International
Pakistan orders thousands to evacuate near flood-swollen rivers
Thousands of people living near flood-swollen rivers in Pakistan’s north were ordered to evacuate Saturday as the death toll from devastating monsoon rains neared 1,000 with no end in sight.
Many rivers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — a picturesque province of rugged mountains and valleys — have burst their banks, demolishing scores of buildings including a 150-room hotel that crumbled into a raging torrent.
“The house which we built with years of hard work started sinking in front of our eyes,” said Junaid Khan, 23, the owner of two fish farms in Chrasadda.
“We sat on the side of the road and watched our dream house sinking.”
The annual monsoon is essential for irrigating crops and replenishing lakes and dams across the Indian subcontinent, but each year it also brings a wave of destruction.
Officials say this year’s monsoon flooding has affected more than 33 million people — one in seven Pakistanis — destroying or badly damaging nearly a million homes.
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On Saturday, authorities ordered thousands of residents in threatened areas to evacuate their homes as rivers had still not reached maximum capacity.
“Initially some people refused to leave, but when the water level increased they agreed,” Bilal Faizi, spokesman for the Rescue 1122 emergency service, told AFP.
Officials say this year’s floods are comparable to 2010 — the worst on record — when over 2,000 people died and nearly a fifth of the country was under water.
Farmer Shah Faisal, camped by the side of a road in Chrasadda with his wife and two daughters, described how he saw his riverside home swallowed by a river as the powerful current eroded the bank.
The Jindi, Swat and Kabul rivers flow through the town before joining the mighty Indus, which is also flooding downstream.
“We escaped with our lives,” Faisal told AFP.
– Climate change –
Officials blame the devastation on man-made climate change, saying Pakistan is unfairly bearing the consequences of irresponsible environmental practices elsewhere in the world.
Pakistan is eighth on the Global Climate Risk Index, a list compiled by the environmental NGO Germanwatch of countries deemed most vulnerable to extreme weather caused by climate change.
Still, local authorities must shoulder some of the blame for the devastation.
Corruption, poor planning and the flouting of local regulations mean thousands of buildings have been erected in areas prone to seasonal flooding — albeit not as bad as this year.
The government has declared an emergency and mobilised the military to deal with what Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman on Wednesday called “a catastrophe of epic scale”.
According to the National Disaster Management Authority, since the monsoon started in June more than two million acres of cultivated crops have been wiped out, 3,100 kilometres (1,900 miles) of roads have been destroyed and 149 bridges have been washed away.
In Sukkur, more than 1,000 kilometres south of Swat, farmlands irrigated by the Indus were under water, and tens of thousands of people were seeking shelter on elevated roads and highways as they waited for fresh torrents from the north.
“We have opened the gates fully,” dam supervisor Aziz Soomro told AFP, adding the main rush of water was expected Sunday.
The flooding could not come at a worse time for Pakistan, whose economy is in free fall and whose politics are gripped by crisis following the ousting of former prime minister Imran Khan by a parliamentary vote of no confidence in April.
AFP
International
American man arrested for beating tourist to death at Ireland hotel
American man arrested for beating tourist to death at Ireland hotel
A 30 year old American man whose name was not given by security officials, has been arrested for beating up a 60 year old tourist to death at the Ballyfin Demesne hotel in Laois, Ireland.
The Irish police force commonly known as ‘Garda Síochána’ announced that the incident occurred in the late hours of Tuesday, November 12.
Ballyfin Demesne hotel, is a popular luxury five-star hotel located in Laois, Ireland and special guests such as Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, George Clooney e.t.c had made use of the hotel in times past.
The victim was discovered unconscious in the late hours of Tuesday, November 12 and was then rushed to the hospital were he died due to severe beating inflicted on him by the culprit.
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Independent local councilor James Kelly stated that nearby communities were ‘stunned’ upon learning about the incident at the renowned hotel.
He said, “There would be a lot of staff from the area and they’re totally shocked by what has happened here.
“It’s something we didn’t think we’d be waking up to this morning.”
The police also noted that a senior officer has been assigned to lead the investigation and an incident room has been set up at Portlaoise Garda Station, Ireland.
Furthermore, a family liaison officer will be designated to assist the family of the deceased.
International
FBI raids home of crypto platform Polymarket CEO, after accurate prediction of Trump win
FBI raids home of crypto platform Polymarket CEO, after accurate prediction of Trump win
The Federal Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday carried out a raid at the home of Shayne Coplan, CEO of cryptocurrency prediction outlet Polymarket.
Authorities seized Mr Coplan’s phone during the raid, according to New York Post which first reported the incident.
Mr Coplan, 26, has been running the famous platform for bets throughout the 2024 presidential election in the United States.
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It wasn’t immediately clear why the search was conducted, but Polymarket promptly said it might be due to its activities during the election. Users on the platform had correctly predicted Donald Trump was going to defeat Kamala Harris. The company paid out a substantial amount to winners following the election.
“This is obvious political retribution by the outgoing administration against Polymarket for providing a market that correctly called the 2024 presidential election,” a spokesperson for Polymarket said in a statement from its headquarters in New York. “Polymarket is a fully transparent prediction market that helps everyday people better understand the events that matter most to them, including elections.”
It was unclear whether or not the FBI would be filing charges after the raid.
FBI raids home of crypto platform Polymarket CEO, after accurate prediction of Trump win
International
Two dead, buildings destroyed in American factory explosion
Two dead, buildings destroyed in American factory explosion
Two employees of Givaudan sense colour, a factory known for making colourings for beverages, located in Louisville, Kentucky, United States (US) were killed in an explosion that took place at the company’s facility.
The factory reported that the incident which took place on Tuesday, November 12 in the afternoon have also destroyed buildings around the company.
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Louisville Mayor, Craig Greenberg stated that firefighters managed to rescue and evacuate numerous individuals from the site, including some who sustained life-threatening injuries.
He also confirmed that all employees present at the plant during the explosion have been accounted for.
Earlier reports indicated that at least 11 workers were hospitalized.
The cause of the explosion is still under investigation.
Two dead, buildings destroyed in American factory explosion
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