Torrential Pakistan monsoon rains kill more than 20

More than 20 people were killed on Wednesday in a torrential spell of monsoon rain in Pakistan, where downpours have swept away entire villages over the last week, leaving more than 400 dead.Eleven people died in the touristic northern region of Gilgit-Baltistan and 10 others in Karachi, the financial capital in the south, due to urban flooding that caused house collapses and electrocution, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said.Schools remained closed in the city of more than 20 million, as the meteorological department predicted more rain till Saturday.Amir Hyder Laghari, chief meteorologist of the Sindh province, blamed “weak infrastructure” for the flooding in big cities.Karachi’s crumbling pipes and sewer system struggled to cope with the downpours.Many areas of the city remained submerged on Wednesday, as residents scooped dirty rain water out from their homes with buckets.Multiple neighbourhoods experienced power cuts and connectivity problems.Between 40 and 50 houses were damaged in two districts, provincial disaster official Muhammad Younis said.”Another (rain) spell is to start by the end of the month,” NDMA chairman Inam Haider Malik.More than 350 people have died in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a mountainous northern province bordering Afghanistan, since last Thursday.- ‘Children are scared’ -Authorities and the army were searching for dozens missing in villages hit by landslides and heavy rain, while excavators removed debris clogging drainage channels.”We have established relief camps where we are providing medical assistance. We are also giving dry rations and tents to all the people,” army Colonel Irfan Afridi told AFP in Buner district, where more than 220 people were killed.Authorities have warned that the rains will continue until mid-September.”The children are scared. They say we cannot sleep at night due to fear,” said Anjum Anwar, a medical camp official in Buner. “The flood… has destroyed our entire settlements.”Landslides and flash floods are common during the monsoon season, which typically begins in June and lasts until the end of September.This year, nearly 750 people have died since the season started, according to authorities.Pakistan is among the world’s most vulnerable countries to the effects of climate change and is increasingly facing extreme weather events.Monsoon floods submerged one-third of Pakistan in 2022, resulting in approximately 1,700 deaths.

Stock markets diverge after Wall Street tech sell-off

Stock markets were mixed Wednesday after a US tech sell-off while investors awaited signals from US policymakers on the outlook for interest rates.Paris was flat and Frankfurt fell in midday deals, with European defence stocks extending losses on hopes for progress in Ukraine peace talks.London’s FTSE 100 index and the pound edged up after UK inflation rose more than expected in July, dampening bets that the Bank of England will cut rates again this year. A “US tech sell-off drags European markets into the red,” noted Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor. Several major technology firms, including Nvidia, Palantir and Oracle, lost market share on Wall Street Tuesday on fears that their recent rally may have run too far.The sell-off was “sparked by concerns about overexcitement and overvaluations in AI stocks,” Scholar added.In company news, shares in mining giant Anglo American fell around two percent in London after US group Peabody Energy walked away from a $3.8 billion deal to buy its steelmaking coal business. Investors eagerly awaited a speech on Friday by US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the annual retreat of global central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.Powell could provide more clues about a widely expected interest rate cut at the Fed’s next policy meeting in September, after data last week provided a mixed picture of inflation in the United States.Traders have also been watching a recent diplomatic whirlwind aimed at resolving the war in Ukraine, after President Donald Trump’s high-stakes meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska.Eyes are now on potential face-to-face talks between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has said he is ready for such a meeting.Oil prices rose, recovering part of the losses from the previous day, as investors monitored progress on Ukraine peace talks.In Asia, Tokyo closed down 1.5 percent after official data showed Japanese exports suffered their steepest drop in more than four years last month as US tariffs weighed.Hong Kong advanced and Shanghai closed up one percent.Hong Kong’s stock exchange operator posted record half-year revenue, riding a renewed surge in  listings and trading activity at the Chinese finance hub.- Key figures at around 1040 GMT -London – FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 9,211.48 pointsParis – CAC 40: FLAT at 7,980.48Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.3 percent at 24,348.48Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.5 percent at 42,888.55 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.2 percent at 25,165.94 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.0 percent at 3,766.21 (close)New York – Dow: FLAT at 44,922.27 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1654 from $1.1646 on TuesdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.3499 from $1.3489Dollar/yen: DOWN at 147.43 yen from 147.64 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 86.30 pence from 86.33 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 1.0 percent at $63.00 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 1.1 percent at $66.49 per barrel

Rights groups accuse DR Congo militia of rapes, ethnic massacresWed, 20 Aug 2025 10:59:40 GMT

Rights groups on Wednesday accused the Rwanda-backed M23 militia of abuses in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, with Human Rights Watch alleging its fighters carried out ethnically targeted “mass killings”.Both the M23 and the Wazalendo, a disparate collection of militias loyal to the Congolese government, were responsible for rights abuses including gang rapes and …

Rights groups accuse DR Congo militia of rapes, ethnic massacresWed, 20 Aug 2025 10:59:40 GMT Read More »