World News | Texas Floods | Elon Musk: Rescue teams in central Texas continued a desperate search on Saturday across a landscape left shattered by catastrophic flash floods. The disaster has already claimed at least 50 lives, including 15 children, with hopes fading for 20 girls who remain missing after their summer camp was struck by a sudden wall of water.
The hardest-hit area was Kerr County, where most of the fatalities occurred. Among the missing are girls from Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp located along the Guadalupe River. Authorities have yet to provide an exact count of how many people remain unaccounted for beyond the children from the camp.
The floods struck early Friday before dawn, as the Guadalupe River surged 26 feet (8 meters) in just 45 minutes, sweeping away homes, cars, and anything in its path. The powerful, fast-moving waters left behind a trail of mangled trees, overturned vehicles, and debris-filled landscapes.
Search operations have involved helicopters, boats, and drones, with emergency crews working tirelessly to locate victims and rescue people stranded in trees or trapped in isolated camps cut off by washed-out roads.
The threat from the floods remained active on Saturday as heavy rains continued to lash communities outside San Antonio. Flash flood warnings and watches were still in place, keeping many areas on high alert.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott pledged nonstop rescue and recovery efforts and announced that Sunday would be observed as a day of prayer for the state. “We will work around the clock,” Abbott assured, noting that new areas were being searched as waters slowly began to recede.
In another major world news, billionaire Elon Musk announced the formation of a new political party on Saturday, escalating his public rift with President Donald Trump over a controversial domestic policy bill.
“Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom,” Musk declared in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday afternoon. The announcement followed a July 4 poll Musk ran on the platform, in which he asked users whether they wanted “independence” from the current two-party political system. Out of approximately 1.25 million respondents, around 65% voted “Yes.”
Musk, who had previously supported Trump’s 2024 reelection campaign, has recently become a vocal critic of the president’s “Big Beautiful Bill.” The sweeping domestic policy proposal includes broad tax cuts but could add over $3 trillion to the national debt, according to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office.
The Tesla CEO has repeatedly attacked the bill on X, describing it as a form of “debt slavery,” highlighting concerns over the financial burden it could impose on future generations.
Also Read: Elon Musk Launches ‘America Party’ To Counter Democrats, Republicans
Search teams continue to work for the third successive day in Texas floods amid threats of more downpour. The teams are looking for more than two dozen school children who disappeared when flash floods hit the summer camp. As of now, 15 children have lost their lives and the overall death toll has crossed 50.
Israel sent a group of negotiators to Qatar to discuss the US-supported ceasefire deal with Hamas. The Israeli delegation departed for Doha a few hours before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to leave for the US, where he is expected to meet American President Donald Trump. The peace deal contains key clauses including the freeing of hostages and more humanitarian aid in Gaza.
Chinese state-run media outlet Global Times News and Turkish broadcaster TRT World, have been blocked on X in India. This comes after the Reuters X account was earlier withheld in the country. The Government of India has not yet issued an official statement on the matter.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Sunday that he is dispatching a negotiating team to Qatar for talks aimed at reaching a truce in Gaza. However, he dismissed Hamas’s recent ceasefire proposals, calling them “unacceptable.”
“The changes that Hamas is seeking to make in the Qatari proposal were conveyed to us last night and are unacceptable to Israel,” his office said in a statement.
BRICS leaders meeting in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday are set to condemn US President Donald Trump’s “indiscriminate” trade tariffs, labeling them illegal and warning they could harm the global economy.
Representing nearly half the world’s population and 40 percent of global economic output, these emerging nations have united in expressing “serious concerns” over the US import tariffs, according to a draft summit statement obtained by AFP on Saturday.
Since taking office in January, Trump has targeted both allies and rivals with a series of punitive duties. His latest move involves sending letters to trading partners announcing new tariff rates set to take effect soon.
(AFP)
Spain’s ruling Socialist Party has announced a ban on its members paying for sex, as it battles a wave of damaging corruption scandals. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez revealed the decision on Saturday, stating that any party member caught “soliciting or accepting sexual acts for money” will face immediate expulsion, according to an AFP report.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, made his first public appearance since the recent 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel, participating in a religious ceremony in Tehran, according to state media.
State television aired footage of the 86-year-old leader greeting worshippers and receiving cheers at a mosque on Saturday during a gathering to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, a significant occasion for Shia Muslims.
Dressed in black, Khamenei stood on stage as the crowd, many raising their fists, chanted: “The blood in our veins for our leader!”
