Headlines

Afghanistan Earthquake Kills 1,000, Toll Expected to Rise

Published

2 years ago

June 23, 2022

The death toll from an earthquake in Afghanistan on Wednesday hit 1,000, disaster management officials said, with more than 600 injured and the toll expected to grow as information trickles in from remote mountain villages.

Houses were reduced to rubble and bodies swathed in blankets lay on the ground after the magnitude 6.1 earthquake, photographs on Afghan media showed.

An unknown number of people remained stuck under rubble and in outlying areas, health and aid workers said, and rescue operations were complicated by difficult conditions including heavy rains, landslides and many villages being nestled in inaccessible hillside areas.

“Many people are still buried under the soil. The rescue teams of the Islamic Emirate have arrived and with the help of local people are trying to take out the dead and injured,” a health worker at a hospital in the hard-hit Paktika province said, asking for anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to media.

Mounting a rescue operation will prove a major test for the hard-line Islamist Taliban authorities, who took over the country last August after two decades of war and have been cut off from much international assistance because of sanctions. The Taliban-led ministry of defence is leading rescue efforts.

Loretta Hieber Girardet from the United Nations’ disaster risk reduction office said efforts to provide relief and save people trapped under rubble would face huge challenges due to the terrain and weather.

“The roads are poor even at the best of times so having a humanitarian operation put in place is going to be immediately challenged by the lack of easy access to the area,” she said, adding that rain combined with the tremor created a further risk of landslides for humanitarian workers.

The U.N. humanitarian office said it was deploying medical health teams and providing medical supplies.

Interior ministry official Salahuddin Ayubi said the death toll was likely to rise “as some of the villages are in remote areas in the mountains and it will take some time to collect details.”

Wednesday’s quake was the deadliest in Afghanistan since 2002. It struck about 44 km (27 miles) from the southeastern city of Khost, near the border with Pakistan, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said.

Shaking was felt by about 119 million people in Pakistan, Afghanistan and India, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said on Twitter, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties in Pakistan.

The EMSC put the earthquake’s magnitude at 6.1, though the USGC said it was 5.9.

Disaster experts and humanitarian workers said the impoverished hilly areas struck by the quake were especially vulnerable, with landslides and poorly built houses adding to widespread destruction.

“We were all sleeping at home… and the room fell over us,” said Gul Faraz as he received treatment for injuries with his wife and children at a hospital in Paktika. Some family members had been killed, he said.

“All the houses in our area were destroyed, not one, but the entire region has been destroyed.”

Most of the confirmed deaths were in the eastern province of Paktika, where 255 people were killed and more than 200 injured, Ayubi said. In the province of Khost, 25 were dead and 90 had been taken to hospital.

Adding to the challenge for Afghan authorities is recent flooding in many regions, which has blocked stretches of highway.

Afghanistan is also grappling with a severe economic crisis. In response to the Taliban takeover last year, many countries imposed sanctions on Afghanistan’s banking sector and cut billions of dollars in development aid.

Humanitarian aid has continued, however, from international agencies such as the United Nations.

U.S. President Joe Biden directed the U.S. Agency for International Development and other federal government partners to assess U.S. response options, the White House said.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the United Nations was fully mobilized, assessing the needs and providing initial support.

“We count on the international community to help support the hundreds of families hit by this latest disaster. Now is the time for solidarity,” he said in a statement.

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Africa

Customs hands over illicit drugs worth N117.59m to NDLEA

Published

15 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Matthew Eloyi

Customs hands over illicit drugs worth N117.59m to NDLEA

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Ogun Area 1 Command, has handed over illicit drugs worth N117.59 million to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

The Comptroller of the command, Mr James Ojo, disclosed this during the handing over of the drugs to Mr Olusegun Adeyeye, the Commander of NDLEA, Idiroko Special Area Command, in Abeokuta, Ogun, on Friday.

Ojo said the customs handed over the seized cannabis and tramadol tablets to the Idiroko Special Command for further investigation in line with the standard operating procedures and inter-agency collaboration.

He said the illicit drugs were seized in various strategic locations between January and November 21, 2024, in Ogun State.

He added that the illicit drugs were abandoned at various locations, including the Abeokuta axis, the Agbawo/Igankoto area of Yewa North Local Government Area, and Imeko Afton axis.

Ojo said that the seizure of the cannabis sativa and tramaling tablets, another brand of tramadol, was made possible through credible intelligence and strategic operations of the customs personnel.

“The successful interception of these dangerous substances would not have been possible without the robust collaboration and support from our intelligence units, local informants and sister agencies.

“These landmark operations are testament to the unwavering dedication of the NCS to safeguard the health and well-being of our citizens and uphold the rule of law,” he said.

He said the seizures comprised 403 sacks and 6,504 parcels, weighing 7,217.7 kg and 362 packs of tramaling tablets of 225mg each, with a total Duty Paid Value of N117,587,405,00.

He described the height of illicit drugs smuggling in the recent time as worrisome.

This, he said, underscores the severity of drug trafficking within the borders.

“Between Oct. 13 and Nov. 12 alone, operatives intercepted a total of 1,373 parcels of cannabis sativa, weighing 1,337kg and 362 packs of tramaling tablets of 225mg each,” he said.

Ojo said the seizures had disrupted the supply chain of illicit drugs, thereby mitigating the risks those substances posed to the youth, families and communities.

He lauded the synergy between its command, security agencies and other stakeholders that led to the remarkable achievements.

Ojo also commended the Comptroller General of NCS for creating an enabling environment for the command to achieve the success.

Responding, Adeyeye, applauded the customs for achieving the feat.

Adeyeye pledged to continue to collaborate with the customs to fight against illicit trade and drug trafficking in the state.

Economy

Customs intercepts N30m worth of PMS in Operation Whirlwind

Published

15 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Matthew Eloyi

The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) on Friday said that it had intercepted 849 kegs of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), worth over N30 million in retail price from Operation Whirlwind.

The Comptroller of Customs, Hussein Ejibunu, made this known during a news conference in Ikeja.

“Today, we have another seizure of 849 kegs of PMS containing 25 litres each. This translates to 30,225 litres with duty paid value at N30.225 million only at the NNPCL retail price.

“Today marks yet another success recorded by the operatives of Operation Whirlwind, Zone “A” Lagos/Ogun Axis.

“About five weeks ago, same PMS products were displayed before you here on the parade ground of the college where several seizures were made,” Ejibunu said.

“On this note, we wish to thank the National Security Adviser and the Comptroller-General of Customs for their unwavering support,” Ejibunu said.

The coordinator of the Operation Whirlwind said that two vehicles of means of conveyance were intercepted along with the seizures.

Ejibunu said that they evacuated 80 Jerry Cans each from a vehicle.

He assured the public that Operation Whirlwind remains steadfast in its efforts to clamp down on PMS smugglers, ensuring no room for their illegal activities nationwide.

Africa

Ann-Kio Briggs Faults Tinubu for Scrapping Niger Delta Ministry

Published

15 hours ago

November 22, 2024

Matthew Eloyi

Prominent Niger Delta human rights activist and environmentalist, Ann-Kio Briggs, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s decision to scrap the Ministry of Niger Delta, describing it as ill-advised and detrimental to the oil-rich region.

Briggs expressed her concerns during an appearance on Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, a socio-political programme aired on Channels Television.

“The Ministry of Niger Delta was created by the late (President Umaru) Yar’Adua. There was a reason for the creation. So, just removing it because the president was advised. I want to believe that he was advised because if he did it by himself, that would be terribly wrong,” she stated.

President Tinubu, in October, dissolved the Ministry of Niger Delta and replaced it with the Ministry of Regional Development, which is tasked with overseeing all regional development commissions, including the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), North-West Development Commission, and North-East Development Commission.

Briggs questioned the rationale behind the restructuring, expressing concerns about its feasibility and implications. “But that’s not going to be the solution because who is going to fund the commissions? Is it the regions because it is called the Regional Development Ministry? Is it the states in the regions? What are the regions because we don’t work with regions right now; we are working with geopolitical zones,” she remarked.

She added, “Are we going back to regionalism? If we are, we have to discuss it. The president can’t decide on his own to restructure Nigeria. If we are restructuring Nigeria, the president alone can’t restructure Nigeria, he has to take my opinion and your opinion into consideration.”

Briggs also decried the longstanding neglect of the Niger Delta despite its significant contributions to Nigeria’s economy since 1958. “The Niger Delta has been developing Nigeria since 1958. We want to use our resources to develop our region; let regions use their resources to develop themselves,” she asserted.

Reflecting on the various bodies established to address the region’s development, Briggs lamented their failure to deliver meaningful progress. She highlighted the Niger Delta Basin Authority, the Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission (OMPADEC), and the NDDC as examples of ineffective interventions.

“NDDC was created by Olusegun Obasanjo…There was OMPADEC before NDDC. OMPADEC was an agency. Before OMPADEC, there was the Basin Authority…These authorities were created to help us. Were we helped by those authorities? No, we were not,” she said.

Briggs further described the NDDC as an “ATM for failed politicians, disgruntled politicians, and politicians that have had their electoral wins taken away from them and given to somebody else.”

Her remarks underscore the deep-seated frustrations in the Niger Delta, where residents continue to advocate for greater control over their resources and improved governance.