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Storm Leonardo slams Spain and Portugal, leaving 1 dead and a girl missing

MADRID (AP) — A man died from rising floodwaters in Portugal, while a girl remained missing after she was swept away by a swollen river in Spain as Storm Leonardo brought more heavy rain and winds Thursday to the Iberian Peninsula.

In Spain’s southern Andalusia region, close to 4,000 people evacuated their homes due to the ongoing storm, and dozens of roads remained closed due to flooding and landslides.

Spain’s weather agency lifted the highest alert level in southern Spain, but added that another storm system was expected over the weekend. Leonardo is the latest in a series of storms that have pummeled Spain and Portugal in recent weeks.

On Wednesday night, a man died in southern Portugal after his car was engulfed by floodwaters, local media said.

The southern Portuguese city of Alcacer do Sal, about 90 kilometers (about 56 miles) from Lisbon, was battling rising waters from the river Sado, with downtown areas flooded and water levels measuring two meters (roughly 7 feet) high in some places.

Heavy rains were expected to lash several regions in Portugal in the coming days. A previous storm in late January left a trail of destruction in the country and killed several people, according to Portuguese authorities.

In southern Spain’s Malaga province, authorities were still searching for a girl who fell into the Turvilla river Wednesday while trying to save her dog.

Beijing bans 4 New Zealand lawmakers from entering China because they visited Taiwan

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Beijing banned four New Zealand lawmakers from traveling to China for a year and demanded they apologize because they visited Taiwan on a parliamentary trip, according to a message from the Chinese embassy conveyed via parliamentary officials and shown to The Associated Press on Thursday. China has hit lawmakers from other countries with sanctions related to contact with Taiwan before, but it's the first time for New Zealand parliamentarians, the government in Wellington said. Beijing has been increasing pressure in recent years on the democratically governed island that it claims as its own territory. Two lawmakers reached by the AP on Thursday rejected the demand for an apology, while the other two could not be immediately reached. New Zealand's government said it would express concern about the travel bans to Beijing. The elected officials visited Taipei in May, as New Zealand parliamentarians have done “for decades,” a spokesperson for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.
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