COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s deposed president Gotabaya Rajapaksa returned to the country on Friday, an airport official said, seven weeks after he fled in the face of angry protests over the island’s worst-ever economic crisis.
Rajapaksa was garlanded with flowers by a welcoming party of ministers and politicians as he disembarked at the main international airport, the official said, adding that the 73-year-old leader had returned from Bangkok via Singapore.
The UN’s World Food Programme said much of the food aid transited through Pakistan by road — a network that has been severely affected by the worst floods in the country’s history. “We’re focused absolutely on the needs of the people in Pakistan right now but the ramifications of what we’re experiencing here go wider,” WFP’s Pakistan country director Chris Kaye said.
“We’re becoming very, very concerned about the overall food security, not only in Pakistan in the immediate and medium term, but also for what it’s going to imply for the operations in Afghanistan.
“Pakistan provides a vital supply route into Afghanistan,” he said. Large amounts of its food enter via the port of Karachi.
“With roads that have been washed away, that presents us with a major logistical challenge,” Kaye told reporters in Geneva, via video-link from Dubai.
“WFP has procured over 320,000 tonnes in the past year to support operations in Afghanistan. The floods in Pakistan are going to put a huge dent in that capability.”
He said there was a “major problem” in restoring agricultural production in Pakistan to feed its own people and continue supplying food to Afghanistan.
A further issue was that the wheat harvest was being stored in flooded areas of Pakistan, and “a large proportion of the wheat has been washed away”.
He said the food security situation in Pakistan was “grave” even before the floods, with 43 per cent of people food insecure and the country ranking at 92 out of 116 on the Global Hunger Index.
Monsoon rains have submerged a third of Pakistan, claiming more than a thousand lives since June and unleashing powerful floods that have washed away swathes of vital crops and damaged or destroyed more than a million homes.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday “categorically” rejected an Indian media report claiming that an outlawed organisation was involved in relief work following the devastating floods in the country.
“Pakistan categorically rejects the contents of the story. It only betrays India’s bias and prejudice towards Pakistan, and is part of India’s regular and continuing attempts to mislead the international audience,” said Foreign Office Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmad.
The spokesperson reminded us that this was “not the first time that the Indian media have shown their proclivity to carry baseless and motivated stories to further a political agenda”.
“It is also unfortunate that while the international community is single-mindedly focused on helping Pakistan in the wake of an unprecedented natural calamity, some elements in the Indian media are attempting to cast doubts on the relief efforts,” said the spokesperson.
Pakistan reiterated that “strong and robust regulatory and oversight mechanisms” are in place to “monitor flood relief activity by non-profit and non-governmental organisations”.
“All relevant agencies are vigilant in ensuring that no illicit activity is carried out under the garb of relief efforts,” clarified the spokesperson.
The report that was being responded to was a Times of India story claiming that groups like the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and other militant groups “have come out in full strength to deliver relief work and help the flood-affected masses”.
It also claimed that Islamabad has banned international NGOs from carrying out flood relief work despite making a global appeal for help.
WASHINGTON: The United States is conducting a military aid mission to flood-devastated Pakistan, the US armed forces’ Central Command said Friday.
“CENTCOM is sending an assessment team to Islamabad to determine what potential support DoD (the US Department of Defense) can provide […] as part of the United States’ assistance to the flooding crisis in Pakistan,” spokesman Colonel Joe Buccino said in a statement.
The decision followed a telephone conversation Thursday between CENTCOM commander General Erik Kurilla and Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, the spokesman said.
The United States is the top arms supplier to Pakistan’s military, but relations between the two countries are often rocky.
Monsoon rains have submerged a third of Pakistan, claiming at least 1,190 lives since June and unleashing powerful floods that have washed away swathes of vital crops and damaged or destroyed more than a million homes.
Authorities have blamed climate change, which is increasing the frequency and strength of extreme weather events.
In support of Pakistan’s flood response efforts and recognising the continuing immense needs, the United States through the US Agency for International Development (USAID) deployed a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) to lead the US government’s response efforts in Pakistan, a statement from the USAID said.
The statement mentioned that the elite team, composed of disaster experts from USAID, is assessing the damage, identifying priority needs, and coordinating closely with the Government of Pakistan and with humanitarian partners to ensure effective and efficient delivery of assistance.
The DART is coordinating closely with other US departments and agencies.
This builds on the announcement earlier this week of an additional $30 million in humanitarian assistance from the United States to help the people of Pakistan affected by these devastating floods.
With these funds, USAID partners are prioritising urgently needed support for food, nutrition, multi-purpose cash, safe water, improved sanitation and hygiene, and shelter assistance.
In addition to mobilizing the DART, US government staff based in the region and Washington, DC, are monitoring the situation closely, including any potential impacts the flooding may have in the broader region.
A new offer will mean a 10% pay rise for the lowest paid staff instead of special cost of living payments this year and next.
Non-teaching school staff in 11 council areas had been due to go on strike for three days next week.
Refuse workers had also been due to begin a fresh round of strikes.
The Unison, GMB and Unite unions all said they had suspended their industrial action while they consult their members on the pay new offer, and that they were recommending the deal is accepted.
It follows an 11-hour meeting between unions and council leaders that was hosted by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in Edinburgh on Thursday.
The unions had rejected an increased pay offer earlier this week.
Cosla said at the time it was disappointed that the unions had turned down a deal that was at the “absolute extremes” of affordability, while Ms Sturgeon warned there was no “bottomless pit” of money to pay for an improved offer.
Councillor Katie Hagmann, Cosla’s human resources spokeswoman, said the revised offer showed that councils had “listened to the concerns of our workforce and have responded positively”.
She added: “Council leaders have said consistently throughout these negotiations that we very much value and are grateful to the local government workforce.”
Ms Sturgeon said the Scottish government would have to make difficult choices to help pay for the pay deal.
She told BBC Scotland: “I hope union members will now accept this offer, I think this is a good deal for workers in really difficult circumstances.
“People are struggling and obviously it is a good deal for the public because it averts any possibility of industrial action and I’m particularly grateful to trade unions for suspending the strike action planned for next week.
“The Scottish government has a finite budget so there are going to be some difficult decisions to support this deal but it is important we do support the best deals for workers.”
Scottish Labour’s local government spokesman Mark Griffin said it was “simply not good enough that it took weeks of industrial action to embarrass the SNP government into action”.
Scottish Conservative Party Chairman, Craig Hoy MSP, said Nicola Sturgeon was “missing in action for weeks” and the strikes should have been stopped a lot sooner.
Bin strikes began in Edinburgh on 18 August after unions rejected an initial pay offer equivalent to a 3.5% increase.
The action escalated last week when workers at a further 20 local authorities walked out despite a revised 5% offer.
Unison said 80% of their members would now get pay rises of between 5% and 10%, which it described as a victory.
Johanna Baxter, the union’s head of local government, said: “It is only through the collective action of our members in school and early years staff threatening strike action and our waste and recycling workers taking action that we have forced these extra funds out of government and the employer.”
A GMB Scotland spokesman said the new offer was a “significant amount of consolidated money” for workers including the “frontline refuse and school staff that everyone depends on”.
Keir Greenaway, the union’s senior organiser for public services, said: “It is not a perfect offer but it is the view of GMB Scotland’s local government committee that it’s worthy of members consultation and their acceptance”.
Unite said the direct intervention of the first minister had been a primary reason for the breakthrough, and that it now had a “credible offer which our local government representatives can recommend to the membership for acceptance.”
Meanwhile, Scotland’s largest teaching union is recommending that its members vote in favour of strike action in a dispute over pay.
The Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) has started a consultative ballot on the current 5% pay rise offered by council employers.
The £60m plan could see some passengers save more than £3 per single bus ticket, according to the Department for Transport (DfT).
Transport secretary Grant Shapps said the move will provide “direct help” to thousands of households.
But Labour said the plan “fails to match the scale of the crisis”.
Meanwhile, from Sunday, single bus fares will be capped at £2 in the Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire regions as part of longer-term schemes.
Local bus fares in England, for the quarter January to March 2022, increased by 3.6% when compared to the same period in 2021..
An average bus fare for a three-mile journey currently stands at around £2.80, meaning the new price cap would save passengers 30% of the price each time they travel, according to the DfT.
Bus operators covering more than 90% of the network in England have signed up for the scheme, the DfT said.
The government’s England-wide plan for January to March comes at a time when many households are concerned about mounting energy bills.
The energy cap for a typical household will rise to £3,549 a year from October and is expected to increase further in January.
Mr Shapps said the bus fare cap will provide “practical concreate help that will lower daily expenditure”.
There were 4.22 billion passenger journeys on buses in England in the year to December 2019, compared with about 1.52 passenger journeys by rail in 2018-19.
“Buses are by far and away the most used form of public transport, so ensuring that almost all bus journeys are no more than £2 will assist passengers over the winter months and provide direct help to thousands of households across the country,” Mr Shapps said.
“This £60 million boost will mean everyone can affordably get to work, education, the shops and doctors’ appointments.”
Paul Tuohy, chief executive of Campaign for Better Transport, said the £2 cap his organisation had called for was “welcome news” for millions of people and will “help set buses on the road to a bright future”.
Alison Edwards, policy director at the Confederation of Passenger Transport, called it an “eye-catching initiative” and said she was looking “forward to understanding in detail how the proposed fare cap will work in practice to ensure it supports the long-term sustainability of bus networks”.
But Labour MP and shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh criticised the scheme, claiming they do not go far enough.
“The government’s temporary 90-day reprieve after years of soaring fares fails to match the scale of the crisis.
“Passengers across the country facing a cost-of-living emergency need more than half measures.”
The unrest began with two days of intense street fighting in Baghdad earlier in the week, the worst the Iraqi capital has seen for years.
The crisis amounts to a power struggle between the powerful cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and mostly Iran-aligned parties and paramilitary groups.
Both sides have tried to exert their control over formation of a new government since an election in October. The struggle began with political moves in parliament and the judiciary, went to the streets as Sadr withdrew from the political process and staged protests during the summer, and then degenerated into violence at the end of August.
It has left Iraq, which is reeling from years of war, sanctions, civil strife and corruption, without a government for the longest period since the 2003 US invasion which toppled dictator Saddam Hussein.
The violence has centred on Baghdad and the south, areas dominated by Iraq’s Shia majority which has ruled the country since Saddam’s regime was swept away.
“The security situation in Basra is really bad, and could escalate,” one of the security officials said.
Both security officials in Basra, Iraq’s main oil-producing hub, said the deadliest clashes took place overnight in the centre of the city. Two of those killed were members of Sadr’s Peace Brigades militia, they said.
On Thursday morning, gunmen attacked government buildings in Basra where security forces and paramilitary groups with links to Iran are stationed. The officials could not immediately identify the gunmen firing on the government buildings, but said they believed they were Sadr supporters.
The leader of one Iran-backed militia group and one of Sadr’s main rivals, Qais al-Khazali, said in a statement that he was ordering all offices of his group closed and urging supporters not to retaliate if they were attacked.
Armed supporters of Sadr have attacked offices belonging to Iran-aligned groups in recent days, security officials say. In the southern city of Nassiriya, his followers raided a local headquarters for paramilitaries with ties to Iran and seized cars and weapons, according to Sadrist and Iran-aligned security officials in the city.
In Baghdad on Monday and Tuesday, armed supporters of Sadr fought with security forces and Iran-aligned gunmen in clashes that broke out hours after Sadr announced his full withdrawal from political life.
After Sadr’s announcement his followers, who had until then been staging a peaceful sit-in at the parliament, began storming other government buildings and were shot at. His militiamen retaliated and the clashes began.
ISLAMABAD: The United Kingdom has announced an additional £15 million of lifesaving support for flood victims in Pakistan following catastrophic floods that killed over 1,186 people and left a third of the country submerged under floodwaters, said Christian Turner, British High Commissioner to Pakistan.
Taking to Twitter late Thursday, the British official said his prayers are with Pakistan. Turner attached a video message to the post, captioning it: “Further £15m from the United Kingdom to Pakistan to provide urgent lifesaving support for flood victims.”
In his video message, Christian Turner is seen starting his statement with a sentence in the Urdu language: “Pakistan Mein Selaab Ki Tabaahi Par Mujhy Dilli Afsos Hai [I am heartbroken by the devastation caused by the flooding in Pakistan].”
“My prayers are with the people of Pakistan and everyone who is responding to its floods catastrophe. The UK government stands by Pakistan in this critical time,” he said.
The British High Commissioner announced the aid for relief activities, saying, “Today the UK government announced a further £15m for flood relief efforts, bringing our total contribution to £16.5 million, which is equivalent to over 10% of the UN and government of Pakistan flash appeal.”
He further said that this urgent lifesaving support will be geared towards saving and protecting lives as waters continue to flow through the country. It will include water and sanitation, shelter, home repairs and primary healthcare, especially for women and girls.
Underscoring the importance of bilateral ties, the British diplomat said it reflects the vital relationship between the two countries.
“I would like to also thank the British public who are coming together to fundraise for flood relief efforts including through the UK Disaster Emergency Committee [DEC] Pakistan appeal which launched today,” he added.
“These floods remind us of the fragility of our planet. Our planet is our responsibility.”
Earlier on September 1, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss announced lifesaving support, according to a press release issued by the British High Commission in Islamabad on Thursday.
The foreign secretary said that the humanitarian support totalling £15 million from the UK will help provide shelter and essential supplies to people across the country.
“The UK stands with Pakistan, as tens of millions of people face devastating floods, which have left a third of the country – an area roughly the size of the UK – underwater,” she said.
“As a major humanitarian donor, we will do all we can to get life-saving aid to the most vulnerable, including through this £15 million package of support.”
The press release said Pakistan and the UN launched a joint appeal on 30 August for $160 million to help the long-term recovery. Early estimates of the damage suggest that it will have a $10 billion impact, it said.
Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon, FCDO Minister of State for South and Central Asia, said, “We are seeing first-hand the tragic effects of climate change and the impact it is having on millions of people across the country. The UK is working around the clock with the Pakistan authorities to determine what support is required in the short-term and longer-term.”
“We are also working at pace with international organisations working directly on the ground to help victims of the disaster. These include the United Nations and the World Bank. We will continue to work hand in hand with the international community to garner the best possible global support package for Pakistan to recover.”
In a bid to cut oil import bills of the country, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Thursday approved the launch of solar power projects in the country, Geo News reported.
The decision was taken in a meeting chaired by the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to provide relief to the masses.
According to the sources in the power division, the solarization project would initially generate 10,000 MW of electricity. However, in the first phase of the project, electricity will be provided to the government buildings, tube wells and domestic consumers with low consumption.
During the meeting, PM Shehbaz directed the concerned authorities about the installation of solar power plants before next summer season.
Later PM in Tweet said that the government had decided to call next week, a pre-bid conference of stakeholders for the execution of solar power projects.
PM Shehbaz said that the prices of imported fuel have increased in recent months and a major portion of electricity is produced from imported fuel, therefore this project would save foreign exchange.
Earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced the exemption of fuel charges adjustment (FCA) for households consuming up to 300 units of electricity.
Addressing PML-N’s National Assembly and Provincial Assembly members, the prime minister took a dig at the former government and said that it destroyed the economy by reducing the prices of petroleum products through subsidies.
Earlier, the federal government announced that only households that consume electricity up to 200 units will be exempt from FCA.
PM Shehbaz said that 75% of the consumers have been exempted from the FCA, adding that it was increased in March due to a hike in fuel prices.
LONDON: While Pakistanis count the cost of one of the country’s worst recorded floods, heavy rain is hitting southwestern China as the Texas city of Dallas recovers from a 10-inch deluge in a single day last month.
Each of these rain-fuelled disasters followed a heatwave, suggesting the regions have been swinging wildly between two contradictory extremes. But extreme heat and extreme rainfall are closely related — and being gassed-up by climate change, scientists say.
Sweltering spring temperatures in South Asia, topping 50 degrees Celsius, are likely to have warmed the Indian Ocean. That warm water would then have fuelled what the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres this week called “a monsoon on steroids” over Pakistan — dumping more than three times as much rain as the 30-year average for August and inundating a third of the country.
More than 1,100 people have been killed, crops are ruined, and homes destroyed, prompting urgent pleas for aid.
It will take weeks if not months to determine exactly how much of a role climate change may have played in this year’s floods, but scientists agree it is supercharging extremes. Heatwaves are already more frequent and intense worldwide, increasing evaporation from both the land and the ocean. Because a warmer atmosphere can also hold more moisture, the water vapor builds until clouds eventually break and send down heavier rain.
“The same places can be expected to experience both flooding and drought in a hotter climate,” said climate scientist Deepti Singh at Washington State University.
The area around Dallas had been bone dry for three months, with more than half of Texas suffering extreme drought. Cotton crops withered in the fields. Ranchers were forced to kill off much of their cattle for lack of feed. Soils hardened and cracked, forming a parched checker-board across the landscape — the perfect setup for flash flooding.
It eventually rained on Aug. 21, dropping nearly 10 inches within 24 hours, but the ground was too hard to absorb the deluge, leaving much of the water to flow through the city. Interstate traffic came to a halt. Flights were cancelled. And apartments in the historic area of Old East Dallas were swamped.
In a drought-stricken area, “the ground can almost act like concrete in an urban environment”, said climate scientist Liz Stephens at the University of Reading in Britain.
Unlike flooding that comes from rivers gradually overflowing their banks, flash floods are triggered by intense rain in a short period — usually less than six hours — giving little warning before the water swells into a raging torrent. In an urban population centre, they pose the most risk. But flash floods also often rip through desert canyons in Utah and Arizona, threatening hikers.
There have been four other major flash floods in the United States since July — in Kentucky, eastern Illinois, California’s Death Valley and the Missouri city of St. Louis. Each saw enough rain to be considered a once-in-1,000-years event, according to historical trends.
It’s unclear how far that frequency will increase as the world continues warming.
Hit over the summer by its worst heatwave in six decades, China’s drought-stricken Yangtze River Basin is struggling with both power and water shortages. Desperate for rain, some provinces within the basin have begun “seeding” clouds, sending planes into the sky to release the chemical silver iodide to cause the clouds to break.
But as late summer rains arrive now, officials are worried about having too much water. More than 119,000 people have been evacuated from flood-risk areas of southwestern China, according to state media.
The Ministry of Emergency Management warned on Monday that parts of China were “alternating between drought and flood” and urged vigilance this week in monitoring dried-up riverbeds being inundated by intense rain. The ministry also asked that local authorities store rainwater, to potentially help relieve other drought-stricken areas of the country.
Weather events across the northern hemisphere can also be connected by the polar jet stream, a fast-flowing air current that moves weather systems from one part of the world to another.
But scientists have found that warming trends along with recent disturbances in air circulation may be increasing the chances of simultaneous extremes.
The jet stream disturbance is still a topic of intense research. But one recent study suggested that these factors combined have made it seven times more likely for heatwaves to be occurring simultaneously in the northern hemisphere than 40 years ago, according to the research published in January in the Journal of Climate.
“The warming trend is the main driver behind the increase in concurrent heatwaves,” said climate scientist Kai Kornhuber at Columbia University in New York, who was part of a team including Singh that worked on the study.
But there is evidence, including the research around the jet stream, “to believe that atmospheric dynamics have contributed to this increasing trend”.
