FRANCE – French Prime Minister François Bayrou believes dozens of people died when Cyclone Chido hit the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte on 14 December, rather than thousands as some have feared. Bayrou told BFMTV he thought the “alarmist and sometimes terrifying numbers put forward won’t be borne out in reality”. The confirmed death toll on Mayotte so far is 35 but, in the immediate aftermath of the cyclone, local prefect François-Xavier Bieuville feared that it would “definitely be several hundred” and could reach thousands.

The prefect told France Info radio on Tuesday that investigations in the field were progressing well that “allow us to think that we will corroborate this figure of 35”. Defending his initial remarks, Bieuville insisted “I have never been alarmist, I was simply unable to give the number of victims”. Officials said it had been difficult to determine the scale of fatalities in the wake of the disaster 10 days ago, due to many areas of Mayotte being inaccessible and the fact that victims were buried within 24 hours in accordance with Islamic customs.

There is also uncertainty about the true population of Mayotte, a French Indian Ocean territory. Officially it has 320,000 residents, but authorities estimate about 100,000 to 200,000 undocumented migrants may also be living there. “I think [the number of dead] will be in the dozens and not in the thousands,” the prime minister told BFMTV on Monday night. The archipelago is one of the poorest parts of France, with many of its residents living in shanty towns. Cyclone Chido was the worst storm to hit the territory in 90 years, bringing winds of up to 260 km/h (160mph) and flattening areas where people lived in shacks with metal roofs.

France held a day of national mourning in the wake of the cyclone on Monday. President Emmanuel Macron visited the territory last week, and was heckled by angry locals demanding more aid in devastated areas. Some survivors went for a week without water, communication or electricity. (BBC)

Photo: Many of Mayotte’s shanty towns lay in ruins after the cyclone hit. (Reuters)

UK – The UK motor industry is being consulted over how the phasing-out of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030 will work, the government has announced. The ban on sales of these vehicles had been extended to 2035 under the previous Conservative government but Labour said it would restore the 2030 deadline in its election manifesto.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander is now seeking views from automotive and charging experts to “restore clarity” on how to deliver the ban. Car industry leaders have warned drivers were not switching to electric vehicles at the rate needed to meet the deadline due to the cost of buying the cars privately and charging point infrastructure.

Last month, Ford said the UK government’s mandate to produce and sell more electric vehicles (EVs) “just doesn’t work” without demand. Lisa Brankin, Ford UK’s chair and managing director, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “The one thing that we really need is government-backed incentives to urgently boost the uptake of electric vehicles.”

The Department for Transport said the consultation would “restore clarity for vehicle manufacturers and the charging industry” so they “have the confidence to invest in the UK in the long term and drive growth in the UK automotive industry”.

The government said the consultation would be part of a “wider push” to make it easier and cheaper to charge electric cars. There are now more than 72,000 public charging points in the UK, with another 100,000 planned by local authorities across England, it said. EVs made up one in four cars sold in the UK, Alexander said. Edmund King, president of the AA, said drivers have been “hesitant about the transition but not hostile” but the consultation would bring more clarity and certainty. (BBC)

PARIS – The Parisian landmark attracts up to 25,000 visitors a day on average. Tourists have been evacuated on Tuesday from the iconic Paris landmark, the Eiffel Tower, after reports of a fire in one of its elevator shafts between the first and second floor. The fire has since been contained, according to Euronews’ sources. The tourist attraction and one of the world’s most famous towers is visited by an average of 15,000 to 25,000 visitors a day. (Euronews)

SOUTH KOREA – South Korea has become a “super-aged” society with one in five people aged 65 or older, official data showed Tuesday, underscoring the country’s deepening demographic crisis. The number of people aged 65 and older stands at 10.24 million, accounting for 20% of South Korea’s population of 51 million, according to new data released by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

The United Nations classifies countries with more than 7% of the population 65 or older as an “aging society,” those with over 14% as an “aged society” and those with more than 20% as a “super-aged” society. South Korea has been grappling with infamously low birth rates, dropping to just 0.72 in 2023, the world’s lowest, after years of decline.

Countries need a fertility rate of 2.1 to maintain a stable population, in the absence of immigration. According to the ministry’s latest data, about 22% of women in South Korea are aged 65 or older, while the proportion of men over that age is nearly 18%, the interior ministry said.

The data underscores the demographic time bomb that South Korea and other East Asian nations are facing as their societies age just a few decades after their rapid industrialization. Many European nations also face aging populations, but immigration helps them to mitigate the impact. Countries like South Korea, Japan and China, however, have shied away from mass immigration to tackle the decline in their working age populations. South Korean authorities have desperately sought to reverse the country’s demographic trend, with President Yoon Suk Yeol in May calling for parliament’s help to establish a new ministry to tackle what he called a “national emergency.” (CNN)

Photo: Commuters disembark from a train at a train station in Seoul. (Getty Images)

THAILAND – A British tourist has died after suffering a severe reaction to magic mushrooms while on holiday in Thailand, local media reports. The 25-year-old was enjoying a Christmas break with his girlfriend when he allegedly bought the hallucinogenic drug from a shop in Chiang Mai. He reportedly had a horrific instant reaction to the mushrooms and died soon after. Medics arrived at the luxury resort where he was staying and questioned his partner, who admitted they had bought the items over the counter from a nearby cannabis shop called The Glory Days. Officers today raided the shop and arrested the owner on suspicion of selling category 5 narcotics. Police allegedly found sacks containing 7kg of magic mushrooms in the store room. Police Major General Worapong Khamluea, Commander of the Investigation Division, said: “The tourist had been taking pictures at the Tha Pae Gate, a famous landmark, with his girlfriend then they went to a shop and bought magic mushrooms. He took them back to their hotel room and consumed them. But 40 minutes later he … collapsed from the reaction to the substance. Officers initially checked the store but found no mushrooms on the premises but discovered them in a storage room used by the owner. Four suspects were arrested, including the owner and three employees.”

“Possessing magic mushrooms is illegal and tourists should not buy them or use them in the country. The effects are similar to LSD and can be very dangerous.” Thailand legalised cannabis in 2022 causing an explosion in gaudy neon-lit dispensaries around the country.

But the poorly thought of legislation has seen a surge in mental illness, crime and the sale of other drugs through the stores. (Dailymail.co)