At least 20 people died after Hurricane Helene slammed into the south-eastern United States as a dangerous Category 4 storm, before later weakening to a tropical depression by Friday afternoon.The deaths were reported in US media across the states of Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida.

The governor of Georgia said at least 11 people had died in his state. Around 3 million people were without power across those states and beyond, with houses destroyed and entire communities flooded. There were fears that many people could still be trapped under collapsed and damaged buildings. Many roads across the region were not passable.The National Weather Service said Helene made landfall on the west coast of Florida as a Category 4 hurricane – the second highest category – but then began losing steam.The service had warned of “historic and catastrophic flooding,” and in some places on Friday the water was about 5 metres high. There were also threats of mudslides due to the extreme rain.Many victims were killed or injured by falling trees, while others died in their cars. In Florida, a woman drowned in her home, CNN reported.In North Carolina, authorities warned that a dam could break and urged nearby residents to move to safety.After pummelling the south-east, it began moving over the Appalachian mountains and affecting states like Tennessee and Virginia.Helene had already caused flooding and power outages in Cuba as it barrelled toward the U.S. (dpa /NAN)

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a $7billion loan to cash-strapped Pakistan, as the fragile economy of the South Asian nation grapples with deepening economic troubles.The executive board of the IMF approved a 37-month extended arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Pakistan.

The fund’s immediate disbursement would be about one billion U. S. dollars, the IMF said in a statement on Thursday. The Prime Minister’s office said that the first tranche of nearly $1.1 billion U.S. would be released immediately.Pakistan has approached the global lender 24 times since 1958 as successive governments failed to break the cycle of economic mismanagement and reliance on external aid.The IMF statement also said that Pakistan’s vulnerabilities and structural challenges remain formidable.Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif welcomed the development: “After achieving economic stability, we will continue to work hard to meet our targets for economic growth.”“If the same hard work continues, God willing, this will be Pakistan’s last IMF programme,” Sharif said in a statement.Sharif’s team started the groundwork soon after the February elections and reached staff-level agreement with IMF in July.His government is facing criticism after the imposition of heavy taxes on the salaried class and increasing the electricity prices.The tough and unpopular decisions taken in line with the IMF’s preconditions have substantially eroded public support for the government.Critics, especially from the opposition led by former prime minister Imran Khan, blame Sharif for making the economic situation worse.The government argues that it inherited the crisis from Khan’s administration, whose policies had left the economy on the brink of collapse. (dpa/NAN)

 Brad Smith, the president of technology giant Microsoft has issued a stark warning regarding foreign attempts to influence the U.S. presidential election in November.

“The most perilous moment will come, I think, 48 hours before the election,” Smith told a U.S. Senate hearing on Wednesday.

“That’s the lesson to be learned from, say, the Slovakian election last fall,” he added.

Smith said two days ahead of the parliamentary election vote in the European country “a Russian group” released and pushed, including by amplifying the story with a top Russian official, a deep fake audio purporting to reveal a vote-stealing plot.

“The Russian government is very capable, very sophisticated, not just in technology but in social science,” Smith said.

The Microsoft boss stressed that “there are real and serious threats,” including in the upcoming U.S. presidential election set to take place on Nov. 5.

The race for the White House may be between Republican candidate Donald Trump and the Democrats’ Kamala Harris, “but this is also becoming an election of Iran versus Trump and Russia versus Harris,” the Microsoft boss said.

“It is an election where Russia, Iran, and China are united with the common interest in discrediting democracy in the eyes of our voters,” Smith warned.

Just a few days ago, U.S. authorities exposed a Russian-sponsored campaign that deployed right-wing influencers.

Accounts masquerading as the websites of news outlets like conservative channel Fox News and newspaper The Washington Post posted fake stories.

On Wednesday, a Russian group published a video of Harris, manipulated with the help of artificial intelligence, in which words were put into her mouth that she never said, said Smith.

The administration in Washington has accused Russia of interfering in the U.S. presidential election campaign.

Similar accusations had been made in previous elections.

Smith testified alongside Meta’s Nick Clegg and Kent Walker, president and chief legal officer for Google’s Alphabet. (dpa/NAN)