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world news Diasabra 23 OctOber 2021

Over 180 people killed after heavy rains in Nepal and India

(AP) — Floods and land-
slides triggered by days
of torrential rains have
killed at least 99 people in
Nepal since Monday, offi-
cials said.

In neighboring India, heavy
downpours this week have
also wreaked havoc, killing at
least 88 people, while flood-
ing roads, destroying bridges
and causing landslides that
washed away several homes.

Police in Nepal said rescu-
ers were looking for at least
40 people who have been re-
ported as missing, sparking
fears that the death toll could
rise.

A majority of the deaths oc- pacting millions of lives and coming days.
curred in the country’s east- “Crops and homes have been livelihoods,” he added. Forecasters in Nepal are an-
ern and western regions, wiped out, which is a severe ticipating moderate rainfall Landslides and floods are
which saw heavy rains this blow to families already grap- On Thursday, Prime Minis- later on Thursday but expect common in India’s Himala-
week, said police spokesper- pling with the devastating ter Sher Bahadur Deuba vis- the weather to improve by yan north. Scientists say they
son Basanta Bahadur Kun- fallout of the COVID-19 ited the flood-affected areas the end of the week. are becoming more frequent
war. pandemic,” said Azmat Ulla in the western region and di- as global warming contrib-
of the International Federa- rected authorities to focus on India has seen worrisome utes to the melting of glaciers
“The search and rescue team tion of Red Crescent Soci- the speedy rescue, relief and rains across several regions there.
have been relocating people eties in Nepal. Red Cross rehabilitation of those vul- this week. Flooding and land-
to safer locations and taking teams are aiding evacuation nerable. slides caused by downpours In February, flash floods
the injured to the hospitals,” efforts in both countries. over the week have killed at killed nearly 200 people and
he said. Authorities are still trying to least 46 people in the north- washed away houses in Ut-
“The people of Nepal and In- ascertain the number of dis- ern state of Uttarakhand and tarakhand. In 2013, thou-
At least 35 injured in the rains dia are sandwiched between placed households and the 42 people in the southern sands of people were killed in
have been rescued and are in the pandemic and worsening full extent of damages caused state of Kerala, which is on floods there.
the hospital. climate disasters, heavily im- by the disasters. alert for more rains in the

EU to keep fighting Belarus’s “weaponization” of migrants

(AP) — European Union leaders Leaders promised to continue coun- Commission says it has never fi- proved a bill that would regulate the
pledged on Friday to “keep up the tering what European Commission nanced fences, although it acknowl- construction of a high barrier with
pressure” on Belarus President president Ursula von der Leyen edges the right, or need, for EU motion sensors on the border with
Alexander Lukashenko to halt the called “state-sponsored smuggling.” countries to put up protective barri- Belarus to deter people from crossing
flow of migrants from his coun- ers. over.
try and raised the prospect of new “The people used by Lukashenko are
sanctions amid calls by some bloc victims, we must help them,” von der Von der Leyen said that although EU In their conclusions, leaders invited
members to build walls and fenc- Leyen said. funds are used for border manage- the commission to propose “any
es to thwart new arrivals. ment — including equipment, per- necessary changes to the EU’s legal
The EU’s executive arm has already sonnel and logistics — she said “there framework and concrete measures
EU members Poland and Lithuania proposed to tighten visa restrictions will be no funding of barbed wire and underpinned by adequate financial
have been struggling to cope with an on members of Lukashenko’s gov- walls.” support.”
unusually high number of migrants ernment and Von der Leyen said the
arriving at their borders with Belarus EU is ready to explore additional French president Emmanuel Macron “The Lukashenko regime now will
in recent months. The EU is accus- sanctions against individuals and en- said von der Leyen made that clear see that the European Union is able
ing Lukashenko’s government of us- tities. Earlier this week, EU foreign the commission would not finance to react, is able to take the decisions
ing them to destabilize the 27-coun- ministers discussed possible mea- such structures. and is ready to defend itself,” Nau-
try region in retaliation for EU sanc- sures against Belarusian airline Bela- seda said.
tions. via. “Several powers consider that migra-
tion has become an instrument for Thousands of migrants have been
After nearly five hours of discussions, Migration has been a sensitive and the destabilization of Europe,” he lured to Belarus on tourist visas and
leaders agreed that they “will not ac- divisive topic since the arrival in Eu- said. “And so we should protect our- encouraged to cross into Poland,
cept any attempt by third countries to rope in 2015 of well over 1 million selves. But we should never do so by Lithuania and to a lesser extent Lat-
instrumentalise migrants for political migrants, most of them refugees abandoning our values.” via. Several have died of exhaustion
purposes.” They also condemned “all fleeing conflict in Syria. The exodus at the Polish-Belarusian border since
hybrid attacks at the EU’s borders.” sparked one of the EU’s biggest po- Lithuanian president Gitanas Nau- August, when large numbers of peo-
litical crises and member states have seda, who wants a physical barrier on ple from Iraq, Iran, Syria and Afghan-
Migrant arrivals began increasing a yet to find an agreement on a system the Baltic country’s border with Be- istan, but also from Africa, started
year ago after the EU slapped sanc- that would guarantee shared respon- larus, was among those pushing for trying to cross, hoping to eventually
tions on Lukashenko’s government sibility for the new arrivals. a review of the bloc’s legislation on reach western European nations.
over the August 2020 presidential migration policy.
election, which the West views as A dozen EU countries said before Germany said it has noticed an in-
rigged, and the security crackdown the summit that the bloc should fund Other EU states have been thinking crease of illegal entries along the
on the Belarusian opposition and construction of physical barriers to about building fences. Earlier this German-Polish border since August,
peaceful protesters that followed. better protect itself. The European month, the Polish government ap- registering about 4,500 such entries.