Cyclone Fani kills 14, injures 63 in Bangladesh: report
Dhaka:At least 14 people were killed and 63 others injured as severe cyclone Fani barrelled into Bangladesh on Saturday, a day after leaving a trail of destruction in neighbouring India, media reports said on Saturday.
Bangladesh authorities said that more than1.6 million people have been shifted to safer places as about 36 villages were flooded after the storm surge breached embankments in country's coastal areas.
The deaths were reported from eight districts, including Noakhali, Bhola and Lakshmipur that were among the places worst-hit by the cyclone, the Dhaka Tribune reported.
The dead also included a 2-year old boy and four women.
"In Noakhali district, a minor has been killed and several others of the family injured when the house collapsed on them during storm. Moreover, 30 villagers were also injured as the storm destroyed over hundred houses in the two unions," the paper reported.
Similarly, in Lakshmipur district a 70-year-old woman, Anwara Begum, was killed in house collapse due to the storm. The cyclonic storm battered the coastal districts of the country and destroyed hundreds of houses.
Sky in several parts of Bangladesh continue to remain overcast and rain and thunder showers with gusty winds is continuing across the country since Friday, the Daily Star reported.
Disruption of electricity and internet connection have been reported from many areas of the country after the storm started. The rough weather conditions also compelled the authorities to cancel12 flights so far and delay several others, the paper reported.
The severe Cyclone Fani also caused destruction in India.
The cyclonic storm, which made landfall at India's eastern state of Odisha on Friday, unleashed copious rain and windstorm that gusted up to 200 kmph, blowing away thatched roofs of houses, swamped towns and villages.
The death toll due to the calamity, which stood at eight on Friday, mounted to 12 with four fresh casualties reported from Odisha's Mayurbhanj district, Indian officials said, adding, detailed information from many areas was still awaited.
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
