Pakistan fears waterborne diseases as floodwaters recede
Officials in Pakistan raised concern Wednesday over the spread of waterborne diseases among thousands of flood victims as waters from powerful monsoon rains began to recede in many parts of the country.
Some doctors said initially they were seeing mostly patients traumatized by the flooding but are now treating people suffering from diarrhea, skin infections and other waterborne ailments in the country’s flood-hit areas.
The development has forced the government to deploy additional medical teams, dispatch medicine and provide clean drinking water to survivors, many of whom are living in tents and makeshift homes.
The warning came a day after record-breaking floods prompted the United Nations to formally issue an appeal for $160 million in emergency funding to the impoverished Islamic nation, where about a million homes have been damaged or destroyed.
According to the U.N. Population Fund, about 650,000 pregnant women in flood-affected areas require maternal health services to ensure a safe pregnancy and childbirth.
Taliban marks 1-year anniversary of U.S. exit
Taliban fighters and senior leaders gathered Wednesday for a celebration at Bagram air base, once the largest American military base in Afghanistan, to mark one year since U.S. and NATO forces withdrew from the country.
Images released by Taliban media show fighters marching in Western-style uniforms, followed by columns of armored vehicles bearing the group’s blackand-white flag moving down one of the main runways. Helicopters flew above the crowd.
The departure of U.S. forces from Afghanistan marked the end of over two decades of war here but did not lead to a negotiated peace. Afghan government security forces collapsed in the face of Taliban attacks, and when the group reached Kabul, President Ashraf Ghani fled, effectively handing over the capital.
Canada will choose immigrants for jobs
Canada, which relies on immigrants to grow its workforce, plans to start targeting newcomers in specific occupations to ensure better matching with industries suffering the most intense labor shortages.
The open-door nation will start being more tactical in choosing permanent residents in 2023, giving preference to specific skills or labor-starved regions, according to Immigration Minister Sean Fraser.
The new approach will see Canada try to handpick newcomers for hard-to-fill jobs. Construction, engineering, food services and health care organizations are struggling the most to find enough workers, government data show.
Canada’s existing system has resulted in many immigrants failing to find jobs that match their skills and the economy not harnessing the full potential of a highly educated workforce.
Canada aims to bring in more than 1.3 million permanent residents over the next three years, a record number.