Demanding the return of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, young men with machetes, guns and rocks set alight tires and debris in the street and threatened to behead foreigners after UN troops and police arrested dozens in a sweep through a volatile slum.
Peacekeepers in armored personnel carriers moved into the Bel Air slum Wednesday while gunfire crackled and two helicopters roared overhead, trying to put down a campaign by Aristide loyalists who have carried out gory beheadings in imitation of Iraqi insurgents. The headless body of a man lay in the street in La Salines, another slum, on Wednesday morning. Three police officers also were decapitated last week when Aristide supporters stepped up protests demanding his return from exile in South Africa and launched "Operation Baghdad."
PHOTO: AP
At least 19 people have been killed in a week of violence in Port-au-Prince, which relief workers said could paralyze attempts to feed tens of thousands of hungry survivors in the northwest port city of Gonaives, which was devastated by floods from Tropical Storm Jeanne last month. At least 50 people have been treated for gunshot wounds since last Friday at Port-au-Prince General Hospital, records show. Officials said the hospital usually treats one or two wounded people a day.
One angry man in Bel Air on Wednesday thrust a gun into the face of an Associated Press reporter, yelled expletives against US President George W. Bush and UN peacekeepers, then screamed "We are going to kidnap some Americans and cut off their heads."
Protesters also have been demanding an end to "the invasion" -- referring to US Marines who flew in the day Aristide left in February and UN peacekeepers who replaced them in June. Aristide loyalists blocked streets throughout Bel Air on Wednesday with torched cars and other debris, just blocks from the National Palace.
A new online voting system aimed at boosting turnout among the Philippines’ millions of overseas workers ahead of Monday’s mid-term elections has been marked by confusion and fears of disenfranchisement. Thousands of overseas Filipino workers have already cast their ballots in the race dominated by a bitter feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his impeached vice president, Sara Duterte. While official turnout figures are not yet publicly available, data from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed that at least 134,000 of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters have signed up for the new online system, which opened on April 13. However,
ALLIES: Calling Putin his ‘old friend,’ Xi said Beijing stood alongside Russia ‘in the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying’ Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday was in Moscow for a state visit ahead of the Kremlin’s grand Victory Day celebrations, as Ukraine accused Russia’s army of launching air strikes just hours into a supposed truce. More than 20 foreign leaders were in Russia to attend a vast military parade today marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, taking place three years into Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and has marshaled the memory of Soviet victory against Nazi Germany to justify his campaign and rally society behind the offensive,
ENTERTAINMENT: Rio officials have a history of organizing massive concerts on Copacabana Beach, with Madonna’s show drawing about 1.6 million fans last year Lady Gaga on Saturday night gave a free concert in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest show of her career. “Tonight, we’re making history... Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd. The Mother Monster, as she is known, started the show at about 10:10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary. Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show. Lady Gaga
CONFLICTING REPORTS: Beijing said it was ‘not familiar with the matter’ when asked if Chinese jets were used in the conflict, after Pakistan’s foreign minister said they were The Pakistan Army yesterday said it shot down 25 Indian drones, a day after the worst violence between the nuclear-armed rivals in two decades. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed to retaliate after India launched deadly missile strikes on Wednesday morning, escalating days of gunfire along their border. At least 45 deaths were reported from both sides following Wednesday’s violence, including children. Pakistan’s military said in a statement yesterday that it had “so far shot down 25 Israeli-made Harop drones” at multiple location across the country. “Last night, India showed another act of aggression by sending drones to multiple locations,” Pakistan military spokesman Ahmed
RSS