Deadly rains disrupt Eid celebrations in Pakistan’s largest city

Motorists make their way through a flooded street after a heavy rain shower in Karachi on July 11, 2022. (AFP)
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Updated 11 July 2022
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Deadly rains disrupt Eid celebrations in Pakistan’s largest city

  • Death toll from rain-related incidents has risen to over 150 since last month
  • More heavy rain expected in coming days, a weather official said

KARACHI: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered “every possible support” on Monday to the southeastern province of Sindh, as relentless rainfall submerged parts of its capital Karachi and killed at least 11 people on the second day of Eid Al-Adha.

Heavy rains that battered Karachi have left large parts of the city underwater and without power, as citizens trended #KarachiRain on Twitter and said that water was entering their homes. Traffic jams were also reported across Pakistan’s largest city, where many of its main roads have been closed.

Eleven deaths related to rain-related incidents have been reported in Karachi in the last 24 hours, Dr. Sumaiyya Syed, police surgeon of the city, told Arab News. The latest numbers add to a rising death toll recorded since monsoon downpours began in mid-June, which killed over 150 people and left hundreds of people homeless across the South Asian country.

“Deeply saddened by the tragic losses due to torrential rains in Karachi. I am confident that Sindh govt will rise to the occasion & bring life back to normal,” Sharif tweeted.

“Have offered to extend every possible support.”

The Pakistan Meteorological Department said authorities are expecting more flooding on Monday.

“Heavy downpours have created urban flooding, and the situation may worsen with light to heavy rains expected in different parts of the city in the evening,” department director Sardar Sarfraz told Arab News.

The city will also see more downpours later this week, which are expected to trigger another flood.

“A heavy rain system is expected to enter Karachi July 14 and remain for four to five days, which again will create urban flooding,” Sarfraz said.

Social media footage showed rainwater flooding houses in different parts of Karachi, as rainfall also disrupted other parts of Pakistan on Monday.

In August 2020, record-breaking heavy rain in Karachi killed over 100 people and disrupted the lives of many of the city’s 15 million residents, as water flooded its main roads and housing areas.

Karachi Commissioner Mohammed Iqbal Memon took to Twitter to urge Karachi residents to take precautions as intense rainfall continued.

“Stay away from utility line poles, wires, and nallas,” he tweeted, referring to watercourses in the city.

“Please don’t go outside of home unnecessarily.”


Kremlin blasts potential EU deployment of French nuclear bombers

Updated 59 min 10 sec ago
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Kremlin blasts potential EU deployment of French nuclear bombers

  • Russia, the world’s biggest nuclear power, possesses about 4,000 warheads and views France’s nuclear deterrence as a potential threat to its national security
  • The French president floated the idea during a TV appearance on Tuesday

MOSCOW: The possible deployment of French nuclear bombers across the EU will not enhance security on the continent, the Kremlin said Wednesday, after French President Emmanuel Macron said he was ready to discuss the issue.
“The proliferation of nuclear weapons on the European continent is something that will not add security, predictability, or stability to the European continent,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
The French president floated the idea during a TV appearance on Tuesday, comparing it to the United States’s nuclear umbrella policy that guarantees Washington would reciprocate if its allies come under nuclear attack.
“The Americans have the bombs on planes in Belgium, Germany, Italy, Turkiye,” Macron told TF1 television.
“We are ready to open this discussion. I will define the framework in a very specific way in the weeks and months to come.”
France is the EU’s only nuclear-armed nation.
Amid Russia’s offensive on Ukraine and US President Donald Trump’s calls on Europe to take more of the burden for its own defense, discussion is growing over extending Paris’s nuclear deterrent to the rest of the 27-member bloc.
Russia, the world’s biggest nuclear power, possesses about 4,000 warheads and views France’s nuclear deterrence as a potential threat to its national security.
“At present, the entire system of strategic stability and security is in a deplorable state for obvious reasons,” Peskov added.
Amid his offensive on Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has several times threatened nuclear escalation, drawing rebukes from the West over “reckless” rhetoric.


‘Albania belongs in EU,’ von der Leyen tells re-elected PM Rama

Updated 14 May 2025
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‘Albania belongs in EU,’ von der Leyen tells re-elected PM Rama

  • EU and French leaders congratulated Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama Wednesday after his party’s electoral victory

BRUSSELS: EU and French leaders congratulated Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama Wednesday after his party’s electoral victory, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hailing his “great progress toward our Union.”
“Let’s keep working closely together on EU reforms. Albania belongs in the EU!” von der Leyen said on X. French President Emmanuel Macron also hailed Rama’s win, writing on X: “France will always stand alongside Albania on its European path.”


Germany arrests three Ukrainians suspected of spying in exploding parcel plot

Updated 14 May 2025
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Germany arrests three Ukrainians suspected of spying in exploding parcel plot

BERLIN: Germany has arrested three Ukrainian nationals on suspicion of foreign agent activity linked to the shipment of parcels containing explosive devices, prosecutors said on Wednesday.
The suspects are believed to have been in contact with individuals working for Russian state institutions, federal prosecutors said in a statement.


France says to expel Algerian diplomats in tit-for-tat move

Updated 14 May 2025
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France says to expel Algerian diplomats in tit-for-tat move

PARIS: France will expel Algerian diplomats in response to plans by Algiers to send more French officials home, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Wednesday, as relations between the countries deteriorate.
Barrot told the BFMTV broadcaster that he would summon Algeria’s charge d’affaires to inform him of the decision that he said was “perfectly proportionate at this point” to the Algerian move, which he called “unjustified and unjustifiable.”


Japanese military training plane crashes with two on board

Updated 14 May 2025
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Japanese military training plane crashes with two on board

TOKYO: A Japanese military training plane crashed shortly after takeoff, authorities said Wednesday, with reports saying two people were on board the aircraft which appeared to have fallen in a lake.
“We’re aware a T-4 plane that belongs to the Air Self-Defense Force fell down immediately after taking off at Komaki Air Base” in central Japan, top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi said.
“Details are being probed by the defense ministry,” he told reporters.
The T-4 seats two and is a “domestically produced, highly reliable and maintainable training aircraft... used for all basic flight courses,” according to the defense ministry website.
The aircraft was flying around Lake Iruka near Inuyama city north of Nagoya, according to media outlets including public broadcaster NHK.
“There is no sight of the plane yet. We’ve been told that an aerial survey by an Aichi region helicopter found a spot where oil was floating on the surface of the lake,” local fire department official Hajjime Nakamura told AFP.
He said his office had received unconfirmed information that there were two people on board but that they had not been able to independently verify this.
Aerial footage of the lake broadcast by NHK showed an oil sheen on its surface, dotted with what appeared to be various pieces of debris.
Just after 3:00 p.m. (0600 GMT) the local fire department received a call saying it appeared that a plane had crashed into the lake, the reports said.
The reports added, citing defense ministry sources, that the training plane had disappeared from the radar.
The defense ministry was not able to immediately confirm details to AFP.
Jiji Press said the local municipality had said there had been no damage to houses in the area.