Briefly

TUNISIA

President Saied set to win second term

Exit polls showed that Tunisian President Kais Saied is expected to win the presidential election on Sunday, Tunisian State TV reported. According to the estimated results of a poll by Sigma Conseil, a Tunisian survey company, Saied won 89.2 percent of the vote. In a news briefing following the election, Farouk Bouaskar, president of the Independent High Authority for Elections, said the preliminary turnout in the presidential election reached 27.7 percent.

UNITED NATIONS

2023 the driest in 30 years for world's rivers

The UN weather agency is reporting that 2023 was the driest year in more than three decades for the world's rivers, as the record-hot year underpinned a drying up of water flows and contributed to prolonged droughts in some places. The World Meteorological Organization also says glaciers that feed rivers in many countries suffered the largest loss of mass in the last five decades, warning that ice melt can threaten long-term water security for millions of people globally.

UNITED STATES

Hurricane forces Florida's evacuations

Milton strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane on Monday over the southern Gulf of Mexico, on a path toward Florida population centers including Tampa and Orlando, threatening a storm surge in Tampa Bay and setting the stage for potential mass evacuations less than two weeks after a catastrophic Hurricane Helene swamped the coastline. Storm surge and hurricane watches were issued for Florida's Gulf Coast, and a hurricane warning was issued for Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.

Xinhua - Agencies