International
UN expresses sadness over another earthquake in Haiti
UN expresses sadness over another earthquake in Haiti
The UN has expressed deep sadness as another deadly earthquake claimed the lives of at least three people near the Haitian city of Jerémie in the early hours of Tuesday.
This has compounded an already life-threatening situation in recent days caused by flooding and landslides.
The 5.5 magnitude quake struck in the department of Grand’Anse, following torrential rains which have displaced more than 13,000 people.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of life, destruction of property and suffering of the Haitian people caused by the earthquake,” UN Spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, said.
“The Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres extends his condolences to the families of the victims and wishes a speedy recovery to all those injured.”
He said the UN stood ready to work with the Haitian authorities and other partners, to help ease the suffering of those impacted by this latest natural disaster.
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On Monday, the World Food Programme (WFP) said that it was already providing immediate assistance to those affected by the massive rainfall over the weekend, providing hot meals to those displaced, and mobilising ready-to-eat rations and dry food.
Dujarric said that Grand’ Anse was among the areas impacted by the rains, prior to the earthquake.
According to news reports, Tuesday’s quake was the second to strike the area in just two days, with a 4.4 magnitude tremor registered on Sunday morning.
In August 2021, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck the same southern peninsula region, leaving hundreds dead.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, is working with UN Children’s Fund UNICEF, WFP and the International Organisation for Migration, IOM, to support communities around the capital Port-au-Prince that were hardest hit by the floods and landslides, he added.
WFP is ready to distribute some 350,000 hot meals and other food assistance overall, to those who need it the most, he confirmed.
“Our colleagues say that ongoing insecurity and damage to roads are obviously hampering any relief efforts.”
According to UN humanitarians, the floods and landslides affected seven of Haiti’s 10 departments, and authorities say at least 51 people have been killed, 140 others injured and 18 are still missing. In the affected areas, nearly 32,000 homes were flooded.
UN expresses sadness over another earthquake in Haiti
(NAN)
International
Trump mulls closure of US embassies in Africa
Trump mulls closure of US embassies in Africa
The Trump administration is reportedly considering shutting down nearly 30 embassies and consulates worldwide—including several in Africa—as part of a broader plan to streamline America’s diplomatic presence abroad.
This is according to an internal document from the US State Department, obtained by CNN.
Among the proposed closures are American embassies in Lesotho, the Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, and South Sudan.
A consulate in South Africa is also listed for potential shutdown.
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These developments come amid a sweeping attempt by the administration to shrink the size of the US federal government, with influence from the Elon Musk-backed Department of Government Efficiency.
In total, the document recommends closing 10 embassies and 17 consulates around the globe, including missions in Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean.
Africa, however, features prominently on the list—raising concerns about the potential diplomatic and developmental fallout for the continent.
While it’s unclear whether US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has approved the recommendations, the document indicates that American diplomatic operations in affected countries would be consolidated into neighboring nations’ missions.
Trump mulls closure of US embassies in Africa
International
Titanic: Found ladies watch for auction at £50,000
Titanic: Found ladies watch for auction at £50,000
A lady’s pocket watch discovered among the belongings of one of the passengers who drowned on the Titanic’s doomed maiden voyage could fetch up to 50,000 euros (66,000 dollars) at auction.
Hans Christensen Givard, a 27-year-old Danish second-class passenger, was one of 1,500 people killed when the ship collided with an iceberg in 1912.
Givard was heading to the United States with two other companions who died in the catastrophe.
The watch was discovered when Givard’s body was recovered from the North Atlantic, and he was buried in Halifax, Canada.
The pockets contained a savings book, keys, some cash in a wallet, a silver watch, a compass, and a passport.
The gold ladies’ pocket watch, which showed signs of saltwater corrosion, was also retrieved.
All of his goods were restored to his brother in Denmark, and his relatives are now selling the watch.
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The tragic incident of Givard led curator Jesper Hjermind and his niece, journalist and U.S. resident Mette Hjermind McCall, to publish the book Titanic, De Danske Fortaellinger (Titanic, The Danish Stories), which mentions the pocket watch.
Claes Goran Wetterholm, the world’s greatest specialist on the Scandinavian aspect of the Titanic tale, also showed it in Copenhagen in 2012.
The watch will be auctioned on April 26 by Henry Aldridge and Son in Devizes, Wiltshire.
Auctioneer Andrew Aldridge said, “This piece is documented in the official list of Hans’s effects compiled by the authorities in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in the weeks after the Titanic disaster and has remained in his family ever since.
“It was one of the centrepieces of the display of Titanic memorabilia in the Tivoli in Copenhagen in 2012, which illustrates its importance.
“The watch’s movement is frozen in time at the moment the cold North Atlantic waters consumed not only its owner but the most famous ocean liner of all time, Titanic, on April 15, 1912,” he added.
Titanic: Found ladies watch for auction at £50,000
International
US judge stops Trump move to revoke 500,000 immigrants’ legal status
US judge stops Trump move to revoke 500,000 immigrants’ legal status
A federal judge on Monday blocked US President Donald Trump’s administration from quickly revoking the legal status of hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and Haiti.
The ruling by District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston is the latest order against Trump’s rapid push to carry out mass deportations, particularly targeting Latin Americans.
In March, the administration said it was moving to revoke the legal status of some 532,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans who came to the United States under a “parole” program initially launched by former president Joe Biden in October 2022.
“The court grants emergency relief staying the Termination of Parole Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans,” Talwani wrote in her order.
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The parole program allowed entry to the United States for two years for up to 30,000 migrants per month from the four countries, which have grim human rights records.
In her order, Talwani said the Trump administration had acted on a flawed interpretation of immigration law, with expedited removal applicable to non-citizens entering the United States illegally, but not those authorized to be in the country, such as through the parole program.
Under Trump’s revocation, the immigrants would have lost their legal protection effective April 24, just 30 days after the Department of Homeland Security published its order in the Federal Register.
Trump has vowed to deport “millions” of undocumented migrants in his second term, after running an election campaign that focused on illegal immigration.
Among other measures, he has invoked rare wartime legislation to fly hundreds of alleged members of a Venezuelan gang to El Salvador, which is imprisoning the migrants.
US judge stops Trump move to revoke 500,000 immigrants’ legal status
AFP
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