World

Karachi, Sep 11 (IANS) Pakistan is continuing to report more and more dengue virus cases daily, with panic and fear spreading among the public as a shortage of fever medicines has also surfaced, media reports said.

In Pakistan's Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan, dengue has started to take a dangerous turn, Geo News reported.

Karachi reported another death from dengue virus in the last 24 hours, with over 2,000 people affected in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after excessive rains left breeding sites for mosquitoes, the report stated.

The wards reserved for dengue patients in Karachi's hospitals have been are full. Punjab reported 125 new cases of the mosquito-borne disease. Moreover, dengue claimed four lives in the province, data from the Health Department showed.

Meanwhile, a shortage of medicine for fever remains persists in most areas of the country, with pharmacies in Punjab awaiting a resumption in the supply of the drug in Punjab for the last four weeks, Geo News reported.

In Peshawar, the price of a leaf of fever pills has increased from Rs 17 to Rs 30.

--IANS
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Karachi, Sep 11 (IANS) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned the international community that all countries would suffer damages "beyond their capacity to adapt" if the world failed to respond to the challenge of climate change, Samaa TV reported.

After a two-day Pakistan visit, the UN chief took to Twitter to write that he had "never seen climate carnage on the scale of the floods here in Pakistan".

"This is a global crisis. It demands a global response," he said.

The monsoon rainfall and subsequent floods have killed 1,396 people across the country between June 14 and September 9, and have left 12,728 injured. More than 30 million have also been displaced, Dawn reported.

Sindh is the worst-hit province so far, accounting for the most deaths and injuries. Of the 1,396 fatalities countrywide, Sindh's total is 578. Injuries number is 8,321 of the countrywide total of 12,728.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday said his organisation would strongly advocate for 'debt swaps' with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank through which developing countries, including Pakistan -- instead of paying back loans to foreign creditors -- would be able to use that money to invest in climate resilience, investments in sustainable infrastructure, and green transition of their economies, Express Tribune reported.

"We will go on strongly advocating for these solutions in the meetings with the IMF and World Bank that will take place soon as well as at the G-20 meeting," Guterres told the media on his arrival at the old airport of Karachi.

The UN chief appealed to the international community to scale up its support for flood-hit Pakistan, Express Tribune reported.

"We see here in Pakistan, the nature is striking back with devastating consequences," he observed, adding: "I have seen many disasters in the world but I have never seen climate carnage on these scales."


--IANS
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Kiev, Sep 11 (IANS) The Russian amy hit five hromadas (an administrative unit designating a town, village or several villages and their adjacent territories) of Sumy Oblast in Ukraine in a day. There have been no casualties, however, a few buildings have been damaged, said Dmytro Zhyvytskyi, Head of Sumy Oblast Military Administration, on Telegram.

On the morning of September 10, Russian forces conducted three artillery strikes on Mykolaivka hromada, Ukrainska Pravda reported.

The Russian army attacked Krasnopillia hromada delivering four mortar strikes, and later the Russian troops performed 14 artillery strikes. And later, a two-hectare hay field caught fire due to mortar shelling (a total of six strikes).

In Seredyna-Buda hromada, there were two strikes using a 120-mm mortar and 15 strikes using a grenade launcher, as well as 16 strikes from self-propelled artillery. A private home, the windows of a neighbouring home, a power grid, gardens and a car were damaged.

There were five artillery strikes on Velyka Pysarivka hromada.

Esman hromada was hit with four bombs.

--IANS
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Jakarta, Sep 11 (IANS) A powerful earthquake struck off Indonesia's western province of West Sumatra on Sunday, but did not leave casualties, officials and an agency said.

Earlier, the country's meteorology, climatology and geophysics agency released a 6.1-magnitude earthquake and then revised it to a 6.2 Richter scale, Head of the Quake and Tsunami Division of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency named only Daryono was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

"The 6.1 magnitude is fast information, the 6.2 is an accurate figure," he said.

The agency reported that the quake struck at 06:10 Jakarta time Sunday (2310 GMT Saturday) with the epicenter at 161 km northwest of Mentawai islands district and the depth of 10 km under the seabed.

The tremors of the earthquake did not have the potential to trigger a tsunami, it said.

But, more than 2,000 residents in the district immediately ran to higher grounds for fear of a tsunami, said Amir Ahmari, head of the emergency and logistic unit of the district's disaster management and mitigation agency.

"One woman was injured as she was hit by a falling wood while escaping the quake. Cracks are found in two school buildings here," he told Xinhua via phone.

Head of the Operation Unit of West Sumatra province named only Jumaidi told Xinhua that aid, including logistics and others have been sent to the quake-affected areas.

--IANS
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Baghdad, Sep 11 (IANS) Eleven Islamic State (IS) militants were killed on Saturday in airstrikes in western and eastern Iraq, the Iraqi military said.

Seven militants including a local leader were killed and a hideout was destroyed in airstrikes in al-Jallaiyat area in Anbar Province in western Iraq, the Iraqi Joint Operations Command (JOC) said in a media release, adding the airstrike was launched upon intelligence reports, Xinhua news agency reported.

In Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, the Iraqi aircraft acted on intelligence reports and conducted two airstrikes on an IS hideout on the bank of Himreen Lake, leaving three militants killed, the JOC said in a separate statement.

Another IS militant was killed in a confrontation with armed forces who searched the targetted hideout. The troops also destroyed three motorcycles, explosive devices, and barrels filled with explosives, it noted.

Over the past few months, Iraqi security forces have conducted crackdowns on the extremist militants' intensified activities.

The security situation in Iraq has been improving since the defeat of the IS in 2017. However, its remnants have since melted into urban centers, deserts and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians.

--IANS
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By Ashe O
Washington, Sep 10 (IANS) Queen Elizabeth II, who died on Thursday at Balmoral Castle in Scotland at age 96, leaves behind assets worth $88 billion of the British Monarchy as estimated in 2017. Where it now goes is the question.


The British Monarchy was valued at roughly $88 billion in 2017, according to brand valuation consultancy firm Brand Finance. The Queen's personal wealth is closer to $500 million from investments, art, jewels and real estate, according to a 2021 estimate from Forbes.

But the queen's true net worth has never been disclosed. The Guardian reported last year that the queen successfully lobbied the British government in the 1970s to change a draft law in order to conceal her private wealth from the public, claiming the disclosure would be embarrassing.

A spokesperson for Buckingham Palace told BBC that "any assertion that the sovereign has blocked legislation is simply incorrect".

The castle is just one of the assets the queen leaves after 70 years on the throne. Her personal assets from investments, real estate, jewels and more have an estimated worth of $500 million, according to Forbes magazine.

The entire royal family was estimated to be worth at least $88 billion as of 2017.

The financing that makes up the wealth behind the crown is complex. Here's a breakdown of how much her majesty was worth, where the money came from and where it may go, USA today said in a report here.

How rich was the queen? What happens to the other royals under King Charles III and his new slimmed-down monarchy? How much is the British royal family worth?

These are questions often asked not just by just Britons but engaging the minds of the populations of the world especially the commonwealth countries of which she was the head. King Charles III is now officially the new monarch and head of the commonwealth after his installation by the privy council.

Brand Finance reported in 2017 that the British Monarchy's worth has grown "every year" since it began tracking in 2012. The $88 billion figure includes the Crown Estate, the Royal Collection (including the crown jewels) and other assets.

Who inherits the queen's fortune? King Charles III inherits the majority of the Queen's $500 million, according to Forbes.

How did Queen Elizabeth get the money? The royal family collects fees from The Sovereign Grant Act, a taxpayer fund that is used to maintain royal palaces and royal duties such as receptions and travel.

The Sovereign Grant for 2022 to 2023 is just under $100 million. Payments are based on profits from the Crown Estate, a property business that is owned by the monarch but runs independently, according to the BBC.

Starting in 2017, the queen began receiving 25 per cent of the Crown Estate profits from the previous two years, a deal that was set to last 10 years to help pay for the refurbishment of Buckingham Palace. The remainder of the money goes to the government.

The Crown Estate is also part of a $28 billion empire run by "The Firm," or a group of members of the House of Windsor.

Along with the Queen, members included King Charles and his wife the Queen Consort Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall; Prince William and his wife Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge; Princess Anne, the queen's daughter; and the queen's youngest son, Prince Edward, and his wife Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, Forbes says.

The crown holds, but cannot sell, various assets including:

* The Crown Estate ($19.5 billion)

* Buckingham Palace ($4.9 billion)

* The Duchy of Cornwall ($1.3 billion)

* The Duchy of Lancaster ($748 million)

* Kensington Palace ($630 million)

* The Crown Estate Scotland ($592 million).

The Firm, or "Monarchy PLC," pumps hundreds of millions of pounds into the United Kingdom's economy every year through tours of Commonwealth countries and other displays.

Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex's 2018 royal wedding, for instance, was expected to benefit the British Economy by over 1 billion pounds, according to Brand Finance.

The royal family doesn't personally benefit from the business, but Forbes reports that they do receive other financial benefits such as free media coverage, the USA today reported.

How much money did the queen get from taxpayers?

The Sovereign Grant was set at 86.3 million pounds (about $99 million) for 2021 to 2022, or about 1.29 pounds (about $1.50) per person in the UK, according to the BBC. This does not include security costs.

How much property did Elizabeth own?

Forbes reports that the queen's personal real estate assets include two castles: Sandringham House and Balmoral Castle.

--IANS
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By Ashe O
Washington, Sep 10 (IANS) Any further delay in delaying criminal investigations into former President Donald Trump and the records he kept at Mar-a-Lago Florida residence could put America's national security at risk, says the US Department of Justice.


The DOJ has made this claim in the wake of US District Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump-appointed federal judge, granting the former president's request for a special master to review evidence seized during the raid independently.

The DOJ claimed that pausing the FBI's criminal investigation while separately continuing the Office of the Director of National Intelligence's damage assessment was essentially impossible, media reports said.

The DOJ said it would appeal the Trump Mar-a-Lago Special Master order.

The DOJ's motion was filed by Matthew Olsen, the assistant attorney general for the National Security Division, Jay Bratt, the chief of the DOJ's counterintelligence and export control section, and Juan Antonio Gonzalez, the US attorney for the Southern District of Florida.

"The government seeks a stay to the extent the Order (1) enjoins the further review and use for criminal investigative purposes of records bearing classification markings that were recovered pursuant to a court-authorized search warrant and (2) requires the government to disclose those classified records to a special master for review," the DOJ officials wrote.

The DOJ revealed that during the Mar-a-Lago search, the FBI seized 33 boxes that contained roughly 100 "classified" documents.

"The Intelligence Community's review and assessment cannot be readily segregated from the Department of Justice's and Federal Bureau of Investigation's activities in connection with the ongoing criminal investigation, and uncertainty regarding the bounds of the Court's order and its implications for the activities of the FBI has caused the Intelligence Community, in consultation with DOJ, to pause temporarily this critically important work," the DOJ said.

"Moreover, the government and the public are irreparably injured when a criminal investigation of matters involving risks to national security is enjoined."

An ODNI spokesperson told the Washington Examiner that "in consultation with the Department of Justice, ODNI temporarily paused the classification review of relevant materials and assessment of the potential risk to national security that would result from the disclosure of the relevant documents." The Office of the Directorate of National Intelligence (ODNI) is to lead the IC in intelligence integration, forging a community that delivers the most insightful intelligence possible. ODNI's National Centers integrate and coordinate the activities of the entire IC, or in some cases, broader US government in the IC's major mission areas: counterterrorism, counterproliferation and counterintelligence.

Alan Kohler, the assistant director of the FBI's counterintelligence division, also included a statement with the DOJ's filing.

Trump's winning Special Master (3rd independent person to review documents seized by FBI from Trump's Florida home) order from the Florida judge may be short lived, says the Washington Examiner in a report.

"The connection between the national security and criminal investigative aspects of this matter are grounded in the dual nature of the FBI," Kohler wrote.

"The IC assessments necessarily will inform the FBI's criminal investigation, including subsequent investigative steps that might be necessary.... The FBI is the only IC element with a full suite of authorities and tools to investigate and recover any improperly retained and stored classified information in the United States."

It comes after Cannon said Monday that she "temporarily enjoins the Government from reviewing and using the seized materials for investigative purposes pending completion of the special master's review or further Court order." But she said that her ruling "shall not impede the classification review and/or intelligence assessment by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence."

Prosecutors argued late last month that the "appointment of a special master would impede the government's ongoing criminal investigation and -- if the special master were tasked with reviewing classified documents -- would impede the Intelligence Community from conducting its ongoing review of the national security risk that improper storage of these highly sensitive materials may have caused."

Trump's team countered: "The Government now has the temerity to argue that any involvement by a Special Master will 'interfere' with the now ongoing Intelligence Community review of the materials. Never has an argument against 'interference' better underscored the need for judicial involvement. "The judge ruled largely in Trump's favor.

--IANS
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Quetta, Sep 10 (IANS) Protesters stopped vehicles carrying imported tomatoes in Kalat district of Balochistan and some of them either looted or destroyed the merchandise, Dawn reported.

Several farm owners and growers gathered in Mangochar town and blocked the Quetta-Karachi national highway by putting boulders and barricades, suspending traffic.

An official said protesters intercepted a vehicle loaded with tomatoes imported from Iran and started looting or throwing tomato boxes on the road, Dawn reported.

The protesters, chanting slogans against the government, said they would not allow tomato imports from Iran and their crop was ready for shipment to the market.

The Balochistan Zamindars Associa­tion, which organised the protest, has condemned the destruction of tomatoes and disassociated itself from the incident.

"We have nothing to do with the incident," said Haji Abdul Aziz, a representative of the association, adding that "our protest was peaceful."

The association believed local growers would face significant financial losses amid imports of tomatoes and other vegetables from Iran and Afgh­anistan as their crop, ready to hit the market, would not fetch the right price.

It has asked the government to stop these imports until the local tomato crop arrives in the market.

Several trucks loaded with tomatoes and onions reached Pakistan through Taftan and Chaman border crossing from Iran and Afghanistan, lowering the high prices of both vegetables in the local market.

Onion and tomato prices went through the roof after flash floods washed away large swathes of crops, prompting the government to allow imports from neighbouring countries to lower costs, Dawn reported.

--IANS
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London, Sep 10 (IANS) For the first time in a televised ceremony, King Charles III was on Saturday officially proclaimed the new British monarch following the demise of his 96-year-old mother, Queen Elizabeth II who reigned for 70 years on the throne.

Charles, the Queen's first born, became king immediately after her death on Thursday, but a historic meeting formally confirmed his role on Saturday during the ceremony at St James's Palace, says the BBC.

The Accession Council, a body made up of senior politicians, judges and officials, proclaimed him as the monarch in the State Apartments.

Following the proclamation, the King formally announced the death of his "beloved mother, the Queen".

"The whole world sympathises with me in the irreparable loss we've all suffered," he said.

"My mother gave an example of lifelong love and of selfless service. My mother's reign was unequalled in its duration, dedication and devotion. Even as we grieve, we give thanks for this most faithful life.

"I am deeply aware of this deep inheritance and of the grave duties and responsibilities which are now passed to me," the BBC quoted Charles as saying.

He then went on to thank Queen Consort Camilla, saying: "I am profoundly encouraged by the constant support of my beloved wife."

Also in attendance at the ceremony were Prime Minister Liz Truss, and former premiers Gordon Brown, David Cameron, Boris Johnson and Theresa May, as well as Archbishop Justin Welby and Prince William.

Before Charles was named the King, the death of the Queen was formally announced.

The 200 or so people gathered in the room all then said 'God save the King' before documents were signed.

Flags that were lowered in mourning for the late Queen will fly full-mast for a short time.

A wave of further proclamations will take place across the UK until Sunday.

--IANS
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Ottawa, Sep 10 (IANS) Health Canada has approved Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine to immunise children under the age of five.

The federal health department updated information of the approved vaccines on its website saying that available data supported the effectiveness and safety of the vaccine in preventing Covid in the age group of six months through four years, reports Xinhua news agency.

The benefit-risk profile of the vaccine was considered favourable in that age group for use as a 3-dose primary series with two doses given three weeks apart followed by a third dose given at least eight weeks after the second dose.

It's the second vaccine approved for that age group after Health Canada approved Moderna's Spikevax in July.

Last week, Health Canada approved an adapted version of the Moderna Spikevax COVID-19 vaccine, known as a bivalent vaccine, to target both the original SARS-CoV-2 virus and the Omicron (BA.1) variant as a booster dose in individuals aged 18 and above.

--IANS
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