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Indonesian and Thai authorities raced Sunday to clear debris and find hundreds of missing people as the death toll from devastating floods and landslides across Southeast Asia topped 600.Heavy monsoon rain overwhelmed swaths of Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia this week, leaving thousands of people stranded without shelter or critical supplies.At least two areas of Indonesia's worst-affected Sumatra island were still unreachable Sunday, and authorities said they had deployed two warships from Jakarta to deliver aid.Central Tapanuli and Sibolga city "require full attention due to being isolated", National Disaster agency head Suharyanto said in a statement, adding that the ships were expected in Sibolga today.The death toll in Indonesia rose to 442, while 402 were still missing, according to a tally published Sunday by the disaster authority.It said at least 646 people had been injured.In Sungai Nyalo village, about 100km from West Sumatra's capital Padang, floodwaters had mostly receded Sunday, leaving homes, vehicles and crops coated in thick grey mud.Authorities had not yet begun clearing roads, residents told AFP, and no outside assistance had arrived."Most villagers chose to stay; they didn't want to leave their houses behind," said Idris, 55, who, like many Indonesians, goes by one name.Across the island towards the north coast, an endangered Sumatran elephant lay buried in thick mud and debris near damaged buildings in Meureudu town.In Thailand, where at least 162 people were killed in one of the worst floods in a decade, authorities continued to deliver aid and clear the damage.Relief measures rolled out by the Thai government include compensation of up to 2mn baht ($62,000) for households that lost family members.However, there has been growing public criticism of Thailand's flood response, and two local officials have been suspended over their alleged failures.Two people were killed in Malaysia after floods left stretches of northern Perlis state underwater.The annual monsoon season, typically between June and September, often brings heavy rain, triggering landslides and flash floods.A tropical storm has exacerbated conditions, and the tolls in Indonesia and Thailand rank among the highest in floods in those countries in recent years.Climate change has affected storm patterns, including the duration and intensity of the season, leading to heavier rainfall, flash flooding and stronger wind gusts. 

Two missing Kenyan activists have been released after they vanished in Uganda where they were attending a political opposition event, legal and rights groups said Saturday.Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo went missing in October after travelling to the neighbouring east African nation to support Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine, who intends to run against long-time incumbent Yoweri Museveni in elections next year.In a brief joint statement on X, rights groups Amnesty Kenya, Vocal Africa and the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) said they "welcome the release of Nicholas Oyoo and Bob Njagi last night in Busia after 38 days of their enforced disappearance".The statement, posted by LSK head Faith Odhiambo, did not give any further details but said they were "facilitating their transfer to Nairobi".It expressed thanks to human rights groups, as well as to the foreign ministries and to active citizens who "tirelessly campaigned for this moment".Oyoo's older brother, Nobert Ochieng, 53, said his family was "elated" at the news."It was a big relief, because it's been a very tormenting and difficult month for us," he said.Kenya's foreign minister Musalia Mudavadi confirmed that the two were released late Friday after "sustained diplomatic engagement".Arrangements were underway to "ensure the two Kenyans reunite safely with their families", he added in a post on X.The pair went missing last month, with the Ugandan police denying either activist was in custody.Rights groups and the men's families in Kenya have agitated for their return, appealing to the Uganda court and urging the government to disclose their whereabouts.The head of Kenyan rights group Vocal Africa, Hussein Khalid, said last month that eyewitnesses had reported that the two men were taken by "masked, uniformed and armed men, suggesting strong evidence of state involvement in their disappearance."It is our suspicion that the two may be detained alongside other Ugandan political detainees in military facilities," he said.Dozens of government critics and opposition figures have been abducted in recent years across east Africa, and rights groups allege authorities are failing to protect their own citizens and even working together against activists.In May, Kenyan activist Boniface Mwangi and Ugandan activist Agather Atuhaire say they were abducted and tortured by security forces in Tanzania, and received little support from their own governments.

The Civil Defense in the Gaza Strip revealed that more than 10,000 Palestinians remain missing to date, since the onset of the genocide war on Gaza on October 7, 2023.In remarks to Qatar News Agency (QNA) on Saturday, spokesperson for the Civil Defense in Gaza, Mahmoud Basal, stated that Civil Defense teams are awaiting the full withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from all agreed-upon locations under the ceasefire agreement, in order to carry out their duties of recovering the bodies of martyrs and searching for the missing.He pointed out that thousands of citizens have been lost beneath the rubble and destroyed homes since the beginning of the aggression, and could not be reached due to the presence of occupation forces or because the bodies are trapped under residential buildings and towers that were demolished by their inhabitants.He noted that Civil Defense lacks the heavy equipment necessary to remove the debris and extract the bodies, adding that field teams will face significant challenges in retrieving or identifying the remains due to decomposition over time.Basal explained that on the first day of the Israeli army's withdrawal from various areas of the Strip, more than 140 bodies of martyrs were recovered, including over 60 in Gaza City, with many others still under the rubble.He noted that Civil Defense teams continue to receive reports of remains beneath the debris but are unable to retrieve them due to the lack of necessary equipment.He further stated that within a single day following the ceasefire, Civil Defense and municipal and service teams carried out more than 850 rescue and relief operations, including body recovery, debris removal, and securing destroyed areas.Basal confirmed that Civil Defense headquarters in areas vacated by the Israeli army were completely destroyed, emphasizing that the occupation committed horrific crimes by targeting humanitarian and service personnel. More than 1,670 medical staff, 140 Civil Defense members, and over 1,000 Civil Defense and civilian police personnel were martyred while conducting rescue operations, delivering aid, or performing their duties to serve and protect citizens. Hundreds of municipal employees and humanitarian aid workers were also killed.The Civil Defense spokesperson highlighted the immense challenges facing the humanitarian and relief sectors in Gaza, amid the collapse of the health infrastructure and destruction of hospitals, medical facilities, municipal buildings, Civil Defense and rescue centers.He called on the international community and relevant organizations to act urgently to deliver aid, medical supplies, and rescue and emergency equipment.The ceasefire agreement between Hamas and the Israeli entity, reached in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, came into effect Friday afternoon, following the Israeli government's approval of the deal and the beginning of its military withdrawal from populated areas in the Strip.The return of displaced residents to northern Gaza also began, as part of the first phase of US President Donald Trump's initiative to end the war on Gaza.

Indonesia's National Agency for Disaster Countermeasure (BNPB) announced that search and rescue efforts are continuing in Sidoarjo, East Java, to find 38 people believed to be still trapped under the rubble of the Al Khoziny Islamic Boarding School, which collapsed earlier today.The BNPB explained that rescue teams have been continuing their efforts since the morning hours, using heavy equipment and police dogs, despite difficult conditions that hinder access to the victims.Head of BNPB's Disaster Data, Information, and Communication Center, Abdul Muhari, confirmed that 38 people were still missing, and 102 others have been evacuated from the area. Of these, 91 managed to escape on their own, while 11 were rescued by joint search and rescue personnel.Muhari confirmed that one of the 11 rescued victims was found dead, while 77 injured people were transferred to nearby hospitals.He stressed that multi-story buildings, especially those used for educational purposes and inhabited by many people, must be subject to strict construction supervision.Preliminary findings indicate that the building's foundation was unable to support the weight of ongoing construction work on the fourth floor, causing the entire building to collapse.

Three fishermen went missing while eight others were rescued after a fishing boat sank off the coast of Cua Viet in Quang Tri Province (central Vietnam) today, due to storms and strong waves caused by Typhoon Bualoi in Vietnam. Local authorities reported that a boat carrying four fishermen completely sank. One of them managed to swim to shore, while the other three were lost at sea. Another boat carrying seven fishermen broke down and was pushed into a breakwater by waves. According to Vietnam's National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, Typhoon Bualoi made landfall this morning in the sea between Quang Tri and Da Nang, packing winds of 118–133 kilometers per hour and waves exceeding seven meters in height, amid warnings of extremely dangerous sea conditions. Coastal waters from Thanh Hoa to Quang Ngai, including islands such as Con Co and Ly Son, are expected to experience increasingly strong winds, ranging from level 6–9, and waves reaching up to seven meters amid extremely dangerous sea conditions.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) announced Friday that the number of people registered as missing worldwide has exceeded a quarter of a million, marking an increase of nearly 70% over the past five years.Director General of the Committee Pierre Krahenbuhl stated that from Sudan to Ukraine, from Syria to Colombia, the trend is clear: the sharp rise in the number of missing persons is a stark indication that warring parties and their supporters are failing to protect people in times of war.The issue of missing persons is one of the most tragic humanitarian consequences of armed conflicts and disasters, with hundreds of thousands of individuals disappearing annually due to fighting, displacement, forced detention, or natural disasters.The ICRC plays a central role in registering cases of missing persons, communicating with their families, and working with conflicting parties to search for the missing or determine their fate.This crisis is particularly evident in prolonged conflict zones such as Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, and Colombia, where families suffer greatly due to the lack of information about their loved ones, making it an ongoing humanitarian emergency that requires urgent international efforts.Statistics reveal that the number of missing persons registered with the ICRC rose from approximately 169,500 in 2019 to around 284,400 by the end of 2024, an increase of more than 70%.In the past year alone, the Committee was able to locate around 16,000 missing individuals and reunite 7,000 of them with their families through the Restoring Family Links network in collaboration with Red Crescent and Red Cross societies.