LIMA, July 3 (Reuters) – Peru’s government on Friday evening rejected a request by presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori to seek an international audit of its June 6 election, leaving her with few recourses to overturn the apparent lead over her rival candidate Pedro Castillo.
The Minister of Justice, Eduardo Vega, explained in a letter sent to Fujimori, a conservative and the daughter of the imprisoned ex-president Alberto Fujimori, that legally the government cannot intervene while the country’s electoral jury reviews her claims of alleged irregularities.
Fujimori has alleged fraud, though failed to provide public evidence of such, and sought a recount of ballots as well as international intervention.
She reacted to the news saying that outgoing president Francisco Sagasti had “abdicated his great responsibility to guarantee clean elections” by rejecting the request.
“Despite this great disappointment, our struggle is not over,” Fujimori added.
She had sought for the Organization of American States (OAS) to conduct an audit, a process it carried out following the elections in neighbouring Bolivia in 2019 which returned long time president Evo Morales to power. The OAS cited irregularities in that poll, prompting Morales to step down and fresh elections to be held.
The OAS has said it sees no issue with the Peru poll.
According to the official tally Castillo, a teacher and union leader whose rapid ascent has rattled the political system of the world’s second-largest copper producer, won the election with a margin of 44,000 votes.
The National Elections Jury is at present reviewing contested ballots, a task that will be completed by mid-July, according to a source at the body.
Reporting by Marco Aquino, writing by Aislinn Laing, Editing by Franklin Paul
Pope Francis has undergone successful surgery to treat a colon problem at a hospital in Rome, the Vatican says.
The 84-year-old “responded well” to the treatment, which was performed under general anaesthetic, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said.
It is the first time Pope Francis has been admitted to hospital since his election in 2013.
Earlier on Sunday, the Argentine pontiff addressed thousands of visitors in St Peter’s Square.
In an earlier statement, the Vatican said Pope Francis was being treated at the Gemelli University Hospital for “symptomatic diverticular stenosis” of the colon.
Diverticular disease is a condition that involves bulges in the wall of the large intestine. This can lead to a narrowing, of the colon.
Symptoms include bloating, recurrent abdominal pain and changes in bowel habits.
The Vatican did not provide further details about the surgery or how long the Pope would remain in hospital.
During his Sunday blessing in St Peter’s Square, the Pope announced that he would go to Slovakia in September after celebrating Mass in Budapest, the capital of neighbouring Hungary.
Born in 1936 in Buenos Aires, Francis lost part of his right lung at the age of 21.
He also suffers from a hip problem and sciatica, which causes pain that radiates from the lower back to the legs.
In 2014, he had to cancel a number of engagements because of a reported stomach ailment.
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – As Tropical Storm Elsa gets ready to move across central and western Cuba, tropical storm warnings and watches have been extended along the state’s west coast.
People in Cuba are bracing for the arrival of Elsa which is forecast to bring heavy rain to central parts of the island.
A hurricane warning has been issued for Cienfuegos and Matanzas provinces and residents have been told to beware of flash floods and mudslides.
More than 100,000 people have been evacuated.
At least three people have been killed as the storm passed over the Dominican Republic and St Lucia in past days.
As of 5 a.m. Monday, Elsa was 110 miles east-southeast of Cayo Largo, Cuba, and 220 miles southeast of Havana, Cuba.
The storm’s sustained winds were 65 mph with higher gusts as it moves toward the northwest near 14 mph.
This general motion is expected to continue through Monday, followed by a turn toward the north-northwest on Tuesday.
On the forecast track, Elsa is expected to move across central and western Cuba on Monday and pass near the Florida Keys early Tuesday. Elsa is then forecast to move near or over portions of the west coast of Florida on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Some strengthening is possible before Elsa moves over Cuba, followed by some weakening while the center moves over
land. Slight restrengthening is forecast after Elsa moves over the southeastern Gulf of Mexico.
Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 70 miles from the center
Three people in the Caribbean have died as Tropical Storm Elsa makes its way north to Cuba.
The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency said in a situation report on Saturday that one death was reported in Soufriere, a town in Saint Lucia.
According to The Associated Press, a 15-year-old boy and 75-year-old woman died Saturday in the Dominican Republic.
Elsa strengthened to a category 1 hurricane on Friday, the first of the Atlantic season, while it moved through Barbados and continued moving through the Caribbean.
As of 8 p.m. EDT, the center of the storm was moving west-northwest at about 23 miles per hour. Maximum sustained winds remained near 70 miles per hour, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Elsa is forecasted to move near Jamaica and parts of eastern Cuba on Sunday.
By Monday, the storm is expected to move across central and western Cuba, which would move it toward the Florida Straits. On Tuesday, the storm is forecasted to move near or over portions of the west coast of Florida.
Officials in the state decided to halt rescue efforts for bodies after the collapse of a residential building in Surfside, Fla., as authorities look to demolish the remaining structure ahead of the impending storm.
The Suez Canal Authority today said it has reached an agreement to settle a financial dispute with the owners of a hulking container ship that blocked the crucial waterway for nearly a week earlier this year.
The authority did not reveal details on the settlement deal with the Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd, the Japanese owner of the Ever Given.
It said the deal will be signed in a ceremony in the Suez Canal city of Ismailia on Wednesday.
The vessel would also be freed Wednesday, it said.
The head of Egypt's Suez Canal Authority, Lieutenant General Osama Rabie, said last month the parties had agreed on a compensation amount.
But he said it would not be made public as they had signed a non-disclosure agreement until the signing of the final contract.
The vessel had run aground in the single-lane stretch of the canal on March 23 before it was extracted six days later after a massive salvage effort by a flotilla of tugboats.
Since it was freed, the Panama-flagged, Japanese-owned vessel, which carries cargo between Asia and Europe, has been ordered by authorities to remain in a holding lake mid-canal, along with most of its crew, as the two sides negotiated a settlement.
The disagreement had centered on the compensation amount the Suez Canal Authority is claiming for the salvage of the vessel.
The money would cover the salvage operation, costs of stalled canal traffic, and lost transit fees for the week the Ever Given blocked the canal.
At first, the Suez Canal Authority demanded US$916 million in compensation ($1.2 billion), which was later lowered to US$550 million ($729.9 million).
The two sides have traded blame for the vessel's grounding, with bad weather, poor decisions on the part of canal authorities, and human and technical error all being thrown out as possible factors.
The six-day blockage disrupted global shipping. Hundreds of ships waited in place for the canal to be unblocked, while some ships were forced to take the much longer route around the Cape of Good Hope at Africa's southern tip, requiring additional fuel and other costs.
The remaining section of a partially collapsed apartment block near Miami has been demolished over safety fears as a tropical storm approaches Florida.
On Sunday night, explosive charges were used to bring down the last standing part of Champlain Towers South, which had been evacuated.
On 24 June, part of the block suddenly collapsed. Twenty-four people are known to have died and 121 are still missing.
Crews resumed the search for victims within a few hours of the demolition.
They are now hoping to be able to get into the apartment block’s underground garage, which they could not access safely before, and get a clearer picture of any voids that may exist in the rubble.
The demolition was brought forward after concerns were raised over the approaching Tropical Storm Elsa
No survivors have been pulled from the rubble at the site in Surfside since the first few hours after the structure’s collapse.
The demolition operation was brought forward after concerns were raised over the approaching Tropical Storm Elsa, which could reach Florida on Tuesday.
On Sunday, the town’s Mayor Charles Burkett said there was a danger that strong winds could bring down additional debris and endanger the lives of search crews.
He said demolition experts would be able to control how the structure fell, and that the explosion could “potentially open up a third of the pile [of rubble]” for emergency teams to access.
The existing rubble, meanwhile, was covered with a tarpaulin to protect it from any dust or debris caused by the collapse.
While no other buildings in the area were evacuated, nearby residents were advised to stay indoors and close their windows until at least two hours after the demolition.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said the controlled implosion went “exactly as planned”.
“I feel relief because this building was unstable. The building was hampering our search efforts,” she told the Associated Press.
Twenty-four people are known to have died when part of the 12-storey block in Surfside collapsed on 24 June
Ms Levine Cava expressed sympathy for the families of the missing and said those who were forced to evacuate the remaining part of the block had “left their entire lives behind”.
She said teams scoured the structure using drones with thermal imaging cameras to make sure there were no pets still in the building.
Meanwhile, officials are investigating other tower blocks in the area for potential structural faults.
What caused the 40-year-old Champlain Towers South to crumble remains unclear. A 2018 inspection, however, warned of “major” flaws in the original design.
The building association’s board has said it will appoint an “independent receiver… to oversee the legal and claims process”.
‘Dark pit of pain’: families grieve victims lost to unimaginable in condo collapse
The Miami-Dade mayor, Daniella Levine Cava, told reporters two more bodies were found in the ruins of the condo building, which collapsed last month.
The number unaccounted for was 124, after closer inspection of the missing persons list reduced the number from 145 when duplicates were eliminated and some reported missing turned up safe.
Discoveries on Friday included the body of the seven-year-old daughter of a Miami firefighter. The girl and another victim were found overnight. Two more bodies were found on Friday. The discovery of the girl’s remains was especially hard, Levine Cava said.
“It was truly different and more difficult for our first responders,” she said. “These men and women are paying an enormous human toll each and every day, and I ask that all of you please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.”
On SaturdayLevine Cava said she had signed an emergency order to demolish the remaining part of the building – which the Surfside mayor, Charles Burkett, said had become “an obvious problem” – as early as
“The fear was that [Tropical Storm Elsa] may take down the building for us and may take it down in the wrong direction on top of the pile where we have victims,” Burkett said at a press conference on Saturday morning, referring to a storm, formerly a category 1 hurricane, headed for Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
The demolition “will allow our rescue workers to pore all over the entire site without fear of any danger from falling debris or falling buildings”, Burkett said.
Rescuers will have access to the garage area of the building for the first time once the remnants of the demolition are removed. That will give officials a clearer picture of whether any gaps in the rubble could be holding survivors. No one has been rescued since the first hours after the 24 June collapse.
The Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, underscored the necessity of bringing the structure down in a controlled manner, ahead of the arrival of Elsa.
“We have a building here in Surfside that is tottering, it is structurally unsound,” DeSantis said. “If the building is taken down this will protect our search and rescue teams.”
DeSantis, who said he would not attend a rally staged by Donald Trump in Sarasota on Saturday night, declared a state of emergency before the storm’s expected arrival early next week.
In another challenge to the rescue effort, one firefighter taskforce was demobilized after six members tested positive for Covid-19.
On Thursday, Joe Biden saluted the “resilience” of authorities and searchers and “their absolute commitment and willingness to do whatever it took to find the answer”.
“The families are realistic,” the president said. “They know that the chances are, as each day goes by, diminished slightly, but at a minimum they want to recover the bodies.
“They’re going through hell, those who survived the collapse, as well as those who are missing loved ones. The really hard part is not knowing whether they’re surviving or not, to have no idea.”
A few miles away in North Miami Beach, meanwhile, residents of a high-rise were forced to evacuate on Friday, loading clothes and valuables into suitcases and laundry baskets and wheeling them to waiting cars.
The building, Crestview Towers, was found to be unsafe in a review prompted by the deadly Surfside collapse.
The audit found that the 156-unit condo in North Miami Beach had been deemed structurally and electrically unsafe in January, the city said. Authorities went door-to-door, telling residents they had to leave the 49-year-old structure.
One resident, Harold Dauphin, said he had grabbed what he could and left.
Joe Biden comforts ‘amazing, resilient’ families at site of Miami condo collapse
“It’s unfortunate,” he said, “but I understand. Knowing what happened in Surfside, you know, it’s understandable.”
Officials did not immediately release details about the structural problems that prompted the evacuation in North Miami Beach but Crestview Towers reported millions of dollars in damage from Hurricane Irma in 2017.
It is the first building to be evacuated since officials in south Florida and statewide began scrutinizing older high-rises to ensure structural problems are not ignored.
A letter posted less than two weeks ago on the community website said repairs were under way or expected to begin soon after delays. Plans included a new roof, replacing a generator and changing lighting.
“Last year has been a different year due to the pandemic and many things have been postponed for countless reasons, but this year we have started to work hard,” the letter said.
The condo association could not be reached for comment.
Darwin Reyes said he lived in the building during Hurricane Irma and a chunk of the balcony above his fell on his during the storm. He listed other complaints, including elevators that often didn’t work and pipes that didn’t drain well. He said he had been planning to move.
On Friday, Reyes woke from a nap. He checked his Instagram feed and saw a notice that said his building was being evacuated. He looked into the hallway and saw people with bags and suitcases. He and his wife packed what they could.
RIO DE JANEIRO/BRASÍLIA, July 3 (Reuters) – Protesters took to the streets in Brazil on Saturday demanding the impeachment of President Jair Bolsonaro and more vaccines to fight the coronavirus pandemic, as the country faces the world’s second deadliest outbreak after the United States.
On Friday, Supreme Court Justice Rosa Weber authorized the opening of an investigation into Bolsonaro over alleged irregularities in procurement of vaccine developed in India.
The protests were originally scheduled for July 24, but were brought forward after evidence of irregularities related to that vaccine deal were presented before a Senate committee investigating the federal government’s handling of the pandemic.
Brazil’s COVID crisis has been compounded by a slow vaccine rollout.
“It was not denialism, it was corruption,” said a banner held by 71-year-old Marilda Barroso in Rio de Janeiro.
By 2 p.m. local time, protests had drawn thousands of people in at least 13 state capitals, according to local media reports. Demonstrations were scheduled to take place in 315 Brazilian cities and in 15 countries, local media reported citing the organizers of the acts.
More protests were scheduled to take place in the afternoon, including in Brazil’s biggest city of São Paulo.
Reporting by Maria Carolina Marcello and Rodrigo Viga Gaier; Additional reporting by Sérgio Queiroz Writing by Ana Mano; Editing by David Gregorio
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