Hurricane Beryl barreled across the Atlantic Ocean toward the Caribbean’s Windward Islands as an “extremely dangerous” storm on Monday, threatening to devastate communities with floods, storm surges and life-threatening high winds, officials said.
Locals boarded up shops, stocked up on food and filled their cars with petrol as the storm approached. The prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves, said he was expecting a natural disaster that could continue for days.
It was an unusually fierce and early start to this year’s Atlantic hurricane season — the earliest Category 4 storm on record, according to National Hurricane Center data on Sunday.
Beryl had weakened earlier on Monday to Category 3 and then picked up again to 4 on a five-point scale, packing maximum sustained wind speeds exceeding 193 kph, with some higher gusts, about 180 km southeast of Barbados, the NHC said.
It would likely bring catastrophic winds and a storm surge early on Tuesday in the Windward islands, it said.
“Beryl is expected to remain an extremely dangerous major hurricane as its core moves through the Windward Islands into the eastern Caribbean,” the NHC warned.
It advised people in the storm’s path to take heed of authorities’ advice on evacuations and preparedness.
Hurricane warnings were in effect for Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada and Tobago. A tropical storm warning was issued for Martinique and Trinidad, with storm watches for parts of the Dominican Republic and parts of Haiti.
Tobago has opened shelters, closed schools for Monday, and canceled elective surgeries in the hospitals, authorities said.
The hurricane is expected to bring 8 to 15 cm of rain across Barbados and the Windward Islands throughout the day on Monday, which the NHC warned could cause flash flooding in vulnerable areas.
Large, dangerous swells are also expected to batter the southern coasts of Puerto Rico and Hispaniola.
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in May predicted above-normal hurricane activity in the Atlantic in 2024, amid near-record warm ocean temperatures.
Hurricane Dennis became a Category 4 on July 8, 2005, according to NHC data, making it the second earliest on record in the June-November season.
‘Extremely dangerous’ Hurricane Beryl hurtles toward Caribbean
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‘Extremely dangerous’ Hurricane Beryl hurtles toward Caribbean
- Beryl had weakened earlier on Monday to Category 3 and then picked up again to 4 on a five-point scale
Suspected militant attack in Mali kills more than 20 civilians
- Mali has for over a decade been ravaged by militants and other armed groups
- Mali has since 2012 been plagued by different factions affiliated to Al-Qaeda and the Daesh group
Mali has for over a decade been ravaged by militants and other armed groups, with the center of the West African country becoming a hotbed of violence since 2015.
“At least 21 civilians have been killed” in the village of Djiguibombo, several dozen kilometers (miles) from the town of Bandiagara, an official from the provincial authority said on Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
He attributed the attack to militants.
Another provincial authority official, who spoke overnight, said about 20 people had been killed and the security situation prevented authorities from going to the site.
But a local youth representative said the army had arrived afterwards.
Both local authority sources asked not to be identified given their positions. Since the junta came to power in 2020, information about such incidents is not generally made public.
The attack began before nightfall and “lasted around three hours,” the youth representative said, requesting anonymity for security reasons.
“Twenty people have been killed. More than half are young people. Some victims had their throats cut,” the source said.
“Many inhabitants fled toward Bandiagara. Those who stayed were not even able to bury the dead properly,” he said.
The deteriorated security context, remote locations and a lack of reliable information mean that attacks often take a long time to confirm.
Mali has since 2012 been plagued by different factions affiliated to Al-Qaeda and the Daesh group, as well as by self-declared self-defense forces and bandits.
The militant violence that started in the north spread to the center of the country in 2015, when Katiba Macina — an Al-Qaeda-affiliated group — was established, led by the Fulani preacher Amadou Kouffa.
Human rights groups regularly denounce widespread impunity for attacks on civilians.
Radical Islamist groups impose pacts on local populations under which they are allowed to go about their business in return for paying a tax, accepting Islamic rules and not collaborating with the Malian army or other armed groups.
Communities are subject to retaliatory measures in the event of non-compliance.
The violence spilled over into neighboring Burkina Faso and Niger, with military regimes seizing power in all three countries.
Thousands have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced by the violence.
Since taking power in a 2020 coup, Mali’s military rulers have broken off their anti-militant alliance with France and European partners, while turning politically and militarily toward Russia.
The junta has enlisted the services of what it presents as Russian military instructors, but who, according to a host of experts and observers, are mercenaries from the private Russian company Wagner.
Bamako regularly claims to have gained the upper hand against the militants, as well as separatists in the north.
Taliban discussed prisoner exchange with US: Afghan government
- An American woman was among more than a dozen staff of an international NGO arrested by Taliban authorities last September
- Many countries, including the US, warn against citizens traveling to Afghanistan
KABUL: Two American prisoners were being held in custody in Afghanistan, a Taliban government spokesman said Wednesday, and an “exchange” for Afghans held in Guantanamo Bay had been discussed with the United States.
Zabihullah Mujahid did not name the US prisoners, but an American woman was among more than a dozen staff of an international NGO arrested by Taliban authorities last September, and aid worker Ryan Corbett has been custody in since 2022.
“We should be able to free our citizens in (an) exchange, as American citizens are important for them (the United States), just as Afghans are important for us,” Mujahid told a press conference in Kabul.
He said discussions over a prisoner exchange were held with US representatives during United Nations-led talks in Qatar.
The talks, which gathered UN officials, Taliban authorities and the special envoys to Afghanistan, ended on Monday.
“Two American citizens are imprisoned in Afghanistan,” Mujahid told the press conference, adding that Afghan prisoners were also held in the United States, including in the secretive US prison in Cuba.
“We have had discussions on their release with them (the United States) before. Afghanistan’s conditions should be accepted,” he said.
An American woman was among at least 18 staff of non-governmental organization International Assistance Mission (IAM) detained on accusations of carrying out Christian missionary work.
The UN in June warned Corbett’s “life could be at risk” and called for Taliban authorities to give him “immediate access to medical treatment for his deteriorating health.”
Dozens of foreigners have been detained by the Taliban authorities since the group’s return to power in August 2021.
Many countries, including the United States, warn against citizens traveling to Afghanistan, citing risks of wrongful detention, violence and kidnapping.
At least one Afghan prisoner remains in detention at Guantanamo Bay, Muhammad Rahim, whose family called for his release in November.
In February, two former prisoners held in Guantanamo Bay until 2017 were welcomed home to Afghanistan, more than 20 years after they were arrested.
Abdul Karim and Abdul Zahir had been transferred to Oman and held under house arrest until their release.
They were among hundreds of suspected militants captured by US forces and held in Guantanamo Bay.
US authorities faced accusations of torture and abuse against prisoners at the facility, where many were held without charge or the legal power to challenge their detention.
Most of the military prison’s inmates have been released over the years, including senior Taliban leaders.
The US government has said for years it is working to reduce the number of detainees and eventually shut down Guantanamo Bay, which lies on the island of Cuba but is under US jurisdiction.
US envoy to hold talks in Paris on defusing Israel-Hezbollah conflict, NYT reports
US envoy Amos Hochstein plans to meet French officials in Paris on Wednesday to discuss ways to defuse the escalating cross-border fire between Hezbollah and the Israeli military, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.
Last month, Hochstein said on that Washington was seeking to avoid “a greater war” following an escalation in cross-border fire between Hezbollah and the Israeli military along Lebanon’s southern frontier in recent weeks.
Kenya police say over 270 arrested for criminal acts during Tuesday protests
- Widespread looting and property damage was reported during the youth-led demonstrations in various cities across the country
- Demonstrations began in an atmosphere of calm but later degenerated into violence, with police firing tear gas at rock-throwing crowds in Nairobi
NAIROBI: Kenyan police said they have arrested more than 270 people masquerading as protesters who are suspected of going on a criminal rampage during anti-government rallies on Tuesday.
Widespread looting and property damage was reported during the youth-led demonstrations in various cities across the country, which some protesters said had been infiltrated by “goons.”
“Security forces across the country singled out suspects found engaging in criminal activities in the guise of protesting, and took them to custody,” the Directorate of Criminal Investigations said in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter, late Tuesday.
It said a total of 204 suspects were arrested in the capital Nairobi and another 68 in various other areas of the country.
“The DCI has further deployed scrupulous investigators across the affected regions to pursue suspects captured on CCTV cameras and mobile phone recordings violently robbing, stealing and destroying properties and businesses of innocent citizens,” the statement added.
Tuesday’s demonstrations began in an atmosphere of calm but later degenerated into violence, with police firing tear gas at rock-throwing crowds in Nairobi and scenes of looting and property damage in the capital and other cities.
“Goons have infiltrated,” prominent Gen-Z protester Hanifa Adan posted on X on Tuesday.
Young Gen-Z Kenyans launched protests last month against a deeply unpopular finance bill that contained a raft of new taxes, adding to the hardship of people already suffering a cost of living crisis.
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) said on Monday that 39 people had been killed and 361 injured during two weeks of rallies — with the worst violence occurring in Nairobi on Tuesday last week — and condemned the use of force against demonstrators as “excessive and disproportionate.”
Although President William Ruto later abandoned the finance bill, the protesters are now calling for him to resign in a wider campaign against his rule under the hashtag “RutoMustGo.”
More demonstrations have been called for Thursday and Sunday.
It is the most serious crisis to confront Ruto since he took office in September 2022 in a nation often considered a beacon of stability in a turbulent region.
On Tuesday, Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki denounced what he described as an “orgy of violence,” warning that the government would take action against anyone engaging in “anarchic chaos and cruel plunder.”
“This reign of terror against the people of Kenya and the impunity of dangerous criminal gangs must end at whatever cost,” he said.
In a television interview on Sunday, Ruto denied he had “blood on my hands” after the protester deaths but his calls for dialogue with Kenyan youth about their grievances have not appeased the demonstrators.
Ruto also warned that following the scrapping of the finance bill, the cash-strapped government would now have to borrow more.
The government had said previously that the tax increases were necessary to fill its coffers and service a huge public debt of some 10 trillion shillings ($78 billion), or about 70 percent of GDP.
Terror, ‘chaos’ as India stampede kills 121
- More than 250,000 people attended Hindu religious event in northern India’s Uttar Pradesh state
- Religious gatherings in India have a grim track record of deadly incidents caused by poor crowd management and safety lapses
HATHRAS, India: Survivors of India’s deadliest stampede in more than a decade recalled on Wednesday the horror of being crushed at a vastly overcrowded Hindu religious gathering where 121 people were killed.
A police report said more than 250,000 people attended the event in northern India’s Uttar Pradesh state, more than triple the 80,000 for whom organizers had permission.
Discarded clothing and lost shoes were scattered across the muddy site, an open field alongside a highway, on Wednesday morning hours after the event.
People fell on top of each other as they tumbled down a slope into a water-logged ditch, witnesses said.
“Everyone — the entire crowd, including women and children — all left from the event site at once,” said police officer Sheela Maurya, 50, who had been on duty Tuesday as a popular Hindu preacher delivered a sermon.
“There wasn’t enough space, and everyone just fell on top of each other.”
Almost all the dead were women. Dozens more were injured.
Officials suggested the stampede was triggered when worshippers tried to gather soil from the footsteps of the preacher, while others blamed a dust storm for sparking panic.
Some fainted from the force of the crowd before falling and being trampled, unable to move.
Forensic officers scoured the site on Wednesday searching for evidence.
Uttar Pradesh’s state disaster management center, the Office of the Relief Commissioner, released a list of the dead on Wednesday morning.
It said 121 people had been killed.
Maurya, who had been on duty since early morning on Tuesday in the sweltering, humid heat at the preacher’s ceremony, was among the injured.
“I tried to help some women but even I fainted and was crushed under the crowd,” she told AFP.
“I don’t know, but someone pulled me out, and I don’t remember much.”
Deadly incidents are common at places of worship during major religious festivals in India, the biggest of which prompt millions of devotees to make pilgrimages to holy sites.
“The main highway next to the field was packed with people and vehicles for kilometers, there were far too many people here,” said Hori Lal, 45, who lives in Phulrai Mughalgadi village, near the site of the stampede.
“Once people started falling to the side and getting crushed, there was just chaos.”
Chaitra V., divisional commissioner of Aligarh city in Uttar Pradesh state, initially said panic began when “attendees were exiting the venue when a dust storm blinded their vision, leading to a melee.”
The initial police report into the deaths said it began when “followers started to collect earth” from the path of the preacher as he left the venue.
Maurya said she had worked at several political rallies and large events in the past but had “never seen such huge numbers.”
“It was very hot, even I fell there and I survived with great difficulty,” she added.
Four unidentified bodies lay on the floor of a makeshift morgue at the hospital in the nearby town of Hathras at dawn on Wednesday.
Ram Nivas, 35, a farmer, said he was searching for his sister-in-law Rumla, 54, who was missing after the crush.
“We haven’t been able to find her anywhere,” Nivas said after he had visited all the nearby hospitals throughout the night.
“We just hope she’s still alive,” he said quietly. “Maybe just lost.”
In the hospital’s emergency ward, Sandeep Kumar, 29, sat next to his injured sister, Shikha Kumar, 22.
“After the event ended, everyone wanted to exit quickly, and that is what led to the stampede,” Sandeep said.
“She saw people fainting, getting crushed.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced compensation of $2,400 for the next of kin of those killed and $600 for those injured in the “tragic incident,” and the upper house of parliament observed a minute’s silence on Wednesday.
President Droupadi Murmu said the deaths were “heart-rending” and offered her “deepest condolences.”
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who is also a Hindu monk and was dressed in flowing saffron robes, flew in by helicopter to visit victim’s families.
Religious gatherings in India have a grim track record of deadly incidents caused by poor crowd management and safety lapses.
In 2008, 224 pilgrims were killed and more than 400 were injured in a stampede at a hilltop temple in the northern city of Jodhpur.
