GUATEMALA CITY: At least six people were killed and another 20 injured on Sunday when Guatemala’s Fuego volcano erupted violently, spewing a stream of red hot lava and belching a thick plume of black smoke and ash high into the sky.
“It’s a river of lava that overflowed its banks and affected the Rodeo village. There are injured, burned and dead people,” Sergio Cabanas, the general secretary of Guatemala’s Conred disaster agency, said on radio.
“We are evacuating and rescuing people and have reports of 20 wounded, six dead and disappeared,” said Cabanas.
The eruption also forced the Guatemala City’s La Aurora international airport to shut down its only runway.
The runway was closed due to the presence of volcanic ash and in order to guarantee passenger and aircraft safety, Guatemala’s civil aviation authority said in a Tweet.
The active volcano is located some 25 miles (40 km) southwest of the capital Guatemala City and is close to the colonial city of Antigua, popular with tourists and known for its coffee plantations.
Workers and guests were evacuated from the La Reunion golf club near Antigua. A video circulating on social media showed a black cloud of ash rising from just beyond the golf club. The lava river was running on the other side of the volcano.
The huge plumes of smoke that could be seen from various parts of the country and the ash that rained down in four of Guatemala’s departments caused some alarm among residents.
Officials initially asked residents to remain calm.
David de Leon, spokesman for the National Disaster Prevention Authority said a change in wind was to blame for the volcanic ash falling on parts of the city.
Volcano lava river runs into Guatemala village, several killed
Volcano lava river runs into Guatemala village, several killed
- The lava river was running on the other side of the volcano
- The active volcano is located some 25 miles (40 km) southwest of the capital Guatemala City
China’s Xi says tariffs ‘hurt’ multilateral trade: state media
- China responded with a 125 percent duty on goods from the United States.
Beijing: Chinese President Xi Jinping said Wednesday tariffs “hurt” the multilateral trading system as he hosted his Azerbaijani counterpart for talks in Beijing, state media said.
Tariff and trade wars “undermine the legitimate rights and interests of all countries, hurt the multilateral trading system, and impact the world economic order,” he told Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, state news agency Xinhua reported.
Beijing and Washington have been embroiled in a blistering trade war since US President Donald Trump this month slapped a 145 percent blanket tax on Chinese imports.
China responded with a 125 percent duty on goods from the United States.
Beijing’s commerce ministry this week warned other nations to be wary in seeking a deal with Washington.
“China firmly opposes any party reaching a deal at the expense of China’s interests,” a ministry spokesperson said Monday in a statement.
“Appeasement will not bring peace, and compromise will not be respected,” the statement said.
On Wednesday, Xi said that “despite a constantly changing international situation,” China and Azerbaijan had maintained close ties.
A day earlier, in phone calls with his British and Austrian counterparts, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi urged Britain and the European Union to help in defending multilateral trade.
Ramy Youssef stars in new film by ‘Succession’ creator
DUBAI: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman and Cory Michael Smith play four billionaires in “Succession” creator Jesse Armstrong‘s HBO film, “Mountainhead.”
As they enjoy their trip, the world erupts in chaos with headlines such as “Sectarian Violence Escalates in India” and “President of Uzbekistan Forced to Move to Secret Location” interrupting their downtime.
In the trailer, the billionaires receive a call from the President of the United States. “What could he possibly have to say?” asks Smith.
Youssef responds: “That your platform has inflamed a volatile situation, circulating unfalsifiable deepfakes, massive fraud, market instability.”
Armstrong wrote and directed the film, which is a parody of the lives of the ultra-wealthy.
Filming began on “Mountainhead” in March, giving the crew a tight turnaround time before the film’s release on May 31.
In a recent interview with Variety, Youssef teased the film, saying it’s “funny in the same way ‘Succession’ is.”
Egyptian American comedian, writer, actor and director Youssef is known for creating and starring in “Ramy” on the US streaming platform Hulu, which won him a Golden Globe in 2020 in the category Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy.
His animated series “#1 Happy Family USA” had world premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas, in March.
Pakistan’s finance minister seeks faster disbursements under Saudi oil facility in talks with SFD chief
- Muhammad Aurangzeb calls for SFD’s support for the National Highway infrastructure project
- He says Pakistan’s macroeconomic outlook has improved, with its credit rating hitting B-minus
KARACHI: Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Tuesday requested expedited disbursements under the Saudi Oil Facility in a meeting with Sultan bin Abdulrahman Al-Murshid, the top official at the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington.
The facility, agreed earlier this year, enables Pakistan to defer up to $1.2 billion in oil import payments, offering critical support to its foreign reserves amid a fragile economic recovery.
The SFD, a state-owned Saudi institution, provides concessional loans and grants to developing countries and has been a long-time financier of infrastructure and energy projects in Pakistan.
“The Minister requested expedited disbursements under the Saudi Oil Facility and assured the provision of evidence of oil shipments,” the finance ministry said in a statement issued Wednesday.
Aurangzeb noted that Pakistan’s macroeconomic outlook had improved, pointing to Moody’s recent upgrade of the country’s credit rating to B- with a stable outlook.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed 27 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) worth $2.2 billion in early October 2024 during the Saudi investment minister’s visit to Islamabad.
The number and value of these deals increased later that month during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Riyadh, reaching 34 MoUs with a total projected investment of $2.8 billion.
By December, seven of these had been converted into agreements valued at $560 million, with several already under implementation at both the government-to-government (G2G) and business-to-business (B2B) levels.
During his meeting with the top SFD official, the Pakistani finance chief recalled his participation in the Al-Ula Conference on Emerging Markets held in Saudi Arabia in February, where he met with senior Saudi officials, including the kingdom’s finance minister, to expand economic cooperation.
During their conversation, Aurangzeb reviewed the SFD’s ongoing development portfolio in Pakistan and expressed satisfaction with the pace of implementation.
He also sought the SFD’s financial support for the National Highway N-25 infrastructure project.
Pope Francis’ body to lie in state in St. Peter’s Basilica as the faithful mourn
- Heads of state are expected for Pope Francis’ funeral Saturday in St. Peter’s Square
- The three days of public viewing are largely for ordinary Catholics to grieve the pontiff
VATICAN CITY: The body of Pope Francis will be moved to St. Peter’s Basilica early Wednesday to lie in state for the Catholic faithful to pay their respects to the Argentine pontiff remembered for his humble style, concern for the poor and insistent prayers for peace.
Heads of state are expected for the funeral Saturday in St. Peter’s Square, but the three days of public viewing are largely for ordinary Catholics to grieve the 88-year-old pope, who died Monday after suffering a stroke.
Francis first lay in state in the Santa Marta Domus in a private viewing for Vatican residents and the papal household. Images released by the Vatican on Tuesday showed Francis lying in an open casket, wearing the traditional pointed headdress of bishops and red robes, his hands folded over a rosary. The Vatican’s No. 2, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, was pictured praying by Francis.
His body will be transferred Wednesday morning to St. Peter’s Basilica, which will be kept open until midnight on Wednesday and Thursday to allow the faithful to mourn. The public mourning period will end on Friday at 7 p.m.
Once inside the basilica, his casket won’t be put on an elevated bier – as was the case with past popes – but will just be placed on the main altar of the 16th-century basilica, simply facing the pews.
Italian police have tightened security for the viewing and the funeral, carrying out foot and horse patrols around the Vatican, where pilgrims continued to arrive for the Holy Year celebrations that Francis opened in December. The faithful who walk through St. Peter’s Holy Door are granted indulgences, a way to help atone for sins.
“For me, Pope Francis represents a great pastor, as well as a great friend to all of us,’’ said Micale Sales, visiting St. Peter’s Basilica from Brazil.
“I think he spread a positive message around the world, saying there shouldn’t be any violence, there should be peace around the world,’’ said Amit Kukreja, from Australia.
The funeral has been set for Saturday at 10 a.m. in St. Peter’s Square, and will be attended by leaders including US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelensky.
Cardinals are continuing their meetings this week to plan the conclave to elect Francis’ successor, make other decisions about running the Catholic Church as world leaders and the ordinary faithful grieve the pontiff’s death.
History’s first Latin American pontiff charmed the world with his humble style and concern for the poor but alienated many conservatives with critiques of capitalism and climate change. He last appeared in public on Sunday with an Easter blessing and popemobile tour through a cheering crowd in St. Peter’s Square.
He had some reservations about looping through the square packed with 50,000 faithful, Vatican News reported on Tuesday, but overcame them – and was thankful that he had greeted the crowd. He died the next morning.
“The death of a pope is not a small thing, because we’ve lost our leader,’’ said Julio Henrique from Brazil. “But still, in a few days, we will have a new leader. So … the thing of hope remains. Who will assume Peter’s throne?”
Gaza blockade is death warrant for some dialysis patients struggling to get treatment
- They are some of Gaza’s quieter deaths from the war, with no explosion, no debris
- Over 400 patients have died during the 18-month conflict because of lack of proper treatment
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip: Twice a week, Mohamed Attiya’s wheelchair rattles over Gaza’s scarred roads so he can visit the machine that is keeping him alive.
The 54-year-old makes the journey from a temporary shelter west of Gaza City to Shifa Hospital in the city’s north. There, he receives dialysis for the kidney failure he was diagnosed with nearly 15 years ago. But the treatment, limited by the war’s destruction and lack of supplies, is not enough to remove all the waste products from his blood.
“It just brings you back from death,” the father of six said.
Many others like him have not made it. They are some of Gaza’s quieter deaths from the war, with no explosion, no debris. But the toll is striking: Over 400 patients, representing around 40 percent of all dialysis cases in the territory, have died during the 18-month conflict because of lack of proper treatment, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
That includes 11 patients who have died since the beginning of March, when Israel sealed the territory’s 2 million Palestinians off from all imports, including food, medical supplies and fuel. Israeli officials say the aim is to pressure Hamas to release more hostages after Israel ended their ceasefire.
COGAT, the Israeli military body in charge of coordinating aid, declined to comment on the current blockade. It has said in the past that all medical aid is approved for entry when the crossings are open, and that around 45,400 tons of medical equipment have entered Gaza since the start of the war.
Hardships mount for Gaza patients
Attiya said he needs at least three dialysis sessions every week, at least four hours each time. Now, his two sessions last two or three hours at most.
Israel’s blockade, and its numerous evacuation orders across much of the territory, have challenged his ability to reach regular care.
He has been displaced at least six times since fleeing his home near the northern town of Beit Hanoun in the first weeks of the war. He first stayed in Rafah in the south, then the central city of Deir Al-Balah. When the latest ceasefire took effect in January, he moved again to another school in western Gaza City.
Until recently, Attiya walked to the hospital for dialysis. But he says the limited treatment, and soaring prices for the mineral water he should be drinking, have left him in a wheelchair.
His family wheels him through a Gaza that many find difficult to recognize. Much of the territory has been destroyed.
“There is no transportation. Streets are damaged,” Attiya said. “Life is difficult and expensive.”
He said he now has hallucinations because of the high levels of toxins in his blood.
“The occupation does not care about the suffering or the sick,” he said, referring to Israel and its soldiers.
A health system gutted by war
Six of the seven dialysis centers in Gaza have been destroyed during the war, the World Health Organization said earlier this year, citing the territory’s Health Ministry. The territory had 182 dialysis machines before the war and now has 102. Twenty-seven of them are in northern Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people rushed home during the two-month ceasefire.
“These equipment shortages are exacerbated by zero stock levels of kidney medications,” the WHO said.
Israel has raided hospitals on several occasions during the war, accusing Hamas of using them for military purposes. Hospital staff deny the allegations and say the raids have gutted the territory’s health care system as it struggles to cope with mass casualties from the war.
The Health Ministry says over 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed in Israel’s offensive, without saying how many were civilians or combatants. Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack that triggered the war.
Officials say hundreds of patients have died
At Shifa Hospital, the head of the nephrology and dialysis department, Dr. Ghazi Al-Yazigi, said at least 417 patients with kidney failure have died in Gaza during the war because of lack of proper treatment.
That’s from among the 1,100 patients when the war began.
Like Attiya, hundreds of dialysis patients across Gaza are now forced to settle for fewer and shorter sessions each week.
“This leads to complications such as increased levels of toxins and fluid accumulation … which could lead to death,” Al-Yazigi said.
Mohamed Kamel of Gaza City is a new dialysis patient at the hospital after being diagnosed with kidney failure during the war and beginning treatment this year.
These days, “I feel no improvement after each session,” he said during one of his weekly visits.
The father of six children said he no longer has access to filtered water to drink, and even basic running water is scarce. Israel last month cut off the electricity supply to Gaza, affecting a desalination plant producing drinking water for part of the arid territory.
Kamel said he has missed many dialysis sessions. Last year, while sheltering in central Gaza, he missed one because of an Israeli bombing in the area. His condition deteriorated, and the next day he was taken by ambulance to Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital.
“The displacement has had consequences,” Kamel said. “I am tired.”
