News in Brief-(2023-11-01)

FE Team | Published: October 31, 2023 21:40:04

N China chokes under severe pollution
BEIJING, Oct 31: Tens of millions of people across northern China were under severe pollution warnings Tuesday, with authorities urging them to reduce outdoor activities as a greyish smog enveloped the region. Several areas of north China's Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, home to over 100 million people, are suffering from the worst pollution they have seen in months. In the capital Beijing, authorities Monday issued an orange alert-the country's second-highest pollution warning. In several areas in densely populated Hebei province, which surrounds the capital, authorities issued their highest red alert. —AFP
Flooding kills three in Vietnam
HANOI, Oct 31: Three people died after days of heavy rain in central and north Vietnam that flooded homes and submerged roads, disaster management authorities said Tuesday. Access to several communities in central Ha Tinh province has been cut off, while the police and military have been mobilised to rescue people from high-risk areas. A woman and a 13-year-old boy were found dead in the province after being swept away by strong currents. A search for a 29-year-old woman, also in Ha Tinh, is ongoing, the flood and storm control department said in its latest report. —AFP
Afghans flee Pakistan as deadline looms
PESHAWAR, Oct 31: More than 10,000 Afghan migrants rushed to the border on Tuesday, the last day of a deadline for 1.7 million Afghans to leave Pakistan voluntarily or face arrest and deportation. The government has said it would begin arresting undocumented Afghans and taking them to new holding centres from Wednesday, from where they will be processed and forcibly returned to Afghanistan. The Taliban government in Kabul says the policy amounts to "harassment". —AFP