The Sudanese Irrigation Ministry on Thursday warned of flooding risk in the Blue Nile following a big rise in the water level.

"The level of water in the Blue Nile river at the El-Dim station on the borders with Ethiopia rose to 550 million cubic meters almost close to the level of the flooding which is 601 million cubic meters," the irrigation ministry said in a statement.

The Ministry expected that within the next three days the rate of water discharged from Ethiopia will be between 450-550 million cubic meters.

It added that the rate of discharging water behind Sudan's Roseires and Sanar dams near the Sudanese-Ethiopian border is currently 450 million cubic meters, and alerted that a water level rise over the rate of discharge may lead to possible flooding.

Sudan's rainy season starts in June and lasts till October where heavy rains fall in this period, and causes annual wide floods.

On Friday, the Sudanese authorities announced an emergency in the Meroe Dam, around 400 kilometers (248.5 miles) north of Khartoum, in preparation for possible flooding after the arrival of unexpected quantities of waters to the dam's lake.

On July 18, the Sudanese Irrigation Ministry announced an unexpected rise in the water level of the Blue Nile due to heavy rains on the Ethiopian plateau and urged citizens living on both sides of the river to take measures to preserve lives and property./aa

A research conducted in France has revealed that individuals with preexisting mental health disorders are at higher risk of COVID-19 death and should be categorized as an at-risk group.

COVID-19 is 1.8 times more likely to kill patients with mental disorders, according to the Nursing in Practice website citing the research published this week in JAMA Psychiatry, a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal of the University of Marseille.

According to the study, patients with severe mental health disorders, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, are 2.3 times more likely die from coronavirus than patients without mental health problems.

The analysis, which looked at 16 studies covering more than 19,000 people’s medical records from seven countries, even found a higher possibility of death after adjusting for risk factors such as obesity and age in people with severe mental disorders (1.7 times) and mental disorders as a whole (1.4 times).

The researchers urged public health decision-makers to prioritize mental health patients for disease prevention, vaccinations, treatment and specific training for hospital staff.

The research suggested that the immune system differences in people with bipolar or schizophrenia could possibly explain the higher risks in these groups.

However, it said future studies should look at the risk of death for each mental health disorder, as opposed to mental health disorders as a whole./aa

DARAA, Syria(aa)

Syria’s Assad regime has launched a military operation in Daraa al-Balad, an area in the country’s southwest that has been under siege since late last month.

The regime has been using tanks and artillery fire since Wednesday in a bid to storm the district, which is home to some 40,000 people and was an opposition stronghold until a 2018 deal mediated by Russia, according to local activists.

Many civilians have been injured in the bombardment and the sole health center in the region has been closed down due to persistent attacks by the regime forces, Aymen Abu Nokta, spokesman for Horan Freedoms Community, a group founded by activists from Daraa, told Anadolu Agency.

“Regime forces are trying to enter Daraa al-Balad from three sides – Nahla, Kasad, and Doma,” he said.

“They are using mortars, tanks, and artillery fire to advance, while the locals and former opposition members are responding with light weapons.”

Lying in the Dara province, which is known as the birthplace of the Syrian revolution, Daraa al-Balad was blockaded by regime forces on June 25 after residents, including former members of the Syrian opposition, resisted an order to surrender their light weapons and allow regime forces to search houses in the area.

According to the Daraa-based Reconciliation Center and local figures, the order was opposed because it violated the terms of the 2018 deal, under which the area residents and ex-opposition members had to surrender all heavy weapons.

The deal allowed thousands of rebels and civilians safe passage to other opposition-held regions, while Russia-backed regime forces launched an attack to reclaim Daraa.

The regime kicked off its military action despite agreeing earlier this week to lift the blockade.

“People are fearful and have started to leave the area. At least 600 families have left their homes since yesterday,” Abu Nokta said, adding that they fear the offensive will lead to the displacement of all 40,000 residents of the area.

The number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims fell 24,000 to 400,000 last week, less than market expectation, according to Labor Department figures on Thursday.

Analysts had expected 380,000 claims for the week ending July 24. The previous week's figure was revised up by 5,000 from 419,000 to 424,000

Despite the decline, the unemployment rate rose to 5.9% in June from 5.8% the previous month, according to the figures.

Although the world's largest economy added 850,000 jobs in June, it still has 9.5 million unemployed workers.

More than 22 million people in the US lost jobs in March and April of 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic./aa

A fire that broke out Wednesday in northeastern Peloponnese, Achaia is still raging, the fire department said on Thursday.

The blaze kept the firefighters on alert all night long, and as many as 180 personnel, eight ground units, 48 vehicles, two helicopters, and two aircraft were deployed to contain it.

Water tanks from local municipalities have also been brought to aid the dowsing efforts.

Earlier, the fire spread to several villages, forcing the authorities to issue an emergency evacuation. Others were informed to be on alert to evacuate their homes.

Many houses have been destroyed, and large swathes of forest land have turned into ashes.

Authorities have issued a warning alert in four regions on high risk, including Attica that includes the capital Athens./aa

IDLIB, Syria

Displaced civilians living in camps in northwestern Syria are struggling with above-average temperatures in makeshift tents.

In Idlib province, where hundreds of thousands of civilians were displaced as a result of intense attacks by the Assad regime, the temperature exceeding 40 degrees brought life to a standstill. Women and children living in tents are suffering the most.

Dr. Ammar Rahhal from Ibn Sina Hospital in Idlib told Anadolu Agency that the above-average temperature is negatively affecting the health of civilians living in tents.

Rahhal said mostly children playing outside between 11:00 a.m. and 01:00 p.m. are exposed to sunstroke, and many are being treated at the hospital.

'A day in a tent is like a year'

Yahya Uayyid, who was forcibly displaced by the Assad regime in the southern countryside of Aleppo and settled in a camp in Idlib, said: “Tent protects people neither from the heat of summer nor from the cold of winter. A day in a tent is like a year."

Father of three, Uayyid said they were constantly taking children affected by the scorching heat to the hospital, hoping they will return to their home as soon as possible.

Fatma Zein Ali, who migrated from the southern countryside of Aleppo, said she took her children to the hospital many times because of sunstroke.

Idlib falls within a de-escalation zone forged under an agreement between Turkey and Russia in March 2020. The Syrian regime, however, has consistently violated the terms of the cease-fire, launching frequent attacks inside the de-escalation zone.

Syria has been mired in a vicious civil war since early 2011 when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

Over the past decade, around half a million people have been killed and more than 12 million had to flee their homes./aa