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Sabtu, 14 Agustus 2021

Haiti: Many deaths feared after major 7.2-magnitude earthquake - BBC News

Rubble after the earthquake in Les Cayes

A powerful earthquake has struck the Caribbean nation of Haiti, killing at least 29 people.

The 7.2-magnitude quake hit the west of the country on Saturday morning, toppling and damaging buildings including churches and hotels.

The prime minister said there was "extensive damage" in parts of the country, and he was declaring a month-long state of emergency.

Haiti is still recovering from a devastating 2010 earthquake.

The epicentre of Saturday's quake was about 12km (7.5 miles) from the town of Saint-Louis du Sud, the US Geological Survey (USGS) said.

The tremor was felt in the densely-populated capital of Port-au-Prince, some 125km away, and in neighbouring countries.

"Lots of homes are destroyed, people are dead and some are at the hospital," Christella Saint Hilaire, who lives near the epicentre, told AFP news agency.

Prime Minister Ariel Henry said he had mobilised a team to work on the relief effort, as he sent condolences to those affected.

He also appealed to Haitians to unify as they ″confront this dramatic situation in which we're living right now".

US President Joe Biden authorised an "immediate US response" to help the country.

The USGS earlier warned that the earthquake could result in thousands of fatalities and injuries.

Frantz Duval, editor-in-chief of Haiti's Le Nouvelliste newspaper, tweeted that two hotels were among the buildings destroyed in the town of Les Cayes. He said the local hospital was overwhelmed.

"Slowly, strongly and for very long seconds the earth shook in Haiti on 14 August, 2021 around 8:30 am," he wrote.

Reporters at Le Nouvelliste later said the majority of churches and hotels on the south coast had collapsed or suffered major damage.

Photos shared on social media showed damaged buildings and piles of rubble after the quake.

Gran Ri Vil Jeremie pic.twitter.com/RBPStzMOxE
— JCOM Haïti (@JCOMHaiti) August 14, 2021

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.View original tweet on Twitter

Naomi Verneus, a 34-year-old resident of the capital Port-au-Prince, told the Associated Press news agency she was woken up by the earthquake and that her bed was shaking.

"I woke up and didn't have time to put my shoes on. We lived [through] the 2010 earthquake and all I could do was run. I later remembered my two kids and my mother were still inside. My neighbour went in and told them to get out. We ran to the street," she said.

The 2010 earthquake in Haiti killed more than 200,000 people and caused extensive damage to infrastructure and the economy.

Saturday's earthquake comes amid a political crisis in the country, following the assassination of its president last month.

People walk in a market as they go about their lives in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, May 24, 2021

Reuters

Haiti: Key facts

11 millioninhabitants
59%percentage who live below the poverty line

2004-2017years in which a UN peacekeeping force was present
200,000number of people killed in the 2010 earthquake

Source: BBC Monitoring

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2021-08-14 16:20:16Z
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Turkey floods kill at least 40 people as hundreds feared missing - Sky News

At least 40 people have died and hundreds are feared to be missing in northern Turkey after floods and mudslides demolished buildings and swamped homes.

Emergency crews are continuing to search for more victims and survivors after torrential rain hit the Black Sea coastal provinces of Bartin, Kastamonu, Sinop and Samsun on Wednesday.

Opposition politician Hasan Baltaci, who represents Kastamonu, said there were fears about 329 people were missing after residents contacted Turkey's disaster agency AFAD seeking information about friends and relatives.

He warned some of the names could be duplicated but the missing included 12-year-old twin sisters and their grandparents who were trapped inside an eight-storey building that collapsed in the town of Bozkurt.

About 2,250 people were evacuated, with some rescued from rooftops by helicopters and many are being housed in student accommodation.

Homes were decimated by the floods, which swept away five bridges, many cars and rendered roads unpassable.

AFAD said 34 people were killed in Kastamonu and six in Sinop, while nine people remain in hospital in Sinop and one person was missing in Bartin province.

A river in Kastamonu burst its banks and flooded the town of Bozkurt, demolishing one waterfront building and badly damaging two next to it.

Emergency crews were seen sifting through the rubble for survivors, with the mother of the missing twins telling the DHA news agency she left the building after authorities advised residents to move their vehicles to higher ground.

When she returned, water had surrounded the building so she could not enter and she watched her daughters waving at her from another building.

Arzu Yuzel said: "We spoke by phone. They waved from the balcony. They said, 'Don't worry, mummy, we are fine.

"They told us 'move your cars higher'. They didn't say 'Save your lives, save your children'. I could have gotten them out of there."

Bodies were washed up on the shores of the Black Sea, according to Halk TV which showed footage of people carrying a body bag on a beach.

Climate scientists say climate change is leading to more extreme weather events but experts in Turkey said interference with rivers and improper construction also contributed to the floods.

Geologists said construction has narrowed the Ezine river in Bozkurt, where the most damage was, from 400 metres (1,312ft) to 15 metres (49ft).

The floods came as wildfires in southern Turkey finally abated after destroying forests in the popular coastal tourist provinces of Mugla and Antalya.

At least eight people died in the fires and thousands were forced to flee.

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2021-08-14 08:57:33Z
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Eurosceptic anger swells over EU's failure to tackle ‘real problems’ - Polish MEP hits out - Daily Express

Ryszard Czarnecki, MEP from Poland's Law and Justice Party and a former Vice President of the European Parliament, was speaking at a time when Poland is appealing for help in the face of large numbers of people crossing the border from Belarus and the authoritarian rule of controversial President Alexander Lukashenko. Belarus found itself in the spotlight during the Olympic Games, when Belarussian sprinter Krystina Timanovskaya refused to board a flight back to her country, citing concerns over her personal safety after criticising her coaches on social media.

Mr Czarnecki told Express.co.uk of the immigration situation: “This is a problem not only for Poland, but also for other EU countries, especially Lithuania and Latvia.

“It concerns the eastern and north-eastern flank of the European Union.

“We expect the Union that apparently often brings up the topic of ‘European solidarity’, to support our three countries.

“Especially since the problem is growing: there were 700 percent more immigrants coming from Iraq and Afghanistan only in the first seven months of 2021 than in the entire year 2020!

“Therefore we expect decisive actions from Brussels as soon as possible.”

The escalating problem comes against a backdrop of increasingly fractious relations between Brussels and Warsaw over legal reforms which the EU claims represent a risk to judicial independence.

Mr Czarnecki is firmly committed to his country’s ongoing membership of the EU - but warned: “Brussels should deal with real problems like migration policy, not with imaginary problems like the justice system in Poland.

“The EU's behaviour on the latter issue has significantly increased the number of Eurosceptics and Eurorealists in my country.”

With respect to Belarus and 24-year-old Ms Timanovskaya, Mr Czarnecki said: “Poland wants Belarus to move towards the West, not towards Russia.

“Lukashenko plays with the immigrant card, and actually makes it easier to cross the border with Poland, Lithuania or Latvia.

“As for the athlete from Belarus, Poland, since the 15th century, offered asylum to all people from different parts of Europe - both East and the West.

“They were granted asylum, whether they were persecuted for political or religious reasons and we pride ourselves with that.

“But a border is a border and it must be respected.”

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) yesterday said it was monitoring the situation in Belarus closely, amid calls for the global lender to limit disbursement of new emergency reserves to the hardline government of Mr Lukashenko.

Spokesman Gerry Rice said the lender was keeping close tabs on the matter, but the IMF was guided in its actions by the international community, which "continues to deal with the current government in the country”.

Some US politicians have urged the IMF to set strict limits for Lukashenko's ability to use nearly £720million in new Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), the IMF's own reserve currency, which Belarus is slated to receive as part of a £470billion allocation to all IMF members later this month.

However, experts say as long as the IMF's members continue to recognise the government of Lukashenko, the fund cannot take more forceful action.

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2021-08-14 06:00:00Z
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Jumat, 13 Agustus 2021

Afghanistan: Diplomats hasten exit as Taliban near Kabul - BBC News

Displaced Afghans sit in a tent at a makeshift IDP camp in Share-e-Naw park in Kabul

The first US troops are arriving in Afghanistan to help diplomatic staff and others leave, as many countries scramble to evacuate workers and citizens amid a rapid Taliban advance.

On Friday, militants captured Pul-e-Alam, capital of Loghar province, just 80km (50 miles) from the capital Kabul.

The UN chief said the situation was spinning out of control with devastating consequences for civilians.

More than 250,000 people have been forced to leave their homes so far.

The Taliban advance comes as US and other foreign troops withdraw after 20 years of military operations. The fighting has raised fears that gains in human rights made since the militants were ousted from power in 2001 could be swiftly reversed.

Life under the Taliban in the 1990s saw women forced to wear the all-covering burka, education restricted for girls over 10, and brutal punishments including public executions.

ANALYSIS: An untidy end - or ominous beginning?
VOICES: Kabul's young women plead for help
FEATURE: The displaced people hoping for safety
ON THE GROUND: Taliban back brutal rule as they strike for power

Also on Friday, the Taliban seized the country's second-largest city Kandahar and the nearby city of Lashkar Gah, as well as Herat in the west. They now control about a third of Afghanistan's provincial capitals.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby called the recent advances "deeply concerning", but downplayed any suggestion that Kabul was under imminent threat from the group.

Most of the 3,000 troops being sent to help evacuate US diplomatic staff will arrive by the end of the weekend. The US intends to airlift thousands of people a day out of Kabul.

The latest US intelligence assessment suggests the militants could try to advance on the national capital within 30 days.

The US embassy there informed staff that an incinerator and other tools were available to destroy sensitive material, including documents and equipment such as flags that could be used in propaganda.

The UK, which is sending 600 troops to aid the evacuation of British nationals and former Afghan staff, said staffing at its embassy would be reduced to an absolute minimum - as did Germany.

Denmark and Norway are closing their embassies altogether.

Afghan war - the basics

US-led forces toppled the Taliban: In 2001 US-led forces overthrew Afghanistan's Taliban rulers after the 9/11 attacks masterminded by al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who was based there.
Twenty years of occupation and military operations followed: The US and allies oversaw elections and built up Afghan security forces, but the Taliban continued to launch attacks.
Eventually the US made a deal with the Taliban: They would pull out if the militants agreed not to host terrorist groups. But talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government failed. US-led forces withdrew this year and the Taliban have now retaken most of the country.

UN Secretary General António Guterres called on the Taliban to end the fighting and urged the international community to make clear that power seized through military force is unacceptable.

"Every day the conflict is taking an even bigger toll on women and children. Continued urban conflict will mean continued carnage with civilians paying the highest price," he said.

Food and medical supplies are dwindling and critical infrastructure including schools and clinics has been destroyed, he said. The UN has appealed to neighbouring countries to keep their borders open, to allow people to reach safety.

More than 1,000 civilians were killed in Afghanistan in the past month alone, according to the UN.

Makeshift camps have been established on scrubland on the outskirts of the capital, while many of those seeking safety in Kabul have been sleeping on the streets.

About 72,000 children are among those fleeing to the capital in recent days, according to Save the Children.

Zuhal, a 20-year-old student who has been helping those displaced, told the BBC: "Ceasefire, just like an immediate ceasefire, just stop the fighting because we cannot get up another day and see a child filled with blood, a mother crying for her son - we cannot see that anymore."

In a separate development, Canada said it planned to resettle more than 20,000 vulnerable Afghans including women leaders, human rights workers and reporters.

Are you in Afghanistan? How have you been affected? haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also get in touch in the following ways:

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2021-08-13 22:55:25Z
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Taliban imposing ‘horrifying’ human rights curbs, UN chief warns - Al Jazeera English

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on the Taliban to immediately halt its offensive in Afghanistan, warning that the country “is spinning out of control”.

“The message from the international community to those on the warpath must be clear: seizing power through military force is a losing proposition. That can only lead to prolonged civil war or to the complete isolation of Afghanistan,” Guterres told reporters on Friday.

Guterres called on all parties to do more to protect civilians. He also said he was “deeply disturbed by early indications that the Taliban are imposing severe restrictions on human rights in the areas under their control, particularly targeting women and journalists”.

“It is particularly horrifying and heartbreaking to see reports of the hard-won rights of Afghan girls and women being ripped away from them,” he said.

The UN is evaluating the security situation in Afghanistan on “an hour-by-hour basis” and moving some staff to the capital Kabul, but is not evacuating anyone from the country, the UN spokesman said earlier on Friday.

Afghanistan is spinning out of control. Every day, the conflict is taking a bigger toll on civilians, especially women & children.

I remind all parties of their obligation to protect civilians & I call on the Taliban to immediately end the offensive & return to the peace table.

— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) August 13, 2021

The UN chief’s plea came as the armed group seized the country’s second and third biggest cities, Herat in the west and Kandahar in the south, on Friday as resistance from government’s forces crumbled leaving residents in disbelief and stoking major fears that an assault on the capital Kabul could be just days away.

“They literally sold us out, there was no government resistance,” one female resident from Kandahar told Al Jazeera, fighting back tears. “I never imagined that Kandahar would be taken so easily,” she added.

Witnesses in Herat and Kandahar, told Al Jazeera that members of the armed group had started to search residents’ homes – looking for people close to the government and also seizing guns and vehicles.

Ismail Khan, one of the highest-profile commanders fighting for the Afghan government in Herat was captured by the Taliban on Friday. According to Al Jazeera’s diplomatic editor James Bays, Khan was boarded on a plane to Kabul to deliver a message from the armed group to senior figures in Kabul.

“The suggestion is that they want to avoid a battle in the capital city and the Taliban have some suggestions on how to avoid such a battle,” Bays said.

Who controls what

So far at least half of the nation’s 34 provinces have fallen into the hands of the Taliban since August 6, which means it now controls more than two-thirds of the country.

The Western-backed government in Kabul still holds a smattering of provinces in the centre and east, as well as the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif.

While Kabul is not directly under threat yet, a source speaking to Al Jazeera from the province of Logar, some 80km (50 miles) from the capital, said intense fighting continues in the province.

The US military has estimated that Kabul could come under pressure from the Taliban within 30 days and that the Taliban could overrun the rest of the country within a few months. They have already taken over much of the north and west of the country.

With security rapidly deteriorating, the United States planned to send in 3,000 soldiers to help evacuate some personnel from the US embassy in Kabul. The United Kingdom and Canada are also sending forces to aid their evacuations. Denmark said it will temporarily close its embassy, while Germany is reducing its embassy staff to the “absolute minimum”.

400,000 civilians displaced

Hundreds of thousands of Afghans have fled their homes amid fears the Taliban will return the country to the sort of brutal, repressive rule it imposed when it was last in power at the turn of the millennium.

At that time, the group all but eliminated women’s rights and conducted public executions as it imposed an unsparing version of Islamic law. An early sign of such tactics came in Herat, where Taliban fighters paraded two alleged looters through the streets on Friday with black makeup smeared on their faces.

There are also concerns that the fighting could plunge the country into civil war, which is what happened after the Soviets withdrew in 1989.

The UN refugee agency said nearly 250,000 Afghans have been forced to flee their homes since the end of May, and 80 percent of those displaced are women and children. In all, the agency said, some 400,000 civilians have been displaced since the beginning of the year, joining millions who have fled previous rounds of fighting in recent decades.

The onslaught represents a stunning collapse of Afghan forces after the US spent nearly 20 years and $830bn trying to establish a functioning state.

US forces toppled the Taliban in the wake of the September 11 attacks of 2001, which al-Qaeda planned and executed while being sheltered by the Taliban government.

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2021-08-13 21:00:00Z
52781790291094

Panic as thousands flee Taliban onslaught in Afghanistan - BBC News - BBC News

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2021-08-13 18:31:51Z
52781790291094

Esther Dingley: British hiker 'fell 100ft to her death after slipping in worn shoes' - Sky News

British hiker Esther Dingley reportedly fell 100ft to her death after she slipped in worn shoes.

The 37-year-old's body was found this week after she vanished on a solo trek in the Pyrenees in November

This week her partner Daniel Colegate found her body next to hiking equipment close to where a bone was discovered last month.

Christophe Amunzateguy, the state prosecutor in Saint-Gaudens at the foot of the Pyrenees, told The Times that Mr Colegate's discovery helped investigators to understand how Ms Dingley had died.

"The configuration of the site leads us very clearly towards a fall of about 20 metres or 30 metres," Mr Amunzateguy said.

He said that officers were convinced that her death was accidental, though the autopsy is yet to be released.

Amunzateguy told the paper that a "shoe failure" may have played a part in her fall as her shoes were worn and "clearly the soles were a bit smooth".

Ms Dingley's body was found at the bottom of a cliff.

The prosecutor also told the MailOnline: "The accidental theory is now more than strong because the body was found directly below a kind of rocky peak.

"We believed that Esther would have fallen because along this wall, we found items that belonged to her and they ended up at the bottom."

However, he also admitted that the events leading to her death may never be fully known as "a person who falls, and the condition of the body, make the investigation very complicated."

Ms Dingley had been walking alone in the mountains near the Franco-Spanish border and was last seen on 22 November.

Last month, a bone was found nearby which DNA testing later confirmed to be hers.

The LBT Global charity, which provides support for missing persons overseas, said her body and equipment were found on Monday afternoon by her partner.

They said in a statement: "A team of forensic specialists along with mountain rescue personnel were dispatched to the site in order to catalogue the scene and recover Esther.

"At this stage an accident is the most likely hypothesis, given the location and other early indications. A full investigation is under way to confirm the details surrounding this tragedy.

"The family remain incredibly grateful for the efforts of the police units involved and their commitment to understanding the exact circumstances of Esther's death.

"LBT Global are supporting Danie and Esther's mother, Ria, as they come to terms with this news."

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2021-08-13 16:02:12Z
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Sabtu, 14 Agustus 2021

More on Turkey

Jumat, 13 Agustus 2021

Afghan war - the basics

Who controls what

400,000 civilians displaced

More from UK