catastrophic

Xi’s military purge narrows China’s command — and raises the risk of miscalculation China’s sweeping purge of senior generals has shrunk the country’s top command to a bare minimum, concentrating power around Xi Jinping just as Western leaders intensify outreach to Beijing. The shake-up, which removed Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia and Joint Staff chief Gen. Liu Zhenli for “violations of discipline and law,” has alarmed analysts who see both short-term caution and longer-term volatility in the world’s…

A massive winter storm is bearing down on the United States with a hazardous mix of freezing rain and heavy snow threatening some 160 million people through the weekend, prompting states of emergency across at least 14 states and Washington, D.C., and warnings of “catastrophic” icy conditions. The National Weather Service said the sprawling system could bring catastrophic ice accumulation capable of downing trees and power lines, leading to long-duration power outages and making travel extremely dangerous or impossible. The…

Rescue crews tirelessly sifted through the debris in the village of Donja Jablanica, desperately searching for individuals lost amid Bosnia's most devastating floods in years, which struck the Balkan nation just yesterday. According to N1 TV, the catastrophe has claimed 21 lives, with many more individuals still unaccounted for in the Jablanica region, situated approximately 70 kilometers southwest of Sarajevo. "Several villages remain inaccessible at this point, and the uncertainty of what awaits us there is concerning,"…

A prominent humanitarian leader in Beirut has issued a stark warning: a prospective ground invasion by Israeli forces into Lebanon could inflict further trauma on an already suffering displaced population. According to the United Nations, over 90,000 individuals have been forced from their homes in Lebanon since the beginning of the week. Dr. Luna Hammad, the Medical Coordinator for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Lebanon, conveyed her concerns during an interview with RTÉ's Morning Ireland. She highlighted that Beirut…

Tens of thousands of people began leaving Goma, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, on Thursday. The current military governor of the province, General Constant Ndima, has ordered that part of the city be evacuated amid the risks of the eruption of the Nyiragongo volcano last Saturday. Authorities in Goma this Thursday…

Cotton production is in free fall in Mali. The former African fiber champion is expected to harvest a quarter of what he produced last year. The poor textile economy associated with Covid-19 is not the only reason. It will be one of the worst cotton crops in Mali's history. Less than 80,000 tons of fiber compared to nearly…