HAITI
New prime minister named
President Michel Martelly has appointed entrepreneur Daniel-Gerard Rouzier as his prime minister, the first major selection of his new administration, Chamber of Deputies president Saurel Jacynthe said. A member of Martelly’s Cabinet, who did not wish to be identified, had previously said that Martelly had “written to the presidents of the two chambers of Parliament to let them know he has chosen Mr Daniel Rouzier as his prime minister.” To be confirmed, Rouzier must receive a favorable vote in each of the parliament’s two chambers, which are dominated by the Inite party of former president Rene Preval.
HAITI
‘Baby Doc’ summoned
Former president Jean-Claude Duvalier was summoned to a meeting on Friday morning before an investigating magistrate, Duvalier lawyer Reynold George said. He did not say which of the complaints against Duvalier he was referring to. Duvalier returned home in January after 25 years in exile and has been accused by the government of corruption, embezzlement of public funds and association with known criminal elements. He has also been subject to numerous complaints filed against him for crimes against humanity, including arbitrary arrest, torture and illegal detention. Since his return, “Baby Doc” has been able to move around the capital, although his residence in the hills surrounding the capital is video-monitored.
MEXICO
Fire guts cell block
A fire swept through a cell block in a prison in the town of Apodaca at about 3am on Friday, killing 14 inmates, Nuevo Leon State government spokesman Jorge Domene said. He said the wing had once been the prison’s psychiatric ward, but was currently being used as a standard cell block. He said the fire was under investigation and there were no further details. The blaze may have been caused by a short circuit, possibly in a television set, said an official with the Nuevo Leon State Public Safety Department, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the fire.
CANADA
Diana dresses up for sale
Fourteen dresses worn by Diana, Princess of Wales, including a blue silk velvet gown she wore to a 1985 White House dinner, will be put up for sale next month, their Florida owner said on Friday. The value of most of the dresses in the collection ranges between US$175,000 to US$550,000, said Waddington’s, the Canadian auction house that will handle the sale in Toronto on June 23. The blue gown, however, is listed at between US$1 million and US$1.25 million. Diana was wearing it when she famously danced with US actor John Travolta at a White House dinner hosted by former US president Ronald Reagan and his wife, Nancy.
CANADA
Harper visits Slave Lake
Prime Minister Stephen Harper surveyed charred ruins in an Alberta town on Friday where a raging wildfire destroyed a third of the homes and businesses. The fire forced the evacuation of nearly all 7,000 residents of Slave Lake last weekend, after strong winds suddenly shifted the flames toward the town. The prime minister got a look at the devastation on the ground and from a helicopter. He also met with emergency workers, exhausted firefighters and the mayor. He said afterwards that it was a miracle no one was killed.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
IN PURSUIT: Israel’s defense minister said the revenge attacks by Israeli settlers would make it difficult for security forces to find those responsible for the 14-year-old’s death Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday condemned the “heinous murder” of an Israeli teenager in the occupied West Bank as attacks on Palestinian villages intensified following news of his death. After Benjamin Achimeir, 14, was reported missing near Ramallah on Friday, hundreds of Jewish settlers backed by Israeli forces raided nearby Palestinian villages, torching vehicles and homes, leaving at least one villager dead and dozens wounded. The attacks escalated in several villages on Saturday after Achimeir’s body was found near the Malachi Hashalom outpost. Agence France-Presse correspondents saw smoke rising from burned houses and fields. Mayor Amin Abu Alyah, of the