GUATEMALA
Volcano death toll hits 109
The death toll from the eruption of the Volcan de Fuego has reached 109, officials said on Thursday. The National Forensic Sciences Agency said morgues had received the remains of 109 victims of Sunday’s eruption. The previous toll was 99. Seven of the latest victims were in a temporary morgue installed close to the impact zone, in the now-devastated community of San Miguel Los Lotes in Escuintla, the agency said. Another three victims were transferred to the capital’s central morgue, having succumbed to their injuries while hospitalized. Authorities temporarily on Thursday suspended rescue and recovery operations in areas devastated by the volcano as heavy rainfall, still-hot volcanic material and additional explosions threatened to cause dangerous landslides.
NICARAGUA
Bishops meet with Ortega
Catholic bishops on Thursday met with President Daniel Ortega on reviving stalled talks to quell a political crisis rights groups claim has left 134 people dead — but emerged from the closed-door meeting without a formal plan to head back to the negotiating table. Ortega requested a “period of reflection” to consider a proposal from the Nicaraguan Episcopal Conference, which said the bishops had presented “the pain and anguish of people who have suffered in recent weeks” during the “frank and sincere meeting.” The group did not elaborate on the details of its plan, but in a statement said that it “reflects the feelings of many sectors of Nicaraguan society” and was awaiting a reaction from Ortega. Managua auxiliary bishop Silvio Jose Baez said Ortega “asked us for a period of reflection to give us an answer, which we asked he give us in writing” — after which they would consider the feasibility of renewed negotiations.
SOUTH AFRICA
Jacob Zuma returns to court
Former president Jacob Zuma, who was ousted by his own party in February, yesterday arrived at the Durban High Court for his second appearance on corruption charges relating to a US$2.5 billion arms deal in the late 1990s. Zuma faces 16 charges of fraud, racketeering and money laundering relating to a deal to buy European military hardware after the end of apartheid in 1994. State prosecutors and Zuma’s lawyers are expected to argue over a start date for the trial. The national prosecutor this week turned down a request by the 76-year-old to delay yesterday’s hearing pending the outcome of a separate legal challenge over the state paying his legal fees. The speed with which prosecutors have moved against Zuma is a sign of his waning influence since he was replaced by President Cyril Ramaphosa four months ago. Ramaphosa has made the fight against corruption a top priority as he seeks to woo foreign investment and revamp an ailing economy.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese