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headline

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) – A shooting rampage down a main street running through a neighborhood in Haiti’s capital killed at least 15 people, including a journalist and a political activist, national Police Chief Leon Charles said Wednesday.

He said the attack late Tuesday was still under investigation and gave no details on whether it was staged by a single person or multiple shooters. Bodies were found scattered on sidewalks along a main road in Delmas 32, which is a bustling community within Port-au-Prince.

Charles said the shootings occurred just hours after a spokesman for a group of disgruntled police officers known as Fantom 509 was slain in that same area. He blamed allies of Fantom 509 for the mass killing but did not provide any evidence.

“The institution cannot tolerate these acts of reprisal in any form,” said Charles, who heads Haiti’s National Police.

Members of Fantom 509 could not be immediately reached for comment.

The dead included Diego Charles, who worked for Radio Vision 2000, and activist Antoinette Duclaire.

The killings shocked many in Haiti and come as gang violence escalates elsewhere in the capital in recent months.

The U.S. Embassy condemned the slayings in a statement, saying it was “deeply concerned by the loss of life and general insecurity.”

“The United States urges the government of Haiti to protect its citizens by countering the proliferation of gangs and by holding the perpetrators of violence and their accomplices accountable,” the embassy said.

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US Condemns Violence, Human Rights Violations

PORT-AU-PRINCE, June 30 (Reuters) – The United States on Wednesday condemned what it described as a systematic violation of human rights, fundamental freedoms and attacks on the press in Haiti, urging the government to counter a proliferation of gangs and violence.

Violence has spiked in the impoverished Caribbean nation as rival gangs battle with one another and the police for control of the streets, displacing thousands and worsening a humanitarian crisis.

On Tuesday night, at least 15 people were killed in apparent retaliation for the murder of police union member Guerby Geffrard, said Leon Charles, director general of the national police force, at a news conference. Among those killed were two journalists.

“The United States is deeply concerned by the loss of life and general insecurity as a result of gang-related violence,” the U.S. embassy in Haiti said on Twitter.

“Violence, corruption and impunity have impeded Haiti’s development goals and the Haitian people’s aspirations for a better life for too long.”

Armed groups have become increasingly powerful in Haiti in recent years because of political unrest, growing poverty and a sense of impunity, rights organizations like the nonprofit Center for Human Rights Analysis and Research have said.

Elections slated for September could be a factor for the recent uptick in violence against police, which is not equipped to deal with gang members who have acquired ever more sophisticated weapons.

Reporting by Andre Paultre in Port-au-Prince and Anthony Esposito in Mexico City; Writing by Stefanie Eschenbacher; Editing by Rosalba O’Brien

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headline

COVID-19 Cases Worsen in Latin America, Caribbean-No End in Sight

2021-07-01 FreeNews

by Anthony Boadle

BRASILIA, June 30 (Reuters) – Cases of COVID-19 may be declining in North America but in most of Latin America and the Caribbean the end to the coronavirus pandemic “remains a distant future”, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said on Wednesday.

While infections in the United States, Canada and Mexico are falling, in Latin America and the Caribbean cases are rising and vaccination is lagging badly. Only one in ten people have been fully vaccinated, which PAHO director Carissa Etienne called “an unacceptable situation.”

“While we are seeing some reprieve from the virus in countries in the Northern Hemisphere, for most countries in our region, the end remains a distant future,” she said.

The regional health agency discouraged summer holiday travel in the Americas now that movement restrictions are being lifted as more people are vaccinated in the Northern Hemisphere and travel destinations, such as the Caribbean, reopen for tourists.

Even people who have been vaccinated can become sick and spread COVID, Etienne said in a weekly briefing.

“Given the significant gaps in vaccine coverage and the still imminent risk of infection, now may not be the ideal time for travel – especially in places with active outbreaks or where hospital capacity may be limited,” she said.

Noting that the hurricane season in the Caribbean is arriving at a time when outbreaks are worsening, Etienne urged countries to outfit hospitals and expand shelters to reduce the potential for transmission. Social distancing and proper ventilation become difficult during storms, she said.

The highly transmissible Delta variant has already been detected in a dozen countries in the Americas, but so far community transmission has been limited, said PAHO viral disease advisor Jairo Mendez.

However, it has been found in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Peru, the United States and Mexico, where it has spread in Mexico City, according to PAHO.

Given the presence of such variants, countries in the region should step up vigilance and consider the need to limit travel or even close borders, PAHO health emergencies director Ciro Ugarte said.

According to a Reuters tally, there have been at least 37,441,000 reported infections and 1,272,000 confirmed deaths caused by COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribbean so far, one third more than in Asia and Africa combined.

Reporting by Anthony Boadle Editing by Sonya Hepinstall

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headline

Thousands in Rotorua lose power after car hits powerpole

2021-07-01 FreeNews

Nearly 2000 customers lost power in Rotorua after a car crashed into a powerpole last night. Emergency services attended the single vehicle crash that occurred just before 9pm on Springfield Rd, near Utuhina Rd, which left a powerpole…

headline

National Cabinet set to slash the number of Australians allowed home

2021-07-01 FreeNews

The Labor states want international arrivals slowed to a trickle to reduce the risk of bringing in the Delta variant of COVID-19.

There are about 34,000 Australians still trying to get home from overseas.

Queensland, Victoria and WA want the 6000 people allowed into the nation each week to be cut.

"My view is it's better to lock some people out than lock everyone down," Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said, arguing hotel quarantine can't cope with the more infectious variant of COVID-19.

Sydney International airport as new restrictions came into force.

"We have it within our power to dramatically reduce the number of people coming back, just for the next three to four months until we get a critical mass of people a jab," he said.

Excluding New Zealand flights, which are separate as part of the travel bubble, weekly international arrivals are capped at just over 6000.

Sydney takes about half with 3010 passengers, Brisbane and Melbourne taking 1000 each and just over another 1000 is split between Adelaide and Perth, which take 530 each.

Some special repatriation flights go to Howard Springs at Darwin but are not subject to the flight caps.

Queensland Premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, wants her numbers cut to half.

"Our hotels are not built to contain it and obviously our hospitals are not built to contain it either," she said,

Western Australia also wants numbers slashed, with Premier Mark McGowan saying "it's the biggest threat to Australia and it needs to be cracked down on now."

Victoria says the cap on arrivals should be cut by as much as 80 per cent.

The borders are closed amid some of the tightest rules in the world, with only Aussies, Permanent Residents and their spouses and children allowed to come in and nobody allowed to leave without permission.

But there are exemptions being given.

Everybody has to pay $3000 for 14-days of quarantine during which they are tested multiple times, plus people must test negative to coronavirus before they get on a flight to Australia.

Many of the stranded Australians say flights have never resumed in places where they are stuck, others have been unable to get a flight yet due to the tight numbers and expense, while some expats didn't want to return home before, but now need to come back.

National Cabinet will meet tomorrow where the issue will be a hot topic among the nation's leaders.

"The Morrison Government wants credit for its border lockdowns," says Simon Birmingham, Finance Minister.

"We have also shown a willingness to tighten it even further, such as during the India outbreak."

Federal Labor argues the Prime Minister has failed by not having purpose-built quarantine stations.

"If he'd done his job on quarantine we wouldn't now be having a difficult conversation about stranded Australians," MP Tony Bourke, said.

Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull has joined the conga line of Government critics over the hapless vaccine rollout.

headline

Mexico: Carlos Slim to Pay for Rebuilding Collapsed Rail Overpass

2021-07-01 FreeNews

(CNN) Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim will pay for all the costs needed to rebuild Mexico City’s subway overpass-stretch, which left 26 dead after it collapsed last month, according to Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim listens to a question during a press conference at the Inbursa office in Mexico City, on October, 16, 2019. (Photo by ALFREDO ESTRELLA / AFP) (Photo by ALFREDO ESTRELLA/AFP via Getty Images)

Lopez Obrador said during his daily press briefing on Wednesday that he met with Slim, and that the billionaire assured the President that his construction firm “will pay for everything” needed for the reconstruction of Mexico City’s Subway Line 12 overpass.

“He will take care of the reconstruction of the entire [subway line] stretch, making sure that it gets done with all the necessary safety [measures] at no cost to the [Mexican] people and without asking [the government] for a budget,” Lopez Obrador said.

Slim “will not wait for the judicial [final investigation findings],” and will begin coordinating with Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum “so that in a year” the line will be open and operational once again, Lopez Obrador added.

The Carlos Slim Foundation declined to comment on Lopez Obrador’s statement when reached by CNN, as did Mexico City authorities.

Dozens of people lost their lives when an elevated portion of Line 12 known as the “Golden Line” collapsed in Mexico City on May 3.

The subway line had been touted as one of the most expensive and ambitious public works projects in Mexican history when it was inaugurated in October 2012.

The highly publicized ribbon-cutting was attended by the who’s-who of Mexican politics and power at the time, including then-president Felipe Calderón and Marcelo Ebrard, who was then in his last days as Mexico City’s mayor and is now foreign minister.

Carlos Slim, the owner of one of the construction companies involved, was also there.

Video shows moment Mexico City metro overpass collapses 02:45

Now, an independent investigation by the Norwegian firm DNV and a separate investigation by the local attorney’s office are looking into the causes of the deadly collapse, as well as those involved in the construction project, including Slim himself.

According to the investigation’s preliminary findings, deficient welding of metal studs, which apparently were not well connected to steel beams supporting a concrete slab and the elevated train rails, was among a number of issues that contributed to the May 4 incident.

The report said missing metal studs in some sections of the structure, different kinds of concrete used for the slab and unfinished or badly welded joints were some of the other factors that caused the raised railway to buckle, sending two subway carriages plummeting to the streets below.

Reporting contributed by CNN’s Natalie Gallon and Karol Suarez in Mexico City.

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headline

Canada: Record Heat, 230 Deaths, Wild Fire Forces Town Evacuation

2021-07-01 FreeNews

(CNN)A day after a village in British Columbia saw Canada’s highest recorded temperature, the residents of Lytton have been ordered to evacuate due to a wildfire.

Mayor Jan Polderman issued the evacuation order late Wednesday, according to a news release from the Village of Lytton. “All residents are advised to leave the community and go to a safe location,” it said.

Lytton, which is located about 195 miles east of Vancouver, has a population of 249 residents.

“It’s dire. The whole town is on fire,” Polderman told CBC News. “It took, like, a whole 15 minutes from the first sign of smoke to, all of a sudden, there being fire everywhere.”

Hundreds of deaths reported as cities urge residents to conserve power during ravaging heat wave

“At the First Nation band office, the fire was a wall about three, four feet high coming up to the fence line. I drove through town, and it was just smoke, flames, the wires were down,” Polderman told the Canadian broadcast network.

DriveBC, which provides information on driving conditions in the province, is reporting that two wildfires have closed highways to the north and south of Lytton.

In a tweet early Thursday, the BC Wildfire Service said it was responding to the “evolving situation” in Lytton by assisting the village’s fire service.

The nearby city of Merritt has opened a reception center for evacuees from Lytton, according to its Facebook page.

Temperatures in Lytton climbed to 121° F (49.5° C) on Tuesday, the highest temperature ever recorded in Canada. It was the third day in a row that records were smashed in the area, according to ECCC Weather British Columbia.

There are currently 67 fires burning in British Columbia and 44 of those have begun in the last two days, according to the B.C. Wildfire Dashboard.

To date, the province has experienced 450 fires this year, it said.

The extreme temperatures have had devastating impact on the province as more the 230 deaths have been reported in British Columbia since Friday, officials said Tuesday.

The province’s chief coroner called it an “unprecedented time.”

“Since the onset of the heat wave late last week, the BC Coroners Service has experienced a significant increase in deaths reported where it is suspected that extreme heat has been contributory,” Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe said in a statement.

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headline

Barber busted during strict COVID lockdown

2021-07-01 FreeNews

A barber in Sydney's west has been fined after continuing to see customers despite the state's strict COVID-19 lockdown.

Golden Cuts in Auburn has been issued a hefty fine after police received a tip-off they were continuing to accept customers despite Greater Sydney being in a strict two-week lockdown.

Only essential businesses are permitted to stay open, which does not include beauty or hair salons.

Police are ramping up their response to businesses and individuals ignoring the lockdown rules with 62 infringement notices issued in the last 24 hours.

A NSW police officer was among those caught breaking the rules yesterday after he failed to adhere to the state's mask mandate while ordering food at a fast food restaurant in Sydney's north.

Members of the public have been told to expect to see officers monitoring shopping precincts, transport routes and public spaces across Sydney.

The compliance crackdown comes as the state continues to tackle an ongoing outbreak of the Deltra virus strain.

Hundreds of locations have been added to a list of close contact exposure sites with contact tracers working around the clock to track down anyone who may be at risk.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian today stressed the importance of complying with the stay-at-home order, after the state recorded 24 new cases of COVID-19, half of which were not in isolation during their infectious period.

"People going about their business, shopping and interacting with others is causing the virus to continue to circulate. We can't allow that to happen," she said.

"In too many examples we are seeing workers who are leaving the house with symptoms or going to work with symptoms and then inadvertently as they are going about shopping or other activity, they are passing it onto others."

headline

Amazon Eagle’s Last Stand as Deforestation Continues

2021-07-01 FreeNews

BBC-Conservationists say one of the world’s largest eagles has “nearly zero” chance of surviving Amazon deforestation.

According to a new study, the bird is struggling to feed its young in parts of the rainforest that have been stripped of trees.

About 17% of the Amazon has been destroyed over the past 50 years, and losses have recently been on the rise.

The harpy eagle is the largest in the Americas, with huge talons for hunting monkeys and sloths in the treetops.

The Amazon is regarded as the “last stronghold” for the harpy, with more than 90% of the existing population thought to reside there.

The bird is among millions of animals in the Amazon whose geographic range is shrinking, said study researcher Carlos Peres, professor of environmental sciences at the University of East Anglia, UK.

“Considering that harpy eagles have the slowest life cycle of all bird species, their chances of adapting to highly deforested landscapes are nearly zero,” he said.

Conservation measures, such as moving young eagles and supplementing their diets, will be critical to the survival of the species, Prof Peres added.

Aerial picture showing a deforested piece of land in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil in 2019 — Conservationists are worried about the rise in deforestation ahead of the dry season

The harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja) is one of the largest raptors in the world, with adult females weighing in at up to 10 kg (22 lbs).

The birds live in tropical forests from Central America to northern Argentina, but have disappeared in large parts of their former range.

The escalating rate of forest destruction in the region, along with hunting, is threatening the bird’s existence.

Despite having legal protection in several countries, including Brazil, Panama and Suriname, safeguards are difficult to enforce in remote areas of forest.

In the study, researchers led by Dr Everton Miranda of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, monitored 16 nests in Amazonian forests in Mato Grosso, Brazil using cameras.

Harpy Eagle perched, southern Amazon Forest, Brazil — The eagle builds its nest in tall trees that rise above the forest canopy

They also referenced maps and Google Earth to calculate deforestation levels around nests.

Bone fragments revealed the eagles were feasting mainly on two-toed sloths, brown capuchin monkeys and grey woolly monkeys. In deforested areas they did not find alternative food, and fed their young less frequently.

In landscapes with 50-70% deforestation, three eaglets died from starvation, and no nests were found in areas with deforestation over 70%.

The scientists calculated that areas that have lost more than half their trees are unsuitable for harpy eagles to successfully raise young and estimate that around 35% of northern Mato Grosso is unsuitable for harpy eagles to breed.

This may have caused a decline in numbers of breeding pairs by more than 3,000 since 1985.

The research is published in Scientific Reports.

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Immigration: US-Mexico Border – A Surge in Migrants?

2021-07-01 FreeNews

BBC Reality Check

Jack Horton

President Joe Biden’s immigration policies are being heavily criticised by Republicans, as large numbers of undocumented migrants cross the US-Mexico border.

Former president Donald Trump says migrants are coming over the border “like this country has never seen”.

So what are the numbers?

The number of migrants intercepted at the border had been steadily rising since April 2020, but since President Biden took charge in January there has been a sharp increase.

In May, the latest month with published data, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recorded its highest monthly total in more than 20 years of just over 180,000 migrants, mostly single adults.

The head of homeland security in the US, Alejandro Mayorkas, said in March: “This is not new. We have experienced migration surges before – in 2019, 2014, and before then as well.”

During the Trump administration, migrant encounters hit a monthly high of more than 144,000 in May 2019.

There has also been an increase in the number of children crossing the border since President Biden took office.

March saw more than 19,000 minors encountered there, compared to about 12,000 at the same point in 2019.

During the Trump administration, the 2019 financial year (running from October 2018 to September 2019) saw more than 800,000 migrants apprehended at the border – the most since 2007.

But the 2021 financial year has already passed the 2019 total, even though it still has four months to run.

There were years in the early 2000s when more than one million migrants were intercepted crossing the US-Mexico border, with a peak of more than 1.6 million in 2000.

What about drugs crossing the border?

Mr Trump also claimed that drug cartels were “back in business”, saying more drugs were coming over the border since he left office.

CBP records the weight of drugs seized at the border and the amount captured there has increased slightly since President Biden entered office. However, it remains well below the peaks seen under Mr Trump.

The vast majority of seizures are of marijuana, with large amounts of cocaine and methamphetamine also being found.

The first five months of 2021 have seen less drugs seized (by weight) coming over the border than the first five months of 2020.

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Bill Cosby Freed: Top Court Overturns Sexual Assault Conviction

2021-07-01 FreeNews

BBC- US comedian Bill Cosby has left prison hours after his sexual assault conviction was overturned by Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court.

The judges said there had been a “process violation” by the prosecution, but admitted their ruling was unusual.

Cosby, 83, served more than two years of a three to 10-year sentence at a state prison near Philadelphia.

In 2018 he was found guilty of drugging and molesting ex-basketball player Andrea Constand.

Cosby is best known for starring in the 1980s TV series The Cosby Show and was once known as “America’s Dad”.

Dozens of women have publicly accused Mr Cosby of sexual assault, but he was only tried criminally for the incident against Ms Constand. His conviction in 2018 was widely seen as a landmark moment in the #MeToo movement.

The story of Bill Cosby’s rise, fall and release

In a verdict issued on Wednesday, Pennsylvania’s highest court found there was a “process violation” because Cosby’s lawyers had made an agreement with a previous state prosecutor that he would not be charged in the case.

The former actor appeared frail as he slowly walked to waiting media outside his home, shortly after being released from prison.

He did not say anything, instead leaning on his team of lawyers and spokesman Andrew Wyatt to answer questions.

“On this hot day – this is a hot verdict for us,” Mr Wyatt said.

“Mr Cosby has always used his celebrity and his name to uplift women… How could a man who is being watched by the FBI every day be raping and drugging women… especially a black man?” he added.

Off camera, fans of Cosby could be heard yelling their support throughout the media conference.

What was Bill Cosby accused of?

Cosby was found guilty on three counts of felony indecent assault against Ms Constand.

Decades his junior, she met him in 2002 when working at Temple University in Philadelphia and described the comedian as a mentor figure. She later testified at trial how she became “frozen” after Cosby drugged and molested her at his home in 2004.

Ms Constand first came forward to police about the assault in 2005, but former state prosecutor Bruce Castor did not press criminal charges. She then sued the comedian for sexual battery and defamation, reaching a settlement with a confidentially agreement in 2006.

In 2014 and 2015, dozens of women came forward with similar allegations of drugging and assault by Cosby. Local authorities knew that statute of limitation rules meant they could not pursue the majority of these accusations – but they reopened the case involving Ms Constand and eventually charged him just days before the 12-year limit on her allegations was set to expire.

Andrea Constand arriving at court in 2017 — Constand was the only alleged sex assault victim who could bring charges against Cosby

A judge declared a mistrial in his first trial in 2017 after the jury failed to reach a verdict.

The testimony of other accusers was then allowed during a second trial, which helped prosecutors paint a pattern of predatory behaviour by Cosby.

What did the court say?

The judges’ reasoning is complex – their written finding is 79-pages long.

They cite a written agreement reached by Mr Castor, the former prosecutor, stating that he would not charge Cosby if he testified in Ms Constand’s civil lawsuit.

In Wednesday’s ruling, the Supreme Court judges also found that testimony from accusers unrelated to the case had tainted the trial.

“There is only one remedy that can completely restore Cosby to the status quo ante. He must be discharged, and any future prosecution on these particular charges must be barred”, the finding released on Wednesday reads.

“We do not dispute that this remedy is both severe and rare. But it is warranted here.”

A spokesman for Cosby, Andrew Wyatt, thanked the court in a statement.

“This is the justice Cosby has been fighting for. They saw the light,” Mr Wyatt said. “He was given a deal and he had immunity. He should have never been charged.”

Mixed reactions

Actor Phylicia Rashad, who played his wife on the Cosby Show, wrote on Twitter: “A terrible wrong is being righted – a miscarriage of justice is corrected!” in response to the news.

Prosecutor Kevin Steele said in a statement that Cosby “was found guilty by a jury and now goes free on a procedural issue that is irrelevant to the facts of the crime”.

“My hope is that this decision will not dampen the reporting of sexual assaults by victims… We still believe that no one is above the law – including those who are rich, famous and powerful.”

Lawyer Gloria Allred, who represented more than 30 accusers of Cosby, described the ruling as “devastating” but said the decision did not vindicate the comedian’s conduct.

“My heart especially goes out to those who bravely testified in both of his criminal cases,” her statement added.

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