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Kathmandu, Nepal — Rescuers pulled out survivors caked in dark brown mud and helicopters lifted stranded people to safety Friday as Nepal and China raced to respond after catastrophic flash floods and landslides killed almost 600 people and left roughly 2,500 missing. Nepali and Chinese authorities warned of further risk of flooding from a new lake that has formed upstream following Wednesday's disaster, telling people in the potentially affected areas to move to safer ground.

Follow King Harald of Norway dies in hospital aged 89 Fri, August 28, 2026 at 6:29 AM EDT Thousands of people gathered to pay their respect and leave flowers in Palace Square in the center of Oslo on Friday after the passing of King Harald V earlier. Photo by Thomas Andersen/Pool/EPA Aug. 28 (UPI) -- King Harald V of Norway died early Friday in an Oslo hospital where he was undergoing treatment for a rare blood disorder. He was 89 years old.

Norway's King Harald V has died at the age of 89, after he was taken to hospital last week for treatment for a rare blood condition. The palace in Oslo said he passed away peacefully at 06:35 local time (04:35 GMT) on Friday at the national hospital in Oslo. The royal flag on the roof of the palace has been lowered to half-mast, and a period of national mourning has been declared leading up to the day of his funeral. Crowds of mourners have streamed to the royal palace to lay flowers and flags.

The moon turned a deep red overnight. See the near-total lunar eclipse in 17 breathtaking photos. The eclipse covered 96% of the moon's surface at its peak, leaving only a small portion brightly lit. The partial lunar eclipse over Pegwell Bay in Ramsgate, England. Fri, August 28, 2026 at 5:22 AM EDT Skywatchers across much of the U.S. got a look at a near-total lunar eclipse overnight Thursday into Friday, as the Earth's shadow covered almost all of the moon's surface.

China is ramping up pressure on Taiwan, with Beijing sending a record number of government vessels to waters around the island last month, according to figures provided by Taiwan's coast guard. The 244 sightings of Chinese government vessels – ships belonging to the China Coast Guard, scientific research agencies and others – was more than four times the number seen in July 2025, Taiwan's coast guard said. That amounts to about eight ships a day, the official figures show.

King Harald V of Norway, Europe's oldest monarch, has died at the age of 89, after 35 years on the throne. He died on Friday just after 6:35am, the Royal House of Norway announced on its website. Harald is succeeded as monarch by his son Haakon. He leaves his wife of 57 years, Queen Sonja, two children, and five grandchildren. His granddaughter Ingrid Alexandra now becomes heir to the Norwegian throne. Harald's death comes at a challenging time for Norway's royal clan.

Already harrowing rescue efforts along the China-Nepal border are being complicated by the risk of new flooding or landslides, with authorities in China and Nepal pausing rescue efforts Friday due to those fears. A barrier lake – holding enough water to fill an estimated 1,000 Olympic swimming pools – began overflowing on the China-Nepal border, where it formed after a powerful landslide and torrential flooding devastated the area on Wednesday.

STAVANGER, Norway (AP) — King Harald V of Norway, who went into exile in the United States as a child during the Nazi occupation of his homeland and refused a string of potential brides from the European nobility so he could marry his school sweetheart, died Friday. He was 89. The palace said he died at the National Hospital in Oslo at 6:35 a.m. Harald was Europe's oldest monarch.

King Harald V of Norway has died aged 89. The monarch died "peacefully" at Oslo University Hospital at about 6.35am on Friday, the Norwegian royal family said. King Harald, who was Europe's oldest reigning monarch, had been in hospital since Aug 17 with haemolytic anaemia, which is caused by the rapid destruction of red blood cells. The royal palace said the King was in an "extremely serious" condition on Thursday without providing further details.

By Saurabh Sharma and Gopal Sharma NUWAKOT, Nepal, Aug 28 (Reuters) - A lake formed by a landslide on the Nepal-China border started to overflow on Friday, putting at risk areas devastated by a flash flood two days ago and forcing a temporary halt to rescue efforts, authorities on both sides said. Residents in Nepal's Rasuwa district, on the border with China's Tibet, ‌were seen rushing up hillsides to escape any surge in the river level, according to a Reuters witness.