International
Earthquake rattles New York City, little damage reported
Earthquake rattles New York City, little damage reported
A magnitude-4.8 earthquake rumbled through the northeastern United States on Friday, sending tremors from Philadelphia to Boston and jolted buildings in New York City.
An apparent aftershock was widely felt around 6pm, according to the United States Geological Survey.
The USGS reported that the earthquake’s epicentre was near Whitehouse Station, about 40 miles west of New York City.
The agency estimated the depth of the bedrock rupture at 2.9 miles.
In nearby Lebanon, N.J., china plates rattled in diners and frightened residents darted into streets to find trees, cars and the ground shaking.
The earthquake was not a rarity for the New York area — numerous small temblors go unnoticed every year, geologists say — but its strength and intensity unsettled a region more accustomed to flooded roadways and snow-covered sidewalks than trembling walls.
Several minor aftershocks were reported in New Jersey in the hours afterward, including one with a magnitude of 2.2 that struck at 1:32pm near the original quake’s epicentre.
The New York Police Department said it had no immediate reports of damage. Several East Coast airports issued ground stops halting air traffic in the immediate aftermath, but flights later resumed as normal.
Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement Friday morning that New York City did not have any reports of “major impact or injuries,” and that the city would continue its inspections of critical infrastructure.
Later, in a news conference, Adams urged New Yorkers to be on alert for aftershocks but should otherwise proceed with their activities.
“New Yorkers should go about their normal day,” Adams said.
The White House said that President Joe Biden spoke with Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey and told him that his administration was in touch with state and local officials and would provide assistance, if needed.New York City’s schools chancellor said at the news conference with Mr. Adams that all students in public schools were safe, and parents should not pick up their children early.
New York State officials in Albany said that they had been in touch with counties as well as nuclear facilities across the state, with no reports of damage aside from a gas leak in Rockland County. “Fortunately here in the state of New York, we are masters of disasters,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said.
Murphy said on X that the state had activated its emergency operations center, and urged residents not to call 911 unless they were having an actual emergency.
Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania said on X that his team and the state’s emergency management agency were monitoring the situation.
New York Times
International
Canada denies 13,000 Nigerians refugee status
Canada denies 13,000 Nigerians refugee status
Over 13,000 Nigerians who applied for refugee protection in Canada from January 2013 to December 2024 were rejected.
According to data from the Refugee Protection Division (RPD) of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, this figure includes 811 Nigerians whose applications were turned down in 2024.
The board placed Nigeria among the top five countries with the most rejected claims.
Mexico tops the list with 2,954 rejections, followed by India and Haiti, which have 1,688 and 982 rejected claims, respectively.
Colombia is in fourth place with 723 rejected claims, while Nigeria is in fifth place with 13,171 rejections.
In Canada, asylum seekers get refugee protection if the RPD satisfactorily confirms that their claims meet the United Nations definition of a Convention refugee.
In its definition of the Status of Refugee, the 1951 UN Convention states refugees are persons who have a substantiated fear of persecution because of their race, nationality, religion, political ideology or membership in a particular social group, which can include sexual orientation, gender identity, being a woman and persons living with HIV/AIDS.
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However, in Canada, asylum seekers are expected to show evidence that they are in danger of torture, risk to their life or risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment if they return to their country of nationality.
According to the Refugee Board’s application guideline, if an applicant’s “claim is eligible, it is sent to the RPD to start the claim for refugee protection process.”
The breakdown of the rejections showed that 127 Nigerian claims were rejected in 2013, 241 in 2014 and 248 in 2015.
Canada denies 13,000 Nigerians refugee status
International
Nurse punished in UK for addressing convicted transgender paedophile as ‘Mr’
Nurse punished in UK for addressing convicted transgender paedophile as ‘Mr’
A senior nurse in the UK is battling to save her career after facing disciplinary action for refusing to refer to a convicted child sex offender as a woman.
Jennifer Melle, 40, from Croydon, was working at Epsom and St Helier University Hospital Trust when she declined to use female pronouns for a paedophile known as ‘Mr X,’ per report from the London Standard.
The offender, currently serving time in a high-security male prison, was jailed for grooming boys online while posing as a teenage girl.
Following her refusal, Melle claims she was subjected to racial abuse and physical threats.
She was, reportedly, then issued a final written warning and referred to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) for allegedly breaching professional standards.
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NHS lawyers argued that Melle’s Christian belief—that people are born male or female—was “not worthy of respect in a democratic society.”
An internal investigation found she had violated the NMC Code of Conduct by failing to respect the patient’s “preferred identity” and uphold the Trust’s core value of “Respect.”
As a result, Melle has been moved to another ward, which she says is a demotion, and has had her name removed from internal hospital systems, preventing her from applying for additional shifts.
Now, with the backing of the Christian Legal Centre, she has launched legal action against the Trust, alleging harassment, discrimination, and breaches of her human rights.
The case comes amid growing controversy over gender policies in public institutions.
A recent report, the Sullivan Review, revealed that UK police forces have been allowing criminals to self-identify their gender on official records, sparking nationwide debate.
Nurse punished in UK for addressing convicted transgender paedophile as ‘Mr’
International
Gaza: Iran begins talks with S’Arabia, Egypt as Israel renews attacks
Gaza: Iran begins talks with S’Arabia, Egypt as Israel renews attacks
Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Saturday exchanged views with his Saudi Arabian and Egyptian counterparts on Israel’s renewed attacks on Gaza.
In a phone conversation with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Araghchi strongly condemned Israel’s attacks in Gaza, and urged other countries in the region to take collective action, said the Iranian Foreign Ministry in a statement.
For his part, Faisal reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s condemnation of Israeli aggressions and emphasized regional coordination to prevent further escalation.
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In a separate phone call with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, Araghchi condemned Israel’s renewed attacks on Gaza as well as obstruction of humanitarian aid delivery to the Palestinian coastal enclave “in flagrant violation” of the ceasefire agreement with Hamas.
The Egyptian foreign minister underscored the need for consultations and diplomatic efforts to prevent further escalation.
Both Egyptian and Iranian ministers agreed to maintain consultations on regional developments.
Gaza: Iran begins talks with S’Arabia, Egypt as Israel renews attacks
Xinhua
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