After deadly flash floods in Sikkim, experts question why an early warning system was not in place.

A former US general took to Twitter on Sunday to remind Republicans laying blame on the Biden administration after Hamas militants launched the deadliest attack on Israel in decades that Donald Trump shared classified intelligence from Israel with Iran-allied Russia when he was president. Retired army general Mark Hertling shared a story about allegations the former president told top Russian officials that Israel had successfully hacked Isis computers in order to gain intelligence about bomb plots against the West in a meeting at the White House in 2017. At the time, the former president’s actions reportedly ignited fears by Israel that Russia could have passed the information to its ally Iran, which has long been a supporter of the Palestinian cause. Mr Trump reportedly leaked the information in a meeting in the Oval Office in May 2017 with the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, and the then-Russian ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak. Amid uproar over the revelation, Mr Trump insisted he had every right to give Russia the information. He tweeted: “As president, I wanted to share with Russia (at an openly scheduled WH meeting) which I have the absolute right to do, facts pertaining to terrorism and airline flight safety. Humanitarian reasons, plus I want Russia to greatly step up their fight against Isis and terrorism." General Hertling’s reminder of the incident comes after Republican presidential contenders accused the Biden administration of helping to fund the attacks in Israel, which saw more than 700 killed, after a deal was struck to free up $6bn in previously frozen assets to assist humanitarian causes in Iran. The complex deal was announced by the Biden administration in September as part of the agreement to release five US citizens detained in Iran. As part of the deal, roughly $6bn in frozen Iranian assets that were being held in South Korea were transferred to an account in Doha, Qatar. Administration officials have insisted the money has not yet been spent and is now being held in a restricted account in Doha – but in the wake of the Hamas attacks on Israel over the weekend, Republicans including Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Tim Scott and JD Vance have claimed the money may have been linked to the attacks. In response to Biden administration claims the money can only be used for humanitarian purposes, conservatives have responded that the money is “fungible”, meaning Iran could take advantage of the $6bn by reallocating or moving around other funds. “For all those focused on ‘fungible’ perhaps this is something to be considered,” General Hertling, the former commander of US troops in Europe and an outspoken critic of Mr Trump, tweeted. Iran provides some $100m a year to Palestinian armed groups, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, according to the US State Department. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis accused Joe Biden of “policies that have gone easy on Iran” and have “helped to fill their coffers.” In a video statement, he said: “Israel is now paying the price for those policies. We’re going to stand with the State of Israel, they need to root out Hamas and we need to stand up to Iran.” Meanwhile, South Carolina Senator and GOP presidential hopeful Tim Scott alleged the attack was “the Biden $6bn ransom payment at work.” “We didn’t just invite this aggression, we paid for it,” he said in a statement. Mr Trump also accused the Biden administration of funding the Hamas attack on Israel, falsely stating American taxpayer dollars helped fund these attacks. Senior Biden administration officials have stressed $6bn is not taxpayer money, and comes from payments made by South Korea to Iran to buy oil in recent years. Mr Trump also argued that, under president Biden, the US is perceived as being “weak and ineffective” on the global stage, thereby opening the door to hostility. “They didn’t have that level of aggression with me. They didn’t have it. This would have never happened with me either,” Mr Trump claimed, adding later in Cedar Rapids that Mr Biden had “betrayed Israel” with the deal. The White House insists the money is ringfenced for humanitarian purposes — such as food and medicine for Iranians — and handled by what the administration described as vetted non-Iranian vendors. Adrienne Watson, a spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council, said she could not directly address Republican criticism due to federal restrictions. “But I can clarify the facts: Not a single cent from these funds has been spent, and when it is spent, it can only be spent on things like food and medicine for the Iranian people,” she said on Saturday in a statement. “These funds have absolutely nothing to do with the horrific attacks today and this is not the time to spread disinformation.” Over the weekend, Hamas militants stormed into Israel, killing hundreds of people and taking dozens captive across the Gaza border. More than 700 people were killed, with at least nine Americans among the dead. Palestinian officials have said that more than 400 have been killed in retaliatory Israeli attacks on Gaza. Thousands more people are believed to be injured while the number of individuals taken hostage by Hamas is currently unclear. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately declared a state of war and promised “mighty vengeance” on Israel’s attackers. On Monday, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant ordered the “complete siege” of Gaza, saying authorities will cut electricity and block the entry of food and fuel. Meanwhile, sirens have sounded in both Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, with witnesses in the latter city hearing explosions that may have been from rocket impacts or from mid-air interceptions. Read More Israel-Hamas war live updates: ‘Complete siege’ on Gaza ordered as rocket explosions heard in Jerusalem Donald Trump 'handed Russia classified intelligence on Israel successfully hacking Isis computers' Families of Britons killed or held hostage in Israel-Hamas war share ‘indescribable pain’ The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

Rescue efforts are hampered by flooding, forcing locals to pull out bodies with their bare hands.

Watch live as Volodymyr Zelensky addresses the Nato Parliamentary Assembly’s plenary session on Monday 9 October. Last month, Mr Zelensky said it was only a “matter of time” before Ukraine becomes an official Nato member as he met the defence bloc’s chief in Kyiv. The Ukrainian president has pushed to join the alliance despite threats from Russia, and Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg reiterated in September that the bloc would stand with Kyiv as long as it takes. Monday marks the final day of the parliamentary session in Denmark, where 31 Nato member states have addressed key topics on the Euro-Atlantic defence and security agenda and assessed the outcomes and key decisions taken at July’s summit in Vilnius. Mr Zelensky will be speaking to the assembly via video link. Ahead of his address, parliamentarians from Nato countries on Sunday discussed the impact of the war in Ukraine on the energy sector and the importance of helping Kyiv to rebuild even before the fighting stops. Read More

Ukrainian forces have made small gains over the weekend along multiple points of the frontline as “heavy rain” threatens to slow down Kyiv’s counteroffensive. Geolocated images showed Ukrainian infantry roughly 300 metres north of Novoprokopivka, south of Robotyne, which is the deepest they have been seen inside Russian-occupied territory as part of that attack. This line has emerged as Ukraine’s main axis of the counteroffensive in the past month, though progress slowed after the liberation of Robotyne at the end of August. The Ukrainian General Staff also claimed on Sunday that Ukrainian forces had achieved “partial success” near Bakhmut, though that remains unconfirmed. It comes as “heavy rain” was reported in both the Bakhmut and Zaporizhzhia, which is the region in which Robotyne is located. At the start of September, the-then top-ranking US military officer General Mark Milley said he believed Ukraine had about “30 to 45 days' worth of fighting weather left”. One Russian military blogger claimed that “weather conditions have deteriorated very much” in the past few weeks, adding that there were “no significant enemy movements … due to poor visibility”. Ukrainian eastern group of forces spokesperson Captain Ilya Yevlash admitted that the poor weather, and the subsequent low visibility, may affect drone and aviation but it will not halt the counteroffensive, according to comments published by the Institute for the Study of War. Read More Ukraine village reels after deadly missile strike: ‘Everything was burning’ Precision missile strike on cafe hosting soldier's wake decimates Ukrainian village Russia plans to reverse global nuclear test ban, announces envoy

The North Korea-Russia border is seeing a sharp increase in rail traffic in likely signs of Kim Jong-un helping Russian president Vladimir Putin by supplying munitions, a US think-tank claimed, citing recent satellite photos. Satellite images from 5 October showed a “dramatic and unprecedented level of freight railcar traffic” at the Tumangang Rail Facility, according to Beyond Parallel, a website run by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. Approximately 73 railcars were visible in the images from last week, whereas previous satellite pictures over the past five years showed about 20 railcars at this facility at the most. It was not immediately clear what the contents of the railway shipments were as the shipping crates were covered under tarpaulin. This was likely a follow-up action after the North Korean leader met with his Russian counterpart in Russia’s far east last month, according to Beyond Parallel. “Given that Kim and Putin discussed some military exchanges and cooperation at their recent summit, the dramatic increase in rail traffic likely indicates North Korea’s supply of arms and munitions to Russia,” it said on Friday. “However, the extensive use of tarps to cover the shipping crates/containers and equipment makes it impossible to conclusively identify what is seen at the Tumangang Rail Facility" on the border, it said. This comes at a time leaders and experts have warned against North Korea’s plan to assist Russia’s depleting munition reserves in its continuing invasion of Ukraine. As Mr Kim met Mr Putin in Russia and visited key military sites and discussed strategic cooperation on defence, leaders speculated that North Korea could aid Moscow. The North Korean leader could have sought sophisticated Russian weapons technologies to boost his nuclear programme in barter for the munition, foreign leaders said. Officials in the US and South Korea warned North and Russia of consequences if they went ahead with the speculated weapons transfer deal in violation of the UN Security Council resolutions that ban all weapons trade involving Pyongyang which is under heavy sanctions for its nuclear weapons programme. The White House has said Russia wants to buy "literally millions" of artillery shells and rockets from North Korea. The reports of North Korea aiding Russia in invading Ukraine emerged last year when the US said the hermit kingdom was sending ammunition, artillery shells and rockets to Russia, with many of them copies of Soviet-era munitions. Officials in South Korea said the weapons provided by the North have already been used in Ukraine. “While access to such stocks of North may help Russia prolong the conflict, it is unlikely going to change the outcome,” according to Joseph Dempsey, a defence researcher at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. “The size of these stores and its degradation over time is less clear, as is the scale of ongoing production, but these stockpiles could help replenish those severely depleted in Ukraine,” he said. Read More North Korea vows strong response to Pentagon report that calls it a 'persistent' threat North Korea's Kim sets forth steps to boost Russia ties as US and Seoul warn about weapons deals North Korea says Kim Jong Un is back home from Russia, where he deepened 'comradely' ties with Putin North Korean state media says Kim Jong Un discussed arms cooperation with Russian defense minister North Korean arms for Russia probably wouldn't make a big difference in the Ukraine war, Milley says

Ukrainian forces beat attacks on five points across the war frontline on Sunday as Russia’s troops resorted to using old weapons and equipment while shelling the frontline, military officials said in the latest update from the battlefield. At least two people were killed and a dozen more injured in Russia’s shelling of the southern Kherson region. The attacks were repelled in five areas of the eastern front – Kupiansk, Bakhmut, Lyman, Avdiivka, and Marinka – along the 1,000km-long (600mile) front, the general staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in its evening report. A total of 33 skirmishes were recorded during the day by Ukraine, the battlefield update added. Russian forces also mounted six air attacks and 20 strikes from multiple-launch rocket systems (MLRS), inflicting casualties among military personnel and the civilian population, the general staff said, calling the situation difficult. Russia has scaled up its presence in the eastern hotspot of the conflict and deployed its reserves north of Bakhmut to stop Ukraine’s advancing counteroffensive in Donetsk oblast, the spokesperson for the Eastern Group of Forces Illia Yevlash said on Saturday. He confirmed a total of 774 Russian strikes on the Kupiansk and Lyman direction which had seen intense fighting in the past week. The eastern and southern parts of Ukraine have seen the majority of Russia’s offensive in the continuing invasion since February and have now become the two key theatres of Kyiv’s counteroffensive. In southern Ukraine, troops have been repelling Russian forces in an inch-by-inch fight by capturing clusters of villages as they pushed toward the Sea of Azov to cut Vladimir Putin’s access to a land bridge created by Russian forces controlling the areas of south and east. Russian troops have now started using older weaponry – howitzers and cannons – in an evidence that Ukrainian forces had been successful in knocking out enemy equipment, spokesperson for troops in the south Oleksandr Shtupun told national television. "Sadly, the Russians have plenty of equipment," he said. Top military officials said Russia was continuing to mass its reserves. "Our troops are performing their assignments with the aim of proceeding with our advance,” general Oleksandr Syrskyi, head of Ukraine’s ground forces, said. He had met troops and commanders engaged in offensive operations near Bakhmut which was taken by Russian forces in May after months of battles. Read More Ukraine-Russia war – live: Putin inflicts ‘terrible’ shelling as Kyiv warn of record drone attacks Days after deadly missile strike on Ukrainian cafe, grief and a search for answers ‘You can still smell the blood’: Inside the village where more than 50 were killed by a Russian missile Footage from inside Kharkiv apartment captures aftermath of deadly strike What are Russia’s Iskander missiles? The weapon which killed 52 following funeral near Kharkiv

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Vladimir Putin has stepped up air attacks in the war with Ukraine with one of his latest assaults injuring a dozen people, including a baby - as Ukraine’s air force warned of a record number of Russian drone attacks on its soil this winter. The assault was on the city of Kherson in southern Ukraine, which was taken by Ukraine in November last year. However, the city remains within firing range of the Russians, which shelled the settlement on Saturday night. The attack hit civilian infrastructure, damaging residential buildings, household facilities, cars, and gas pipelines. Among those injured was a 27-year-old woman and her nine-month-old daughter. Over the past 24 hours, Russian forces carried out 59 attacks on Kherson provence, the region’s administration said on Telegram, including 19 instances of shelling of Kherson city. “The Kherson region experienced another terrible night,” Governor Oleksandr Prokudin wrote. The assault came just days after a missile attack on the village of Hroza, in the Kharkiv region, killing 52 people. Over the weekend, people were pictured remembering those who lost their lives. Read More Ukraine village reels after deadly missile strike: ‘Everything was burning’ Precision missile strike on cafe hosting soldier's wake decimates Ukrainian village Russia plans to reverse global nuclear test ban, announces envoy

Mike Pence led the charge for the foreign interventionist wing of the 2024 Republican primary against their isolationist rivals this weekend as new hostilities erupted between Israel and the Hamas militants of the occupied Gaza Strip. It was a banner weekend for that wing of the GOP, whose members among the 2024 primary field spent their hours one-upping each other with rhetoric endorsing an unmitigated Israeli response against the Palestinian militant group that launched attacks across the country. Mr Pence made his remarks in Iowa, where he is battling for a surprise victory (or at least a decent-enough showing) in the first-in-the-nation caucuses. Calling out Donald Trump, Vivek Ramaswamy and Ron DeSantis by name, he accused them of supporting America’s retreat from a global military, diplomatic and economic footprint he argued was previously responsible for tamping down on unrest around the world. His rebuke, he said, was directed at “voices of appeasement like Donald Trump, Vivek Ramaswamy and Ron DeSantis that I believe have run contrary to the tradition in our party that America is the leader of the free world.” “This is ... what happens when you have leaders in the Republican Party signaling retreat on the world stage,” charged the former vice president. A response was issued by Donald Trump Jr, who tweeted: “You’re the embodiment of the kind of weakness that led to this. You should have paid attention when you were groveling at the feet of the master. Trump brought peace because the world knew — F around and find out! We’ll never return to the failed approach of you and your uniparty fools.” Mr Pence also faulted President Joe Biden for supposedly continuing that “retreat”, as others in the hawkish wing have done, and blamed the incumbent president for not projecting the strength that would supposedly have warned Vladimir Putin off of ordering the invasion of Ukraine. Those sentiments were repeated by other figures representing the “establishment politics” wing of the Republican Party, namely Tim Scott and Nikki Haley. The former accused Mr Biden of being “complicit” in the Hamas attacks on Israeli police, military and civilian targets over the weekend. Such rhetoric used to be frowned upon in Washington. In the modern Republican Party, accusing one’s political rivals of being in bed with terrorists is no longer a rarity, but a feature of the typical GOP politician. The Biden administration and its allies have taken notice. Chris Murphy, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, rebuked Republican senator Rick Scott after a similar posting, writing: “For too many Republicans, their hatred of Democrats is their only organizing prism. Even on a day like today all they can do is attack. Senator Scott’s social media is mostly attacks on Biden instead of support for Israel. There are times for politics. There are times for unity.” Ms Haley drew her own accusations of bloodthirst from the left after she tweeted at Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, urging him to “finish them” — referring to Hamas militants. The Palestinian militant group is accused of deliberately killing hundreds of civilians over the weekend and taking others hostage; both actions are considered war crimes under international law. The scope and scale of Israel’s response has drawn similar accusations from supporters of the end of Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank. Donald Trump, meanwhile, focused his criticism on Joe Biden over the weekend — a sign that he continues to view the Republican primary as largely decided. “THE HORRIBLE ATTACK ON ISRAEL, MUCH LIKE THE ATTACK ON UKRAINE, WOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED IF I WERE PRESIDENT - ZERO CHANCE!” wrote Mr Trump in a Sunday-morning Truth Social post. Read More White House official accuses GOP senator JD Vance of ‘shameful lies’ after he blamed Biden for Hamas attack Biden says the US ‘stands with Israel’ in TV address as he condemns ‘appalling terrorist attacks’ by Hamas Would a Speaker Jim Jordan doom the House GOP majority? Mike Pence says he is 'deeply disappointed' in vote to oust Kevin McCarthy as House speaker Former VP Pence to talk national security and foreign policy at AP-Georgetown University forum Here's where all the cases against Trump stand as he campaigns for a return to the White House

Elon Musk pleaded with X users on Sunday to try and stick to the facts, as the site and its billionaire owner come under heavy criticism for the spread of false information regarding the Israel-Hamas war. “As always, please try stay as close to the truth as possible, even for stuff you don’t like,” Mr Musk wrote on X. “This platform aspires to maximize signal/noise of the human collective.” Critics have been hammering Mr Musk for the proliferation of fake news on the site, arguing his attempts to loosen the reins on its content moderation have allowed bad actors and dubious sources to flourish. “This site is a cesspool of disinformation,” former Obama administration official and podcaster Tommy Vietor wrote on X in response to Mr Musk’s plea. “You have made it exponentially worse, and just this morning you recommended an account known to spread lies and antisemitism. Other than that, great job.” “This site is worse than useless during a breaking news story,” Aaron Kleinman, of the States Project political advocacy group, wrote recently in response to a thread collecting false information about the war in Israel and Gaza. “Actively harmful. Don’t log in if you want to be informed.” Dubious news stories have spread far and wide on the site formerly known as Twitter since the outbreak of war in Israel yesterday. A widely seen video, purporting to show a Hamas militant shooting down an Israeli helicopter, was really a clip from a video game, BBC Verify’s Shayan Sardarizadeh reports. A Taliban spokesperson had to set the record straight after a false claim spread on social media that the group was seeking to join in the conflict, Pakistan bureau chief for WIONews Anas Mallick reports. And a widely shared clip of Israel reportedly bombing a Gazan office tower really was from fighting that occured in 2021. Critics of X allege that policy changes under Mr Musk have allowed such false information to spread more easily. Since taking over, Mr Musk has disbanded Twitter’s trust and safety team, reinstated (and at times vocally endorsed the content of) known extremists and far-right commentators, removed labels noting accounts associated with foreign governments, and allowed paid access to the verification feature, a designation on Twitter previously reserved for heads of states, celebrities, journalists, and other high-profile individuals who could see their credibility abused by imitators. The Independent has contacted X for comment. Read More Israel-Palestine conflict live: Fierce gun battles rage with Hamas militants as ‘over 700 Israelis killed’ Israel suffers bloodiest day in decades as fierce gunfights rage in streets against Hamas militants US regulators seek to compel Elon Musk to testify in their investigation of his Twitter acquisition