DAP: The breaking news in Cambodia: “UN says over 5.4 mln Pakistanis affected by floods” plus 9 more

GENEVA, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- At least 5.4 million people are affected by excessive monsoon floods in Pakistan, the Geneva based United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Tuesday.

CCHA spokesperson Elizabeth Byrs estimated that, of the total affected, around 1.8 million were displaced by the floods.

All 23 districts are reported to be affected in the southern province of Sindh. According to Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), over 428,000 individuals are now living in 2,737 relief camps.

Several UN agencies have made their response to the disaster.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has delivered 2,000 tents and 2,000 emergency kits to the hard-hit southern Sindh province. It is currently transporting another 8,000 tents and non food items from its warehouse in Peshawar in northwestern Pakistan.

UN food distribution has been rapidly scaling up. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) planned to reach 500,000 people with general food rations by this month.

To cover the aid expenses, a Rapid Response Plan for 357 million U.S. dollars has been launched by the UN to help Pakistan in response to the monsoon affected population.

NEW DELHI, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Indian army broke into the worst-hit area of the earthquake in Sikkim Tuesday after clearing landslides along the badly damaged roads, while the death toll is expected to rise as casualties are assessed there, reported local media.

Indian army reopened the road to Mangan, the epicenter of the 6. 8 magnitude quake on Sunday, after fighting for two days on the road against landslides and rain, reported the Press Trust of India. So far India has confirmed 58 deaths in the quake, including 41 in Sikkim.

Indian army sources said earlier the area, though a sparsely populated one, has been "totally damaged".

NEW DELHI, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Indian army Tuesday broke into the worst-hit area of the earthquake in Sikkim after clearing landslides along the badly damaged roads, while the death toll is expected to rise after casualty is assessed there, reported local media.

ANKARA, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay said on Tuesday that 15 people were wounded in a strong explosion in the Turkish capital Ankara, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.

Fire broke out after the blast took place in a vehicle on Kumrular Street in Kizilay of central Ankara. At least six cars and a building were seriously damaged.

Although initial reports said two people died in the blast, Atalay said nobody was killed in the explosion.

Atalay said necessary examinations were underway, adding "aid teams rushed to the area immediately after the blast. There is no fire in the region at the time being. Teams are investigating what caused the explosion."

The ambulances and fire bridages rushed to the scene and the injured have been taken to three hospitals for medical treatment, Anatolia reported.

Tight security measures have been taken in case of a second explosion, said the report, adding that citizens and journalists are not allowed to enter the area.

The cause of the explosion has not been determined yet.

BANGKOK, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Thai cabinet on Tuesday approved a two billion baht (about 65 million U.S. dollars) loan to manufacturers affected by the floods, Bangkok Post online reported.

The upper part of Thailand have been inundated for nearly two months as monsoon have prevailed over the country.

The financial assistance for small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs) was proposed by the Ministry of Finance at the weekly cabinet meeting.

Under the plan, financial assistance in a form of soft loan will be given to SMEs affected by the floods that have inundated several regions since July 25.

The loans are for small and medium-sized manufacturers to repair or refurbish their plants, to rehabilitate their business or for use as operating capital.

Meanwhile, the latest report from the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department said a total of 123 people were confirmed dead and two people were missing.

The floods still prevail in 25 provinces, mostly in the north and central province, except Bangkok.

Altogether about 1.5 million people in 153 districts of the 25 provinces were affected by the floods, the report said.

ANKARA, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay said on Tuesday that 15 people were wounded in a strong explosion in the Turkish capital of Ankara, the semi- official Anatolia news agency reported.

HANOI, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Vietnamese National Assembly (NA) deputy chairwoman Tong Thi Phong received here on Tuesday British Member of Parliament Mark Hendrick who led a delegation of the British-Vietnamese friendship congressmen to visit the country on September 18-23, said Vietnam News Agency.

Phong highly appreciated Hendrick's visit, saying it would be of significance in promoting friendly relations between Vietnam and Britain, and thanked the British government's official development assistance (ODA) reserved for Vietnam in poverty reduction and drug prevention.

The Vietnam-Britain relations are those of strategic partnership in many fields, which have developed both in depth and with efficiency. Vietnam has attached importance to relations with Britain in economics, trade, investment and education. In particular in recent years both sides have boosted cooperation in security and defense, environment protection and against climate change, Phong said.

Phong also said that Vietnamese top legislator, Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung, will soon visit Britain, which is considered a significant event to boost bilateral legislative ties.

Vietnam has obtained notable achievements in education, with the literacy rate of 95 percent, and in economic development. The Britain-Vietnam friendly relations have finely developed, but in the coming time the two sides should further promote ties and expand exchange among the two parliamentary bodies, said Hendrick.

SANAA, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- At least seven protesters were killed Tuesday by Yemeni government forces in the capital Sanaa during deadly clashes on the third consecutive day, medics told Xinhua.

MOGADISHU, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Vehicles and donkey-carts packed with people's belongings streamed back to the ruined homes, as residents were returning to their neighborhoods in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, where Islamist rebels retreated last month.

The city looked quiet since Somalia's Islamist Al Qaeda-linked militants of Al Shabaab withdrew from their strongholds in the Somali capital early August.

"I checked on my house in Hawlwadag last week. The areas are secure but almost every house in our neighborhood has been hit by shells and bullets scars are everywhere,"  Mohamed Hallane told Xinhua as he moved his belongings from his temporary shelter on the outskirts of Mogadishu.

Hundreds of thousands of the city's 2 million residents have fled Mogadishu since the outbreak of the major conflicts between Islamist radicals and Somali government forces and African Union peacekeepers in late 2007.

The capital was eerily deserted as about 1.5 million Mogadishu residents fled their homes. They have endured years of squalid conditions in makeshift shelters on the outskirts of the city.

Residents began rebuilding their homes and their lives. Some would be weary of going back, some have dared to return back to their ruined neighborhoods.

Maryan Guled, a mother of five, has lived with her husband and children in the Elasha camps on the outskirts of Mogadishu since 2008. She decided to return to their neighborhood in Hodan district.

"My sister and many of my neighbors died in front of my eyes. We had to flee with our lives with nothing else," said Guled as she broomed the yard of her ruined villa.

Schools and markets reopened in Mogadishu while local government was trying to repair the main streets.

Challenges remain as government officials warned of the danger of the explosives that have claimed the lives of a number of people and injured dozens more.

Running water and electricity still could not be fetched and hospitals in Islamist vacated areas have been destroyed.

"My children go to a very distant school as the local school is still closed. Lack of clean water supply is another big problem for us. The power company has restored electricity in many homes and we expect to get it in our home this week," Kulmiye told Xinhua in Mogadishu.

Some residents complained about Somali government forces robbing civilians as under-paid soldiers forcibly took money and other valuables from the returnees.

Somali government has imposed state of emergency on former Islamist areas while the military have court-martialed a number of soldiers after they were convicted of atrocities against civilians and their property. Some were sentenced to death for murdering civilians while others were given various jail sentences for petty crimes.

But community elders said that the measures had not so far stopped the "incidents" by government soldiers against civilians.

"We told local authority about the robberies. But I still hear of the incidents from time to time," a local community leader who sought anonymity told Xinhua in Mogadishu.

BEIJING, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- China reiterated Tuesday its stance that an inclusive political process led by Syria should be initiated to solve the ongoing crisis in the Middle East country.

China has long called on all the sides in Syria to end the violence and start an inclusive political process led by the country to resolve the crisis appropriately, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a regular news briefing in response to a question on the Syrian situation.

"Any move by the international community should be conducive to the realization of the goal," said the spokesman amid reports that France is urging the United Nations to take action on the Syrian situation.

"China is deeply concerned about the continuing unrest in Syria," he added.

Unrest erupted mid-March in Syria when anti-government protests broke out in the southern province of Daraa and spread to other cities.