A Russian hiker has been mauled in a bear attack in Okutama, a mountainous town west of Tokyo, becoming the latest victim of intensifying human-animal conflict in Japan.
Authorities said the man, reported to be in his 30s but not named, sustained serious injuries to his arm and face. He remained conscious and was airlifted to a local hospital.
According to local media, emergency services received a call reporting the incident at around noon on Sunday.
The man had been hiking alone when he came across the bear. He was not carrying a bear bell or other deterrent.
In the wake of the attack, police and local hunters searched the area but could not find the bear, Kyodo News reported.
South East Queensland is facing an intense weather event, with parts of the region recording more than 200 millimetres of rainfall over a 48-hour period. A 4000-kilometre northwest cloud band, stretching from Darwin to past Melbourne, has merged with an offshore surface trough to trigger the relentless downpours along the east coast.
Gold Coast Hinterland and Coast Saturated
The Gold Coast has experienced some of the highest precipitation totals since Sunday morning, with weather stations logging upwards of 175 millimetres across two days. Natural Bridge recorded a staggering 214 millimetres. The persistent wet weather carried through Monday, bringing substantial rainfall to the hinterland. Since 9am Monday, Mount Tamborine recorded 84 millimetres, Numinbah saw 86 millimetres, and Clearview took the brunt of the downpour with 104 millimetres over just six hours leading up to 3pm.
In the Brisbane region, Geebung and Holland Park West emerged as some of the hardest-hit suburbs, both collecting more than 50 millimetres of rain within a six-hour window on Monday.
A strong tornado was reported in central-eastern Nebraska, damaging homes in a mostly rural area, according to preliminary reports.
The National Weather Service (NWS) office in Hastings, Nebraska, issued a Particularly Dangerous Situation (PDS) tornado warning for parts of Howard, Merrick and Nance counties at 6:08 p.m. local time on Sunday.
The tornado was seen between the communities of Saint Libory and Palmer before lifting, according to storm chasers who captured video of the storm as it moved through the area.
Some homes were damaged, with several appearing to have partially collapsed. Storm chaser Sarah Kassabian reported that at least two people were trapped in the basement of a home, though she said they appeared to be okay.
Officials have not released information on possible injuries or the number of structures damaged.
The NWS had previously issued an outlook placing parts of Nebraska and Iowa under an enhanced risk for severe storms, a level 3 out of 5, warning that supercells capable of producing strong tornadoes were possible.
A 67-year-old hiker has died after being attacked by a herd of cows in Austria, authorities said, in the latest fatal incident involving livestock in the Alps.
The woman was attacked by what police described as a "mid-double-digit number" of cows in a pasture in the alpine district of Lienz in East Tyrol on Sunday afternoon. Her 65-year-old husband was also seriously injured.
Authorities said the reasons for the animals' aggressive behaviour remain unclear. The couple were not accompanied by a dog at the time, police said.
Cows sometimes react to the approach of dogs - particularly when they want to protect their calves - by attacking the animal. In light of such incidents, authorities and farmers repeatedly advise caution when hiking in Alpine regions.
In September 2025, an 85-year-old man died following a cow attack when he was out walking with his wife and a dog when he was attacked by a herd of cows in the Ramsau am Dachstein area of the Austrian Alps.
A brown bear killed a man in the Vitosha mountains near Bulgaria's capital, Sofia, in the country's first fatal bear attack in sixteen years, police said on Sunday.
The body of the man, reported by Bulgarian media to be in his 30s, was found on Saturday near a trail linking two mountain huts in the northwestern part of the Vitosha massif, a popular hiking destination about 30 minutes from central Sofia.
Forensic experts and wildlife specialists concluded that the injuries were caused by a female bear accompanied by a cub, according to Sofia police.
Witnesses cited in Bulgarian media said the man tried to fend off the animal with a stick but was unable to stop the attack.
Severe flooding today after torrential rainfall in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.
Intense rainfall and thunderstorms have affected various regions of Azerbaijan as of 10:55 AM on May 17, with precipitation levels in the capital significantly exceeding seasonal norms. According to the Operative Information Center-OMM, the National Hydrometeorological Service has issued warnings regarding the ongoing unstable weather conditions across the country.
In Baku and the Absheron Peninsula, rainfall has reached between 40-55 mm, representing 203-279% of the monthly average for May. The National Hydrometeorological Service reported that the unstable weather has also brought snow to the high-altitude areas of Shahdag, where the snow depth has reached 5 centimeters. Meanwhile, hail was recorded in the Qubadli district villages of Qezyan and Mahrizli, as well as in the city of Aghsu, with diameters ranging from 3 mm to 11 mm.
A 5.2 magnitude earthquake struck south China's Guangxi region early Monday, killing two people, toppling buildings and triggering the evacuations of thousands, state media reported.
Four others were injured, while more than 7,000 residents were evacuated from Liuzhou city.
The search for several missing residents wrapped up around midday Monday, after the last trapped person, a 91-year-old man, was found alive in good condition, authorities said.
Images aired by state broadcaster CCTV showed excavators clearing debris. At least 13 buildings collapsed, while landslides triggered by the quake blocked roads to the area, according to CCTV.
Train services around Liuzhou were cancelled or delayed.
Earthquakes occasionally strike south China, with more intense ones usually occurring toward the mountainous west or the east, toward Taiwan.
The most devastating recent earthquake with a magnitude of 7.9 occurred in the southwestern Sichuan province in 2008, leaving more than 87,000 dead or missing.
The earth was covered in a blanket of white snow, with distant mountains blanketed in pristine white, creating a unique and beautiful scene of "snow in May."
Abnormal weather in China, with blizzards in May!
A sudden and severe blizzard hit Hami, Xinjiang, with snowfall accumulating by 35 millimeters overnight!
A red blizzard warning was issued for Zheduo Mountain in Sichuan, paralyzing the entire highway to Tibet and leaving countless people stranded!
Morocco has experienced an unusual spell of wintry weather in mid-May, with thunderstorms and snowfall striking several mountainous regions at a time when temperatures typically begin shifting toward summer conditions.
Houcine Youabed, communications officer at Morocco's General Directorate of Meteorology, said the unstable weather pattern was caused by a low-pressure system accompanied by a cold upper-air mass positioned over the western Mediterranean and northern Morocco.
The atmospheric conditions triggered a noticeable drop in temperatures, particularly in the High and Middle Atlas mountain ranges, leading to snowfall at elevations above 2,000 meters.
According to the meteorological agency, the cold air interacting with humid Atlantic currents created active storm clouds that produced localized thunderstorms and snow.
