Lilongwe, July 6 (IANS) Up to 4.2 million people in Malawi are expected to experience high levels of acute food insecurity between June and September, according to a report released on Saturday by the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee, a government-led multi-agency body.

According to the report, the landlocked country, bordering Mozambique, Zambia and Tanzania, experienced El Nino weather early in the year that caused drought and floods in 23 out of 28 districts, leading to a 17 per cent output drop in agricultural production, reports Xinhua news agency.

In 2023, Malawi produced 3.5 million metric tonnes of maize, the country’s staple food, but the output dropped to 2.9 million metric tonnes in the 2024 harvest season.

The report indicated that the situation is bound to worsen by October when the food-insecure population is estimated to increase to 5.7 million, 28 per cent of the population, as the country reaches the seasonal lean period.

The report further calls for the immediate distribution of more than 261,500 metric tonnes of maize to vulnerable households in the affected districts across Malawi.

The country’s Department of Disaster Management Affairs Spokesperson Chipiliro Khamula told the local media on Wednesday that the department is working on a response plan and the mobilisation of resources.

Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP) is targeting 2.5 million people of the affected population with food assistance, said Simon Denhere, the organisation’s deputy country director.

The WFP country Chief told local media that the response programme requires $80 million but the organisation had only raised $20 million in anticipation of the food situation.

“We’re still engaging with our partners to mobilise the remaining funds and the response, so far, is positive,” Denhere, told the local media.

The World Bank estimates that about 72 per cent of Malawians will face poverty this year following the weather shocks as inflation is expected to average 27 per cent.

–IANS

int/rs/khz

Tokyo, July 6 (IANS) Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries has been implicated in a scandal for allegedly using slush funds to purchase goods for the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF) submarine crew members, according to local media reports.

The company, responsible for constructing and maintaining parts of the JMSDF submarine fleet, allegedly manipulated subcontractors to fabricate false transactions, securing billions of yen in secret funds used to bribe submarine crew members, reports Xinhua news agency on Friday.

Kawasaki Heavy Industries has admitted to the Osaka Regional Taxation Bureau that its Kobe Shipyard’s maintenance division has been directing subcontractors to create fictitious transactions for the past 20 years.

The funds obtained were transferred to subcontractor accounts as secret funds, used to purchase personal items for submarine crew members or for entertainment expenses.

JMSDF submarines submitted lists of needed items to Kawasaki Heavy Industries’ maintenance division, Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun reported, noting that the maintenance division then instructed subcontractors to use the secret funds to buy the items, which were subsequently handed over to the respective submarine personnel.

The Osaka Regional Taxation Bureau is investigating Kawasaki Heavy Industries.

Japan’s Defence Minister Minoru Kihara on Friday announced that a special investigation into the matter has been launched, besides the current investigation conducted by the Osaka Regional Taxation Bureau.

Tetsuo Maeda, a local commentator, criticised the use of taxpayer money, which was meant for enhancing defence capabilities, being misappropriated by the JMSDF.

“The misuse of funds, originating from the Defence Ministry and submarine construction and maintenance budgets, is intolerable for taxpayers,” Maeda said.

–IANS

int/rs/khz

Beijing, July 6 (IANS) Five people were confirmed dead after tornadoes struck the Heze City in east China’s Shandong province, said local authorities on Saturday.

Tornadoes hit the Dongming County and the Juancheng County, leaving 88 people injured. Five of them were later confirmed dead after medical treatment failed, according to Heze’s emergency management bureau, reports Xinhua news agency.

Preliminary investigation showed that a total of 2,820 houses, 60,900 mu (4,060 hectares) of crops and 48 power supply lines were damaged in the disaster.

Thanks to overnight repair efforts, local roads, communication, water and power supplies have been restored, while local rescuers are evacuating and resettling the affected people.

A task force has been deployed to carry out a comprehensive survey of the damage to residents’ houses and infrastructure.

Shandong averages 1.5 tornadoes every year, according to data from the National Climate Centre.

–IANS

int/rs/khz

Jerusalem, July 6 (IANS) The Israeli Ministry of Health reported a fresh fatality from West Nile fever, pushing the death toll due to infections in the country to 12.

The ministry also reported on Friday 61 new cases of infection with the virus, increasing the total number of cases detected in the country since the beginning of May to 236, reported Xinhua news agency.

It is the highest annual number of West Nile fever cases since 2000, during which more than 400 cases of infection with the virus were diagnosed in Israel, according to the ministry’s data.

Meanwhile, the Israeli Ministry of Environmental Protection announced the detection of mosquitoes infected with the West Nile virus in several locations in the central Shfela region.

The ministry added that it directed local authorities to expand the monitoring and extermination actions and called on the public to dry up sources of stagnant water, the best place for mosquitoes to breed.

–IANS

int/rs/svn

Sydney, July 6 (IANS) A 16-year-old boy died and three other teenagers injured in a road accident in Australia’s New South Wales (NSW).

The NSW Police Force said in a statement on Saturday that emergency services were called to a rural suburb of the Port Stephens in NSW at about 10.45 p.m. local time.

Police officers arrived to find a white Ford Falcon sedan containing five young persons, aged 14-17, had left the roadway and impacted with a tree, it added, Xinhua news agency reported.

The 16-year-old teenage boy died on the way to hospital. The three injured teenage passengers were taken to hospital for various non-life-threatening injuries.

The police said the driver of the vehicle, a 17-year-old boy, was subject to a roadside breath test, which allegedly returned a positive reading. He was taken to hospital for mandatory testing.

–IANS

int/rs/svn