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JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A massive avalanche of garbage at Indonesia's largest landfill killed at least five people and left several others missing after heavy overnight rain triggered a rubbish dump collapse, officials said Monday.

Indonesia Landfill Collapse

More than 300 search-and-rescue personnel, using heavy machinery and sniffer dogs, were deployed to the sprawling dump site late Sunday at the Bantargebang Integrated Waste Treatment Facility in Bekasi, a city just outside the capital of Jakarta. Rescuers worked cautiously amid unstable heaps of waste, said Desiana Kartika Bahari, who heads Jakarta's Search and Rescue Office.

She said the victims included two garbage truck drivers and two food stall sellers who had been working or resting near the landfill, while four people managed to escape the disaster. Rescuers, including police, soldiers and volunteers, were still searching for at least three people reported missing, Bahari said.

"We had not ruled out the possibility of more victims," she said, "We are still gathering data to confirm how many vehicles and workers were caught beneath the debris."

Photos and videos released by the National Search and Rescue Agency showed excavators digging through the collapsed mound, where several garbage trucks and small food stalls were buried.

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The National Disaster Management Agency's spokesperson, Abdul Muhari, urged strict safety protocols during the ongoing search, noting that weather forecasts for the next two days indicate potential rain across Jakarta and its nearby satellite cities.

He warned that the unstable collapsed material could trigger additional ground movement, putting rescue teams at further risk.

Sunday's deadly collapse renewed scrutiny of Bantargebang, a critical but overwhelmed landfill that receives most of Greater Jakarta's daily household waste. The site has faced repeated warnings about capacity, prompting national efforts to overhaul Indonesia's waste management system.

In January, asimilar collapse of garbageand debris buried or trapped workers in low-slung buildings at a landfill in the Philippines, killing at least four people, injuring a dozen and leaving more than 30 others missing.

In 2005, 31 people were killed and dozens went missing after a 7 meters (23 feet) rubbish dump collapsed following heavy rain, triggering a landslide that buried or damaged 60 houses in two West Java villages near the Indonesian city of Bandung.

Late last year, the government announced a two-year deadline to clear Bantargebang through an accelerated waste-to-energy project aimed at reducing chronic over reliance on open dumping. The initiative, backed by a new presidential regulation intended to streamline licensing and encourage investment, calls for converting refuse into electrical or thermal energy.

NAIROBI, March 9 (Reuters) - The death toll from heavy rains and flooding in Kenya's capital Nairobi and ‌elsewhere has nearly doubled to 42, the government ‌said in a statement issued late on Sunday.

Intense rains on Friday unleashed ​heavy and widespread flooding, causing some people to drown, washing away vehicles and disrupting traffic at the country's largest airport.

The previous death toll was 23.

Emergency workers from various agencies ‌including the military were ⁠still conducting search and rescue operations across the country, Geoffrey Kiringa Ruku, minister for public ⁠service and human capital development said in the statement.

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"Search mission is still in progress by the multi agency emergency ​response teams ​with the aim of ensuring ​that bodies of all ‌the flood victims are found and retrieved," he said.

The floods had also done extensive damage to infrastructure and livelihoods. But 172 vehicles that had been swept away by flood waters have been recovered.

On Saturday, President William Ruto said ‌he had ordered relief food from the ​country's national strategic reserves be ​immediately released for distribution ​to families affected by the floods.

Scientists say ‌global warming is worsening floods ​and droughts across ​East Africa by concentrating rainfall into shorter, more intense bursts. A 2024 World Weather Attribution study found climate ​change had ‌made devastating rains in the region twice as likely ​as before.

(Reporting by Humphrey Malalo; Writing by Elias ​Biryabarema; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Bahrain's state oil company declared force majeure on Monday for its shipments after an Iranian attack set its refinery ablaze.

Iran

The state-run Bahrain News Agency carried the announcement of the force majeure, a legal maneuver that releases a company of its contractual obligations because of extraordinary circumstances.

It said the company's operations "have been affected by the ongoing regional conflict in the Middle East and the recent attack on its refinery complex."

It insisted that local demand could still be met.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP's earlier story follows below.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) —Mojtaba Khamenei,a son of Iran's late supreme leader, was named Monday as the Islamic Republic's next ruler, putting a hard-line cleric in charge as the war spreading across the Mideast sent oil prices skyrocketing with Iran launching new attacks on regional energy infrastructure.

With Iran's theocracy under assault by the U.S. and Israel for more than a week, the country's Assembly of Experts chose the secretive, 56-year-old cleric with close ties to the country's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard as the new supreme leader. The Guard has been firing missiles and drones at Israel and Gulf Arab states since the younger Khamenei's father,Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed Feb. 28 during the war's opening salvo.

Iran's stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz has also all but stopped tankers from using the shipping lane between the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman through which a fifth of the world's oil is carried. Brent crude oil, the international standard,surged to more than $114 a barrelon Monday, some 60% higher than when Israel and the United States first attacked Iran.

As global concerns grew over economic effect, U.S. President Donald Trump downplayed the spike in prices as temporary.

"Short term oil prices, which will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over, is a very small price to pay for U.S.A., and World, Safety and Peace," Trump wrote on social media.

Iran has been firing on Israel and American bases in the region since the start of the war, but has also been launching missiles and drones at energy and water infrastructure.

On Monday, a fire broke out at an oil facility that was attacked in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted several drones attacking the Shaybah oil field.

Israel, meantime, said it was launching new airstrikes on central Iran.

New Iranian leader seen as even more hard-line than his father

The younger Khamenei, who had not been seen or heard from publicly since the war started, had long been considered a potential successor. That was even before the Israeli strike killed his father, and despite never being elected or appointed to a government position.

There appeared to be some dissension over his selection. Political figures within Iran criticized the idea of handing over the supreme leader's title based on heredity and thereby creating a clerical version of the rule of the shah, who was toppled during the 1979 Islamic Revolution. But top clerics in the Assembly of Experts likely wanted Khamenei to prosecute the war.

Khamenei, who is believed to hold views that are even more hard-line than his late father, now will be in charge of Iran's armed forces and any decision regarding Tehran's nuclear program.

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While the country's key nuclear sites are in tatters after the United States bombed them during the 12-day Israel-Iran war in June, there's still highly enriched uranium in Iran that's a technical step away from weapons-grade levels. Khamenei could choose to do what his father never did — build a nuclear bomb.

Israel has already described him as a potential target, while Trump had called him "unacceptable."

"We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran," Trump had said.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard issued a statement expressing support, as did the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

Top Iranian security official Ali Larijani, speaking to Iranian state television, praised the Assembly of Experts for "courageously" convening even as airstrikes continued in Tehran. He said the younger Khamenei had been trained by his father and "can handle this situation."

Regional anger grows as attacks continue on energy infrastructure and oil prices spike

Saudi Arabia lashed out at Iran following a thwarted drone attack on its massive Shaybah oil field, saying Tehran would be the "biggest loser" if it continues to attack Arab states.

The Foreign Ministry said Iranian attacks mean "further escalation which will have grave impact on the relations, currently and in the future."

In addition to targeting energy facilities also in the UAE, Iran on Monday also attacked Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain, where it hit a residential area wounding 32 people, including several children, according to authorities.

Bahrain has also accused Iran of damaging one of its desalination plants, though its electricity and water authority said supplies remained online.Desalination plantssupply water to millions of residents in the region and thousands of stranded travelers, raising new fears of catastrophic risks in parched desert nations.

In Iraq, air defenses show down a drone as it attacked a U.S. military compound inside the Baghdad International Airport, a security source told the AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.

There were no reported injuries or damage and it was not immediately clear who was behind the attack, but Pro-Iranian Iraqi militias have previously targeted the base.

Elsewhere, the U.S. military had said a service member died of injuries from an Iranian attack on troops in Saudi Arabia on March 1. Seven U.S. soldiers have now been killed.

The U.S. State Department early Monday ordered nonessential personnel and families of all staff to leave Saudi Arabia following the escalation in attacks.

Eight other U.S. diplomatic missions have ordered all but key staff to leave: Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and the consulate in Karachi, Pakistan.

The war has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, at least 397 in Lebanon and at least 11 in Israel, according to officials. Israel reported its first soldier deaths Sunday, saying two were killed in southern Lebanon, where its military is fighting Hezbollah.

Rising reported from Bangkok and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press journalists Sam Metz in Ramallah, West Bank, Aamer Madhani in Doral, Florida, and Qassem Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad contributed reporting.

BEIRUT (AP) — The human rights group Human Rights Watch said in a report Monday that the Israeli military "unlawfully" hit a village in southern Lebanon with shells containing white phosphorus, a controversial incendiary munition.

Through geolocating and verifying seven images, Human Rights Watch said Israel fired white phosphorus using artillery at residential areas in the southern Lebanese village of Yohmor. It happened hours after the Israeli military warned the residents of the village and dozens of others in southern Lebanon to evacuate.

Human Rights Watch said it couldn't independently identify if any residents were still in the area or if anyone was harmed.

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Human rights advocates say the use of white phosphorus is illegal under international law when the white-hot chemical substance is fired into populated areas. It can set buildings on fire and burn human flesh down to the bone. Survivors are at risk of infections and organ or respiratory failure, even if their burns are small.

"The Israeli military's unlawful use of white phosphorus over residential areas is extremely alarming and will have dire consequences for civilians," said Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In the past, it has maintained that it uses white phosphorus as a smoke screen and not to target civilians.

Organizations like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said the munition was used in Israel's last war with Hezbollah, over a year ago, on numerous occasions in southern Lebanon while civilians were still present.

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron is traveling to Cyprus on Monday, days after dispatching a warship to the east Mediterranean island nation, where a Shahed drone struck a British air base on its southern coast last week duringthe Iran war.

France Defense

Macron ordered the French frigate Languedoc to waters off Cyprus to bolster the European Union member country's anti-drone and anti-missiles defenses. The French president also decided to send ground-based anti-drone and anti-missile defenses to the island, which sustained the first drone attack on European territory.

France's Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier is also expected to arrive in the Eastern Mediterranean in the coming days.

Macron will meet with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Prime Kyriakos Mitsotakis at Cyprus' main air base on its southwestern edge where four Greek air force F-16s have been deployed.

"Together with our European partners, the aim will be to strengthen security around Cyprus and in the Eastern Mediterranean," a statement from Macron's office said.

Macron has been deeply involved in diplomatic talks in recent days to try to avoid further escalation in the Middle East. On Sunday, he had talks with Iranian President Massoud Pezechkian and urged him to stop strikes.

Cyprus government spokesman Constantinos Letymbiotis on Sunday said that the three leaders would assess regional developments and the close coordination on preemptive measures that have been taken. Letymbiotis repeated Cyprus' gratitude for the leaders' quick response to the island's call for assistance.

Last week, Macron ordered France's nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to move from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean to help protect allied assets, citing the drone strike on Cyprus. He said that Cyprus was an EU member with which France has recently signed a strategic partnership.

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Greece's state-of-the-art Kimon and Psara frigates are already patrolling off Cyprus' southern coast. Warships from Italy, the Netherlands and Spain are expected in the coming days, while U.K. destroyer Dragon will arrive next week.

Despite the military buildup, the three leaders have urged against any expansion of the conflict. Christodoulides repeatedly has underscored that Cyprus won't take part in any military operation.

The Shahed drone caused minor damage to a hangar at the RAF Akrotiri air base minutes after midnight on March 2. No one was injured. Another two drones were intercepted by British Typhoon and F-35 warplanes that were scrambled from the air base shortly after midday that day.

Cyprus officials confirmed last week that the Shahed drone originated from Lebanon and speculation is that it was launched by the Hezbollah militant group, Iran's proxy in the country. Hezbollah's arsenal notably includes exploding drones, similar to the ones used by Iran.

Lebanon's foreign minister, Youssef Rajji, on Sunday condemned the drone attack.

"I called on our Cypriot friends not to confuse the Lebanese state with those acting outside its authority and legal framework," said Rajji, a staunch opponent of Hezbollah.

The Lebanese government has ordered its security agencies to crack down on non-state groups carrying out attacks.

Menelaos Hadjicostis reported from Nicosia, Cyprus. Kareem Chehayeb contributed to this report from Beirut.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Two teenagers mistakenly left a knapsack containing marijuana and cash at a donation area outside aNew Zealandcharity shop then returned in a panic to retrieve the bag, police said Monday.

A volunteer at the store noticed a pungent aroma before opening the knapsack and finding plastic bags of marijuana amounting to 43.2 grams (1.5 ounces) and 3,700 New Zealand dollars ($2,200) in banknotes, New Zealand Police said in a statement.

Using marijuana recreationally and selling the drug are illegal in New Zealand. Some medical use is allowed with a doctor's prescription.

Police said the episode happened Feb. 18 in the Southland region of the South Island. A spokesperson wouldn't give more details of the shop's location to protect staff.

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The boy and girl had left the knapsack outside the shop as they waited for their vehicle to be serviced at a nearby workshop, the police statement said. Officers were called after the agitated teens returned to the store.

Police found an air pistol — which those under 18 can't possess without a license and adult supervision — a police scanner and more cash in the teens' car. It's not illegal to have a police scanner in New Zealand, but distributing or acting on information heard is a crime.

Police didn't divulge details about any charges the arrested teens faced or if they had appeared in a court.

New Zealand has strict rules about what can be reported from cases before the Youth Court, where cases of alleged offenders younger than 17 are usually heard.

Iran launched more attacks on Israel and Gulf countries Monday, hours after Iranian state TV saidMojtaba Khamenei, son of the country's late supreme leader and long considered a contender,had been named his successor.

APTOPIX Iran US Israel

Iran's powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard answers to the supreme leader and the younger Khamenei will have a central say in the war strategy.

Oil prices skyrocketed Monday, leading to more worries that higher energy costs will fuel inflation and lead to less spending by U.S. consumers, the main engine of the economy. Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 index plunged as much as 7% in early Monday trading, whileother Asian markets also tumbled.

Saudi Arabia sharpened its warnings to Iran, telling Tehran Monday it would be the "biggest loser" if it continues to attack Arab states. The Saudi statement came after a new drone attack apparently targeted its massive Shaybah oil field.

Here is the latest:

China envoy urges end to fighting

A Chinese envoy to the Middle East has called on all sides to stop their military actions and said attacks on non-military targets and civilians should be condemned.

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Special Envoy Zhai Jun, meeting in Saudi Arabia with Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, said Sunday that the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of all Gulf countries must not be violated, a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement said.

China is a major importer of oil and natural gas from the region.

Zhai also met Jassim Mohammed al-Budaiwi, the secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Foreign Ministry said.

South Korea's president urges officials to diversify oil trade routes

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Monday warned that a steep rise in fuel prices could rattle the country's economy and called on officials to accelerate efforts to diversify fuel routes away from the Strait of Hormuz.

Lee spoke at a Cabinet meeting after the country's stock market opened with an 8% plunge, as concerns grew about how the spiraling war in the Middle East could affect an economy heavily dependent on trade and imported fuel.

Lee called on officials to aggressively use a 100 trillion won ($67 billion) market stabilization fund activated last week to reduce volatility in stock markets and strengthen monitoring of disruptive market activities, such as fuel price collusion or hoarding.

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said Seoul was also negotiating with Gulf states to find alternative trade routes to reduce reliance on the Strait of Hormuz, including the possible use of alternative ports in the UAE.