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Islamabad, Sep 13 (IANS) Pakistan fears that floods might have caused over $40 billion economic losses and damages as the National Flood Response Coordination Centre (NFRCC) dismissed the initial assessment of $18 billion, local media reported.

The $40 billion losses were flagged in a flood response centre meeting during discussion on an interim report titled "An Early Assessment of Flood Impact on Pakistan's Economy", presented by the Ministry of Finance.

"The devastating conditions suggest that the scale of flood losses is in the range of $30 billion to over $40 billion," said Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, while talking to The Express Tribune.

Iqbal, who is also Chairman of NFRCC, a joint civil-military body set up to monitor and coordinate relief and rehabilitation work, said, "We are going through the process of a comprehensive assessment of flood damages with the help of World Bank, Asian Development Bank, provincial and federal governments."

It is for the first time that the $40 billion loss estimate has been given, which is three times more than the initial estimate of $10 billion to $12 billion. The new number is even far higher than the $30 billion figure given by United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres last week.

Although a detailed report of losses would be ready in four to six weeks, initial assessment would be finalised by the end of this week, said the NFRCC chairman.

The planning minister said that the finance ministry had presented an initial assessment of flood losses, which was based on predictive analysis but the model's outcome would depend on what input was fed into it, The Express Tribune reported.

"NFRCC has directed the Ministry of Finance to withhold the release of its flood impact report," he added.

"We will wait for the outcome of comprehensive assessment but damages are colossal and even more than $30 billion as suggested by the United Nations secretary general," said the NFRCC chairman.

--IANS
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La Paz, Sep 13 (IANS) Bolivia detected 29 more cases of monkeypox in the past week, bringing the total number of cases so far to 119, Minister of Health and Sports Jeyson Auza said.

The country's action plan to contain and mitigate the spread of the virus was effective, Auza told reporters at a press conference on Monday.

"To date, we have reported 119 confirmed cases ... we are working on the containment of the disease and we can say that its spread is under control," Auza added.

Of the total, 110 cases are considered to be still "active," with the patients on the road to recovery, while nine had been discharged following a full recovery, he said.

In May, the Bolivian government declared a monkeypox epidemiological alert and armed health services in all nine departments with the protocols to follow for suspected cases, Xinhua news agency reported.

The first monkeypox case in the South American country was confirmed on August 1 in Santa Cruz, involving a 38-year-old national.

--IANS
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Kiev, Sep 13 (IANS) More than 73,000 people have been evacuated from the conflict-affected eastern and southern regions of Ukraine in August, Ukraine's Ministry of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories said.

In particular, nearly 16,000 civilians have been evacuated in a month from the eastern Donetsk region as a part of the mandatory evacuation, the Ministry added on Monday.

Besides, 50,000 people were evacuated from the Russia-held areas in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions in southern Ukraine to Kiev-controlled territory, it said.

Ukraine started the mandatory evacuation from the Donetsk region in early August, Xinhua news agency reported.

Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said that the mandatory evacuation may be extended to other conflict-hit regions.

--IANS
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Brussels, Sep 13 (IANS) Belgium started a vaccination campaign with new Omicron-adapted Covid-19 shots. It is primarily a "booster" dose for people who have already received vaccines against Covid-19.

The current campaign which was started on Monday is primarily aimed at immunocompromised people, those aged 65 years and above, and health professionals in hospitals and nursing homes.

This first phase of the new Omicron-specific booster campaign will run from September 12 to October 1 in Wallonia, Flanders and the Brussels-Capital Region, Xinhua news agency reported.

According to figures published on Monday by 7sur7.be, more than 700,000 invitations have been sent to all Walloons aged above 65 years who meet the conditions for revaccination.

People in the 50-64 age group will receive their invitation later.

Coronavirus indicators remain stable in Belgium. According to the Sciensano Scientific Institute of Public Health, 1,489 new Covid-19 infections on average were recorded per day between August 29 and September 4, a decrease of 2 per cent compared to the previous week.

As autumn approaches, some experts fear a new wave and are reiterating their call for caution.

As of September 5, 25,800,728 Covid-19 vaccine doses had been administered in Belgium. The vaccination coverage for the second booster dose is 5.2 per cent of the total population, and that of people aged 85 years and above is 48.2 per cent, according to Sciensano.

--IANS
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London, Sep 13 (IANS) Britain's King Charles III said he felt "the weight of history" and vowed to follow the example set by his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in his first address to the parliament.

"As I stand before you today, I cannot help but feel the weight of history which surrounds us, and which reminds us of the vital parliamentary traditions, to which members of both Houses dedicate yourselves with such personal commitment for the betterment of us all," he told the House of Commons and House of Lords on Monday at a ceremony in Westminster Hall, the oldest building on the parliamentary estate.

King Charles III ascended to the throne following the death of Britain's longest-reigning monarch Queen Elizabeth II, aged 96, on Thursday. He was formally proclaimed Britain's new monarch at a meeting of the Accession Council at St James's Palace on Saturday, Xinhua news agency reported.

"While very young, her late Majesty pledged herself to serve her country and her people and to maintain the precious principles of constitutional government which lie at the heart of our nation. This vow she kept with unsurpassed devotion," he told the lawmakers and peers.

"She set an example of selfless duty which, with God's help and your counsels, I am resolved faithfully to follow," he said.

Charles III travelled to Edinburgh to lead a procession behind the Queen's coffin to St. Giles' Cathedral for a service of remembrance later on Monday.

The Queen's state funeral will take place at Westminster Abbey on September 19, Buckingham Palace has announced.

--IANS
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Beijing, Sep 12 (IANS) A total of 93 people have been killed, and 25 remain missing after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake jolted Luding county in China's Sichuan province on September 5, local authorities said on Monday.

According to the rescue headquarters, 55 of the fatalities occurred in Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, where Luding is located, while 38 deaths were reported in Ya'an city, reports Xinhua news agency.

Among the missing people, nine were in Luding, and 16 were in Shimian county in Ya'an.

--IANS
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Johannesburg, Sep 12 (IANS) A mine dam collapsed in the central part of South Africa on Sunday morning as flooding caused by the collapse destroyed homes and infrastructure, according to the department of cooperative governance and traditional affairs (CoGTA).

The South African government has deployed different departments at Jagersfontein, in Free State province, following the bursting of the dam killing three and injuring over 40 people, said CoGTA spokesperson Lungi Mtshali.

According to CoGTA, they have deployed police emergency medical services, health, disaster management, social development, search and rescue personnel, and engineers, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The tailings of the abandoned local mine burst open leading to damages to infrastructure, personal property and homes. The untold damages in and around the community of Charlesville in Jagersfontein are extensive and has had negatively impacted the community. Some people are displaced, others lost property, while others are reported injured and missing," said the spokesperson.

Lungi Mtshali said the disaster management team has been deployed to assess the damage and impact and to provide direct operational support.

The Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe held a virtual media briefing on Sunday saying the government will ensure that the law takes its course following the incident. He said they have sent inspectors to the scene to get details of the incident.

"The owner of the mine takes the greatest responsibility in paying compensation for fatalities and damage to infrastructure and property," he said, adding that the toxic substances on the mine dam would cause a negative impact on the environment.

--IANS
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Gaborone, Sep 12 (IANS) Botswana witnessed its first-ever drop in fuel prices in 2022, said the country's energy authorities.

According to a press release from Botswana Energy Regulatory Authority, pump prices for petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin will decrease by 1 pula ($0.076), 0.23 pula and 0.08 pula per liter, respectively, Xinhua news agency reported.

The authority said the decrease was necessitated by the fall in oil prices over the past two months. Brent Crude averaged $97.74 per barrel in August compared to an average of $105.12 a barrel in July.

The energy authority said the fall in fuel prices was influenced mainly by fears of a possible global recession, which could weaken the global demand for oil.

Four straight increases in fuel prices in the Southern African country since December 2021 have primarily contributed to rising inflation, which reached a 13-year high of 14.30 per cent in July.

--IANS
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Colombo, Sep 12 (IANS) Sri Lanka's Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara said that more than 200,000 Sri Lankans have left for foreign jobs in 2022 so far.

He said that these are the people who have registered with the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment, and some may have left without registering.

The minister said that remittance sent by expatriate workers to Sri Lanka reached $325 million in August, an increase of 16.4 per cent compared to July.

Around 330,000 people are expected to leave Sri Lanka for foreign jobs by the end of this year, the minister said.

The minister expressed gratitude to workers who have sent money through the banking system at a time when the country is facing a foreign exchange shortage.

--IANS
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By Ashe O.
Washington, Sep 11 (IANS) US President Joe Biden attended a wreath-laying ceremony at the Pentagon on Sunday to commemorate the 21st anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, saying: "What was destroyed, we have repaired. What was threatened, we fortified. What was attacked, the indomitable spirit, has never, ever wavered."


Amid inclement weather here with a steady drizzle, he attended a wreath-laying ceremony ahead of his remarks. The event began with a reading of the names of all of the men and women killed in the attack on the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, per a White House pool report.

"To all the families and loved ones who still feel the ache of that missing piece of your soul, I'm honoured to be here with you once more to share this solemn rite of remembrance," Biden said at the ceremony.

"So many heroes were made here. So many of your loved ones were those heroes. Again, almost immediately, with civilians and service members leaping into action as the walls collapsed and the roof began to crumble," he said.

Biden said the Pentagon "was both the scene of a horrific terrorist attack and the command centre for our response to defend and protect the American people," adding that "Pentagon staff showed up to work on September 12 more determined than ever to keep the country secure".

He feted the ideal of American democracy in his speech and invoked the duty of everyday Americans to protect it. "We don't always live up to it. But we have never walked away from it. That's what makes us strong. That's what makes us who we are. And that's what those hijackers most hoped to destroy," Biden said, adding, "they failed."

"We have an obligation, a duty, a responsibility, to defend, preserve and protect our democracy. The very democracy that guarantees the rights of freedom that those terrorists on 9/11 sought to bury in the burning fire and smoke and ash," he said.

"That takes a commitment on the part of all of us."

--IANS
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