MASTUNG  –  Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) leader Hafiz Hamdullah was among 11 people injured in a blast in Balochistan’s Mastung district on Thursday. Mobile phone foot­age broadcast on televi­sion showed a bloodied Hamdullah being sup­ported by two gunmen as he spoke. Mastung Assistant Commissioner Attaul Muneem told media that 11 people had been injured in the incident so far, adding that they were shifted to Quetta for medical treatment. Speaking to a pri­vate TV channel, JUI-F spokesperson Aslam Ghauri said that Ham­dullah was injured but not critically. “He is okay. He is injured but the situation is not critical […] the gunmen and the others accompany­ing him also sustained minor injuries but they are okay. There is no serious issue at the moment.” He said that Hamdullah and the others were travelling from Quetta to Kalat, adding that the incident oc­curred after they crossed Mastung. “We still do not know if it was a sui­cide blast or a planted bomb,” he add­ed. “According to the information I have received, Hamdullah sahib and two persons are injured. All are okay and the matter is not serious.” Ghauri said that the injured had been shifted to a hospital in Quetta. Separately, Balochistan Interim Home Minister Zubair Jamali strong­ly condemned the incident and di­rected the relevant authorities to submit a report in this regard. He directed the district adminis­tration to help the injured, while also praying for their swift recovery. He said that all possible resources would be utilised to eliminate terrorists. Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Ka­kar strongly condemned the “das­tardly attack” and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured per­sons. He also stressed that the en­tire nation was standing united in the face of terrorism. Meanwhile, caretaker Informa­tion Minister Murtaza Solangi said targeting innocent citizens and po­litical personalities was a coward­ly act and elements involved in terrorism do not deserve any leni­ency. He highlighted that the whole nation stands united against this menace. Ex-president Asif Ali Zardari also condemned the incident and prayed for the injured. “Terrorists and facil­itators involved in terrorism should be brought under the law,” he said. Caretaker Sindh Chief Minister re­tired Justice Maqbool Baqar also condemned the blast and expressed grief over the people injured in the incident. “The nation stands united against terrorism,” he said in a state­ment, praying for the swift recov­ery of the injured. Meanwhile, Sindh police chief Riffat Mukhtar direct­ed the provincial police to remain on high alert in light of the blast in Mastung, and to carry out their du­ties with utmost vigilance and dili­gence. While no group has taken re­sponsibility for today’s blast, the JUI-F has been a target of the Islam­ic State Khorasan Province (ISKP). In the past, the ISKP has targeted several local leaders of the JUI-F in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur, sus­pecting them of having close ties with the Taliban administration in neighbouring Afghanistan. Source:https://www.nation.com.pk/15-Sep-2023/hafiz-hamdullah-among-11-injured-in-mastung-blast

Death Toll Carries The process of retrieving the bodies washing up on Derna’s shores continues, as the death toll carries on increasing. According to the Libyan Red Crescent, more than 11,300 are now confirmed to have died after Storm Daniel hit the eastern Libyan city on Sunday and Monday, leading to the failure of two dams, which burst and unleashed torrents of water through a dry riverbed and onto the city. list of 3 items The mayor of Derna says the death toll could be even higher – as much as 20,000 – after whole neighbourhoods were swept away into the sea. The water that rushed into Derna was described as looking like a huge tsunami. But while many, particularly some of Libya’s politicians, are painting what happened as purely the result of a natural disaster, experts say that corruption, poor maintenance of public infrastructure – and years of political infighting, with Libya divided between two rival administrations – have made the country unprepared to tackle an event like Storm Daniel. “The general state of turmoil also means a lot of bickering over the allocation of funds,” said Claudia Gazzini, the International Crisis Group’s senior analyst for Libya. For the past three years there has been no development budget, which is where funds for infrastructure should fall, and no allocation for long-term projects, Gazzini said. “And none of the two governments is legitimate enough to make big plans, something that curbs focus on infrastructures,” she added. Military forces supporting Libya’s rival governments – an internationally recognised one based in Tripoli in the west and one based in Benghazi in the east backed by the country’s parliament – have fought several times since 2014, and the administrations failed to hold planned presidential elections in 2021. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy Speaking to Al Jazeera on Tuesday, Derna’s Deputy Mayor Ahmed Madroud said that the dams had not been properly maintained since 2002. That means that both the government of Libya’s longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi, and the administrations that came after he was overthrown in a revolution in 2011, had failed to ensure the upkeep of vital infrastructure. Last year, a paper from researchers at Omar Al-Mukhtar University warned that the two dams needed urgent attention, pointing out that there was “a high potential for flood risk”. Yet no action was taken. Floodwaters caused by Storm Daniel swept away everything in front of them in Derna, killing thousands [Esam Omran Al-Fetori/Reuters] Cycle of violence The devastation caused by the floods was the latest tragedy for Derna – a city of about 90,000 people, traditionally known as the country’s cultural capital, before groups such as ISIL (ISIS) took advantage of the lack of a functioning state to seize it in 2014, until they were driven out the following year. Three years later renegade general Khalifa Haftar, who is seen as the primary authority in Libya’s east, took control of Derna – which had remained the last pocket of territory in the east to reject his rule – after a brutal two-year siege. The city was torn apart by intensive bombardments and ferocious ground fighting. The cycle of violence throughout the years has left its scars, with authorities not investing in any major rebuilding programme. “The only hospital that is functioning in Derna today is a rented villa that has five bedrooms,” said Hani Shennib, president of the National Council on US Libya Relations and a frequent visitor to the city. “This is not new. This is going on for 42 years. It has caused the alienation and political turmoil since the days of Gaddafi. Every minister of health and prime minister would drop by Derna, would make statements about supporting the city and then ignore it completely,” he added. The floods, Shennib said, were “the straw that has broken the camel’s back”. “The erosions in the dams in Derna are not new. They have been reported repeatedly, including in scientific journals from 2011 and moving on,” he added. “No official has paid attention to it.” People who lost their lives are covered after the floods caused by Storm Daniel ravaged disaster zones in Derna [Abdullah Mohammed Bonja/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images] Costly corruption Many are now pinning the blame on local authorities, who have been accused of being negligent in their planning for the storm. On Saturday, a day before the storm arrived, the Derna Municipal Council posted a message on Facebook imposing a curfew while asking residents to evacuate only areas adjacent to the coast. On Monday, it called the situation “catastrophic”, pleading for urgent international aid. Speaking to Al Arabiya on Wednesday, Derna’s Mayor Abdulmenam al-Ghaithi rejected criticism of the authorities’ actions, saying that they had “undertaken all the precautions” necessary, and informed locals. But many disagree. “The eastern authorities in Derna bear the responsibility for their judgement call,” said Anas El Gomati, the founder and director of the Sadeq Institute. “Their inaction despite the clear threat has cost many thousands of lives, when it could’ve cost cinder blocks and bags of cement.” But the problem goes beyond the local administration, stemming from years of corruption and the dismantling of public infrastructure, El Gomati said. “The neglect of Libya’s critical infrastructure and its maintenance is a major factor in what led to the dams bursting, and the city being submerged,” he added. “Corruption and financial mismanagement are the cause behind failing infrastructure that has plagued Libya for decades, but the successive regimes are culpable, and it is the military investment authority that has cannibalised Libya’s public infrastructure in the east, destroying it to be smuggled and sold for scrap metal.” Source:https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/14/natural-disaster-or-man-made-why-was-libya-so-vulnerable-to-floods

Extreme heat and flooding are set to deal a massive blow to the global fashion industry, with four of the world’s top garment producing countries at risk of missing out on $65 billion in earnings by 2030, according to a study from Cornell University and investment manager Schroders. Bangladesh, Pakistan, Vietnam and Cambodia are seen to be particularly at risk, with a 22% drop in earnings from exports — and wider economic hit — projected by the end of the decade, according to the findings, which were released Wednesday. Fashion brands that source extensively in these countries should alter work hours and ensure workers get enough rest and hydration in response to the predicted disruption, according to researchers from Schroders and Cornell’s Global Labor Institute. Nearly 1 million fewer jobs would be created collectively as productivity slows because of the expected impact of adverse weather, they said. The four Asian countries were chosen for study because of their roles as industry powerhouses. Together, they account for 18% of global apparel exports, roughly 10,000 clothing and footwear factories and more than 10.6 million manufacturing workers. A woman holding an umbrella while walking along a flooded street during heavy rain in Dhaka, Bangladesh in June. Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters But the locations are also deeply vulnerable to the climate crisis. Major garment manufacturing centers including Dhaka, Phnom Penh, Karachi, Lahore, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi are already confronting extreme heat and humidity, the authors noted. “All of these cities are also likely to experience significant flooding,” they said. Pakistan, especially, is no stranger to extreme weather, with more than one third of the country underwater last year during its worst floods in history. Like elsewhere, Pakistan and Bangladesh have also seen heat waves in recent months, with temperatures soaring above 40°C (104°F) for many days during the spring and summer. Using coastal and river flooding data, as well as temperature readings, the team from Cornell and Schroders said it had projected how different scenarios would affect manufacturing workers. The team said its cost estimates of $65 billion by 2030 were based on a “business as usual” scenario amid high heat and flooding, if no measures are taken. If factory owners proactively take steps to help lower heat stress for workers, they may be able to avoid some of the projected lost earnings, according to the study. The first scenario includes the assumption that heat stress will cause considerable changes in worker productivity. For example, output may decline by about 1.5% for each 1°C increase in the “wet-bulb globe temperature,” a measure of heat stress, according to the report. Large swathes of Asia are sweltering through record breaking temperatures The study’s authors have urged businesses and regulators to protect workers by treating extreme weather events as serious health hazards, with the provision of paid leave and the right to suspend work. Fashion brands should also consider helping suppliers relocate their facilities to nearby, lower-risk locations, they suggested. Anyone tempted to “cut and run” should think twice, according to the researchers. They said businesses looking to move suppliers out of these locations entirely would “struggle to build the large-scale capacity they benefit from in South and Southeast Asia.” “Climate ‘loss and damage’ for manufacturers and workers are treated by brands as externalities — someone else’s problem,” Jason Judd, executive director at Cornell’s Global Labor Institute, said in a statement. “Workers need these investments now because extreme heat standards and flood protections are non-existent.” Source:https://edition.cnn.com/2023/09/14/business/extreme-weather-global-apparel-exports-climate-intl-hnk/index.html

DERNA-Libya is racing to bury its dead as bodies pile up in the streets of Derna, the northern coastal city devastated by flooding after a torrential downpour smashed through two dams, washing homes into the sea. The death toll rose to over 6,000 people as of Wednesday morning local time, according to Saadeddin Abdul Wakil, health ministry undersecretary of the Unity Government in Tripoli, one of two rival governments operating in the country. Morgues are full in hospitals that remain out of service despite the desperate need to treat survivors of the disaster, according to staff. Around 10,000 more are missing, potentially either swept out to sea or buried beneath rubble that’s strewn throughout the city once home to over 100,000 people, authorities say. More than 30,000 people have been displaced by the flooding in Derna, the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Libya said Wednesday. Source:https://www.nation.com.pk/14-Sep-2023/morgues-overwhelmed-in-libya-as-floods-death-toll-tops-6-000

HANOI-At least 56 people are known to have died and dozens were injured in a huge fire in an apartment block in Vietnam’s capital Hanoi. Some 37 people were injured in the fire, police said, adding that 39 victims have been identified. The fire, which broke out during the night, has been extinguished. The owner of the building has been arrested. Authorities in fast-growing Hanoi say many newly-built apartments do not meet fire safety regulations. The city’s population has quadrupled to 5.25 million in the past 20 years. The cause of the fire is being investigated but witnesses said it started in the parking floor of the building, which was packed with motorbikes. Residents described hearing a loud bang at around 23:00 local time on Tuesday (16:00 GMT), and then seeing black smoke rising through the building. Source:https://www.nation.com.pk/14-Sep-2023/56-dead-and-dozens-injured-in-hanoi-apartment-blaze

LAHORE: A high-level investigation into the cross-border drug smuggling scam has taken a surprise turn when an inquiry panel detected many “illegal” properties worth billions of rupees, allegedly belonging to the accused police officer, who was termed an underworld don in uniform. Headed by the Lahore SSP, Internal Accountability (IA), the three-member panel of the police officers was conducting a departmental inquiry against the accused, ex-deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Mazhar Iqbal, who was heading the Anti-Narcotics Investigation Unit (ANIU) of Lahore police when Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) unearthed a racket of cross-border drug smuggling through drones. The ANF had booked Mazhar in the last week of August for allegedly taking Rs75 million bribe from a drug smuggler, Ahmad, who was also involved in cross-border smuggling of Ice drug. As per the ANF, the ex-police officer had recovered 35kg drugs and three cars from the residence of Ahmad, but released him after lodging a case of 450 grams of drugs only. The ANF had arrested another suspect, Fiaz, who told the investigators that he was a front man of Mazhar, who was involved in cross-border drug smuggling for many years. During the probe, an official source said, the inquiry panel found criminal record of Mazhar, exposing the system that had been patronising him. The source said Mazhar Iqbal was dismissed from service six times since 1994 and suspended from service 45 times for his alleged involvement in illegal activities, mostly related to drug trafficking cases. Initially, the source said, the worth of the alleged illegal properties of Mazhar alias Mazhari was estimated at over Rs2 billion. The inquiry panel also traced 13 criminal cases lodged against the former officer since 1994, registered with Factory Area, Ravi Road, Bhatti Gate, Lytton Road, Model Town, South Cantt and Tibbi City police stations. Similarly, five criminal cases were registered against him by the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) Lahore. In addition, a drug case was lodged against the ex-DSP by the ANF in 2007, the official said, adding that he has been allegedly patronising notorious gangsters, pickpockets and drug smugglers in the provincial capital. The official said as per findings of the probe panel, Mazhar was living in a 4-kanal villa in Defence Housing Authority Lahore and owned seven more houses in the DHA. The panel also traced 125 costly cars purchased by him during his police service in Lahore. The source said an ANF team was separately working on the assets he had made during his service in Lahore. He said a former CCPO of Lahore had appointed Mazhar as head of the ANIU in Lahore despite having criminal record. There were reports that Mazhar enjoyed backing of some senior police officers in Punjab, besides some key political figures. To a question, the official source said, the suspect went underground after cancellation of his bail in the case lodged by the ANF. The probe is underway, he says, expecting unearthing of more illegal properties owned by the former police official, who still has “sympathisers” in the department. Source:https://www.dawn.com/news/1775552/cross-border-drug-smuggling-scam-probe-finds-illegal-assets-worth-billions-owned-by-lahore-ex-dsp

Tnirte, Morocco – Abdel Abed is watching the other villagers digging. When one of them gets tired, he scrambles down and takes over. It has been five days since the magnitude 6.8 earthquake ripped through the mountainous regions around Marrakesh, Morocco, and Abed’s daughter, nine-year-old Shaima, is still buried under the rocks. Abed still hopes she may be alive, a family member explains, and he works with almost robotic energy as excavation efforts continue in Tnirte in the High Atlas Mountains. His wife was pulled dead from the rocks yesterday. Abed himself had been rescued on Saturday, the relative says. Nearby, a small team of Spanish firefighters rise from their lunch to help in the search. They have sent the sniffer dogs home. Dogs can only smell the living, one explains. Tnirte has two town centres, with rubble strewn across both. Along the track that connects the two, young men either ride or lead donkeys carrying aid from the delivery point at the bottom of the slope to where Abed works above. The town of Tnirte has seen some of its buildings levelled by the quake [Simon Speakman Cordall/Al Jazeera] Almost everyone here has lost someone. Abdel Ali, 22, escorts his donkey along the debris-strewn path, the smell of decay hanging in the air. He pulls a twig from the side of the track and swats his donkey on its rear, hurrying it – and the emergency aid it carries – along. “My house was destroyed,” he tells a translator. “My grandfather and aunt were killed.” Relief efforts in the region around Marrakesh are only just starting to ramp up. Morocco’s King Mohamed VI visited the city on Tuesday, lending his prestige to the efforts. Outside of the city, in Amizmiz, international aid is announcing itself in the form of a camp. Along rows of neatly-ordered tents, rescue teams from the United Kingdom, Qatar, Israel and other countries debate how to navigate the devastated terrain. Russ Gordon, a team leader for the UK’s rescue mission, stands impatiently outside of one of the tents, the Union Jack flag propped up behind him. “Access is a huge problem. Many routes have been cut off by boulders and large landslides. We’re working closely with the Moroccan civil defence and military and relying on their local knowledge of the area,” he says, before disappearing into the tent to talk aerial surveillance and deployments. The Atlas Mountain valleys are pockmarked with tents as aid arrives in remote areas [Simon Speakman Cordall/Al Jazeera] Medical aid clinics, constructed rapidly from flat packs, now dot many of the often single-track roads that line the mountains. In one, Dr Ismail Mesteri, 26, prepares for the patients he believes will come once they hear of the clinic. However, even with his nursing team, his resources are limited. The most serious cases will need to be transported to the university hospital in Marrakesh, some two hours away, he said. Mesteri gestures to the road outside, already jammed with cars waiting for a broken-down truck to be moved out of the way. ”People die trying to get to Marrakesh,” he said. Traffic jams have posed a critical challenge to relief efforts. Narrow roads are sometimes blocked by heavy trucks that struggle with the difficult climb up the mountains. They can impede the flow of relief trucks and ambulances to areas that need them most. Villages and hamlets, sometimes far from the main roads, proved no match for the quake. But the tight paths that lead to them are now congested as relief trucks compete with donkeys and motorbikes for space. Dr Ismail Mesteri waits for patients to arrive [Simon Speakman Cordall/Al Jazeera] Critics have argued that poverty as much as geology played a critical role in the destruction this region has faced. The Moroccan government has promised an extensive rebuilding programme, with many residents likely to be offered new houses built to modern standards. Details are scarce but the logistics are daunting. Miles of winding, perilous roads must be widened. Houses that have stood for centuries must now be reimagined and renovated in line with current seismic retrofitting standards. The changes are long overdue, Chef Lhassen Boqqi, who grew up in the High Atlas Mountains says. But something will be lost. ”It was already changing,” he says from behind the wheel of a four-wheel drive. ”Young people no longer wanted to live in the villages. They wanted to go to Marrakesh and get educated but the mountains remain our home.” Reflecting on the peaks around him, he continues: “They’re like pillars. They’re safe, now that it is over.” But Boqqi believes change will come to the region anyway. “Many more will leave for the city and those that remain will live in concrete houses.” Ahmed al-Hajj says he lost his sister in the earthquake that struck Morocco on September 8 [Simon Speakman Cordall/Al Jazeera] Many of the survivors, though, are just grateful to be alive. In Anerni, 34 people died during the earthquake. Seven remain in hospital. The rest tussle over aid deliveries in the makeshift camp. Ahmed al-Hajj, 84, stands outside what had once been his house. He had been away at the time the quake hit. Now, all that remains are ruins. His sister died in the quake. Three children were also killed, he says. He gestures to the ruined mosque, where the imam’s son was killed. Next to it rises a high mound of rubble. Close to its peak, on the remnants of a roof, blood is visible. This region will take years to recover, experts warn. But for many of its inhabitants, the damage may be permanent. Source:https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/13/in-moroccos-atlas-mountains-earthquake-survivors-search-for-loved-ones