstructed, reconfigured and worn with a wink.
The starry collection took the very idea of womanhood and turned it into a conversation starter, one silk-knit bias cut at a time.
Silhouettes floated around the body rather than adhering to it, sculpted through folds, drapes, and engineered curves.
Tailoring slouched off the shoulders, and fur stoles, brooches and heavy bracelets turned the everyday into something significant, a reminder that femininity – soft or sharp – is always a force.
The show unfolded within the Palais d’Iéna, wrapped in yellow moiré, a study in controlled boldness.
As the final look exited the runway, the message was clear: Miu Miu knows that reinvention isn’t about discarding the past – it’s about twisting it into something unexpected, something thrillingly new.
PHOTO: APPHOTO: APPHOTO: APPHOTO: APPHOTO: APPHOTO: APPHOTO: AP
BELLINGHAM (AP) – Federal immigration agents arrested 37 people during a raid at a roofing business in northern Washington, United States (US).
Officials from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations unit and Customs and Border Protection arrived at Mt Baker Roofing’s warehouse around 7.30am in Bellingham, a city near the Canadian border.
“They (law enforcement) arrived wielding their guns like they were going to shoot us, like we were criminals,” Tomas Fuerte told Cascadia Daily News, speaking in Spanish.
“They corralled us into a room in the back of the building. They had a list and pictures of everyone who was undocumented and took them away.”
The people detained were taken away in two buses, Fuerte said, adding that he has never seen such a raid in his 12 years at the company.
ICE spokesperson David Yost said in a statement that the officers executed a federal search warrant “based on an ongoing criminal investigation into the unlawful employment of aliens without legal work authorisation in violation of federal law”.
The 37 people who were arrested had “fraudulently represented their immigration status and submitted fraudulent documents and/or information to seek employment”, Yost said.
Mt Baker Roofing said in a statement that it was “fully cooperating with the authorities while also ensuring that our employees are treated fairly and respectfully under the law.”
ICE said it made 32,809 arrests in President Donald Trump’s first 50 days in office.
That was a daily average of 656, up from 311 during the 12-month period that ended September 30.
Officers for multiple national law enforcement agencies outside the Mt Baker Roofing warehouse in Washington, United States. PHOTO: AP
SUZUKA (AFP) – Oscar Piastri went fastest yesterday for a McLaren one-two in a chaotic second practice for the Japanese Grand Prix that was red-flagged four times and saw Jack Doohan crash heavily.
Two of the red flags were for trackside fires during a badly disrupted afternoon session in which Australia’s Piastri clocked a fastest lap of one minute and 28.114 seconds.
He pipped teammate and championship leader Lando Norris by 0.049 seconds in dry, sunny conditions at Suzuka, where home hero Yuki Tsunoda showed promise on his Red Bull debut.
Piastri and Norris – who went quickest in first practice – have won one grand prix each in a dominant start to the season from McLaren.
They had to keep their wits about them in an eventful second session that saw Australian rookie Doohan badly damage his Alpine in a heavy smash into the barriers.
ABOVE & BELOW: McLaren’s Australian driver Oscar Piastri walks in the paddock; and Alpine’s Australian driver Jack Doohan and Kick Sauber’s German driver Nico Hulkenberg during the second practice session of the Formula One Japanese Grand Prix at the Suzuka circuit in Suzuka, Mie prefecture, Japan. PHOTO: AFPPHOTO: AFP
There was further drama when Spaniard Fernando Alonso beached his Aston Martin in the gravel and two fires broke out on the grass around the track.
RB’s Isack Hadjar was third fastest, 0.404 seconds behind Piastri, followed by Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and RB’s Liam Lawson.
Mercedes’ George Russell was sixth, followed by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Red Bull’s four-time world champion Max Verstappen.
His new teammate Tsunoda was a lowly 18th, 2.511 seconds behind Piastri, but without completing a representative lap on soft tyres. He was a promising sixth in the morning. A highly eventful second practice was red-flagged about 10 minutes in when the 22-year-old Doohan spun off the track and smashed into the barriers at high speed.
The car was badly damaged, with one wheel flying off upon impact.
Doohan quickly confirmed he was unhurt and climbed out of the cockpit unaided before being helped back to the pits.
“Following precautionary medical checks, we can confirm that Jack is ok. Now we’re working hard to get the car ready for tomorrow,” Alpine said on social media.
The session was halted for around 20 minutes and it restarted for only a matter of minutes before it was stopped again. Alonso barrelled off the track and came to a halt deep into the gravel. The Spaniard radioed to say that he was stuck and his car had to be lifted away before practice could continue.
The red flag came out a third time when sparks from the cars started a small fire on the grass surrounding the track.
There was just enough time for another stoppage with 10 seconds of the session remaining when sparks started another blaze.
The session marked an eventful first day behind the wheel of the Red Bull for Japan’s Tsunoda in his home grand prix.
The 24-year-old was catapulted into a Red Bull seat last week when Lawson was axed just two races into the season.
Norris went fastest in the first practice session ahead of Russell and Leclerc.
AP – Asian shares slid further yesterday after United States (US) President Donald Trump’s tariffs sent shudders through financial markets at a level of shock unseen since the COVID-19 pummelled world markets in 2020.
Trump announced a minimum tariff of 10 per cent on global imports, with the tax rate running much higher on products from certain countries like China and those from the European Union. Smaller, poorer countries in Asia were slapped with tariffs as high as 49 per cent.
Everything from crude oil to Big Tech stocks to the value of the US dollar against other currencies has fallen. Even gold, a traditional safe haven that recently hit record highs, pulled lower after Trump announced his ‘Liberation Day’ set of tariffs, which economists said carries the risk of a potentially toxic mix of weakening economic growth and higher inflation.
Markets in Shanghai, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Indonesia were closed for holidays, limiting the scope of Friday’s sell-off.
CHINA CAR ASSOCIATION SAYS PRICES WILL GO UP
The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers called on the US to “correct its wrong actions”. It said the tariffs “will further raise car prices, and impose additional burdens on consumers in various countries including Americans and have a negative impact on global economic recovery”.
China is one of the major exporters of car parts, many used in car repairs. For example, about six in every 10 auto replacement parts used in US auto shop repairs are imported from Mexico, Canada and China. The new taxes are also estimated to make cars imported into the US thousands of dollars more expensive.
ASIAN SHARES SLIDE FURTHER, US DOLLAR TAKES A HIT
Asian shares slid further yesterday after US President Donald Trump’s tariffs even as markets in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Indonesia were closed for holidays, limiting the scope of yesterday’s sell-off.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 lost 4.3 per cent to 33,263.58, while South Korea’s Kospi sank 1.8 per cent to 2,441.86. The two US allies said they were focused on negotiating lower tariffs with Trump’s administration. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped 2.2 per cent to 7,684.30.
In other trading early yesterday, the US dollar fell to JPY145.39 from JPY146.06. The yen is often used as a refuge in uncertain times, while Trump’s policies are meant in part to weaken the dollar to make goods made in the US more price competitive overseas. The euro gained to USD1.1095 from USD1.1055.
NEW TARIFFS DESTROYED NORMAL ORDER OF TRADE WITH US: CHINESE INDUSTRY GROUPS
Chinese industry groups yesterday sharply criticised the US tariffs as well as the closing of the de minimis loophole which had allowed low value goods to be imported tax-free.
“America’s action crudely destroyed the normal order of trade between the US and China, severely impacted cooperation between global industries, and greatly harmed the rights of consumers, including American citizens,” said a statement from the China Light Industry Association, which represents the interests of light manufacturing businesses.
The tax exemption, which applies to packages valued at USD800 or less, has helped China-founded e-commerce companies like Shein and Temu to thrive while cutting into the US retail market. “We call on the international community to jointly resist this trade bullying, and firmly safeguard an equal and mutually beneficial international trade system.”
The China National Textile and Apparel Council chimed in as well, with a statement yesterday saying they “supported the Chinese government’s forceful measures” as the US has “Damaged the resilience of the global textile industry’s supply chain”.
VIETNAM SAYS TARIFFS FAIL TO REFLECT THE SPIRIT OF THE COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP
Vietnam said it regretted the US decision to impose reciprocal tariff of 46 per cent on its exports to America.
“We believe that the decision is not in line with the reality of mutually beneficial economic and trade cooperation between the two countries,” spokesperson for Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry Pham Thu Hang said yesterday in a statement reported by state media.
She said Vietnam had actively engaged with the US to address concerns, promote ties on trade and work towards fair, mutually beneficial trade. She added that it failed to reflect the spirit of the comprehensive strategic partnership that the two countries had signed in 2023.
Former President Joe Biden visited Hanoi when the southeast Asian nation elevated the US to its highest diplomatic status, comprehensive strategic partner. At the time, Biden stressed this showed how far the relationship has evolved from what he described as the “bitter past” of the Vietnam War.
“If enforced, would negatively impact bilateral economic and trade relations as well as the interests of businesses and people in both countries,” said Hang.
The tariffs imposed on Vietnam are among the highest of any country, more than competitors like Thailand and Malaysia. Analysts said that the tariffs will harm Vietnamese export sectors like electronics, textiles, footwear and seafood.
The tariffs on 185 countries and territories. PHOTO: AFPThe spread of new tariffs on United States trading partners around the world. PHOTO: AFPUS President Donald Trump. PHOTO: AFP
SAN ANTONIO (AP) – Sam Ryder wasn’t sure his neck would feel good enough for him to play in the Valero Texas Open.
He found a swing and hardly missed a putt on his way to a nine-under 63 and a one-shot lead over Keith Mitchell in the final tournament before the Masters.
Mitchell played bogey-free in the morning for a 64, highlighted by a three-wood from 286 yards that stopped rolling about three feet from the pin for a tap-in eagle on the par-five eighth.
Former British Open champion Brian Harman had a 66.
Jordan Spieth, entertaining as ever, was in the group at 67.
Sam Ryder. PHOTO: AFP
His round including a drive well right on the 17th on hard pan with a rock embedded about four inches behind his golf ball.
He made clean contact and hit it to 12 feet and made the birdie putt.
Ryder, who has made the cut in all nine of his tournaments this year, had to withdraw from the pro-am on Wednesday when he felt a twinge at the base of his neck. He stayed in his room and rested all day, then showed up at the course about three hours before his tee time to see if he could swing.
He could. And he could putt. Ryder one-putted 11 of his last 12 holes, seven of them for birdie, including the final three. He holed a 25-foot putt on the 16th, a 12-footer on the 17th and then hit a wedge to a foot on the par-five closing hole at the TPC San Antonio.
“I was just trying to get a feel for how I could swing,” Ryder said.
“I think it helped me stay within myself today. I was just happy to be playing.”
Ryder would be among those who could go straight to the Masters next week if he were to win, something he has yet to do on the PGA Tour.
He was mildly surprised to see Mitchell at 64 from the morning.
“I figured anything under par is always usually pretty good out here,” he said. “Didn’t go in with any intentions of trying to be more aggressive or anything like that, was just trying to put one foot in front of the next and have a solid round, hit fairways and as many greens as possible.”
Mitchell isn’t in the Masters, either, and it has been six years since his lone PGA Tour victory. This was the third time this year Mitchell has opened with 65 or lower. It’s finishing it out that has been the problem.
“My game’s been trending,” he said. “I’d like to put some solid rounds together. Hopefully, it’s this week. I feel like my scores have been showing at least in the first couple rounds lately that my game’s where it needs to be and just going to try to stack ‘em all up
this week.”
As for that eagle, Mitchell said it was a combination of a good swing and good fortune.
“I figured if I hit it good it could at least cover the front and then kind of roll out to the base of the slope,” Mitchell said. “That pin is tough even with a wedge, it’s tough from around the green, so the fact that I got the ball to stop up there, I wouldn’t call it on accident – it was where I was aiming – but the fact that it just ended up being there is very fortunate.”
Harman has gone 15 straight tournaments without a top 10 dating to June, and he has only two other top 10s since his British Open victory at Hoylake in 2023. He’s on the verge of falling out of the top 50 in the world.
LONDON (AFP) – Liverpool can move closer to the Premier League title when the leaders face Fulham tomorrow.
Manchester City will look to bolster their bid to qualify for the Champions League against arch rivals Manchester United, while Southampton bid to stave off relegation.
AFP Sport looks at three talking points ahead of the weekend’s action:
VAN DIJK ISSUES LIVERPOOL CHALLENGE
Virgil van Dijk has challenged Liverpool to out-work the teams that stand between the Reds and a record-equalling 20th English title.
Arne Slot’s side had to dig deep to beat Everton 1-0 in a tetchy Merseyside derby at Anfield.
ABOVE & BELOW: Liverpool’s Diogo Jota celebrates with Curtis Jones; Manchester City’s Josko Gvardiol with Leicester’s Bilal El Khannous; and Nottingham Forest’s Taiwo Awoniyi and Manchester United’s Christian Eriksen. PHOTO: APPHOTO: APPHOTO: AP
The victory moved Liverpool 12 points clear of second-placed Arsenal with just eight matches left.
After being eliminated from the Champions League last 16 by Paris Saint-Germain and losing the League Cup final to Newcastle in their previous two games, Liverpool settled their nerves thanks to Diogo Jota’s winner against Everton.
Now they head to Fulham aiming to take another step in their march to a first title since 2020.
“It’s a funny world. Doubts outside all of a sudden, but the fact is there are eight games to go, there is a 12-point gap,” Van Dijk said.
“If we have to fight we have to fight. The manager mentioned it in his press conference. We have to out-work opponents. If we don’t we won’t get results.”
GREALISH WANTS MANCHESTER DERBY ROLE
Manchester City winger Jack Grealish has told Pep Guardiola he is ready to shine if he gets a starting role in tomorrow’s clash with Manchester United.
Grealish marked his first Premier League start since December with his first goal in the competition since 2023 as he netted in a 2-0 win against Leicester.
It has been a frustrating campaign for the 29-year-old England star, with form and fitness issues costing him his place for long periods.
“I think it was actually the same last year. I didn’t go in the national team in March, then I ended up playing a lot in April. I’m ready when called upon,” he said.
In the midst of a battle to qualify for the Champions League, City need Grealish at his best as they are without Norway striker Erling Haaland for several weeks due to an ankle injury.
City lost 2-1 to United after conceding two late goals earlier this season and Grealish wants to get revenge at Old Trafford.
“They beat us here early on in the season and that was a real difficult one to take,” he said.
“But we’re going there on the back of two wins and with a lot of confidence. Fingers crossed, we can make our fans happy.”
SOUTHAMPTON ON THE BRINK OF RELEGATION
Taylor Harwood-Bellis insists Southampton will keep fighting to avoid relegation, but the defender’s bottom of the table side are destined for the drop as early as this weekend.
Matheus Franca’s stoppage-time equaliser for Crystal Palace in the 1-1 draw at St Mary’s denied Southampton only their third league win this season.
It means Saints – who sit 19 points from safety – will be condemned to relegation if they lose at Tottenham and Wolves beat Ipswich.
If that happens, Southampton will be the first team to be relegated with seven matches still to play.
They are also one shy of matching Derby’s 2007-08 record low Premier League total points tally of 11.
“We just wanted to put a performance in at home that people can be proud of,” Harwood-Bellis said.
“There have been times this season where we can look at ourselves and say the quality’s not been anywhere near good enough.”
