World news in brief
Pakistan needs $16bn after devastating floods, says UN
Countries including the US and France have pledged more than $8.5bn (£6.9bn) in support to flood-hit Pakistan during a major conference held by in conjunction with the United Nations. Pakistan’s prime minister Shehbaz Sharif and UN secretary general Antonio Guterres called for countries to mobilise in support to rebuild the country after last year’s devastating floods at the conference held in Geneva yesterday – with the aim of raising a total of $16bn.
Speaking at the conference, Mr Sharif said Pakistan needs at least $8bn for “minimum recovery” over the next three years and called to form a “new coalition of the willing”. “Today’s meeting is an attempt to give my people another chance at getting back on their feet,” he said. “We are racing against time”. The flooding impacted more than 33 million Pakistanis, killing more than 1,700 people and pushing about nine million others into poverty, according to the UN.
Cargo ship runs aground in Suez Canal
A bulk cargo vessel carrying grain from Ukraine ran aground in the Suez Canal yesterday before being refloated, officials have said. Staff from the Suez Canal Authority said they expect the incident to result in some delays to trade traffic in the Egyptian waterway. The vessel, MV Glory, ran aground near the city of Qantara, the shipping firm Leth Agencies said.
Three tug boats were deployed to refloat the vessel, which got stuck in the narrow canal while transiting through the waters to join the southbound convoy, said Osama Rabie, chair of the Suez Canal Authority. Tracking websites and satellite images earlier showed the MV Glory parked in a single-lane stretch of the canal just south of Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea.
Delhi shivers under cold spell as fog disrupts transport
India’s capital is reeling under severe cold wave conditions as temperatures in Delhi have continued to plummet and thick fog has affected visibility as well as flight and railway services. On Sunday night, temperatures dipped to 1.9C at Delhi’s primary weather station – the lowest in January in the past two years and the second lowest in January since 2013.
Minimum temperatures in the capital continue to be lower than most places – including in the northern Himalayan hill states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand – for five consecutive days, reported the Press Trust of India. Cold wave conditions coupled
with severe fog across the city has affected flight and railway operations.
Remote village in Kashmir celebrates first electricity
A village in the Kashmir region has received electricity for the first time, local officials and residents have said. Tethan in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district has a population of just 200 and has relied on traditional sources such as wood for energy and lamps and candles for light. The village has now received electricity under an Indian federal government scheme called the Prime Minister’s Development Package.
Videos on social media showed village residents dancing and celebrating. “We have seen electricity for the first time today. Our children will study under light now. They will be happy. We had to face a lot of problems in the absence of electricity. We relied on traditional wood for our energy requirements so far. Our problems have been solved now,” resident Fazul-u-din Khan was quoted as saying.
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