U.K News

10,000 People Are Missing And Thousands Are Feared Dead As Eastern Libya Is Devastated By Floods

Published

1 year ago

2023-09-12

CAIRO, Egypt – On Tuesday, emergency personnel discovered hundreds of victims in the debris of Libya’s eastern city of Derna, and it was feared that the death toll could rise further, with 10,000 people still missing after floodwaters crashed through dams and carried away entire neighborhoods.

The unexpected mortality and damage caused by the Mediterranean storm Daniel revealed the storm’s ferocity and the vulnerability of a nation torn apart by anarchy for more than a decade. The country is divided by competing governments, one in the east and one in the west, and as a result, infrastructure in many parts needs to be addressed.

On Tuesday, more than 36 hours after the accident, outside assistance was only beginning to arrive in Derna. The floods damaged or destroyed many access roads to the seaside city of 89,000 people.

Several victims were seen covered in blankets in the yard of one hospital. Another image depicted a mass cemetery overflowing with bodies. More than 1,000 bodies were gathered, with at least 700 buried so far, according to the health minister for eastern Libya. According to the ambulance authorities, the current death toll in Derna is 2,300.

According to Tamer Ramadan, Libya envoy for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the death toll is expected to be in the thousands. He told a United Nations briefing in Geneva via videoconference from Tunisia that at least 10,000 individuals were unaccounted for.

Ramadan described Libya as “as devastating as the situation in Morocco,” alluding to the tragic earthquake that struck near the Moroccan city of Marrakesh on Friday night.

On Sunday night, the destruction descended on Derna and other sections of eastern Libya. Residents of Derna said they heard tremendous booms as the storm hit the coast and realized dams outside the city had collapsed. Flash floods swept down Wadi Derna, a river that flows from the highlands through the city and into the sea.

Libya envoy for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Local emergency responders, including troops, government personnel, volunteers, and citizens, sifted through the wreckage on Tuesday in search of the deceased. Inflatable boats were also used to recover bodies from the water.

Many dead were reported to be trapped under rubble or washed out into the Mediterranean Sea, according to Othman Abduljaleel, the health minister for eastern Libya.

“We were stunned by the amount of destruction… the tragedy is very significant, and beyond the capacity of Derna and the government,” Abduljaleel said by phone from Derna to The Associated Press.

On Tuesday morning, Red Crescent crews from other parts of Libya arrived in Derna, but extra excavators and other equipment had yet to arrive.

Flooding occurs frequently in Libya during the wet season, although rarely with this much devastation. A crucial concern was whether the rains could break through two dams outside Derna due to inadequate maintenance or the sheer volume of rain.

According to Karsten Haustein, a climate scientist and meteorologist at Leipzig University, Daniel quickly poured 440 millimeters (15.7 inches) of rain on eastern Libya.

“The infrastructure could probably not cope,” he said, adding that human-caused rises in ocean surface temperatures likely contributed to the storm’s ferocity.

Local officials have ignored Derna for many years. “Even the aspect of maintenance was simply missing.” “Everything kept getting pushed back,” said Jalel Harchaoui, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies in London specializing in Libya.

Many dead were reported to be trapped under rubble or washed out into the Mediterranean Sea, according to Othman Abduljaleel, the health minister for eastern Libya.

Factionalism is also a factor. For many years, Islamic extremist groups ruled over Derna. After months of hard urban battle, military leader Khalifa Hifter, the strongman of the east Libyan government, conquered the city in 2019.

Since then, the eastern government has been wary of the city and has worked to exclude its citizens from decision-making, according to Harchaoui. “This mistrust could be disastrous during the upcoming post-disaster period,” he said.

Hifter’s eastern administration, based in Benghazi, is at odds with the western government, headquartered in Tripoli. Each is supported by formidable militias as well as international forces. Egypt, Russia, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates back Hifter, while Turkey, Qatar, and Italy back the west Libya authority.

Nonetheless, the first reaction to the calamity resulted in some division crossing.

The Western Libyan administration, based in Tripoli, dispatched a plane carrying 14 tonnes of medical supplies and health staff to Benghazi. It also stated that it had set aside $412 million for rehabilitation in Derna and other eastern municipalities. Airplanes delivering humanitarian aid and rescue teams from Egypt, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates landed in Benghazi on Tuesday. Egypt’s military chief of staff also met with Hifter to discuss relief coordination.

Given the realities on the ground, it was unclear how quickly supplies could be delivered to Derna, 250 kilometers (150 miles) east of Benghazi. Derna municipal administrator Ahmed Amdourd has called for a sea corridor to transfer relief and supplies.

U.S. Special Envoy for Libya Richard Norland stated on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter that the U.S. is cooperating with the U.N. and local authorities to determine the best way to target official U.S. support.

The storm also hit other parts of eastern Libya, notably Bayda, where 50 people were killed. According to footage released by the Medical Centre of Bayda on Facebook, the main hospital was inundated, and patients had to be evacuated.

According to the administration, other towns that suffered included Susa, Marj, and Shahatt. Hundreds of people were uprooted and sought refuge in schools and other government buildings in Benghazi and other parts of eastern Libya.

Northeast Libya is one of the country’s most fertile and green areas. According to the World Bank, the Jabal al-Akhdar region, which includes Bayda, Marj, and Shahatt, has one of the highest average annual rainfalls in the country.

SOURCE – (AP)

U.K News

Keir Starmer Rejects Meeting With WW2 Veteran Over Her Frozen Pension

Published

2 weeks ago

2024-12-04

Geoff Brown

"It's the injustice of it that is so unfair, the fact that we were never warned."

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has rejected a request from a 99-year-old WW2 for a meeting to discuss the frozen state pension policy for citizens living abroad. Starmer declined the meeting but offered an alternative meeting with Pensions Minister Emma Reynolds.

Anne Puckridge, who turns 100 this month, went from her home in Canada to agitate Keir Starmer’s Labour government over the state pension freeze.

The World War II veteran told the BBC that she is “angry” and “heartbroken” following a meeting with the pensions minister, who led her to believe that the government will not reconsider its policy of freezing the state pensions of some British people living abroad.

Anne Puckridge is one of approximately 453,000 British retirees living overseas who do not receive an annual increase in their state pension.

Pensions Minister Emma Reynolds agreed to a meeting after Sir Keir Starmer’s request to meet was denied owing to purported “pressures on his diary.”

Ms. Puckridge stated that the meeting in Parliament left her feeling “bitterly disappointed” and “disgusted”.

She stated that she had the idea Reynolds had been “polite enough and kind enough to come in and spend her time with her,” but that her mind had already been made up before the meeting began.

Ms Puckridge stated that she and her other campaigners would have to think carefully about what they could do from now on, but she assured them that they would take action.

State Pension Minister Reynolds thanked Ms Puckridge for the meeting and for sharing her insights.

A Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) representative stated that the government recognizes that “people move abroad for various reasons, and we provide clear information on how this can affect their pensions.”

The policy of increasing the UK state pension for recipients living abroad has existed for many years.

Since she relocated to Canada in 2001 at the age of 76 to live closer to her daughter, Ms Puckridge has received £72.50 (C$129.00) per week.

Her state pension is now less than half the £169.50 (C$302.00) paid to seniors still residing in the United Kingdom. She told the BBC that frozen pensions touch all aspects of life.

“You’ve got to be careful about entertainment,” she told me. “You must realize that you cannot be as kind to your grandkids as you would like.

“You feel you’ve lost all sense of dignity, the government has thrown you away, you know, out of sight out of mind.”

Ms. Puckridge stated that when she alerted the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) that she was moving to Canada, “they never said a word about [my] pension being frozen”.

“The first I knew about it was when my first rise was due,” she recalled.

“I didn’t understand it. So I wrote and enquired about it, and I was told no… you will not receive any additional pension rises when you leave the UK.” She said, “It’s the injustice of it that is so unfair, the fact that we were never warned.”

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U.K News

Air Force Drones Spotted Over UK Military Bases

Published

3 weeks ago

2024-11-29

Geoff Brown

The drones were not considered hostile, the USAF said,

British military expertise has been brought in to assist in identifying persons responsible for flying Air Force drones near US military locations. According to the BBC, 60 RAF troops have been dispatched to assist the US Air Force with its probe.

The Air Force drones were not deemed hostile, according to the USAF, who added that the sightings “fluctuated and varied between the bases” and “ranged in sizes and configurations”.

According to the Ministry of Defence, “We are supporting the US Air Force response.”

The announcement follows several recent reports of unmanned aerial vehicles sighted near RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk and RAF Feltwell in adjacent Norfolk.

There have been other reports of drone activity overnight. According to the USAF, the vehicles were few in number and modest in size.

A representative for the US Air Forces in Europe stated, “We can confirm that there were sightings yesterday during nighttime hours, but the number fluctuated and varied between the bases throughout the night.”

The official stated that since the first sightings on November 20th, there has been “no impact on residents or infrastructure, and they have not been identified as hostile.”

However, the Air Force drones remained under surveillance “to ensure the safety and security of the installations.”

They said, “We request individuals in the area to contact either local police or security forces if they see anything suspicious.”

‘Treat threats seriously’

Officials in the United States and the United Kingdom have not said who is responsible for the recent drone activity.

However, the BBC understands there were worries that a state actor could be involved.

In recent months, intelligence officials have warned of increasing Russian sabotage operations against Western countries supporting Ukraine.

RAF Mildenhall is primarily home to the USAF’s 100th Air Refuelling Wing; RAF Lakenheath is home to USAF F-35A and F-15E fighter jets; and RAF Feltwell is mainly concerned with logistics and provides housing for military personnel.

A spokesman for the MoD, which owns the bases, said: “We take threats seriously and maintain robust measures at defence sites.

“We are supporting the US Air Force response.”

The USAF has not said who it believed to be behind the incidents.

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U.K News

General Election Petition in UK Hits 2 Million Signatures

Published

4 weeks ago

2024-11-26

Geoff Brown

Starmer has ruled out an general election after a petition reached two million signatures

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has ruled out holding an early general election after a petition calling for a second vote garnered two million signatures.

Over the weekend, a petition calling for another general election was started on the UK Parliament website. It cited Starmer’s failure to keep all his pledges made in the run-up to the previous election. By Monday mid-morning, it had surpassed two million signatures.

When asked about the petition, Starmer said he was “not surprised” that some individuals who did not vote for Labour in the previous election want a “re-run” of the poll.

He claimed that he had “inherited a lot of problems” from the previous administration and had resolved to “take the hard decisions first.”

Starmer ruled out an early general election, stating that only the Prime Minister can request that the King call a general election; it simply will not happen, he said.

This petition, started last week and sponsored by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, calls on the government to schedule a new general election.
To sign a petition, you must verify that you are a British citizen or resident and provide a postcode.

The petition states, “I would prefer there to be another general election. I believe the present Labour government has broken the pledges they made before the last election.”

The petition comes only five months after Labour won the July general election with 9.7 million votes and 412 seats in the House of Commons.

However, the Labour Party garnered only 35% of the vote, the lowest percentage gained by a single-party administration since the conclusion of WWII.

Some of the policies implemented by Starmer and his Labour government have received significant criticism, including an inheritance tax on farms, a reduction in winter heating payments, an increase in employers’ national insurance, and applying VAT to private school fees.

According to the most recent Ipsos political pulse poll, the Labour Party is unpopular, with 28% of the public favoring it and 49% opposing it.