Storm Freddy: Malawi declares state of disaster as death toll rises to 99 - BBC

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By Peter Jegwa in Lilongwe & Will Ross in London

BBC News

At least 99 people have died in Malawi after Tropical Storm Freddy ripped through southern Africa for the second time in a month.

Terrifying amounts of brown water have cascaded through neighbourhoods, sweeping away homes.

Malawi's commercial hub, Blantyre, has recorded the most deaths - 85, including 36 in a landslide.

The government has declared a state of disaster in 10 districts that have been hardest-hit by the storm.

Rescue workers are overwhelmed, and are using shovels to try to find survivors buried in mud.

"We have rivers overflowing, we have people being carried away by running waters, we have buildings collapsing," police spokesman Peter Kalaya told the BBC.

The death toll is expected to rise as some areas remain cut off because of relentless rain and fierce wind.

Officials at the main referral hospital in Blantyre said they could not cope with the sheer number of bodies that they were receiving.

They appealed to bereaved families to collect the corpses for burial as the hospital's mortuary was running out of space.

The storm has also crippled Malawi's power supply, with most parts of the country experiencing prolonged blackouts.

The national electricity company said it was unable to get its hydro-power plant working as it had been filled with debris.

Densely-populated poorer communities, living in brick and mud houses, have been hardest-hit.

Some of these houses have crumbled into flood waters, while others have been entirely swept away.

The UN and other agencies have warned that the timing of the storm could exacerbate a cholera outbreak - one of Malawi's worst public health crises.

The government has appealed for help for the tens of thousands of people who have been left without food and shelter.

Freddy is the strongest tropical cyclone on record and could also be the longest-lasting one, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

On Sunday the storm struck Mozambique as a cyclone - for the second time in a less than a month - after battering the island nation of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, causing severe destruction.

It has been difficult to determine the extent of the damage caused in Mozambique and the number of deaths, as power supply and phone signals were cut off in some parts of the affected areas.

About 10 deaths have so far been reported.

Experts says climate change is making tropical storms around the world wetter, windier and more intense.

Freddy had broken records for the strength it accumulated over the 8,000-km (5,000-mile) path it travelled across the Indian Ocean from north-western Australia.

Related Topics

• Madagascar
• Mozambique
• Malawi
• Severe weather

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2023-03-14 11:22:12Z
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Ukraine-Russia news – latest: Putin and Wagner group reach ‘boiling point’ in Bakhmut rivalry - The Independent

Ukrainian 'kamikaze drone' targets Russian tank in Kharkiv Oblast

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Tensions between the Russian ministry of defence and the rebel Wagner group have likely reached a “boiling point” in their rivalry over Bakhmut, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has said.

The city in Donetsk Oblast, which has been the site of bloody contention for several weeks, serves as a symbolic stepping stone for Moscow to push forward in its invasion.

According to ISW analysis, the Russian MoD is trying to “deliberately expend both elite and convict Wagner forces in Bakhmut in an effort to weaken [Yevgeny] Prigozhin and derail his ambitions for greater influence in the Kremlin”.

The analysis continued: “The Russian MoD is currently prioritising eliminating Wagner on the battlefields in Bakhmut, which is likely slowing down the rate of advance in the area.”

Meanwhile, the Kremlin said on Monday it was not ruling out Russian president Vladimir Putin attending a summit of leaders of the G20 developed and emerging economies on 9-10 September in Delhi.

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Putin and Wagner group reach ‘boiling point’ in Bakhmut rivalry

Tensions between the Russian ministry of defence and the rebel Wagner group has likely reached a “boiling point” in their rivalry over Bakhmut, the Institute of War has said.

The city in Donetsk Oblast, which has been the site of bloody contention for several weeks, serves as a symbolic stepping stone for Moscow to push forward in its invasion.

According to IoW analysis, the Russian MoD is trying to “deliberately expend both elite and convict Wagner forces in Bakhmut in an effort to weaken Prigozhin and derail his ambitions for greater influence in the Kremlin”.

The analysis continued: “The Russian MoD is currently prioritizing eliminating Wagner on the battlefields in Bakhmut, which is likely slowing down the rate of advance in the area.

“Prigozhin saw Bakhmut as an opportunity to gain leverage on the Russian MoD and likely in the Kremlin in pursuit of his own commercial and political aspirations.

“Putin used Wagner to protect his regime from detrimental societal ramifications of mobilization, which also continues to inhibit his war efforts in Ukraine.”

Maryam Zakir-Hussain13 March 2023 11:38

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Ukraine: Objects of war become new normal in Kyiv scenery

There are sandbags around the statues and anti-tank obstacles by the side of the streets, trenches in the nearby forests and land mine warnings in the woods. Signs painted on walls point to the nearest shelter, while air raid sirens occasionally wail across the city, which still sometimes comes under missile attack.

But against this backdrop of war, residents of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, are living their lives as normally as they can while Russia’s invasion of their country continues into its second year.

Although many fled in the opening stages of the war, residents have gradually returned to their homes as Russian forces were pushed back from north of the city last year, and the conflict became centered mainly in the eastern and southern parts of Ukraine.

Read more here:

Ukraine: Objects of war become new normal in Kyiv scenery

There are sandbags around the statues and anti-tank obstacles by the side of the streets, trenches in the nearby forests and land mine warnings in the woods. Signs painted on walls point to the nearest shelter, while air raid sirens occasionally wail across the city, which still sometimes comes under missile attack.

Emily Atkinson14 March 2023 07:39

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Russia’s ammunition shortage worsened, punitive shell-rationing in force — MoD

The British defence ministry has said that the Russian artillery ammunition shortages have likely worsened in the recent weeks to the extent that extremely punitive shell-rationing is in force on many parts of the front.

“This has almost certainly been a key reason why no Russian formation has recently been able to generate operationally significant offensive action,” the ministry said.

Russia has almost certainly already resorted to issuing old munitions stock which were previously categorised as unfit for use, it added.

“A presidential decree of 3 March laid down measures for the ministry of trade and industry to bypass the authority of managers of defence industries who fail to meet their production goals,” the MoD said.

It added: “Russia is increasingly applying the principles of a command economy to its military industrial complex because it recognises that its defence manufacturing capacity is a key vulnerability in the increasingly attritional 'special military operation'.”

Arpan Rai14 March 2023 07:08

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Casualties mount in battle for Bakhmut – as ICC ‘prepares first arrest warrants’ over Russia’s invasion

Both Ukraine and Russia have reported inflicting heavy losses during fierce fighting around the eastern city of Bakhmut – while the International Criminal Court (ICC) is said to be planning to issue arrest warrants against a number of Russians (Chris Stevenson writes).

Commanders on both sides have reported relentless fighting around Bakhmut, which has become the focus of a months-long campaign to take the city in the region of Donetsk which has led to some of the bloodiest fighting since Moscow’s invasion began.

Meanwhile, the prosecutor at the ICC is expected to ask pre-trial judges to approve arrest warrants against Russian individuals relating to the abduction of children from Ukraine to Russia and the targeting of civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, according to reports from Reuters and the New York Times. If successful, it will be the first time ICC warrants are issued in relation to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Liam James14 March 2023 07:00

1678773600

Putin and Wagner group reach ‘boiling point’ in Bakhmut rivalry

Tensions between the Russian ministry of defence and the rebel Wagner group has likely reached a “boiling point” in their rivalry over Bakhmut, the Institute of War has said.

The city in Donetsk Oblast, which has been the site of bloody contention for several weeks, serves as a symbolic stepping stone for Moscow to push forward in its invasion.

According to IoW analysis, the Russian MoD is trying to “deliberately expend both elite and convict Wagner forces in Bakhmut in an effort to weaken Prigozhin and derail his ambitions for greater influence in the Kremlin”.

The analysis continued: “The Russian MoD is currently prioritizing eliminating Wagner on the battlefields in Bakhmut, which is likely slowing down the rate of advance in the area.

“Prigozhin saw Bakhmut as an opportunity to gain leverage on the Russian MoD and likely in the Kremlin in pursuit of his own commercial and political aspirations.

“Putin used Wagner to protect his regime from detrimental societal ramifications of mobilization, which also continues to inhibit his war efforts in Ukraine.”

Maryam Zakir-Hussain14 March 2023 06:00

1678773509

Ukraine counters more than 100 Russian attacks – officials

Ukrainian forces have repelled more than 100 Russian attacks over past 24 hours, the country’s general staff of armed forces said today.

It added that Russian forces are concentrating efforts on conducting offensives toward Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, Mariinka, and Shakhtarsk in Donetsk oblast, indicating that the battered mining city is still being fought for.

“Over the past 24 hours, Russia launched five missiles, targeting civilian infrastructure in Sumy and Donetsk regions, as well as 35 airstrikes and 76 MLRS attacks against Ukraine,” the official army front said.

Arpan Rai14 March 2023 05:58

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Black Sea grain deal will be extended automatically if no objections, says Russia

The deal enabling safe export of grain from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports will be extended automatically after it expires on 18 March if no objections are raised from the involved parties, reported Russia’s TASS state news agency.

“If the parties have no objections, the deal will continue after March 18,” TASS reported citing a source.

The time length of the extension did not matter, the person said.

“If the deal is extended for 60 days, it will continue to operate after March 18, and after 60 days one of the parties may raise the issue of its termination,” they added.

The prices of corn and wheat have been under pressure on hopes of a deal renewal.

Arpan Rai14 March 2023 05:40

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Man to walk London Marathon backwards in support of Ukrainians

A father who previously crawled the London Marathon dressed as a gorilla is to walk the famous event backwards this year as a means of “looking over my shoulder for Ukraine”.

Tom Harrison, who lives in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, and works in project management, told the PA news agency that there are several reasons behind his idea to walk the London Marathon – which takes place on April 23 – backwards.

“At school we had a motto which was in Latin and it translated to: Look forward and look back,” he said.

Read the full story here:

Arpan Rai14 March 2023 04:14

1678766400

Rishi Sunak is not America’s No 1 ally like I was, says Tony Blair

Tony Blair has criticised Rishi Sunak’s lack of influence with Joe Biden - and said he backed the Iraq War to make sure he was the first person the White House phoned in a crisis.

In an interview to mark the upcoming 20th anniversary of the conflict, the former Prime Minister admitted he turned down a last minute offer from President George Bush for British troops not to take part in the war.

He said he was ‘uncomfortable’ about British troops joining the US invasion but went ahead because our special relationship with America would have been wrecked if we had let them fight alone.

Mr Blair defended his conduct, saying that when he was in Downing St he was always the first world leader called on the White House “hot line”.

Liam James14 March 2023 04:00

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Russia suffering ‘extremely heavy casualties’, though country’s elite ‘left relatively unscathed’, says MoD

Vladimir Putin continues to suffer “extremely heavy casualties” in Ukraine, though the impact of those losses varies “dramatically” across Russia’s regions, according to UK intelligence.

“In proportion to the size of their population, the richest cities of Moscow and St Petersburg have been left relatively unscathed,” the Ministry of Defence said in its daily update on Sunday.

“This is especially true for the families of the country’s elite,” it adds.

Liam James14 March 2023 02:00

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2023-03-14 07:17:32Z
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Rishi Sunak unveils £5bn extra defence spending ahead of Aukus summit in US – UK politics live - The Guardian

According to Rob Harris from Sky News, Gary Lineker will return to his Match of the Day presenting job on the BBC. Harris also claims that Lineker will get some sort of apology from the BBC.

Lineker was taken off air at the weekend, prompting many of his football presenter colleagues to stage what was in effect a mini strike in sympathy, after a tweet criticising the government’s illegal migration bill prompted Tory fury, and claims he had breached BBC impartiality guidelines.

Good morning. Rishi Sunak is in San Diego in California where today he will meet Joe Biden, the US president, and Anthony Albanese, the Australian prime minister, for an Aukus meeting. Aukus is the Australia/US/UK security pact, primarily focused on providing Australia with nuclear-powered submarine. It was set up when Boris Johnson was prime minister, and now provides him with the material for one of his most over-used jokes.

The meeting will coincide with the publication of the government’s update (or “refresh”, as it is offically called) to the integrated review of security, defence, development and foreign policy first published in 2021. Liz Trus ordered the update during her short-lived premiership, because she wanted it to take a tougher line on China. IR23, as the “refresh” is also called by No 10, will be published this afternoon.

Overnight Sunak announced that the defence will get an extra £5bn over the next two years as part of the review, and that the government is committing to raising defence spending to 2.5% of GDP “in the longer term”. In a news release No 10 says:

The 2023 integrated review refresh [IR23] confirms that an additional £5bn will be provided to the Ministry of Defence over the next two years, to help replenish and bolster vital ammunition stocks, modernise the UK’s nuclear enterprise and fund the next phase of the AUKUS submarine programme. It follows a £24bn four-year uplift in defence spending in 2020, the largest sustained increase since the Cold War.

The prime minister will also set out an ambition to increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP in the longer term, and the UK will lead a conversation with Allies on future posture and burden sharing at the NATO Summit in Lithuania this summer. We will review defence spending after 2025 in light of this ambition.

As my colleague Aubrey Allegretti reports, Conservative MPs are particularly interested in what IR23 will say about China and, speaking to reporters on his flight to California, Rishi Sunak said it was too simplisitic just to categorise China as a “threat” (which is what China hawks in his party want). Sunak said:

I don’t think it’s kind of smart or sophisticated foreign policy to reduce our relationship with China – which after all is a country with one and a half billion people, the second biggest economy, and member of the UN security council – to just two words.

That’s why in the integrated review you will see a very thoughtful and detailed approach to China …

I think [China] presents an epoch defining challenge to us and to the global order.

Aubrey’s full story is here.

Here is the agenda for the day.

Morning: Keir Starmer is doing a visit ahead of the budget on Wednesday.

11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.

2.30pm: Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, takes questions in the Commons.

After 3.30pm: James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, is due to make a Commons statement about the integrated review refresh.

Around 3.30pm UK time: Rishi Sunak records a series of broadcast interviews in San Diego.

After 5.30pm: MPs start the second reading debate for the illegal migration bill.

7.30pm: Sunak meets Joe Biden, the US president, and Anthony Albanese, the Australian PM, at the Aukus meeting. Sunak will also have a bilateral meeting with Biden.

8pm: Sky News hosts a debate for the SNP leadership candidates.

I’ll try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone.

If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter. I’m on @AndrewSparrow.

Alternatively, you can email me at andrew.sparrow@theguardian.com.

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2023-03-13 09:24:00Z
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‘Great wall of steel’: Xi vows to protect China economy, security - Al Jazeera English

President Xi Jinping has promised to transform the Chinese military into a “Great Wall of Steel” capable of protecting China’s interests abroad while he also emphasised the need for greater stability and security at home.

Xi’s remarks came in his closing speech to the National People’s Congress, China’s parliament, where last week he secured unanimous backing for an unprecedented third term in office.

Despite recently cementing his status as one of contemporary China’s most powerful leaders, Xi alluded to the many challenges facing China as it navigates a post-zero-COVID landscape, a slowing economy, and a more challenging relationship with the West, particularly the United States.

“Security is the bedrock of development, while stability is a prerequisite for prosperity,” Xi told the assembly of 3,000 delegates on Monday.

He also stressed the need for an improved “national security system,” an improved “social governance system”, and the safeguarding of “China’s new development pattern with a new security architecture”.

The speech reflected similar concerns shared during the Communist Party’s 20th National Congress in October, when Xi used the word “security” 91 times, according to the US-based Brookings Institution.

“Security is the most important thing in terms of party politics. His [Xi’s] people can safeguard his position and then he can have many, many terms, even a lifelong term. Of course security is very, very important,” Alfred Muluan Wu, an associate professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, told Al Jazeera.

“Externally, the very important thing is he is trying to paint a picture that he wants people to think that he could protect China. So in many of his documents or speeches, he is always mentioning that China is actually now surrounded by the hostile United States and also its Western allies, so they need to fight very, very hard for China.”

China is in the midst of a massive military modernisation campaign, which will be capable of “effectively safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests” when it finishes in 2035, Xi said, when the armed forces will become a “Great Wall of Steel”.

While still a decade off, China already exerts enormous influence in the region with its powerful People’s Liberation Army, military base and island building in the South China Sea, and sway over domestic politics in neighbouring countries from Cambodia to Micronesia.

The PLA plays a major role in China’s ongoing campaign to bring Taiwan back into the fold, either through a peaceful or forceful “national reunification”.

Xi mentioned the self-ruled democracy in his speech on Monday, calling for the end of “Taiwan independence separatist activities” as well as “external interference” in a thinly veiled reference to the US, Taiwan’s top military ally.

He also appeared to offer Taiwan the “one country, two systems” arrangement seen in Hong Kong and Macau, which would in theory allow for some autonomy under Beijing’s rule but in practice is an extremely unpopular offer to Taiwanese.

Xi’s concerns for “security” also extend to the home front, where officials have set a modest gross domestic product (GDP) target of just 5 percent in 2023, reflecting the lasting effect of three years of the zero-COVID strategy.

China typically sees tens of thousands of protests over issues like land seizures, but protests became more widespread at the end of 2022 as common Chinese chafed under the economic and social constraints of the policy.

The country has also struggled with uneven development between urban and rural areas as well as growing wealth inequality.

Xi, however, told delegates on Monday of China’s ongoing efforts to ensure the “great rejuvenation” of the Chinese nation for all citizens.

“The relay baton of building a great modern socialist country and advancing national rejuvenation has been historically passed on to our generation,” he said, calling for efforts to “upgrade and appropriately expand the economy” by focusing on fields like science and technology as well as industrial transformation that will benefit the whole economy.

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2023-03-13 08:06:59Z
1816222674

Xi Jinping retains China's central bank head in boost to markets - Financial Times

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2023-03-12 05:06:11Z
1808159758

Israel protests become 'biggest in history' as Benjamin Netanyahu's government persists with reforms - The Telegraph

Hundreds of thousands of Israelis demonstrated across the country on Saturday night in the 10th consecutive week of protests against their hard-right government's controversial legal reforms.

The demonstrations come as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government prepares to press on with its legislative agenda next week, shunning calls for a pause to allow for negotiations on the divisive plan.

The judicial overhaul is a cornerstone of Mr Netanyahu's administration, an alliance with ultra-Orthodox Jewish and extreme-right parties which took office at the end of last year. Critics say it threatens democracy and would result in less checks and balances.

The latest protests saw up to 500,000 people take to the streets, according to organisers. One journalist was among the people questioned by police for making anti-Netanyahu statements and at least three protesters were arrested. 

קפלן, תמונת מצב שעה 20:50 pic.twitter.com/wtvdTOB1Ad

— Bar Peleg (@bar_peleg) March 11, 2023

The Israeli Haaretz newspaper reported opposition leader Yair Lapid said in a speech during demonstrations that Israel "is facing the greatest crisis in its history".

"A wave of terrorism is hitting us, our economy is crashing, money is escaping the country. Iran just signed yesterday a new agreement with Saudi Arabia. But the only thing this government cares about is crushing Israeli democracy," he said.

The biggest demonstration, in the coastal city of Tel Aviv, drew some 100,000 protesters, according to estimates given by Israeli media.

Many of them were waving blue and white Israeli flags.

Protesters in Tel Aviv Credit: Getty

"I'm demonstrating because the measures that the new government wants to take represent a real and immediate threat to Israeli democracy," one protester, tech entrepreneur Ran Shahor, told AFP.

Demonstrations were held in other cities and towns in the country of more than nine million.

Some 50,000 Israelis protested in the northern city of Haifa and 10,000 in Beersheba - the biggest yet in both - according to Israeli media.

The rallies broke up without major incident, although police arrested three protesters who were blocking traffic on Tel Aviv's ring road. Social media also suggested one man had been arrested for confronting protesters with a hammer, while local journalists reported other onlookers through eggs at the crowds.

The chair of parliament's law committee, Simcha Rotman, has scheduled daily hearings on parts of the government's reforms from Sunday through Wednesday ahead of votes.

Justice Minister Yariv Levin has said the coalition plans to pass key elements of the reforms before parliament goes into recess on April 2.

The proposed legislation would give more weight to the government in the committee that selects judges and would deny the Supreme Court the right to strike down any amendments to so-called Basic Laws, Israel's quasi-constitution.

The government has been pushing for changes that would limit the Supreme Court’s powers to rule against the legislature and the executive, giving the Israeli parliament (the Knesset) the power to override Supreme Court decisions with a simple majority of 61 votes out of the 120-seat Knesset.

These provisions have already been endorsed by lawmakers at first reading.

Israeli President Issac Herzog - who, in his largely ceremonial role, has tried to broker dialogue - on Thursday called on the coalition the halt the legislation, dubbing it "a threat to the foundations of democracy".

Another element of the reforms would give the 120-member parliament power to overrule Supreme Court decisions with a simple majority of 61 votes.

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2023-03-12 02:25:00Z
1833850608

Ukraine-Russia war latest: Bakhmut centre now a 'killing zone' - The Telegraph

A Russian strike on the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson today left three people dead and two others wounded, authorities said.

"Russian terrorists are shelling Kherson again," Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine's presidential office, said on Telegram.

He posted a picture of firefighters next to a charred car.

Oleksandr Prokudin, the head of Kherson's regional military administration, said the casualties occurred when a car was hit by a shell and caught fire.

Galyna Kolisnyk, 53, said the Russians struck when she was in a store.

"When we entered, literally five minutes later this tragedy happened," she told AFP.

"Explosions began, our car got hit....This is horrible."

The strike came two days after Russian artillery fire also killed three people in Kherson.

Despite Russia's retreat from the city of Kherson late last year, it has been regularly targeted by Moscow's troops.

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2023-03-11 10:49:49Z
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