Serbia storm kills woman as tornado devastates Iowa town

It happened while you were sleeping. Here's what global agencies recorded on the night from Tuesday to Wednesday.

As a result of a storm that hit Serbia on Tuesday, a woman died. A state of emergency was declared in the southern part of the country. According to local media, In neighbouring Croatia, strong winds uprooted trees on the same day. A resident of Sombor, located in northern Serbia, died in her car when a tree, uprooted by hurricane-force winds, fell on it, reported Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic. Overnight, the storm and heavy rain reached the Serbian capital, Belgrade. Some cities experienced power outages due to the worsening weather. Water also cut off some rural roads around the city. A rapid worsening of weather conditions also occurred on Tuesday in neighbouring Croatia. According to N1 television, hurricane-force winds uprooted trees. In parts of the country, hail also fell.

In Nigeria, in a mining village in Plateau State, bandits shot and killed 40 people. Several dozen bandits on motorcycles rode into the town of Zurak and opened chaotic fire on the mining community living there. At least 40 people were killed, reported Musa Ibrahim Ashoms, Plateau State Commissioner for Information, on Tuesday.

As part of Operation "Narkoçelik-18" in Turkey, over a tonne of drugs were confiscated. According to the Turkish agency Anadolu, among the seized substances were 218,000 tablets containing illicit narcotic substances. The large-scale anti-drug operation was conducted in 17 Turkish provinces. 272 drug dealers were caught.

A powerful tornado swept through a small town in Iowa, killing many people and injuring at least a dozen. "This tornado devastated a significant part of the town. We can confirm that the tornado caused many fatalities," said Sergeant Alex Dinkla, spokesman for the Iowa State Patrol. Authorities have not provided a death toll. Information on the extent of the losses is expected on Wednesday. Meanwhile, it is known that at least a dozen people in Greenfield, a town with about 2,000 residents, were injured as a result of the tornado. The storm damaged the local hospital, and patients had to be moved to facilities in nearby towns.

Two Royal Australian Air Force planes landed late Tuesday evening in Brisbane. Onboard were 108 Australians and tourists from other countries who were stranded due to the closure of the international airport on French Pacific territory. The evacuation was due to riots in New Caledonia. Eighty-four police officers and gendarmes were injured, and over 280 rioters were arrested. A state of emergency remains in place, which includes a curfew and a ban on gatherings and alcohol sales.