Archives

Magnitude 5.9 earthquake hits northern Haiti kills at least 12 people

(CNN) Once again, nature has dealt a deadly blow to Haiti.

At least 12 people were killed and 188 were wounded after a magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck northern Haiti on Saturday night, the country’s interior ministry said Sunday.

On Sunday, President Jovenel Moïse visited the coastal city of Port-de-Paix, just 11 miles (18 kilometers) from the quake’s epicenter.

“I will make sure the proper state systems are fully mobilized to help the victims,” Moïse tweeted.

Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, is still recovering from the catastrophic 2010 earthquake that killed at least 220,000 people and destroyed much of the capital city.

In 2016, Hurricane Matthew shredded parts of the country and left at least 336 people dead.

Prime Minister Jean-Henry Céant said a crisis team has been created to coordinate all emergency responses to Saturday night’s earthquake.

“Damage has been recorded mainly in the Far North. All my sympathies to the victims,” Céant tweeted. “The executive at the highest level is mobilized to provide appropriate answers. I call on the population to be cautious and calm.”

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/06/americas/haiti-earthquake/index.html

Death toll from Indonesian quake, tsunami rises to 832: agency

The death toll from an earthquake and tsunami on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi rose to 832 on Sunday, the national disaster mitigation agency said, adding it assessed the affected area to be bigger than initially thought.

Many people were reported trapped in the rubble of buildings brought down in the 7.5 magnitude earthquake which struck on Friday and triggered tsunami waves as high as six meters (20 feet), agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo

Nugroho told a news conference.

View pictures

Deadly earthquake and tsunami kill hundreds in Sulawesi, Indonesia

At least 384 people were killed and many swept away as giant waves crashed onto beaches, when a major earthquake and tsunami hit the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, authorities said on Saturday.

Hundreds had gathered for a festival on the beach in the city of Palu on Friday when waves as high as six meters (18 feet) smashed onshore at dusk, sweeping many to their death and destroying anything in their path, following a 7.5 magnitude earthquake. (Reuters)

Mexico disarms Acapulco police force linked to drug gangs

MEXICO CITY — Authorities in southern Mexico disarmed and placed under investigation the entire police force in the once-glittering resort of Acapulco on Tuesday, claiming the local cops were infiltrated by drug gangs.

Officials in Guerrero state issued arrest warrants for two top Acapulco police commanders, accusing them of homicide. It was the latest fall from grace for Acapulco, which was a favorite haunt of movie stars in the 1960s but has since fallen victim to warring drug gangs.

The state government said it took the step “because of suspicion that the force had probably been infiltrated by criminal groups” and “the complete inaction of the municipal police in fighting the crime wave.”

The rest of the police officers were stripped of their guns, radios and bullet-proof vests and taken for background checks. Law enforcement duties in the seaside city of 800,000 will be taken over by soldiers, marines and state police.

Continue reading

How IBM and Plastic Bank Are Using Blockchain to Boost Recycling in Haiti

The blockchain is helping clean up the oceans. That’s thanks to the efforts of Plastic Bank, a non-profit that pays people in developing countries for handing over recyclable plastic using a cryptocurrency-like token system. The team has already been operating in Haiti for the past three years, and now tells Inverse they’re planning on expanding the concept to other countries.

“When we began the programming in Haiti, we knew that we needed to create financial inclusion, we knew that we needed to create a sense of security,” David Katz, CEO and co-founder of Plastic Bank, tells Inverse. “If you were to visit Haiti, you would more fully understand why it’s so critically important.”

The idea sounds like a gimmick at first, but using the blockchain has tangible benefits relative to more conventional compensation like cash. While the hype may have cooled off around Bitcoin since dropping from a high of roughly $20,000 per coin to just above $6,500 at the time of writing, developers are still finding new applications for the technology. Katz explained the blockchain is transparent, offers high security, and reduces many of the risks associated with handling cash. It also helps smooth out price fluctuations, creating a more sustainable economy.

Continue reading

Israeli delegation in Moscow to share data on plane downing

MOSCOW — A high-level Israeli military delegation visited Moscow on Thursday to present detailed information related to the downing of a Russian warplane by Syrian forces that responded to an Israeli air raid.

All 15 crew members on board the Russian Il-20 reconnaissance plane were killed when it was downed Monday by Syrian air defense forces that mistook it for Israeli jets. The incident threatened to derail the close security ties between Russia and Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quickly called Russian President Vladimir to express sorrow over the death of the plane’s crew, blamed Syria and offered to share detailed data.

Netanyahu said Thursday that while voicing regret over the deaths, he told Putin that “the root of the problem is Iran’s attempt to use Syrian territory for attacks against Israel and to arm our enemies, such as Hezbollah.”

“I told him that we have the right of self defense,” Netanyahu said, adding that “there is also very great importance to maintaining the security coordination between Israel and Russia.”

He said he dispatched the Israeli air force chief, Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin, to Moscow with a double objective: “One, to continue defending our citizens, and two, to preserve the cooperation between our two countries.”

On Thursday, a delegation of Israeli military officers led by Norkin, held several meetings in Moscow with their Russian counterparts.
The Israeli military said in a statement that they presented the situation report regarding the plane’s downing, as well as the pre-mission information and the findings of an Israeli military inquiry.

“The meetings were held in good spirits and the representatives shared a professional, open and transparent discussion on various issues,” the Israeli military said. “Both sides emphasized the importance of the states’ interests and the continued implementation of the deconfliction system.”

Continue reading

Maxime Bernier launches new party as The People’s Party of Canada

OTTAWA—Quebec MP Maxime Bernier is calling his new political venture The People’s Party of Canada.

Bernier says the name — which will be PPC for short — fits a party that represents people who are tired of Canadian politics being hijacked by special interest groups, cartels and lobbyists.

He says that if people do not like his ideas “that’s OK, don’t vote for me.”

“The politicians, they try to please everybody and when you want to please everybody, you won’t please everybody. That’s not my way of doing politics.”

The maverick MP quit his party last month after spending much of the year butting heads with Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer over supply management. Scheer removed him from the Conservative shadow cabinet in June.

Bernier says the new party will be registered with Elections Canada over the next several weeks but that it takes time to do all the required steps.

Source:

Kenya deports Chinese man who called citizens ‘monkeys’

A Chinese national identified as Liu Jiaqi has been deported by Kenyan authorities after a racially abusive video went viral on social media in the East African country.

Jiaqi, who trades in motorbikes in a chat with a Kenyan employee is heard describing Kenyans even the president Uhuru Kenyatta as “monkeys.” His rant was recorded by the employee who he was about to fire.

“I don’t like here, like a monkey people. I don’t like [to] talk with them. Smells bad and poor… and black. Who like them? Why not the bright people like the Americans?,” he said.

The immigration department confirmed that he had been apprehended, his residency revoked and subsequently deported as at Thursday afternoon.


AFP quotes an embassy official, Zhang Gang, as saying that the video was recorded in June and that the man had been “punished by his company for his wrongdoing and apologised to his Kenyan colleague.

“The personal talk and personal feeling of this young man does not represent the views of the vast majority of Chinese people,” he added.

It comes days after the end of Forum on China-Africa relations in the Chinese capital, Beijing. Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta joined over fifty of his counterparts for the summit.

Martin Kimani, a top government official praised the authorities for their decisive action on what he said was a “the most lethal idea in human history: racial categories and hierarchies.

“It has led to mass murder, genocide, has been used to justify and spread slavery, and it was at the root of the colonial brutality and thievery here,” he added.

Source

Egypt opens a 4000-year old tomb to the public

Egypt on Saturday allowed the public to visit a 4000-year old tomb in the Saqqara necropolis near Giza for the first time in a bid to promote tourism.

The tomb, discovered in 1940 by Egyptologist Zaki Saad, belongs to an ancient Egypt high-ranking official named Mehu who was related to the first king of the 6th dynasty.

“It is a beautiful tomb, and it was discovered in 1940. We are making sure to constantly present cultural content for tourists. This is why we open tombs for visitors and in the past two or three years, we opened a large number of museums such as Sohag’s museum after 30 years of works. Today we opened this previously discovered tomb to invite ambassadors and show the media that Egypt is safe,” said Egyptian Minister of Antiquities, Khaled El Anany.

“It is a beautiful tomb, and it was discovered in 1940. We are making sure to constantly present cultural content for tourists.”

The tomb included two chambers both with wall inscriptions of the owner of the tomb hunting as well as drawings showing aspects of Ancient Egyptian lives such as hunting and acrobatic dancing.

Mehu lived during the reign of King Pepi and held 48 titles, found inscribed on the walls of his chamber.

“To say that there is a tomb dated back 4200 years ago is opening for the first time for the public. The tomb belongs to a very important person, his name is Mehu. He was a vizier, the chief of judges and the director of the palace at the time of the King Titi, the first king of the 6th dynasty,” said Egytpian Archaeologist and Egyptology, Zahi Hawass.

“It is a 4500-year old tomb from the 6th dynasty. It is during the King Pepi rule. It is a family tomb of a father, son and grandson. We are seeing Mehu, his son Meren Ra and his grandson Heteb Kha. The tombs owner had 48 titles,” said head of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Mostafa Al-Waziri.

Egypt is hoping these discoveries will brighten its image abroad and revive interest among travelers who once flocked to its iconic pharaonic temples and pyramids but who have shunned the country since its 2011 political uprising.

Source: http://www.africanews.com/2018/09/08/egypt-opens-a-4000-year-old-tomb-to-the-public//

Investigators found 168 skulls in a mass grave in Mexico. They’re part of a national nightmare.

Last year, in the Mexican state of Veracruz, authorities announced that they had found a mass grave filled with more than 250 human skulls.

At the time, state prosecutor Jorge Winckler told news station Televisa that “once we have opened all the mass graves in the state, [Veracruz] could become the biggest mass grave in Mexico, or even the world.”

On Thursday, Winckler announced that another mass grave had been discovered, again in Veracruz. This time, more than 160 human skulls were found inside.

As many as 40,000 people are missing across Mexico, and about 30,000 are known to have been killed last year. Violence in Mexico is widespread, and Veracruz in particular has suffered bloodshed in recent years. Officials have not revealed the exact location of the gravesite, but speaking to reporters, Winckler said that in addition to the human remains, investigators also found more than 100 ID cards at the site, as well as about 200 items of clothing — raising hopes that some of the victims can be properly identified.

Continue reading