Saudi Arabia’s ‘vision and generosity are very well-suited’ to WHO’s work on global health issues, says WHO Foundation CEO

Special Saudi Arabia’s ‘vision and generosity are very well-suited’ to WHO’s work on global health issues, says WHO Foundation CEO
1 / 2
Specialist surgeons work to separate conjoined twins at a hospital in Riyadh on May 15, 2022. (KSrelief handout picture))
Special Saudi Arabia’s ‘vision and generosity are very well-suited’ to WHO’s work on global health issues, says WHO Foundation CEO
2 / 2
Medics working for KSrelief conducting eye examinations in Bangladesh. (SPA)
Short Url
Updated 27 March 2023

Saudi Arabia’s ‘vision and generosity are very well-suited’ to WHO’s work on global health issues, says WHO Foundation CEO

Saudi Arabia’s ‘vision and generosity are very well-suited’ to WHO’s work on global health issues, says WHO Foundation CEO
  • Anil Soni says Middle East’s humanitarian and health crises need both ‘immediate assistance and long-term solutions’
  • Praises aid agency KSrelief’s ‘incredible model’ and Saudi Vision 2030’s focus on nonprofit efforts and philanthropy

LONDON: The WHO Foundation was set up in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic to marshal new resources from philanthropists, foundations, businesses, and individuals to support the World Health Organization’s mission. 

Both WHO, which is a specialized agency of the UN, and the WHO Foundation are based in Geneva but the latter is a non-profit, grant-making body that is legally independent from WHO.

Anil Soni joined as CEO with a 20-year track record of improving healthcare in poorer countries and a goal to raise $1 billion. He told Arab News, in a written interview, how his foundation supports and complements WHO’s efforts while respecting its intergovernmental nature.




WHO Foundation CEO Anil Soni. (Supplied)

Arab News: Can you describe how the WHO Foundation arranges support from donors and how the money is spent by WHO?

Anil Soni: The WHO Foundation’s purpose is to be a bridge between the lifesaving and vital work of WHO and the various communities that can help power that work through their engagement, partnership and of course, generosity.

We are raising resources from multiple partners from the private sector and beyond to help WHO deliver lifesaving medicines and supplies to people in need.

World challenges such as the Turkiye-Syria earthquakes, the food crisis in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa and the conflict in Ukraine are great examples of where we are facing crises that affect all of us and have to come together.

Such adversities cannot be tackled by any single sector alone. WHO is part of several international organizations of the United Nations, but the UN and the governments are not enough. We have to make sure we are collaborating with individuals and businesses too. 




Photo taken on June 10, 2012 shows Dr. Omar Saleh [2-L], the emergency coordinator for WHO in Somalia, attending to a young patient at a hospital in the Hudur region. (AFP file)

All contributions matter, even small ones, as these add up to enabling life-changing initiatives. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, we had a campaign called “Go Give One.” Five dollars bought a vaccine, the same amount of money that could go into buying a cup of coffee. Businesses and philanthropists were donating millions of dollars, and that’s important, but every single contribution counts.

In terms of how we mobilize the money, we do it in several ways. We are brokering catalytic, transformative ways of engaging with philanthropists and businesses looking for opportunities to contribute to change and be part of the solution.

In the case of the earthquakes that affected millions and led to more than 50,000 life losses (the biggest death toll in over a decade since the Haiti earthquake), WHO continues to procure and quickly deliver lifesaving tools in Turkiye and Syria.

One of our closest partners is Spotify. Spotify created an opportunity for its listeners to contribute to the relief efforts in Turkiye and Syria by helping direct individuals (Spotify users) to our donation webpage.

Each donation directly supports relief efforts for those affected, including mental health services, physical rehabilitation, medicines, and other tools or commodities needed to reduce the risk or respond to communicable diseases from poor access to hygiene, clean water, and health services.

Q: Aid agencies have been criticized over the perception of unfair aid distribution and assistance in earthquake-hit areas, particularly in relation to Syria and its different areas of control. How can aid in this complicated context be made more equitable? 

A: Often, people at risk and in need are in environments that are the subject of intense political debate or literally in the crossfire of conflict. This is one of the reasons why WHO’s work is so important, as it operates everywhere. It is a UN agency that is itself a collaboration between member states. Hence, all the world’s governments participate in the operations and governance of WHO.

INNUMBERS

501,000 People who died from tuberculosis in Africa in 2021.

43,000 Excess deaths caused by hunger and poor health in Somalia in 2022.

57,300 Deaths in Turkiye and Syria caused by Feb. 6 earthquakes.

Furthermore, WHO’s emergency teams are in all regions of the world, so they continue to operate in Syria through years of conflict and are one of the few that have done so. It is crucial not to be biased against people’s needs because of the nature of a political situation or conflict. Quite the opposite, this is about healthcare, delivering medical services, and doctors whose job is not to deal with politics but to ensure people in need receive adequate healthcare.

I was really inspired by Dr. Tedros (Adhanom Ghebreyesus), the head of WHO, who visited Syria last month. He was the first UN principal to enter northwest Syria in over a decade because of the conflict. In the first hours after the earthquakes, WHO distributed 183 metric tons of supplies to more than 200 health facilities inside northwest Syria from partner warehouses in Azaz and Idlib.




World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (C) visits a shelter for people displaced by the disaster in Kafr Lusin near the Turkish border on March 1, 2023, during his first ever visit to rebel-held areas of war-ravaged Syria. (AFP)

Following this, WHO delivered 297 metric tons of emergency supplies and essential medicines to earthquake-affected areas of the country, allowing 3,705,000 treatments, including ones for trauma management, diabetes, and pneumonia.

Q: What are the main healthcare challenges facing the Middle East and North Africa region? How can mobilizing additional funding for WHO address these challenges? Can this go beyond monetary assistance to address the structural issues behind health inequality?

A: That’s the aspiration because otherwise, we will continue to face these emergencies and inequitable needs. The MENA region is striking at the moment because it is home to a number of simultaneous humanitarian and health crises that need both immediate assistance and long-term solutions.

Events such as the earthquakes in Turkiye and Syria, the conflict in Syria and the cholera outbreaks in Lebanon and Syria are acute and products of climate change or long-term dynamics that require sustained response and commitment.

The region now more than ever is uniquely positioned to support with its burgeoning economic prosperity among residents and the public and private sectors. It is vital to raise the necessary resources and awareness of how every single contribution plays a huge role in tackling humanitarian crises, which is what we do at the WHO Foundation.




A Syrian medic administers COVID-19 vaccine provided by the WHO and UNICEF to people in Syria's northeastern city of Qamishli on May 24, 2021. (AFP)

But equally important is the need to address the structural issues and the systemic reasons behind inequalities and fully leverage the resources of some of our partners. For example, we’re not just looking to our partners as a source of capital. We are also looking into how they can help us mobilize humanitarian efforts through their platform, talent, ability and own supplies.

I mentioned Spotify earlier. They helped us engage millions of listeners to gather resources to build up local health systems and become better prepared for emergency response.

So, part of what we’re trying to do in terms of raising those resources and brokering these partnerships is not just responding in the moment of an emergency but also ensuring that the underlying health systems are being built up, that there are community healthcare workers and adequate supplies.

We think about long-term financing and building systems strong enough to allow us to be agile in our response to an emergency or even help predict future crises (that is, potential disease outbreaks).

Q: How is the WHO Foundation helping to improve global preparedness? Does this apply merely to COVID-19 and readiness for future pandemics or does it include other emerging health threats (environmental, nutritional, etc.)? How can states like Saudi Arabia prepare?

A: WHO and the WHO Foundation work collaboratively and proactively to improve preparedness. For example, we are setting up emergency hubs in Kenya, Senegal, and South Africa to bolster health security across the African continent. This helps ensure lifesaving medical supplies and equipment are shipped within 24-48 hours of the declaration of an emergency, reducing deployment time by up to 60 days.




WHO Foundation CEO Anil Soni in Kenya. (Supplied). 

These regional emergency hubs work closely and cooperatively with governments for a joint emergency response, prepositioning of medical supplies and equipment, training facilities, and infectious diseases monitoring. But these emergency hubs are not limited to tending to diseases. They also help boost living quality, such as ensuring a continued supply of clean water to avoid risks of waterborne diseases like cholera.

WHO is always looking ahead, whether that’s analyzing trends in climate change or forecasting geopolitical outcomes, to anticipate better where our support will be most needed. We also work with governments and health leaders to help them navigate health crises their nation may have yet to experience.

Regarding Saudi Arabia, the vision and generosity of the Kingdom and its close collaboration with businesses and its people are very well-suited to this. As I understand it, particularly in the context of Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia is addressing how it can ensure that they recognize the interconnectedness between our well-being, the well-being of others, and the well-being of our neighbors. There’s a term in South Africa called “Ubuntu,” which means “I am because you are.”

It essentially recognizes interconnectedness and that the only way I will prosper is if I’m making sure that I’m being thoughtful about your needs because we depend on each other. I think this resonates with Saudi Arabia’s leadership role in the region and that supporting countries and communities inside and outside the Kingdom’s borders is essential to the welfare of the people in Saudi Arabia itself. 

Q: What is your opinion of Saudi Vision 2030’s Health Sector Transformation Program? Do you believe its focus on equitable and accessible health care coincides with the WHO Foundation’s own mission and values?

A: Similarly to Saudi Arabia’s Health Sector Transformation Program, the WHO Foundation believes in equitable and accessible healthcare. To speak more broadly in terms of the Vision 2030, there’s also a focus on nonprofit efforts and a culture of strategic philanthropy.




Infographic courtesy of Saudi Arabia's Vision2030 site

Even though there’s the government’s leadership, the rest of the nation is encouraged to contribute, including businesses and individuals, to addressing national challenges and fostering development. This idea of everyone playing a role in achieving goals is consistent with our mission at the WHO Foundation. 

We’ve had to react to so much these last years, such as a pandemic that much of the world didn’t predict, the effects of climate change even though it’s been brewing over time, and natural disasters that have periodicity and history.

If we look back, earthquakes and tsunamis have caused so much damage over the decades, and the question is, are we preparing for such catastrophic events? If all we’re doing is reacting and not preparing, the effects will be greater, and the loss will be unnecessary.

I say all of that because, when a government like Saudi Arabia works backward all the way from 2030, proactively and not just reactively, it sets an important lesson for all of us and demonstrates how much progress we could make by simply being prepared.




Displaced Yemenis receive medical treatment at a health clinic run by Saudi Arabia's KSrelief in Yemen's war-ravaged western province of Hodeida, on February 24, 2021. (AFP)

Q: What is the WHO Foundation’s assessment of Saudi Arabia’s role in supporting nations in the wider region, including the medical interventions of KSrelief? Does the Kingdom have a greater role to play in future humanitarian and disaster responses?

A: KSrelief is an incredible model, and we’re learning a lot from the existing collaboration between KSrelief, WHO and other international humanitarian partners. The generosity of KSrelief has been tremendous, but it’s not just about the number of dollars; they’re also thoughtful about the quality of aid and the policy frameworks necessary to ensure the positive impact intended. We want to replicate and build from this type of partnership and engagement.

Q: In what ways does the WHO Foundation want to mobilize greater private capital and public-private partnerships to advance the mission of WHO in Saudi Arabia and the wider region?

A: A part of what we are trying to do at the WHO Foundation is help stakeholders in Saudi and other countries in the region understand the critical role WHO plays. Though it was prominent throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, WHO is not just about responding to the pandemic; it responds to various emergencies; it’s operating in settings other agencies are not; it’s thinking and preparing for future emergencies.

Last month, WHO released its Global Health Emergency Appeals, enhancing preparedness and response to 54 ongoing health emergencies. And, of course, there’s all the normative work of WHO, the degree to which it acts as the world’s FDA, CDC, and NIH. 




Yemeni children receive treatment at a hospital in the capital Sanaa on October 11, 2016 during a cholera outbreak confirmed by the World Heath Organization. (AFP)

We hope that by raising awareness and amplifying the understanding of WHO and its initiatives, we can engage the tremendous generosity of the region and mobilize regional stakeholders to help WHO achieve its humanitarian goals.

Q: Philanthropy is a key tenet of Islam. What role can zakat play in the WHO Foundation’s fundraising work in the region?

A: I’ve been so blessed to have had the opportunity of getting to know different communities and faiths around the world and be inspired by different ones. Zakat is very inspiring and something I practice in my life. Even though I am a Hindu and an American, I allocate 5 percent of my income after tax to charity and to civic causes every year.

While zakat and sadaqah are particular elements of the Muslim faith, there’s great consistency between zakat and sadaqah and tithing. This culture of giving presents a tremendous opportunity to fund gaps in global humanitarian health crises and ensure help is directed to where it is most needed. I think the tradition of giving in faiths can inspire greater philanthropy, generosity, and collaboration in the future.

 


Crisis-hit UK business lobby faces survival vote

Updated 12 sec ago

Crisis-hit UK business lobby faces survival vote

Crisis-hit UK business lobby faces survival vote
LONDON: Britain’s scandal-hit business lobby group, the CBI, faces a vote crucial to its survival Tuesday, with members urged to back reform under new leadership after allegations of sexual harassment by staff.
The Confederation of British Industry risks folding after claims that more than a dozen women were sexually harassed at the organization and two others had been raped.
Police have launched an investigation following the allegations reported this year by The Guardian newspaper, triggering a shake-up at the organization and an extraordinary vote on its future.
The allegations, described as “absolutely devastating” by new CBI director general Rain Newton-Smith, caused an exodus of member companies — and the launch Monday of a rival body by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC).
Newton-Smith, who has described the situation as a “really deep and painful crisis” for the CBI, told an extraordinary general meeting Tuesday that she was “confident and determined this will be a turning point for us, the start of a new chapter, for a renewed CBI.”
She added: “We’re ready to deliver a better CBI. We just need one thing now — your vote.”
The resolution being voted on Tuesday calls on remaining member companies to put their confidence in CBI proposals to reform its “governance, culture, and purpose.”
The organization has proposed the creation of a People & Culture Committee plus an external expert-led Culture Advisory Committee.
And it has created the role of chief people officer.
At the same time it is cutting jobs as the reduction in members slashes revenue.
The scandal comes as UK businesses look for leadership during a cost-of-living crisis, with the country’s elevated inflation cooling more slowly than expected.
In a move seen as taking advantage of the crisis, the BCC has launched the rival Business Council.
“We have been talking to the nation’s largest corporates and it has become clear to us that they are looking for a different kind of representation,” said BCC director general Shevaun Haviland.
Founding partners include British energy group BP and Heathrow airport.
But Newton-Smith said Tuesday that a revamped CBI could still be a powerful driving force, with its depth of expertise and practical business insights over decades.
“Even our competitor groups have admitted they can’t match all that.”
About one dozen firms, including engineering giant Siemens, Microsoft and oil firm Esso, have signed a joint letter published in The Times newspaper backing the CBI reforms.
The signatories said that while the “CBI has recognized its failings,” they “will hold it to account on putting its plan into action.”
The letter added that “as the UK faces strong economic headwinds and anaemic growth and with a general election expected before the end of next year, it is vital that there is a credible voice representing all sectors and sizes of UK business.
“The CBI can do this.”
It comes after major companies including Unilever, UK bank NatWest and BMW Group canceled their membership.
Others have suspended their involvement — and cannot vote on Tuesday — while the UK government has distanced itself from the CBI.
Newton-Smith took over from Tony Danker, who recently departed over a separate misconduct allegation.

EU’s Borrell says Russia takes aggression to new level with dam blast

EU’s Borrell says Russia takes aggression to new level with dam blast
Updated 11 min 7 sec ago

EU’s Borrell says Russia takes aggression to new level with dam blast

EU’s Borrell says Russia takes aggression to new level with dam blast
  • "The European Union condemns this attack in the strongest possible terms,” Borrell said
  • Ukraine and its Western allies accused Russia of blowing up the dam in a deliberate war crime

BRUSSELS: Russia has taken its aggression against Ukraine to a new level with the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam in the south of Ukraine, the EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell said on Tuesday.
“Russia’s attacks against Ukrainian civilian critical infrastructure reached an unprecedented level today with the destruction of the dam at Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant,” Borrell said in a statement.
“The European Union condemns this attack in the strongest possible terms. It represents a new dimension of Russian atrocities and may constitute a violation of international law, notably international humanitarian law.”
Ukraine and its Western allies accused Russia of blowing up the dam in a deliberate war crime.
The Kremlin said it was Ukraine that had sabotaged the dam, to distract attention from a counteroffensive Moscow claims is faltering. Some Russian-installed officials said the dam had burst on its own.
The blast has put the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians in danger and is affecting access to cooling water for the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant (ZNPP), Borrell said.
“With this desperate act, Russia is also continuing its reckless nuclear gamble by putting at risk the proper functioning of the safety and security systems of the ZNPP,” the European Commission’s vice president said.
The EU was in touch with Ukrainian authorities to see how it could help, Borrell added.


US, Japanese, Philippine coast guard ships stage law enforcement drills near South China Sea

US, Japanese, Philippine coast guard ships stage law enforcement drills near South China Sea
Updated 06 June 2023

US, Japanese, Philippine coast guard ships stage law enforcement drills near South China Sea

US, Japanese, Philippine coast guard ships stage law enforcement drills near South China Sea
  • The Biden administration has been strengthening an arc of military alliances in the Indo-Pacific to better counter China

ABOARD BRP CABRA, Philippines: US, Japanese and Philippine coast guard ships staged law enforcement drills in waters near the disputed South China Sea on Tuesday as Washington presses efforts to reinforce alliances in Asia amid an increasingly tense rivalry with China.
The drills, witnessed by journalists onboard a Philippine coast guard patrol boat, the BRP Cabra, included a scenario involving the interdiction and boarding of a vessel suspected of carrying weapons of mass destruction off the Bataan Peninsula, Philippine coast guard spokesperson Commodore Armand Balilo said.
The US Coast Guard is deploying one of its most advanced cutters, the 127-meter Stratton, in the June 1-7 exercises hosted by the Philippines, Washington’s oldest treaty ally in Asia. The Stratton has been conducting exercises in the region to share expertise in search and rescue and law enforcement, the US Coast Guard said.
“This first trilateral engagement between the coast guards of these nations will provide invaluable opportunities to strengthen global maritime governance though professional exchanges and combined operations,” the Stratton’s commanding officer, Capt. Brian Krautler, said at the start of the exercises. “Together we’ll demonstrate professional, rules-based standards of maritime operations with our steadfast partners to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
Japan deployed a large coast guard ship, the Akitsushima, while four Philippine coast guard vessels joined the exercises.
The Biden administration has been strengthening an arc of military alliances in the Indo-Pacific to better counter China, including in the South China Sea and in any future confrontation over Taiwan, the self-governing island which Beijing regards as a Chinese province.
Washington lays no claims to the strategic South China Sea, where China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysian, Taiwan and Brunei have been locked in tense territorial stand-offs for decades. But the US says freedom of navigation and overflight and the peaceful resolution of disputes in the busy waterway are in its national interest.
Philippine officials say such joint exercises with US forces do not target any country. But China has warned that increased US security deployments in Asia target Beijing’s interests and undermine regional stability.
The US Pacific Command said over the weekend that a US guided-missile destroyer and a Canadian frigate were intercepted by a Chinese warship in the Taiwan Strait. The Chinese vessel overtook the American ship and veered across its bow at a distance of about 140 meters in an “unsafe manner,” it said.
Last month, the US Indo-Pacific Command said a Chinese J-16 fighter aircraft flew directly in front of a US Air Force RC-135 plane in an “an unnecessarily aggressive maneuver” while the American reconnaissance plane “was conducting safe and routine operations over the South China Sea in international airspace, in accordance with international law.”
In April, Japan adopted a new five-year ocean policy that calls for stronger maritime security, including bolstering its coast guard’s capability and cooperation with the military. It cited a list of threats, including repeated intrusions by Chinese coast guard ships into Japanese territorial waters.
The Philippine coast guard, meanwhile, has intensified patrols in the South China Sea and taken extra efforts to document and publicize assertive Chinese behavior in the waterway following a Feb. 6 incident in which a Chinese coast guard ship aimed a military-grade laser that briefly blinded some crew members on a Philippine patrol boat off a disputed reef.


Flood-hit Pakistanis still waiting on promised rebuild

Flood-hit Pakistanis still waiting on promised rebuild
Updated 06 June 2023

Flood-hit Pakistanis still waiting on promised rebuild

Flood-hit Pakistanis still waiting on promised rebuild
  • The monsoon deluges of last summer submerged a third of the country, killing 1,700 people and displacing eight million more

DADU: Noor Bibi lost her mother, her daughter and the roof over her head in the catastrophic floods that drowned Pakistan last summer.
One year later she remains homeless, living with the remnants of her family in spartan tents marking where the village of Sohbat Khosa was gutted by the deluge in southern Sindh province.
Noor, a farm worker approaching her 60s, prays for “someone with righteous thoughts that will help us build some good houses in an elevated place.”
“If it flooded again, we would not bear such big losses,” she told AFP.
But government pledges to rebuild flood-ravaged swathes of Pakistan so they are resilient to future extreme weather have largely failed to materialize.
The monsoon deluges of last summer submerged a third of the country, killing 1,700 people and displacing eight million more.
Climate change is making those seasonal rains heavier and more unpredictable, scientists say, raising the urgency of flood-proofing the country.
A failure to do so will be most acutely felt by the poor, who tend to live in the most vulnerable areas.


Here in Dadu district, which was heavily flooded, no rehabilitation is visible. Rare pieces of public infrastructure remain in disrepair and housing reconstruction is left to locals or NGOs.
In January, Islamabad announced a “Resilient Recovery, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Framework” valued at $16.3 billion, but it remains confined to paper.
International donors have also pledged $9 billion, but most of the cash will come in the form of loans.
Villagers’ crops were swept away in the floods, depriving them of livelihoods that might have allowed them to pave their own way to recovery.
With pooled funds, the residents of Sohbat Khosa only raised enough for a toilet and water tank.
Their best hope is the Alkhidmat Foundation, a Pakistani NGO, which plans to build around 30 new homes.
“The government seems to not exist here, and if anything is done by the government, that is only corruption,” said Ali Muhammad, a coordinator for Alkhidmat in Dadu.
Pakistan is currently mired in dual political and economic crises that have brought all public initiatives to a standstill.
But decades of entrenched corruption and mismanagement are also to blame.
“Building back better is expensive, and the amount of damage is colossal,” Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari told AFP.
He said he “can’t speak to what the federal government has done,” but in Sindh province, controlled by his party, “we’ve started a couple of initiatives.”
“One is the financing of the reconstruction of houses, through NGOs and charity organizations,” he said.
However, Alkhidmat, like two other NGOs interviewed by AFP, has not received any public money and relies entirely on private funds.


Thanks to Alkhidmat’s efforts, a few dozen homes have been built in the district, but it’s nowhere near the two million damaged or destroyed in the floods.
The village of Bari Baital, submerged until November, is expected to eventually host 80 houses built by the foundation — far too few for its thousands of inhabitants.
To resist future rains they are raised on brick pillars, and built with reinforced roofs and water-resistant cement.
“People are completely unaware of climate change,” said village teacher Imtiaz Ali Chandio.
All they know is that their village has been a “passage for floods for centuries,” he said.
But moving is not an option, meaning the scenario will likely soon be repeated.
“Where else could we go?” asked Abdulrahim Brohi, who already weathered catastrophic floods in 2010. “Everything of ours is here.”
“Somewhere else people won’t accept us,” added Brohi, who estimates his age to be between 50 and 60. “We don’t have resources to rebuild our houses here, so how can we afford land somewhere else?“


Prized by tourists for its scenic mountain vistas, the Swat Valley in northwest Pakistan was also hit hard by last year’s floods.
Hundreds of hotels, restaurants, businesses and homes perched on the banks of the Swat river were swept away as ferocious waters were funnelled down the ravine.
To prevent a repeat of the disaster, authorities have “imposed a complete ban on the construction of any sort of building on the river,” said Irfanullah Khan Wazir, Swat’s deputy commissioner.
Nonetheless, in Bahrain, a small resort town once half underwater, the government’s writ is so weak that builders are riding roughshod over the ban.
A number of shops, restaurants and hotels have been renovated or rebuilt just meters from the coursing water. Even the mosque has been rebuilt on the same spot where it was heavily damaged.
“People are doing illegal construction on weekend nights, but [authorities] are not paying any heed — their silence is baffling,” said hotel manager Zafar Ali.
His own property is under construction 20 meters (65 feet) from the river, in a zone he says is authorized.
It is now protected by a flood wall twice the height of the previous one. Economic considerations also prevented them from relocating away from their waterfront vantage.
“Tourists want to be able to open their windows and see the river outside,” Ali said. “Those built further away struggle to cover their expenses.”
Locals in Swat also condemned the inaction of authorities. The main road following the river has been reopened, but whole sections of tarmac remain torn away.
Compensation schemes have been limited to certain people who lost their homes. They are granted 400,000 rupees ($1,400), nowhere near enough to rebuild.
Muhammad Ishaq, a tailor in Bahrain, built his house near the river for easy access to the water. He watched as his home was swallowed by the floods, and has since been forced to move in with his father further up the mountainside.
Life there is harsher, he told AFP, but even if he manages to rebuild, he knows he “will have to stay away from the river.”


South Korea’s Yoon says alliance with US ‘nuclear-based’

South Korea’s Yoon says alliance with US ‘nuclear-based’
Updated 06 June 2023

South Korea’s Yoon says alliance with US ‘nuclear-based’

South Korea’s Yoon says alliance with US ‘nuclear-based’
  • Upgrade in alliance in the face of North Korea’s growing military threat
  • North Korea this year test-fired its biggest intercontinental ballistic missile

SEOUL: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Tuesday he has upgraded the country’s alliance with the United States to one that is “nuclear-based” in the face of North Korea’s growing military threat.
Yoon was referring to his talks with US President Joe Biden in April on Washington’s willingness to give Seoul more insight into its nuclear planning in the event of potential conflict with nuclear-armed North Korea.
“North Korea is enhancing its nuclear and missile capabilities, and has legislated the use of nuclear weapons,” Yoon said in a speech marking South Korea’s Memorial Day.
At their summit in Washington, the two leaders agreed to strengthen the so-called US extended deterrence, which envisions the use of US nuclear weapons to defend the South.
“The South Korea-US alliance has now been elevated to ‘nuclear-based’ alliance,” Yoon said.
North Korea this year test-fired its biggest intercontinental ballistic missile and last week attempted to launch its first spy satellite, although the rocket and the payload plunged into the sea.
North Korea made a rare and swift admission of the launch’s failure but vowed to try again and put a satellite in orbit to increase its military surveillance capabilities.
The launch was widely condemned as violating UN Security Council resolutions that ban the use of ballistic missile technology by the North.
Pyongyang has rejected the ban as an infringement of its sovereign right to self-defense and space development.
While Yoon characterized his talks with Biden as an agreement to use US nuclear weapons in the event of a North Korean nuclear attack, Biden reiterated a pledge “to make every effort to consult” with allies on the use of a nuclear weapon.
Yoon did not elaborate further on the subject and devoted most of his Memorial Day speech to honoring those who had made sacrifices in defense of the country.
South Korea’s military has been undertaking a salvage operation at sea off the west coast to recover a substantial segment of the rocket launched by the North on May 31.