Officials said on Friday that the eastern Libyan city of Derna has been closed off as rescue workers continue to search for more than 10,000 people who are still missing after devastating floods. Estimated death tolls varied, with some officials saying over 5,000 dead. Meanwhile, the Red Crescent gave a death toll of more than 11,300 in Derna, with another 170 people confirmed dead elsewhere in the country.  Eastern Libya's Health Minister Othman Abduljaleel said rescue teams were still searching wrecked buildings in the city center and divers were combing the sea into which hundreds of bodies were swept by the torrent, while international aid has also poured in. Senior politicians from both sides of a country split between rival western and eastern administrations, including presidential council chairman Mohamed al-Menfi in the east, and the interim prime minister of the internationally recognized Tripoli-based government, Abdel Hamid Dabaiba, have called for an inquiry. Led by the country's attorney general, Al-Siddiq Al-Sour, one of the few officials whose jurisdiction theoretically transcends the divide, the inquiry is intended to "to hold accountable everyone who made a mistake or neglected to take action that resulted in the collapse of the city's dams," according to al-Menfi. 'Both a natural and a manmade disaster' Public anger has been mounting at the perceived government failure and corruption. "This disaster is both a natural disaster and a manmade disaster," Libyan security expert and commentator Aya Burweila told DW. "Storm Daniel is a natural disaster, but the horrific consequences that we saw afterward were manmade. And this, of course, goes down to corruption." Calling oil-rich Libya "one of the most corrupt countries in the world," Burweila described a state in which "there are no meaningful audits of government spending," and in which "public funds go to governments that are not publicly elected." "What happens when a government is not accountable to the people? What you get is self-servants, not public servants. And this is the problem that Libya has gone through for decades." No early-warning system Burweila also highlighted the absence of investment in sophisticated early warning systems, which can send notifications directly to people's smartphones in the event of emergency, as is commonplace in Europe and more developed countries. "It was a government failure to warn the people of Derna," she said, concurring with the UN's World Meteorological Organization (WMO), whose head Petteri Taalas told reporters on Thursday that, if the system in Libya had worked properly, "the emergency management forces would have been able to carry out the evacuation of the people, and we could have avoided most of the human casualties." Libya's National Meteorological Centre (NMC) did issue extreme weather warnings 72 hours in advance and had notified governmental authorities by email, urging them to take preventative measures. But the WMO said it was "not clear whether [the warnings] were effectively disseminated."

The five people aboard the Titanic wreck explorer craft have just hours left to be rescued. The search for the Titan submersible, which was on route to the Titanic wreck six days ago, has entered its fourth day. International search and rescue operations are in full swing, sweeping huge areas of the North Atlantic in search of the craft. But rescue teams are working against the clock, and there are fears the five-man crew are running out of oxygen, with just a few hours left. Officials still held hope of rescue, with US Coast Guard Captain Jamie Frederick saying in a press conference on Wednesday evening: "We'll continue to put every available asset that we have in an effort to find the Titan and the crew members." Optimism came after repeated banging noises were detected underwater. Three separate aircraft heard the noises, which went on for at least two days. Other search craft have been diverted to the area where the underwater sounds originated. "I can't tell you what the noises are. What I can tell you is we're searching where the noises are, and that's all we can do at this point," Frederick said. Rescue operations relying on robots if vessel found But even those who expressed optimism warned that many obstacles remain. The vessel's location still isn't known, but if it was pinpointed in the next hour, rescue teams would have to reach it with rescue equipment and bring it to the surface, assuming it is still intact. If the submersible has sunk down to the bottom of the ocean, about 3,800 meters (12,500 feet) in the region, rescue operations would be especially challenging. Only specialized crafts are capable of operating at deep-sea depths due to the huge amounts of pressure. Even deep-sea Navy rescue submarines would struggle with the depth, having a maximum range of 2,250 to 3,000 meters. It's likely rescue teams would rely on unmanned robots to rescue the craft if found. Among those sending rescue craft to the region, the French government delivered its Victor 6000, a robot capable of diving 6000 meters to the area. The robot is equipped with a mechanical arm that could help drag the Titan back to the surface. The US Navy is also sending Fadoss — a heavy lifting system designed to recover heavy sunken objects. The Titan submersible weighs 10,432 kg. Experts warn even if the submersible is located, it would be a major challenge to retrieve it given the deep sea conditions of pressure and cold. Such a rescue operation would take hours, with the Fadoss system for example taking 24 hours to weld and support a vessel before bringing it to the surface. Oxygen is running out Meanwhile, the oxygen supply in the submersible is about to run out, with the US Coast Guard estimating some time between 11:00 and 13:00 (CET) to be when "breathable air" will run out.  The actual oxygen supply in the vessel depends on a range of factors, such as if power systems still remain, the breathing rate of those on board, and whether they remain calm. It's possible the crew might be trying to conserve oxygen in attempts to prolong the rescue window. The crew could be trying to sleep or meditate to slow down metabolism and decrease the need for oxygen. But this will depend on the psychological state of crew members inside. With oxygen in the Titan running out, the rescue window is rapidly closing. 

The OceanGate Expeditions company said that it was "mobilizing all options" to locate a submersible vehicle that set out to explore the wreckage of the Titanic. A submarine on a tourism expedition to explore the wreckage of the Titanic has gone missing off the coast of southeastern Canada, the private company that operates the vessel said on Monday. OceanGate Expeditions said in a brief statement issued to the BBC and other media that it had lost contact with the submarine and was "mobilizing all options" to rescue those on board. The regional branch of the US Coast Guard said that it was seeking a submersible vehicle in the Atlantic Ocean, somewhere around the site of the Titanic shipwreck. "A US Coast Guard C-130 crew is searching for an overdue Canadian research submarine approximately 900 miles off Cape Cod," USCG Northeast said. It said a Canadian plane with underwater detection capabilities was assisting in the search. "The US Coast Guard is searching for a 21-foot submersible from the Canadian research vessel Polar Prince," it said a short while later, referring to Ocean Gate Expeditions' vessel. "The 5 person crew submerged Sunday morning, and the crew of the Polar Prince lost contact with them approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes into the vessel's dive," the Coast Guard said. "We are deeply thankful for the extensive assistance we have received from several government agencies and deep sea companies in our efforts to reestablish contact with the submersible," OceanGate Expeditions said.  Additional resources would arrive in the coming days, said Rear Admiral John Mauger, a commander for the US Coast Guard. "It is a remote area, and it is a challenge to conduct a search in that remote area," he said. "But we are deploying all available assets to make sure we can locate the craft and rescue the people on board." David Concannon, an adviser to OceanGate, said the submersive vessel had a 96-hour oxygen supply starting at roughly 6 a.m. Sunday. He added that officials were working to get a remotely operated vehicle that can reach a depth of 6,000 meters (about 20,000 feet) to the site at the earliest. Titan sub typically seats five  According to company information, the submarine, named Titan, usually accommodates five people — a captain, an expert on the Titanic wreckage, and three guests, often paying ones. The tour lasts days and costs around $250,000 (around €230,000) per person. OceanGate also takes archaeologists and other experts to the scene of the ship wreck to track decay at the site.  British billionaire and enthusiast thought to be on board British businessman Hamish Harding, based in the United Arab Emirates, had written on social media on Sunday that he would be on board the sub.  "I am proud to finally announce that I joined [Ocean Gate Expeditions] for their RMS TITANIC Mission as a mission specialist on the sub going down to the Titanic," Harding wrote, noting that bad weather had been making it difficult to find windows for the dives.  Harding's company, Action Aviation, confirmed to the Associated Press that he had been on board. Harding, who made his fortune in the business aviation sector in the Gulf, is something of an undersea exploration enthusiast. He is in the Guinness Book of World Records three times, with two of the records being the longest distance traveled at full ocean depth and the longest time spent at full ocean depth, both from a 2021 mission.  He and Victor Vescovo took the Challenger Deep two-man submarine to the deepest point of the Mariana Trench in the Western Pacific Ocean. It's some 36,000 feet (almost 11,000 meters) below sea level. By comparison, Mount Everest's summit is less than 9,000 meters above sea level.  The British-built Titanic, billed as the new benchmark in luxury cruising when it was built, famously sunk on its maiden voyage to the US in 1912 after hitting an iceberg. The tale has been immortalized in several non-fiction and fiction books as well as the blockbuster film "Titanic" from 1997.

The former prime minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, has refused to allow police to search his home, saying that they must be supervised. Khan earlier appeared in court to seek protection from arrest. Pakistan remained tense on Friday as former Prime Minister Imran Khan refused to allow police to search his house, laying out his terms for any such operation. Hundreds of police officers were deployed around Khan's home in eastern Lahore ahead of the planned search for suspects said to be involved in attacks on state and army buildings earlier this month. What are the latest developments? Police and government officials had arrived at the former prime minister and international cricket star's home.  Agreeing on the terms of the search was part of the latest wrangle between Khan and authorities amid deepening political instability in the country of 220 million people. Police allege that Khan was sheltering between 30 to 40 suspects linked to the violence and had threatened to raid the premises under a court order to detain them. However, authorities said they would only start the search for suspects after agreeing on terms and conditions. Khan has refused to allow a search until his stipulations are met. He said he feared that, if unsupervised, police might plant weapons and that a search could only be conducted by a panel set up by a high court. He also said a female officer should accompany the team. The 70-year-old's home, in the Zaman Park neighborhood of Lahore, was a site of battles between his supporters and police who had tried to arrest him in March for not showing up in court. At least 10 people died in the unrest, which only receded after Khan's release was ordered by Pakistan's Supreme Court. Khan was released from arrest last week and he returned home to Lahore. While police have sought Khan on charges of inciting supporters of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party to violence, he denies the allegation given that he was in the custody of the National Accountability Bureau at the time. That agency had arrested him as part of a corruption case. Khan has also faced charges under the country's anti-terrorism laws over protests he is alleged to have incited last year. Khan appeared conciliatory as he condemned the violence before an anti-terrorism court in Lahore, where he was seeking protection from arrest in multiple terrorism cases. The judge granted him protection from arrest in three terrorism cases until early June. Background of political turmoil After he was forced from power in a no-confidence vote by lawmakers, Khan has faced multiple corruption charges in Pakistani courts. The former international cricket star was indicted on claims that he unlawfully sold state gifts while serving as prime minister from 2018 to 2022. His arrest was based on a new warrant for a separate corruption case related to property. Khan and his supporters claim the proceedings are politically motivated. Khan's arrest and the subsequent violence have exacerbated Pakistan's political turmoil at a time of deepening economic woes. Authorities are also facing an uptick in militant attacks. Sirajul Haq, the leader of Pakistan's key Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami party, narrowly escaped a suicide attack in Zhob, in the southwestern province of Balochistan on Friday, police said. The bomber detonated explosives strapped to his waist while Haq was entering the district as part of a car convoy. Although Haq was said to be safe, five people were wounded in the attack. While was no immediate claim for the bombing, militants and other armed groups have for decades staged attacks in Balochistan — a region stretching across the borders of Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan which has a nationalist independence movement.

Heavy rains and thunderstorms have lashed the area for days, making some wonder why a group of children were taken for an excursion in the inclement weather. New Zealand police temporarily on Tuesday suspended the search and rescue operation for a high school student who went missing during a school trip to the caves in Auckland as heavy rains led to flash floods in the country's North Island. One of the 15 students went missing in the Abbey Caves complex near Whangarei, where they went for an outdoor education class with two teachers. The remaining 14 students and both teachers are accounted for. The rescue teams suspended operation at 5 p.m. after searching the area all day while it was lashed by heavy rains throughout the day. They will resume the search at first light. "Our thoughts are with the friends and family of the unaccounted for student," New Zealand Police Superintendent Tony Hill said in a statement. "The school is also being supported by the Ministry of Education's Traumatic Incident Team." School Principal Karen Gilbert-Smith said the incident was "hugely upsetting for all concerned."  Some, however, contended that the group should not have been on an excursion in such treacherous conditions. Gilbert-Smith urged parents to be patient in a school Facebook post. "In time we will seek to understand how this situation occurred, but for now I ask that we stay united," she said. Heavy rains and thunderstorms have lashed the area for days, with almost 10 centimeters (4 inches) expected on Tuesday alone. The rainfall makes caves liable to flash flooding. The storm is expected to continue through midnight. Meanwhile, roads and parks in Auckland were flooded with rainwater, with schools suspended for the time being. The city has seen storms take several lives this year itself. In January, heavy flooding killed four people while in February, cyclone Gabrielle damaged most of North Island and left at least 11 people dead.

A landslide in Indonesia's Serasan island has displaced more than 1,200 people. Rescue operations have been impacted by continued poor weather. Rescue operations in Indonesia were underway on Tuesday for the 42 people missing after a landslide that killed 15 on a remote island. The landslide occurred on Monday in the Natuna region between Borneo and peninsular Malaysia on the island of Serasan, which is home to about 8,000 people. The landslide was triggered by six days of heavy rains and buried dozens of houses, trapping people inside. It was reported that 42 people were trapped in 27 houses that were buried in mud. The official death count stands at 10 while the villagers put the death toll at 15. More than 1,200 people have been displaced because of the landslide. "The number of fatalities might change at any time. Of 15 fatalities, 10 bodies had been retrieved," Disaster agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari said. Indonesia to boost rescue efforts Continued rain, downed communications lines and the island's remote location have impeded the rescue operations. "Distribution of relief supplies has been difficult because the injured and displaced are spread out and hard to reach," Muhari said. Heavy equipment such as excavators are yet to reach the landslide site requiring rescuers to travel by boat, vehicles and then by foot. Rescuers are awaiting additional personnel and equipment to boost their efforts, the disaster agency said. The rescue team was joined by soldiers, police and volunteers in the Genting and Pangkalan villages. Two helicopters and a plane carrying tents, food and blankets will be sent from Jakarta to expedite the rescue operation and relief aid, Muhari said.

The Search Committee has prepared a preliminary list of 20 candidates for the posts of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and other Election Commissioners.   Cabinet Secretary (Reforms and Coordination) Md Samsul Arefin informed the matter to BSS this afternoon saying that a preliminary list of 20 people has been prepared from the proposed names as per the qualifications given by the law at the 5th meeting of the search committee held today (Saturday) in Dhaka with the presence of all its members.   The final list would be prepared within the next two meetings, he said, adding that the next meeting of the search committee will be held tomorrow (Sunday) at 4.30 pm.   Search committee chief Justice Obaidul Hassan presided over the 5th meeting.   Search committee members High Court Division Justice SM Kuddus Zaman, Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Mohammad Muslim Chowdhury, Public Service Commission (PSC) Chairman Mohammed Sohrab Hossain, former Election Commissioner Mohammed Sohul Hossain and Writer Prof Anwara Syed Haq joined the meeting.   The search committee held its 4th meeting at the Judges' Lounge of the Bangladesh Supreme Court building on February 16.   Earlier, the search committee held meetings with 47 eminent personalities in four phases on Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday last for receiving suggestions in forming the next EC.   On Monday last, the Cabinet Division, which is providing secretarial support to the search committee, published 322 names which the political parties, professional bodies and individuals proposed to include in the search committee for formation of the next EC on its website.   The search committee will have to propose 10 names to the President. Then the president will select five names for forming the next EC as per the law. Source: BSS AH

A six-member search committee was formed to reconstitute the Election Commission (EC) to conduct the next general elections. Appellate Division Justice Obaidul Hassan of the Bangladesh Supreme Court will lead the search committee, said a gazette notification issued by the Cabinet Division today (Saturday). Other committee members are: Justice SM Kuddus Zaman of High Court Division, Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Mohammad Muslim Chowdhury, Public Service Commission (PSC) Chairman Mohammed Sohrab Hossain, former Election Commissioner Mohammed Sohul Hossain and Writer Professor Anwara Syed Haq. The search committee will help reconstitute the next EC as the incumbent commission’s tenure will expire on February 14. The committee has been asked to submit its recommendations before the President in line with the new law titled 'Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners’ Appointment Act 2022’. President M Abdul Hamid signed the bill into the law on EC formation on January 30 last.  Earlier, the bill was approved in the Jatiya Sangsad (parliament). The search committee is the outcome of a month-long dialogue between the President and registered political parties over the EC reconstitution. The President previously started a dialogue with registered political parties on December 20 last year in this regard. Most of the participating political parties, including the ruling Awami League, advocated for the enactment of a law alongside the formation of a search committee to ensure an independent and credible EC. The incumbent government’s move to enact the law came nearly 50 years after the Constitution prescribed enacting a specific law for forming the EC. Source: BSS AH

The World Health Organization warned Friday that efforts to uncover the Covid-19 pandemic’s origins were being hampered by politics, insisting scientists needed space to work on solving the mystery. “We would ask that we separate the science from the politics, and let us get on with finding the answers that we need in a proper, positive atmosphere,” WHO emergencies chief Michael Ryan told reporters in Geneva. “This whole process is being poisoned by politics,” he warned. The UN health agency has been facing intensifying pressure for a new, more in-depth investigation of where Covid-19 came from, but so far there is no timeline for the next stage in the probe. US President Joe Biden this week ordered the US intelligence community to investigate whether the Covid-19 virus first emerged in China from an animal source or from a laboratory accident. The move hints at growing impatience with waiting for a conclusive WHO investigation into how the pandemic that has killed more than 3.5 million people worldwide began. During an ongoing meeting of WHO member states, European Union countries and a range of others also pressed for clarity on the next steps in the organisation’s efforts to solve the mystery, seen as vital to averting future pandemics. – ‘No timeline’ – But the UN health agency said earlier Friday it was still waiting for recommendations from a team of WHO technical experts on how to move forward. “The technical team will prepare a proposal for the next studies that will need to be carried out and will present that to the director-general,” spokeswoman Fadela Chaib told reporters. “He will then work with member states about the next steps,” she said, acknowledging “there is no timeline”. The WHO finally managed to send a team of independent, international experts to Wuhan in January, more than a year after Covid-19 first surfaced there in late 2019, to help probe the pandemic origins. But in their long-delayed report published in late March, the international team and their Chinese counterparts drew no firm conclusions, instead ranking a number of hypotheses according to how likely they believed they were. – ‘Impossible position’ – The report said the virus jumping from bats to humans via an intermediate animal was the most probable scenario, while a theory involving the virus leaking from a laboratory was “extremely unlikely”. But the investigation and report have faced criticism for lacking transparency and access, and for not evaluating the lab-leak theory more deeply — a mere 440 words of the report were dedicated to discussing and dismissing it. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has also continued to insist that all theories remain on the table and further investigation is needed. Long dismissed as a right-wing conspiracy theory, and vehemently rejected by Beijing, the idea that Covid-19 emerged from a lab leak in Wuhan in China has been gaining increasing momentum in the United States. While not suggesting that a lab leak was necessarily the source, a number of prominent international scientists have said a deeper, more scientific look at the theory was needed. “Every country and every entity is free to pursue their own particular theories of origin… It’s a free world,” Ryan said. But he complained that the discourse around the origins search, and around WHO’s role in it, was making it difficult to focus on the science. “Putting WHO in a position like it has been put in is very unfair to the science we’re trying to carry out,” he said. “It puts us, as an organisation, frankly in an impossible position to deliver the answers that the world wants.” Source: AFP/BSS AH

Popular writer Ashraf, for a few days, doesn’t find plots to write new stories. He feels almost like prisoner in the four walls of Dhaka city. The mind is unstable and needs to have a clean breath. But he cannot finish writing because there is no line in mind. At that time, Shahid comes to Ashraf's house. After listening to Shahid, both of them get out to find a good story. Ashraf thinks it would not be bad to have a travel for a little while, at the same time good story might be found. Ashraf cannot imagine that the story he is about to find is the story of Shahid's own life. Young man Shaheed newly came to study in Dhaka. During a purposeless train journey on a holiday, a girl named Rupa first meets him in the station. At first sight Shahid falls in love with Rupa. Rupa studies in Dhaka. No parents, close relatives to say are maternal uncle and aunt. Shahid gets acquainted with Rupa while waiting for train at the station. Shaheed hides his destination and starts traveling in the same train. There is much chit-chat in the train between the two. After Rupa’s getting down from the train, Shahid himself also gets down. Then he asks Rupa the phone number and instead Rupa takes his phone number. This is how sequences of “Ekti Valo Golper Khoje” (In Search of a Good Story) go ahead. Farhan Jovan, Salha Khanom Nadia, Ashis Ashraful, Ananda Khaled, Ferdous Arefin and many others have played roles in this play. Mahdi Shaon directed the play in the writings of Muhammad Abu Rajin. The play“In Search of a Good Story” will be shown on the private TV channel RTV on March 3, Saturday night at 8:10pm. FU