Death toll in Vietnam from typhoon impacts rises to 226, as pressure eases in Hanoi

This aerial picture shows flooded streets in Yen Bai on September 10, 2024, in the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi hitting northern Vietnam. More than 59,000 people have been forced to evacuate their homes in the flood-hit province of Yen Bai in northern Vietnam, local authorities said September 10. (AFP)
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Updated 12 September 2024
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Death toll in Vietnam from typhoon impacts rises to 226, as pressure eases in Hanoi

  • The Southeast Asian country is reeling from the impact of Typhoon Yagi, the strongest storm to hit Asia this year, which made landfall in Vietnam’s northeastern coast on Saturday
  • More than 100 people remain missing, while some 800 people have been injured, the agency said in a report

HANOI/THAI NGUYEN: The death toll in Vietnam from typhoon Yagi and the landslides and flash floods it triggered rose to 226 on Thursday, the government’s disaster agency said, as flood pressure eased in the capital Hanoi.
The Southeast Asian country is reeling from the impact of Typhoon Yagi, the strongest storm to hit Asia this year, which made landfall in Vietnam’s northeastern coast on Saturday.
More than 100 people remain missing, while some 800 people have been injured, the agency said in a report.
Several districts in capital Hanoi remained flooded on Thursday, but the weather agency late in the day said flood pressure had eased, while flash floods and landslides continued to affect areas across northern Vietnam.
The city earlier evacuated thousands of people living near the swollen Red River as its waters rose to a 20-year high.
“There’s a lot of heartbreak in the city and there was a lot of concern going into the evening,” said charity Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation co-CEO Skye Maconachie. “Many people who barely had anything have lost everything.”
The government’s weather forecast agency said late on Thursday that the river had peaked in Hanoi and begun to subside.
North of Hanoi, landslides and severe floods are still affecting several areas, state media reported.
“I never thought my house would be under water this deep,” said Hoang Van Ty outside his home in Thai Nguyen province.
“My clothes and furniture were all under the water. Many things were floating around too but luckily I closed the doors so nothing was washed away.”

55 PEOPLE MISSING IN FLASH FLOOD
Thai Nguyen province is home to Samsung Electronics’ largest smartphone manufacturing plant in Vietnam. Flood waters have also receded in some parts of the province where clean up efforts are now taking place while residents are having their submerged TVs and motorbikes repaired.
“I only have this one motorbike to go to work with, but it was flooded so I have to bring it here to have it fixed,” said 36-year-old Thai Nguyen resident at a motorbike repair shop. “I can only go to work once it’s fixed.”
Repair man Nguyen Van Truong said his shop had fixed 60 motorbikes over the past two days, with 20 more waiting.
“We are a bit overwhelmed, very overwhelmed actually,” Truong said. “I’m tired form the hard work but people need transport means to smoothly get everything back to normal.”
In Lao Cai province, authorities on Thursday were rushing to search for 55 people missing in a flash flood that swept Nu Village on Tuesday, Vietnam News Agency reported.
The flash flood killed 46 people and injured 17 others in the village, the agency reported, adding that 300 soldiers and 359 local officials are joining the search and rescue effort.
The landslides and floods have inundated more than 200,000 hectares of rice and cash crop fields across northern Vietnam, the disaster management agency said.
The typhoon has also disrupted power supplies and blown off roofs of several factories in Haiphong and Quang Ninh provinces, halting production.
Several countries, including Australia, Japan, South Korea and the US, have said were sending aid to Vietnam.


Italy demands security guarantees for its troops in Lebanon

Updated 2 sec ago
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Italy demands security guarantees for its troops in Lebanon

ROME: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni demanded security guarantees on Tuesday for all her country’s troops deployed in Lebanon, where UN peacekeepers have come under fire during the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
Italy has troops deployed in the UN peacekeeping mission known as UNIFIL and in a separate mission known as MIBIL which trains local armed forces. There are over 1,000 Italian troops in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.
The UN Security Council expressed concern on Monday after several UN peacekeeping positions came under fire in southern Lebanon and urged all parties — without naming them — to respect the safety and security of UNIFIL personnel and premises.
“We believe that the attitude of the Israeli forces is completely unjustified,” Meloni said, describing it as a “blatant violation” a UN resolution on ending hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel.
In an address to Italy’s Senate, she said Israel’s actions were not acceptable and that she had expressed this position to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Asked whether she was considering a trip to Lebanon, Meloni told reporters: “Yes.”
Netanyahu has denied Israeli troops deliberately targeted UNIFIL peacekeepers in Lebanon and wants the peacekeepers withdrawn from combat zones.
Italy has protested to Israel and joined allies in condemning the attacks on the peacekeepers.
Meloni said Hezbollah had also violated the UN resolution and sought “to militarise the area under UNIFIL’s jurisdiction,” adding that Italy wanted to strengthen the capabilities of UNIFIL and the Lebanese Armed Forces.
She also said Rome had not forgotten the attack by Hamas militants on Israeli communities on Oct. 7 last year that sparked the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, and that Italy’s thoughts were with the more than 100 Israeli hostages still held in Gaza.

Hundreds of Afghan ex-special forces set for UK relocation

Updated 4 min 29 sec ago
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Hundreds of Afghan ex-special forces set for UK relocation

  • Ministry of Defense review overturns position of previous British government
  • Many operatives and their families were forced into hiding after Western withdrawal

LONDON: Hundreds of former members of Afghanistan’s special forces and their families will be resettled in the UK after ministers overturned a decision by the previous government, The Independent reported.

Armed Forces Minister Luke Pollard on Monday said 2,000 applicants for relocation, previously rejected by the UK, will have their paperwork reviewed once more following a Ministry of Defense review.

Many of the former special forces operatives and their families were placed at great risk of Taliban reprisal following the Western withdrawal from Afghanistan, with many forced into hiding.

About 25 percent of the 2,000 applications are expected to be overturned amid the release of new evidence demonstrating direct payments from the UK government to Afghan special forces units.

Pollard told the House of Commons: “Officials have now confirmed that there’s evidence of payments from the UK government to members of Afghan specialist units … and for some individuals this demonstrates a direct employment relationship.

“This is evidence that goes beyond previously identified top-up payments and reimbursements for operational expenses, which don’t demonstrate such an employment relationship in themselves.

“This is, of course, contrary to the position reported to Parliament by the previous government that no such evidence of direct employment existed.”

Pollard said the previous government’s position was not a “conscious effort to mislead,” but was part of a “failure to access and share the right digital records … across departmental lines.”

Some former Afghan soldiers who demonstrated ties to the UK in the wake of the Taliban takeover have been housed for years in military bases across Britain. Ministers have said they will soon be moved to appropriate accommodation.


Indonesia’s Prabowo courts largest party for coalition, meets candidates for govt posts

Updated 42 min 46 sec ago
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Indonesia’s Prabowo courts largest party for coalition, meets candidates for govt posts

  • The absence of any opposition in the parliament would mean that an eight-party alliance could ensure smooth passage of Prabowo’s legislative agenda

JAKARTA: Indonesia’s incoming president Prabowo Subianto met candidates for senior government posts for a second day on Tuesday, as he seeks to bring the country’s biggest political party into his already dominant parliamentary coalition.
If Prabowo can reach a deal with Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) there would be no opposition parties in parliament, an unprecedented situation since Indonesia began holding direct presidential elections in 2004.
Prabowo, who will be sworn in as president on Oct. 20, summoned over 40 people on Monday who said they had been asked to join the next government, including current finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati.
On Tuesday, Prabowo summoned dozens of potential deputy ministers, his top aide Sufmi Dasco Ahmad said.
While no lawmakers from the PDI-P had arrived at his house by early afternoon, Prabowo’s party officials have said that he plans to meet PDI-P chief Megawati Sukarnoputri to discuss a possible political alliance.
The timing of a meeting is unclear.
The absence of any opposition in the parliament would mean that an eight-party alliance could ensure smooth passage of Prabowo’s legislative agenda, but it would likely heighten fears about a lack of meaningful checks on Prabowo’s power in a country with a history of authoritarian rule.
Seven of the eight parties in parliament have already joined Prabowo’s coalition, securing him a parliamentary majority.
PDI-P, which won the most seats in the February election, had nominated Prabowo’s predecessor, President Joko Widodo, for president in 2014. But the relationship soured over Widodo’s tacit support for the president-elect during his campaign run.
Widodo’s son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, is the incoming vice president.
In his second five-year term, Widodo was also supported by most parties in parliament, with only two opposing parties.
Widodo leaves office facing criticism he has tried to change laws to benefit his family, and co-opt state bodies to control his opponents. He denies any impropriety, and has said democracy was thriving and he respects the country’s institutions.
Analysts say they fear what they see as that democratic backsliding may continue under Prabowo, a member of the old elite that previously ruled Indonesia. Prabowo is an ex-special forces commander who was dismissed from the military amid speculation of human rights abuses, assertions he has denied.
In March, Prabowo described democracy as tiring, costly and messy, and said there was room for improvement.


Greek, Turkish foreign ministers to meet on Nov. 8, sources say

Updated 15 October 2024
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Greek, Turkish foreign ministers to meet on Nov. 8, sources say

ATHENS: Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis will meet his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan in Athens on Nov. 8 to discuss bilateral issues including the demarcation of an exclusive economic zone, diplomatic sources said on Tuesday.
Greece and Turkiye, NATO allies but historic foes, have been at odds for decades over matters ranging from airspace to maritime jurisdiction in the eastern Mediterranean, energy resources and ethnically split Cyprus.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said last week he believed relations with Greece were improving and that the Gerapetritis-Fidan meeting was aimed at finding solutions to issues such as maritime zones and airspace.
The foreign ministers have been tasked with exploring whether conditions were favorable to initiate talks on the demarcation of the continental shelf and economic zone, Gerapetritis said last month.
An agreement on where their maritime zones begin and end is important for determining rights over possible gas reserves and power infrastructure schemes.
A high-level cooperation council, at which the countries will assess progress, is expected to take place in Ankara in January.
Separately, the leaders of estranged Greek and Turkish Cypriots were expected to meet informally with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York on Tuesday.
Cyprus was split decades ago in a Turkish invasion after a brief Greek-inspired coup, and preceded by years of sporadic violence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots. Reunification talks collapsed in mid-2017 and have been at a stalemate since.


Kenya court to rule on bid to stop deputy president’s ouster

Updated 15 October 2024
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Kenya court to rule on bid to stop deputy president’s ouster

  • In a historic move last week, the lower house of parliament, the National Assembly, voted overwhelmingly to impeach Gachagua on 11 charges including corruption

NAIROBI: A Kenyan court is due to rule Tuesday on a last-ditch case seeking to stop a Senate debate and vote on the impeachment of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
In a historic move last week, the lower house of parliament, the National Assembly, voted overwhelmingly to impeach Gachagua on 11 charges including corruption.
The 59-year-old has denied all allegations and will continue to serve in his role until the Senate decides whether to approve his removal.
Gachagua filed the court challenge to stop the upper house’s proceedings set for Wednesday and Thursday, arguing that his impeachment had been unfair and fast-tracked.
High Court judge Enock Chacha Mwita will rule on the case at 2:30 p.m. (1130 GMT).
It is one of more than two dozen court cases that have been filed against the impeachment, the first of its kind against a deputy president since the possibility was introduced in Kenya’s revised 2010 constitution.
On Monday, the Chief Justice Martha Koome empanelled a three-judge bench to hear and determine a case consolidating six of the petitions.
Gachagua, a powerful businessman from Kenya’s biggest tribe, the Kikuyu, weathered previous corruption scandals to become deputy leader as President William Ruto’s running mate in a closely fought election in August 2022.
But in recent weeks, he has complained of being sidelined by the president and had been accused of supporting youth-led anti-government protests that broke out in June.
Gachagua, who is accused of threatening a judge among his impeachment charges, on Sunday said he pinned his hopes on the judiciary.
“I am a believer in the independence of the judiciary. I am certain that the courts will exercise judicial authority and protect and uphold the constitution and the will of the people,” he told a church service in central Kenya.
Ruto has not commented publicly on the impeachment.
The ouster will require the support of at least two-thirds of senators to pass.