Tag: emergency

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-Top News Afghanistan Asia News

UN report warns of emergency levels of food insecurity in Afghanistan

The UN agency stated that the situation is getting “worse” in Afghanistan due to the increase in malnutrition. One of the main causes of the rise in malnutrition in Afghanistan has reportedly due to the decrease in humanitarian supplies to the nation…reports Asian Lite News

An estimated 15.8 million people in war-ravaged Afghanistan will experience crisis and emergency levels of food insecurity in 2024, said a United Nations (UN) report released on Thursday.

According to the 2023 UN Afghanistan Annual Results Report, the majority of Afghanistan’s population is unable to procure basic needs such as healthcare, food, livelihood and housing, Xinhua news agency reported.

“As 2023 began, families across Afghanistan continued to struggle to feed their children. Nine out of 10 people were not consuming an adequate amount of food, the cost of which absorbed an overwhelming 89 per cent of household incomes,” it said.

According to the 2023 Global Hunger Index, Afghanistan ranked 114th among 125 countries with sufficient data to calculate the index scores.

War-torn Afghanistan with a population of about 40 million has been facing poverty and economic hardships since the withdrawal of US-led forces in August 2021.

Meanwhile, the United Nations World Food Programme in Afghanistan has warned regarding the rise in malnutrition among women and children in the country, according to Khaama Press.

The report highlights that during the previous three years, the number of admissions for malnutrition in Kabul has tripled.

The UN agency stated that the situation is getting “worse” in Afghanistan due to the increase in malnutrition. One of the main causes of the rise in malnutrition in Afghanistan has reportedly due to the decrease in humanitarian supplies to the nation.

According to Mishro, a nurse at a malnutrition ward, the mental and psychological health of women has declined over the last two years, and the number of malnutrition cases in Afghanistan has been rising, Khaama Press reported.

She underlined that there is not enough room for these patients and that undernourished moms have contributed to their children’s malnourishment.

“For women who are malnourished, the situation is not good in 50 per cent of cases,” she continued.

Meanwhile, World Food Programme has also highlighted the rise in the number of malnourished women in the nation.

This occurs at the same time that human rights organisations are becoming increasingly concerned about Afghanistan’s rising rates of poverty and malnutrition, particularly among women.

Afghan people have been leaving their homes because of poverty, insecurity and conflicts in the country.

Moreover, Afghanistan’s women have faced numerous challenges since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.

Taliban leaders have also disregarded international calls for women and girls to be given access to education and employment. Apparently, they have also issued warnings to other nations not to meddle in Afghanistan’s domestic affairs. (ANI)

ALSO READ-Afghanistan: 15.8M People in Food Insecurity Crisis

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-Top News Environment USA

Emergency Evacuation Ordered as Wildfires Threaten Merryville, Louisiana

For residents who need transportation out, buses have been made available at the Merryville town hall, the sheriff’s office said…reports Asian Lite News

Amid an ongoing drought and extreme heat, raging wildfires have prompted the evacuation of residents of a town in the US state of Louisiana, authorities said.

The evacuation order for Merryville town was issued by the Beauregard Parish Sheriff’s Office Thursday evening, saying the fire could reach the town limits within hours, CNN reported citing the Louisiana State Police.

Merryville has a population of about 1,200 people, sheriff’s office spokesperson Shannon Burgess told CNN.

The town is located just east of the state border with Texas, about 120 miles northeast of Houston.

For residents who need transportation out, buses have been made available at the Merryville town hall, the sheriff’s office said.

“We had buses immediately headed that way,” Burgess said, adding that a shelter has been opened at the First Methodist Church in DeRidder, northeast of Merryville.

Earlier this week, there were almost 350 wildfires burning in the state, CNN quoted Mike Steele, communications director at the Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, as saying.

Every parish in the state is under a red flag warning, according to the National Weather Service.

State emergency operations centers were activated on Wednesday morning to help battle the blazes.

As of Thursday, more than 10,000 acres have burned in Beauregard Parish.

Lake Charles, around 40 miles southeast of Merryville, has seen temperatures over 37 degrees Celsius every day since August 18 and temperatures over 35 degrees since June 29.

ALSO READ-Biden, First Lady survey Hawaii wildfire devastation

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-Top News Europe

Hungary declares state of energy emergency

“In recent days, it has become clear that there will not be enough gas for the heating season in parts of Europe,” he said…reports Asian Lite News

The Hungarian government declared a state of energy emergency and adopted a 7-point plan on energy security, with special focus on the supply security of Hungarian families, Gergely Gulyas, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office, told a press conference on Wednesday.

The measures will take effect on August 1.

Gulyas blamed the prolonged conflict in Ukraine and the European Union’s sanctions against Russia for the steep rise in energy prices in Europe, culminating now in what he called an energy crisis.

“In recent days, it has become clear that there will not be enough gas for the heating season in parts of Europe,” he said.

As part of the emergency plan, domestic natural gas production will be doubled to 2 billion cubic meters, and the government tasked Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto with negotiating additional gas supplies. At the same time, the government will ban the export of energy carriers and firewood, and boost domestic lignite production.

The coal-fired Matra power plant — not operating since June 2021 — will be restarted as soon as possible, and the government will launch the procedure to extend the operating license of the Paks nuclear power plant until 2042-2047 (different dates apply to the four Paks blocks). A sore point to citizens, those who consume energy above the national average will have to pay the market price for the excess consumption.

Gulyas said the average annual consumption had been 2,523 kilowatt hours for electricity and 1,729 cubic meters for gas.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has been in power since 2010, faces unprecedented setbacks: inflation in Hungary is approaching 12 percent, a 24-year high, while the country’s currency (forint) is at record lows against the euro and the U.S. dollar. Moreover, the country’s access to vital European Union (EU) funds has been blocked over concerns for the rule of law situation in Hungary.

Pressed to fill the state coffers, the government on Tuesday ended a preferential tax regime for individual entrepreneurs that led to demonstrations in the capital.

ALSO READ-Hungary gets its first woman President

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-Top News Asia News Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka declares emergency amid unrest over economic crisis

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said he believed there was a “public emergency in Sri Lanka” that necessitated invoking the tough laws, reports Asian Lite News

Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Friday declared a state of emergency in the country giving the security forces wide authority to arrest and detain suspects with immediate effect.

Rajapaksa has issued the “Extraordinary Gazette” declaring a public emergency after hundreds of protesters gathered in the capital and many of them tried to storm the President’s residence to protest against the government for “poor management of economic policies, which has created mess in the country”.

The President said he believed there was a “public emergency in Sri Lanka” that necessitated invoking the tough laws.

“The Gazette has been issued considering the prevailing situation in the country and in the interests of public security, the protection of public order and the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the life of the community,” said a statement.

ALSO READ: China’s ‘strategic trap’ for Sri Lanka

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Films Lite Blogs

Zelensky’s 2016 TV series gets new life on Channel 4

The Belarusian TV channel, Belarus-1, has been airing it since November 2019…reports Asian Lite News

With Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky emerging as a global hero, global rights management company Eccho Rights has licensed ‘Servant of the People’, the 2016 television series created by and starring him.

‘Variety’ reports that the rights have been sold to Channel 4 in the U.K., MBC in the Middle East, ANT 1 in Greece and PRO TV in Romania.

Eccho Rights managing director Fredrik af Malmborg shared this news and said his company stood “in solidarity with our friends and partners in Ukraine”. He added: “It is our position that the best support the global television industry can offer to Ukraine today is to share this story.”

Three seasons of the political comedy series, presented by Zelensky’s production house Kvartal 95, were aired on the Ukrainian 1+1 channel and was adapted into a feature film after its successful first season in 2016. The Belarusian TV channel, Belarus-1, has been airing it since November 2019.

Nicola Soderlund, managing partner at Eccho, said: “The series is a comedy but also an important document of where Zelensky comes from. His fictional president is a normal man, who grows into his role as a heroic and adored leader.”

Soderlund added: “While the real world scenario facing Zelensky and the Ukrainian people is far more grim and appalling than the comedy of the series, there are obvious parallels with the real world situation, and ‘Servant of the People’ is a fascinating, important and historic piece of television.”

In a classic case of fiction prefacing reality, Zelensky plays the lead character, Vasyl Petrovych Holoborodko, an absent-minded high school history teacher who is elected President of Ukraine after his profane rant about corruption in the country is recorded by one of his students, who uploads the footage to YouTube and turns him into an Internet sensation.

Holoborodko’s students launch a crowdfunding campaign for his candidacy in Ukraine’s presidential race against his wishes, eventually propelling him to political victory.

ALSO READ-Ukraine’s ‘Locky’ on a bumpy ride towards Kerala

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Africa News News

Tunisia extends state of emergency until the end of 2022

Tunisia extends state of emergency until the end of 2022

Tunisian President Kais Saied has decided to extend the state of emergency imposed across the country until the end of 2022…reports Asian Lite News

“President Saied decided to extend the state of emergency in the entire territory of the republic for a period of more than 10 months, starting from Saturday to December 31, 2022,” Xinhua news agency quoted the Journal of the Republic of Tunisia, an official biweekly gazette, as saying.

It is considered one of the longest extensions since the state of emergency was first declared in Tunisia on November 24, 2015, following a bomb attack on a bus carrying presidential guards, killing 12 of them.

ALSO READ: Tunisian President dissolves Superior Council of Judiciary over suspected corruption

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Africa News News World

Death toll rises to 20 from 21-story building collapse in Nigeria

Death toll rises to 20 from 21-story building collapse in Nigeria

The death toll from the collapse of a 21-storey building in the city of Lagos, Nigeria’s economic hub, rose to 20, as more dead bodies have been recovered, with scores of people remaining unaccounted for…reports Asian Lite News

Ibrahim Farinloye, the Coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in the Lagos state, said in an update statement on Tuesday evening that 20 dead bodies had been recovered and nine people had been rescued alive following the collapse of the 21-story building under construction in the Ikoyi area of Lagos city on Monday afternoon.

Rescue operations were still underway and an investigation into the cause of the collapse is ongoing, Farinloye added.

Death toll rises to 20 from 21-story building collapse in Nigeria

Residents living in the area told Xinhua earlier Tuesday that the building had been under construction for more than one year and over 50 people, mostly construction workers, were trapped under the rubble.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Governor of the Lagos state, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, vowed in a statement a thorough investigation into the deadly building collapse, adding the state government is setting up an independent panel to probe the cause of the collapse.

Sanwo-Olu said members of the panel will be drawn from professional bodies in the field of construction such as the Nigeria Institute of Architects, the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners, and the Nigeria Society of Engineers.

“It will independently investigate the remote and immediate causes of the incident and make recommendations on how to prevent future occurrences. The investigation is not part of the internal probe already being conducted by the government,” he added.

The Governor said the government will find out what went wrong and punish those indicted, adding that as a first step, he has directed that the General Manager of the Lagos State Building Control Agency be suspended from work immediately.

Meanwhile, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari directed authorities in the Lagos state to step up rescue efforts in a statement issued on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

ALSO READ: 163 illegal migrants deported to Nigeria from Libya

“I commiserate with all families who have lost loved ones in the collapsed building in Lagos. This is a sad period for the people and government of Lagos state, and we share in thesadness,” Buhari said.

The Nigerian leader also called on emergency institutions, including hospitals, to provide all the support to safeguard the lives of the rescued.

Building collapses often occur in Nigeria, as some property owners and developers do not adhere strictly to planning and building laws and regulations. In most cases, heavy loads are placed on the building and substandard materials are used in construction.

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Africa News Arab News World

Ethiopia govt announces nationwide state emergency

Ethiopia govt announces nationwide state emergency

The Ethiopian government has announced a nationwide state of emergency rule amid the ongoing conflict in the northern part of the country…reports Asian Lite News

The decision was made by the Ethiopian Council of Ministers, which is expected to be endorsed by the Ethiopian House of People’s Representatives (HoPR) within the coming two days period, reports Xinhua n.

The state of emergency will remain in force for six months.

Ethiopia govt announces nationwide state emergency

The move came amid deteriorating conditions in northern parts of the country, as the conflict that erupted a year ago in the Tigray region between the Ethiopian federal government and forces loyal to the rebel Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) expanded to neighbouring Amhara and Afar regions, and eventually approaching to central parts of the country in recent weeks.

Since the early hours of November 4, 2020, the Ethiopian government has been undertaking military operations against the TPLF.

ALSO READ: UN Concern Over Ethiopia

However, the government in late June announced a unilateral ceasefire in the country’s conflict-affected northernmost Tigray regional state. Forces loyal to the TPLF soon took control of much of the area in the region, including the regional capital.

The conflict has since then expanded to the Amhara and Afar regions, neighbouring Tigray.

The HoPR, the lower house of the Ethiopian Parliament, had previously designated the TPLF as a terrorist organisation.

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Arab News COVID-19 World

Palestine extends state of emergency

Palestine extends state of emergency

Palestine has extended its coronavirus-related state of emergency for another month despite a decrease in fresh cases and fatalities…reports Asian Lite News

In a decree issued by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the state of emergency was extended effective immediately from Saturday so as to combat the spread of the virus, Xinhua news agency reported citing state media.

Palestine extends state of emergency

The state of emergency was first issued in March 2020 after the discovery of the first cases of coronavirus in the Palestinian territories and has been extended or re-declared every month since then.

According to the state media report, Abbas called on the competent authorities to take all necessary measures to confront the risks resulting from coronavirus, protect public health, and achieve security and stability.

ALSO READ: Palestine condemns Israeli opposition to 2-state solution

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said in a statement that there were seven new Covid fatalities and 210 cases in the in the last 24 hours.

The statement said that there has been a significant drop in fatalities and new cases in recent days compared with the last few weeks.

Categories
-Top News Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka Parliament passes ‘state of emergency’

The military and the authorities have been seizing food stocks and confiscating warehouses with paddy and sugar…reports Asian Lite News

The Sri Lanka Parliament on Monday passed the ‘state of emergency’ with claims to seize hidden food stocks amid soaring prices of food and essential items.

The ruling Gotabaya Rajapaksa government passed the state of emergency with majority votes, with the opposition parties complaining that the law is a danger to democracy, rights and freedom of expression as the same law could be used to suppress dissent voices against the government.

Rajapaksa had on August 30 gazetted state of emergency as a means to maintain food supplies and essential services during the Covid-19 pandemic. The regulations had to be passed by the Parliament within 14 days.

The President also appointed a senior military official in a new post titled Commissioner General of Essential Services to control the distribution of essential consumer goods, including paddy, rice and sugar.

Amid the price hike, traders were hoarding essential goods like sugar and rice. The price control imposed by the government also led to a shortage of food items like milk powder.

The military and the authorities have been seizing food stocks and confiscating warehouses with paddy and sugar.

However, the opposition alleged that the state of emergency has been imposed not only to control essential food prices, but also to silence the dissent against the government.

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) lawmaker M A. Sumanthiran said there is no guarantee that the law will not interfere with the freedom of expression.

He argued that the existing laws are sufficient to control the prices of food and their supplies. The law will not confine only to the essential services but it would threaten the human rights as well, Sumanthiran argued.

Sri Lanka maintained state of emergency during the 30-year long war against Tamil rebels and during the two youth uprisings in 1972 and 1987/88.

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