WARSAW: Soldiers and volunteers in southwestern Poland were laying sandbags Wednesday near swollen rivers in the region of Wroclaw as they worked to safeguard homes and businesses after days of flooding across Central Europe.
Several Central European nations have been hit by severe flooding, including Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Romania as a result of a low pressure system that began dumping record rainfall in the region last Thursday.
Authorities have reported 23 deaths so far, with seven each in Poland and Romania, five in Austria and four in the Czech Republic.
The combination of floods in Central Europe and deadly wildfires in Portugal are joint proof of a “climate breakdown” that will become the norm unless drastic action is taken, the European Union’s head office said Wednesday.
The fourth death in the Czech Republic was reported Wednesday, when police said they found the body of a 70-year-old woman who was swept away by waters on Sunday in the town of Kobyla nad Vidnavkou near the town of Jesenik, located in the badly hit northeast.
The weather has improved, with warm and sunny conditions in the Czech Republic, Poland and elsewhere. Water levels were falling in some places, allowing authorities and residents to clean up debris.
Firefighters in Poland were pumping water out of flooded streets and basements. And in Romania, about 1,000 firefighters were working across the country to clean up severely affected areas, the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations said Wednesday in a Facebook post.
But some areas are still facing a threat, particularly in southwestern Poland.
Soldiers and residents in Marcinkowice, near Wroclaw, were laying sandbags near a bridge over the Olawa River, whose waters flow into the Oder, the major river that rises in the Oder Mountains in the Czech Republic and runs north through Poland to Germany.
The community leader of the town of Olawa, Artur Piotrowski, described the situation as difficult. He told the Polish state news agency PAP that two villages in a low-lying area have been flooded since Monday and residents refused to evacuate.
Thousands of Polish soldiers were in action. Some evacuated people and animals — including dogs and horses — from flood-affected areas and distributed food and drinking water. The army also posted on X on Wednesday that it set up a field hospital in the town of Nysa after patients in a hospital there had to be evacuated earlier this week.
Experts have been preparing for flood threats due to the cresting Oder River in Opole, a city of some 130,000 residents, and Wroclaw, home to about 640,000 residents, which suffered disastrous flooding in 1997.
Rising rivers threaten southern Poland as flooding recedes elsewhere in Central Europe
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Rising rivers threaten southern Poland as flooding recedes elsewhere in Central Europe
- Authorities have reported 23 deaths so far, with seven each in Poland and Romania, five in Austria and four in the Czech Republic
- The combination of floods in Central Europe and deadly wildfires in Portugal are joint proof of a “climate breakdown”, the European Union’s head office said
Suicide bombers detonate and breach wall of a military facility in Pakistan’s northwest
Bannu is in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where militant groups like the Pakistani Taliban are active
PESHAWAR: Twin blasts struck a military facility Tuesday in the northwest Pakistani city of Bannu after suicide bombers blew themselves up to breach the wall, officials said.
Plumes of gray smoke rose into the air and there were gunshots after the explosions, said police officer Zahid Khan.
The army said two suicide bombers detonated near the wall of a sprawling military area in Bannu, which mainly houses offices and homes of security forces.
Bannu is in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where militant groups like the Pakistani Taliban are active.
“After a breach in the wall, five to six more attackers attempted to enter the cantonment but were eliminated. Operations in the area are still ongoing,” the army said in a statement.
The blasts happened after sunset, when people would have been breaking their fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
A group affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban, Jaish Al-Fursan, claimed responsibility for the attack, the third militant assault in Pakistan since Ramadan started Sunday.
In a statement, Jaish Al-Fursan said its fighters had killed dozens of security personnel. The army did not immediately provide casualty figures.
Armed groups have targeted Bannu several times. Last November, a suicide car bomb killed 12 troops and wounded several others at a security post.
In July, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden vehicle and other militants opened fire near the outer wall of the military facility.
Twin blasts struck a military facility Tuesday in the northwest Pakistani city of Bannu after suicide bombers blew themselves up to breach the wall, officials said. (AFP/File)
Hungary PM Orban to meet French president for talks on Ukraine on Wednesday
- Orban also said that he sees more chance to find ways to cooperate on common EU security
BUDAPEST: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Tuesday that he would meet French President Emmanuel Macron to talk about Ukraine on Wednesday ahead of an extraordinary summit of European Union leaders scheduled for Thursday.
Orban also said that he sees more chance to find ways to cooperate on common EU security than on Ukraine at Thursday's summit. Replying to a reporter's question Orban confirmed that he had a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump in Sunday and that they discussed 'everything.'
Ukraine ‘determined’ to maintain US ties after aid halt
- “Ukraine is absolutely determined to continue cooperation with the US,” Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said
- “The US is an important partner and we need to preserve this“
KYIV: Ukraine on Tuesday sought to maintain bonds with Washington after President Donald Trump ordered US military aid deliveries be suspended following a public clash with counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky.
Trump’s stunning decision strengthened fears in Ukraine and in many European capitals that America was pivoting away from its allies — and toward Moscow.
“Ukraine is absolutely determined to continue cooperation with the US,” Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal told reporters, adding: “The US is an important partner and we need to preserve this.”
US and Western security guarantees were “existentially important” for Ukraine and for Europe, he said, adding Kyiv was ready “at any time” to sign a strategic minerals extraction deal demanded by Trump.
The prime minister’s outreach followed Trump’s decision, which sent shockwaves across Ukraine, but which was also hailed by Moscow.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was a “solution which could really push the Kyiv regime to a peace process.”
“If the United States stops (military supplies), this would probably be the best contribution to peace,” Peskov said.
The European Union, which along with Ukraine, has been excluded from US-Russian negotiations toward a potential truce in Ukraine, has been scrambling to up its support for Kyiv.
That urgency heightened on Friday, when Trump and Zelensky clashed in the White House, with Trump warning his Ukrainian counterpart “won’t be around very long” without a ceasefire deal with Moscow.
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday presented an EU plan to mobilize some 800 billion euros ($840 billion) for Europe’s defense.
She said the funding would permit EU countries to “massively step up their support to Ukraine” and provide “immediate military equipment for Ukraine.”
Poland’s government noted that America’s decision was made without consulting NATO allies, and the impact was already being seen at a weapons and aid logistics hub for Ukraine it hosts.
“Reports coming in from the border, as well as from our (logistics) hub... also confirm the announcements made by the American side,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said without elaborating.
The US pause has gone into effect immediately and impacts hundreds of millions of dollars of weaponry in the process of being sent to Ukraine, The New York Times reported.
Ordinary Ukrainians who spoke to AFP were shocked and angry at what they viewed as a betrayal by Trump.
“It’s like a stab in the back,” a 33-year-old financial assistant in Kyiv who gave only her first name, Sofia, told AFP.
Trump “wants Ukraine’s surrender, the deaths of our people, the surrender of our territories,” one army volunteer, Sergiy Sternenko, said on Telegram.
With the US aid pause, “everything can change,” a 48-year-old military recruiter in Kyiv, Volodymyr Perkhrest, told AFP. “I don’t think Europe is able to meet these needs,” he said.
Ukraine’s prime minister vowed in a news conference that “we will do everything to hold out” despite the US aid cut.
A Zelensky aide, Mykhailo Pdolyak, said on X his country was “discussing options with our European partners.”
Zelensky has yet to comment publicly on the halt of the US aid.
Last week, he visited Washington to sign the multi-billion-dollar minerals deal — but ended up not doing so after his showdown with Trump and US Vice President JD Vance.
Trump — who has labelled Zelensky a “dictator” — said Ukraine should be “more appreciative” of US support.
Zelensky has accused Trump of succumbing to “a disinformation space” created by Russia, which he says is not serious about pursuing peace.
Ukraine is seeking tough security guarantees around an end to the war.
With the United States opposing its bid to join NATO, Kyiv is turning to other measures backed by Western countries.
After weekend crisis talks in London, Britain and France are investigating how to propose a one-month Ukraine-Russia truce “in the air, at sea and on energy infrastructure” — potentially backstopped by troops on the ground.
Germany suspends new financial aid to Rwanda over alleged support for M23 rebels in Congo
- The ministry said Tuesday that, “in consultation with partners,” it will further restrict bilateral cooperation with Rwanda
- It said that it will review existing development cooperation with Kigali
NAIROBI: Germany’s development ministry said Tuesday it will suspend new financial commitments to Rwanda over that country’s alleged support of the M23 rebels in neighboring eastern Congo.
The ministry said Tuesday that, “in consultation with partners,” it will further restrict bilateral cooperation with Rwanda.
It said that it will review existing development cooperation with Kigali, suspend high-level participation in development events organized by the Rwandan government and seek “an appropriate reaction” regarding multilateral programs.
Germany said Rwanda was informed of the decision in advance in a conversation in which the position of the European Union and expectations of Rwanda — particularly withdrawal of its troops and an end to support for M23 — were again underlined.
Germany is the latest country to announce measures aimed at piling pressure on Rwandan President Paul Kagame, who previously has been defiant over his country’s efforts to secure its border with a largely lawless part of eastern Congo.
Rwanda recently said similar restrictive measures introduced by the UK were doing nothing to “help (Congo), nor do they contribute to achieving a sustainable political solution to the conflict in eastern (Congo).”
About 4,000 Rwandan troops are fighting alongside M23 rebels in eastern Congo, where the rebels now control the capitals of the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu, according to a report by UN experts.
M23 is the most powerful of the many armed groups vying for a foothold in Congo’s east, a region possessing trillions of dollars in largely untapped mineral resources crucial for global technology.
Indonesia targets Saudi market to boost modest fashion exports
- Indonesia is currently ranked third globally for modest fashion
- Its domestic industry is growing at about 18 percent annually
Jakarta: Indonesia is targeting the Saudi market to expand its modest fashion exports, the Ministry of Industry said on Tuesday, as it expects more opportunities from the growth of the garment industry in the Middle East.
Southeast Asia’s biggest economy was ranked third in the world for modest fashion, according to the 2023/24 Global Islamic Economy Report, just behind Turkiye and Malaysia. In 2024, Indonesian consumers bought more than $20 billion worth of modest fashion products, with the industry’s average annual growth estimated at about 18 percent.
Jakarta is hoping to tap into the sector’s global potential by developing its domestic modest fashion market and boosting exports to other Muslim countries, especially in the Middle East.
“Saudi Arabia is one of the biggest markets for modest fashion in the world. It’s because of their large Muslim population and high purchasing power,” Reni Yanita, director-general for small and medium industries at the Ministry of Industry, told Arab News.
“The consumer preference in Saudi Arabia leans toward modest fashion products that are high-quality, fashionable and in adherence to Islamic principles, which give huge opportunities for Indonesian products.”
Modest fashion brands in the world’s largest Muslim majority country have benefited from the popularity of digital platforms, which enable them to use e-commerce sites to reach buyers in different parts of the country.
The Indonesian government has also supported the industry’s growth through trade roadshows, by facilitating networking opportunities with potential foreign partners and sponsoring major events, including the Muslim Fashion Festival last month.
Indonesia sees big opportunities in the Saudi fashion market, which was valued at $4.25 billion in 2024 and expected to reach $5.7 billion by 2030, according to Irish data company Research and Markets.
The Kingdom’s growing fashion market reflected a trend in the Middle East, where the garment industry is valued at about $89 billion.
“With the huge potential of the Middle East market, it will surely have a positive impact on Indonesia’s economic growth … (as we) can increase the exports of Indonesian goods, including modest fashion products,” Yanita said.
“Economic cooperation with countries in the Middle East will also enhance our various bilateral relations and further increase investment in Indonesia.”
