Mogadishu: Flash flooding in Somalia has killed 50 people and driven nearly 700,000 from their homes, a government official said, with heavy rains starting Tuesday expected to worsen the country’s plight.
The Horn of Africa region is experiencing torrential rainfall and floods linked to the El Nino weather phenomenon, claiming dozens of lives and causing large-scale displacement, including in Somalia, where the downpours have destroyed bridges and inundated residential areas.
“Fifty people died in the disaster... while 687,235 people were forced to flee their houses,” Somali Disaster Management Agency director Mohamud Moalim Abdullahi said at a press briefing on Monday.
“The expected rains between 21st and 24th of November... may cause more flooding which could cause death and destruction,” he added.
On Saturday, the UN humanitarian agency OCHA said the number of people displaced by heavy rains and floods in Somalia “has nearly doubled in one week,” while 1.7 million people overall have been affected by the disaster.
“In addition, roads, bridges and airstrips have been damaged in several areas, affecting the movement of people and supplies and leading to increased prices of basic commodities,” OCHA said.
British charity Save the Children on Thursday said more than 100 people, including 16 children, had died and more than 700,000 forced from their homes in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia due to flash flooding.
The Horn of Africa is one of the regions most vulnerable to climate change and extreme weather events are occurring with increased frequency and intensity.
The region is emerging from the worst drought in four decades after multiple failed rainy seasons that left millions of people in need and devastated crops and livestock.
Humanitarian groups have warned that the situation is only likely to worsen and called for urgent global intervention as El Nino is expected to last until at least April 2024.
Somalia flood toll climbs to 50: disaster agency
https://arab.news/2h8m4
Somalia flood toll climbs to 50: disaster agency
- The Horn of Africa region is experiencing torrential rainfall and floods linked to the El Nino weather phenomenon
Israel considers flooding Gaza tunnels with seawater- WSJ
- When asked about the story, a U.S. official said it made sense for Israel to render the tunnels inoperable and that the country was exploring a range of ways to do that
WASHINGTON: Israel has assembled a large system of pumps that may be used to flood tunnels used by militant group Hamas under the Gaza strip in a bid to drive out fighters, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing U.S. officials.
Around the middle of November, Israel's army completed the set-up of at least five pumps about a mile north of the Al-Shati refugee camp that could move thousands of cubic meters of water per hour, flooding the tunnels within weeks, the report said.
It was not clear whether Israel would consider using the pumps before all hostages were released, according to the story. Hamas has previously said it has hidden captives in "safe places and tunnels."
Reuters could not verify the details of Monday's report.
When asked about the story, a U.S. official said it made sense for Israel to render the tunnels inoperable and that the country was exploring a range of ways to do that.
Israel's defense ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Wall Street Journal said an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) official declined to comment on the flooding plan but was quoted as saying: "The IDF is operating to dismantle Hamas’s terror capabilities in various ways, using different military and technological tools."
Israel first informed the United States of the option last month, the Wall Street Journal said, reporting that officials did not know how close Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government was to carrying out the plan.
Israel has not made a final decision to go ahead or rule it out, the officials were cited as saying.
Russian aircraft brings 120 Russians home from Gaza
- The Emergencies Ministry has so far flown more than 880 Russian nationals home aboard nine flights
MOSCOW: A chartered aircraft flew 120 Russian nationals evacuated from the Gaza Strip home to Moscow on Monday, Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said.
A ministry statement on the Telegram messaging app said 30 children were among those on board the Ilyushin-76 aircraft that landed in Moscow.
The Emergencies Ministry has so far flown more than 880 Russian nationals home aboard nine flights.
Red Cross chief arrives in Gaza, says suffering ‘intolerable’
GENEVA: The Red Cross president arrived in war-torn Gaza on Monday, calling for the protection of civilians in the Palestinian territory, where she warned that human suffering was “intolerable.”
The International Committee of the Red Cross said ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric’s travel to the region would happen in several stages with “a visit to Israel expected over the coming weeks.”
“I have arrived in Gaza, where people’s suffering is intolerable,” Spoljaric said on X, formerly Twitter.
“It is unacceptable that civilians have no safe place to go in Gaza, and with a military siege in place there is also no adequate humanitarian response currently possible,” she added in an ICRC statement.
Spoljaric, whose organization has faced criticism from both sides in the conflict for not providing adequate help to Israeli hostages held by Hamas and Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, insisted that “all those deprived of liberty must be treated humanely.”
“The hostages must be released, and the ICRC must be allowed to safely visit them,” she said.
Her visit comes after full-scale fighting resumed Friday following the collapse of a week-long truce brokered by Qatar, the United States and Egypt, during which Israel and Hamas exchanged scores of hostages and prisoners.
“The last week provided a small degree of humanitarian respite, a positive glimpse of humanity that raised hopes around the world that a path to reduced suffering could now be found,” Spoljaric said in the statement.
“As a neutral actor, the ICRC stands ready to support further humanitarian agreements that reduce suffering and heartbreak.”
Netanyahu graft trial resumes in Israel in midst of Gaza war
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial resumed on Monday, despite the country’s continuing war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The trial was suspended after the Palestinian militant group’s Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and 240 more kidnapped according to Israeli officials.
Netanyahu, leader of Israel’s right-wing Likud party, is accused of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, allegations he denies.
Minister David Amsalem of Likud called the resumption of proceedings during the war “a disgrace.”
“War? Captives? ... No, no. The most important thing now is to renew Netanyahu’s trial,” said Amsalem on Sunday on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
Netanyahu and his allies have argued the accusations against him are politically motivated and had proposed a judicial overhaul that would have curbed some powers held by the courts.
The high-profile trial is expected to last several more months. An appeal process, if necessary, could take years.
In one of three cases the trial encompasses, prosecutors allege a plot between Netanyahu and the controlling shareholder of Israel’s Bezeq telecom giant to exchange regulatory favors for positive coverage on a news site owned by the firm. A second case relates to Netanyahu’s relationship with Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan and other wealthy personalities.
According to prosecutors, between 2007 and 2016 Netanyahu allegedly received gifts valued at 700,000 shekels ($195,000), including boxes of cigars, bottles of champagne and jewelry, in exchange for financial or personal favors.
Netanyahu, who is Israel’s first sitting prime minister to stand trial, denies any wrongdoing, saying gifts were only accepted from friends and without him having asked for them.
In October 2019, his lawyers said they had received an expert legal opinion that concluded he had a right to accept gifts from close friends.
Egyptian Space Agency announces successful launch of MisrSat 2 satellite from China
- The Egyptian Space Agency was established in 2018 and aims to build and launch satellites from Egyptian territory
CAIRO: The Egyptian Space Agency has reported that the launch of the MisrSat 2 satellite from China was successful.
The agency said: “This (the launch) is in light of the strategic partnership between the governments of Egypt and China and the fruitful and constructive cooperation between the two friendly countries.”
A team of Egyptian engineers collaborated with Chinese experts in the satellite’s design and manufacture.
It was assembled and tested at the EGSA’s Satellite Assembly, Integration, and Testing Center.
The site, the largest of its kind in Africa and the Middle East, was established within the framework of the strategic partnership between the two countries.
The satellite forms part of Egypt’s sustainable development goals by utilizing space technology to enhance vital areas, including agriculture, the exploration of mineral resources, identification of surface water sources, and the study of the impact of climate change on the environment.
The agency said the work contributed to supporting the Egyptian economy as well as enhancing the country’s pioneering role by providing training programs aimed at qualifying specialized personnel on the African continent and the Middle East, while supplying spatial data.
It added that the launch of the MisrSat 2 was a milestone in Egyptian-Chinese cooperation, especially in the field of space technology.
The Egyptian Space Agency was established in 2018 and aims to build and launch satellites from Egyptian territory.
