Musings From Abroad

Over 1,000 confirmed killed, 1,500 injured as powerful earthquake rips through Afghanistan

Published

3 years ago

June 22, 2022

More than 1,000 people have been confirmed killed with another 1,500 injured after a powerful earthquake ripped through a local province in a rural and mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan early Wednesday, according to state run Bakhtar News Agency.

Officials have also warned that the death toll is likely to rise as there are fears that more people could still be buried in the rubble as rescue operations have been hampered by the topography of the region.

According to the neighbouring Pakistan’s Meteorological Department, the earthquake’s epicenter was in Afghanistan’s Paktika province, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) southwest of the city of Khost but buildings were also damaged in the nearby Khost province, as the tremors were felt as far away as the Pakistani capital of Islamabad.

The death toll as given by the Bakhtar News Agency was equal to that of a quake in 2002 in northern Afghanistan that struck immediately after the US-led invasion overthrew the Taliban government, but deadlier than a landslide in1998, when a 6.1 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tremors in Afghanistan’s remote northeast killed at least 4,500 people.

Rescue operations have also been hampered because of the absence of international agencies who were chased out of the country after the overthrow of the government by the Taliban last year.

Many international humanitarian organizations have also left the troubled country because of concerns about security and the Taliban’s poor human rights record after it swept across the country in 2021.

Earlier on Wednesday, the director-general of the news agency, Abdul Wahid Rayan, wrote on Twitter that 90 houses have been destroyed in Paktika and dozens of people are believed trapped under the rubble, while the Afghan Red Crescent Society had sent some 4,000 blankets, 800 tents and 800 kitchen kits to the affected area, he added.

In the capital Kabul, Prime Minister Mohammad Hassan Akhund convened an emergency meeting at the presidential palace to coordinate the relief effort, and Bilal Karimi, a deputy spokesman for the Taliban government, wrote on Twitter to urge aid agencies to send teams to the area.

The magnitude 6.1 temblor has, however, posed a major test for the Taliban-led government, which seized power last year as the US planned to pull out from the country and end its longest two-decades war after toppling the same insurgents in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.

Related Topics:Afghanistan Death Earthquake Featured Taliban

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Musings From Abroad

Swiss company Mercuria partners Zambia’s IDC in new metals trading firm

Published

18 hours ago

December 21, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to a statement released by Swiss commodities trader, Mercuria, on Thursday, it has established a metals trading arm with Zambia, the second-largest producer of copper in Africa.

The trading unit is jointly owned by Mercuria and an arm of Zambia’s Industrial Development Company (IDC), and its purpose is to allow Zambia to engage directly in the minerals trading market.

The joint venture “envisages the establishment of a vehicle to market and trade Zambian copper by mutual leverage,” according to a statement from Cornwell Muleya, the CEO of IDC.

The southern African nation wants to increase copper output to roughly 3 million metric tonnes within the next ten years, and in 2023, it produced roughly 698,000 tonnes of copper, down from 763,000 metric tonnes the year before.

In June, the Zambian government announced that it would establish a minerals trading unit.

Investors including First Quantum Minerals and Barrick Gold are ramping up production, with output set to receive a further boost once Vedanta Resources’ Konkola Copper Mines restart activity.

“Our joint venture with IDC marks a significant milestone for Zambia as it positions itself more strategically in the global minerals market,” Kostas Bintas, Mercuria’s global head of metals and minerals, said in the statement.

Musings From Abroad

Blinken to reveal UN Sudan funding additions

Published

2 days ago

December 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Additional financing for humanitarian aid to Sudan and initiatives to strengthen civil society in the nation, where a conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions, will be announced by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the United Nations on Thursday.

Blinken will make many announcements when he leads a UN Security Council meeting on Sudan on Thursday, which will centre on humanitarian aid and civilian protection, Deputy U.S. Representative to the UN Ned Price told reporters on Wednesday.

According to Price, the announcements would include more money for humanitarian help, initiatives to strengthen civil society, and the return of democracy.

“Sudan, unfortunately, has risked becoming a forgotten conflict,” Price said.

“So part of the reason the secretary … opted to convene a signature event on this very topic is to make sure it remains in the spotlight,” Price said.

For almost 18 months, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and Sudan’s army have been engaged in combat, resulting in a severe humanitarian crisis that has forced over 12 million people from their homes and made it difficult for U.N. organisations to provide aid.

A power struggle between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces preceded a planned shift to civilian administration, which sparked the conflict in April 2023.

Although the army declined to join this year’s U.S.-mediated peace negotiations in Geneva, the warring parties did pledge to increase assistance access, which prevented any movement towards a ceasefire.

Price stated that before President Joe Biden’s term ends next month, the United States would keep collaborating with allies to enhance humanitarian access in Sudan and eventually end hostilities.

“We are going to leave nothing on the field in our efforts to work with allies, with partners, with the Sudanese stakeholders themselves, on the issues that matter most – humanitarian access, the provision of humanitarian assistance, ultimately, the process by which we can work to get to a cessation of hostilities, which is most urgently needed,” he said.