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Two million impacted as Pakistan’s Punjab faces worst floods in its history

Two million impacted as Pakistan’s Punjab faces worst floods in its history

While South Asia’s seasonal monsoon brings rainfall that farmers depend on, climate change is making it deadly.

Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province is dealing with the biggest flood in its history, a senior official has said, as water levels of rivers rise to all-time highs.

Global warming has worsened monsoon rains this year in Pakistan, one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change, according to a new study. Downpours and cloudbursts have triggered flash floods and landslides across the mountainous north and northwest in recent months.

Residents in eastern Punjab have also experienced abnormal amounts of rain, as well as cross-border flooding after India released water from swollen rivers and its overflowing dams into Pakistan’s low-lying regions.

“This is the biggest flood in the history of the Punjab. The flood has affected two million people. It’s the first time that the three rivers — Sutlej, Chenab, and Ravi — have carried such high levels of water,” the senior minister for the province, Marriyum Aurangzeb, told a press conference on Sunday.

Local authorities have been evacuating people and using educational institutions, police and security facilities as rescue camps, she said.

Pakistani TV channels also showed people clambering into rescue boats and sailing across fully submerged farmland to safety. Others loaded belongings into boats, salvaging what remained from damaged homes, now abandoned.

In a former classroom in the region, now a makeshift relief camp, pregnant women have begun taking refuge from the floods.

Shumaila Riaz, 19 years old and seven months pregnant with her first child, spent the past four days in the relief camp, enduring pregnancy cramps.

“I wanted to think about the child I am going to have, but now, I am not even certain about my own future,” she told the AFP news agency.

Clad in dirty clothes they have worn for days and with unbrushed hair, women huddled in the overcrowded school hosting more than 2,000 people, surrounded by mud and stagnant rainwater.

While South Asia’s seasonal monsoon brings rainfall that farmers depend on, climate change is making the phenomenon more erratic, and deadly, across the region.

In Multan, authorities have also installed explosives at five key embankments to divert water away from the city, if needed, ahead of a massive wave on its way from the Chenab River.

Multan Commissioner Amir Kareem Khan said drones were used to monitor low-lying areas while teams tried to persuade residents who had not yet evacuated to do so.

“The water is coming in large quantities — we cannot fight it, we cannot stop it,” Deputy Commissioner Wasim Hamad Sindhu said, appealing to people to seek shelter in government-run camps.

Aurangzeb added on Sunday that the Foreign Ministry is also “collecting data regarding India’s deliberate release of water into Pakistan”. There was no immediate comment from India.

India had alerted Pakistan to the possibility of cross-border flooding last week, the first public diplomatic contact between the rivals since a crisis brought them close to war in May.

Punjab, home to some 150 million people, is a vital part of Pakistan’s agricultural sector and is the country’s main wheat producer.

Ferocious flooding in 2022 wiped out huge swathes of crops in the east and south of the country, leading Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to warn that the country faced food shortages.

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The late Argentinian football legend’s childhood home has been converted into a soup kitchen serving those affected by President Javier Milei’s austerity measures.

At 523 Amazor street in Fiorito, a Buenos Aires suburb where the “Golden Boy” experienced extreme poverty growing up, locals can now receive meals and clothing assistance.

This neighbourhood of about 50,000 residents living in modest brick homes features numerous murals commemorating the career of the iconic number 10, who passed away in 2020 at the age of 60.

As a criminal negligence trial begins on Tuesday against the seven-member medical team responsible for Maradona’s final care following brain surgery, his childhood community continues his legacy of compassion.

Neighbours visit “Diego’s house” carrying containers that volunteers fill with chicken stew and other meals prepared in large cauldrons in the yard, while cumbia music – Maradona’s preferred genre – plays in the background.

“Diego would say there is a lot of hunger and we have to help, because the need is so great,” explained Diego Gavilan, who benefits from the kitchen’s services.

Gavilan, who collects cardboard and scrap metal, began visiting the soup kitchen after Milei implemented radical free-market reforms following his December 2023 election.

“You can’t make ends meet,” Gavilan noted.

Despite statistics showing poverty reduction under Milei, primarily due to decreasing inflation, family finances remain in crisis, according to Central Bank reports. Increased imports and plummeting consumption have resulted in more than 20,000 business closures.

Gavilan appreciates receiving assistance from Maradona’s former home: “He suffered so much hunger here as a child. For the people of the neighbourhood to receive a plate of food is special.”

The facility operates without dining accommodations. Volunteers prepare food over open fires in the yard, distributing it in bags to those waiting at the entrance.

Maradona frequently referenced his humble origins in an area without running water or paved streets. Sixty-six years after his birth, hardship remains visible on the faces of those queueing for food.

“People are going hungry,” said Maria Torres, one of the centre’s cooks, who believes Maradona would approve of his childhood home’s charitable repurposing.

#Photos #Maradonas #childhood #home #soup #kitchenGallery, News, Sport, Food, Football, Human Rights, Poverty and Development, Argentina, Latin America">Photos: Maradona’s childhood home becomes soup kitchen for those in needPublished On 14 Apr 202614 Apr 2026The late Argentinian football legend’s childhood home has been converted into a soup kitchen serving those affected by President Javier Milei’s austerity measures.At 523 Amazor street in Fiorito, a Buenos Aires suburb where the “Golden Boy” experienced extreme poverty growing up, locals can now receive meals and clothing assistance.This neighbourhood of about 50,000 residents living in modest brick homes features numerous murals commemorating the career of the iconic number 10, who passed away in 2020 at the age of 60.As a criminal negligence trial begins on Tuesday against the seven-member medical team responsible for Maradona’s final care following brain surgery, his childhood community continues his legacy of compassion.Neighbours visit “Diego’s house” carrying containers that volunteers fill with chicken stew and other meals prepared in large cauldrons in the yard, while cumbia music – Maradona’s preferred genre – plays in the background.“Diego would say there is a lot of hunger and we have to help, because the need is so great,” explained Diego Gavilan, who benefits from the kitchen’s services.Gavilan, who collects cardboard and scrap metal, began visiting the soup kitchen after Milei implemented radical free-market reforms following his December 2023 election.“You can’t make ends meet,” Gavilan noted.Despite statistics showing poverty reduction under Milei, primarily due to decreasing inflation, family finances remain in crisis, according to Central Bank reports. Increased imports and plummeting consumption have resulted in more than 20,000 business closures.Gavilan appreciates receiving assistance from Maradona’s former home: “He suffered so much hunger here as a child. For the people of the neighbourhood to receive a plate of food is special.”The facility operates without dining accommodations. Volunteers prepare food over open fires in the yard, distributing it in bags to those waiting at the entrance.Maradona frequently referenced his humble origins in an area without running water or paved streets. Sixty-six years after his birth, hardship remains visible on the faces of those queueing for food.“People are going hungry,” said Maria Torres, one of the centre’s cooks, who believes Maradona would approve of his childhood home’s charitable repurposing.#Photos #Maradonas #childhood #home #soup #kitchenGallery, News, Sport, Food, Football, Human Rights, Poverty and Development, Argentina, Latin America

Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr fought rumours of his ill-health with a set of impromptu star jumps on 13 April.

He challenged naysayers to “come and exercise with me” if they doubted his fitness.

The president was diagnosed with diverticulitis, an abdominal ailment, in late January and briefly put on a strict soup-based diet, causing significant weight-loss at that time.

#Bongbong #Marcos #fights #illhealth #rumours #star #jumps">Bongbong Marcos fights ill-health rumours with star jumpsPhilippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr fought rumours of his ill-health with a set of impromptu star jumps on 13 April. He challenged naysayers to “come and exercise with me” if they doubted his fitness.The president was diagnosed with diverticulitis, an abdominal ailment, in late January and briefly put on a strict soup-based diet, causing significant weight-loss at that time.#Bongbong #Marcos #fights #illhealth #rumours #star #jumps

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