Storm Eta has unleashed torrential rain, causing catastrophic landslides and flooding in Central America. Dozens of people have been killed and more than 300,000 displaced after raging torrents tore through cities.
Eta, one of the fiercest storms to hit Central America in years, struck Nicaragua as a category 4 hurricane on Tuesday with 150mph (241kph) winds, before weakening as it moved inland and into neighbouring Honduras
Continue reading...From Iran to Venezuela to Russia, once-chided national leaders enjoy the sight of US democracy in action
Rivals and enemies of the US have come together to revel in the messiest US election in a generation, mocking the delay in vote processing and Donald Trump’s claims of electoral fraud in barely veiled criticisms of Washington’s political activism abroad.
“What a spectacle!” crowed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “One says this is the most fraudulent election in US history. Who says that? The president who is currently in office.”
Continue reading...Huge fleets’ intrusions into Pacific fishing territory prompt Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru to join forces
Related: 'It's terrifying': can anyone stop China's vast armada of fishing boats?
Four South American countries have joined forces in a bid to combat illegal fishing by huge Chinese fleets off their coasts.
Continue reading...Flávio Bolsonaro accused of siphoning off employees’ publicly funded wages
Jair Bolsonaro’s eldest son has been formally accused of embezzlement, money laundering, misappropriation of funds and directing a “criminal organisation” as sleaze allegations continue to swirl around the family of Brazil’s far-right president.
Prosecutors in Rio de Janeiro announced late on Tuesday that they had filed the charges against Flávio Bolsonaro, 39, a senator whose affairs have been under the spotlight since the eve of his father’s January 2019 inauguration.
Continue reading...Consul general in territory says contingency arrangements in place to bring 300,000 home
Canada has drawn up plans to evacuate hundreds of thousands of its citizens from Hong Kong if necessary, but officials have cautioned they can do little for pro-democracy activists seeking refuge from the Chinese authorities.
Jeff Nankivell, Canada’s consul general in Hong Kong and Macao, told a parliamentary committee the federal government had drafted plans to assist nearly 300,000 Canadians living in in the territory if the security situation deteriorated.
Continue reading...Many thousands evacuated as storm moves inland, wrenching roofs off houses, downing trees and severing power lines in Puerto Cabezas
Hurricane Eta, an unusually powerful storm, has slammed into Nicaragua, bringing potentially disastrous flooding to one of the country’s poorest regions.
The heart of the storm begin to move inland on Tuesday, wrenching roofs off houses and causing rivers to overflow. In Puerto Cabezas on the Atlantic coast,trees were torn down and power lines were severed, plunging much of the city into darkness. About 10,000 people were in shelters in the city and an equal number in smaller towns across the region, according to city officials.
Continue reading...New restrictions have begun across Europe, many greeted by protests
The head of the World Health Organization has gone into self-quarantine after someone he had been in contact with tested positive for Covid-19.
With the virus again spreading rapidly across Europe and elsewhere, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who is based in Geneva, made the announcement by Twitter late on Sunday night, but stressed he had no symptoms.
Continue reading...System formed in the Caribbean and tied record for most named storms in a single Atlantic hurricane season
Forecasters said they expected the newly-formed Tropical storm Eta to become a hurricane by Monday, shortly after the system formed in the Caribbean and tied the record for most named storms in a single Atlantic hurricane season.
Related: Is climate change making hurricanes worse?
Continue reading...With tens of thousands dead, the commemoration of lost family members has rarely been more relevant as rituals of mourning have been disrupted
José Porfirio Martínez Castro and his wife Nery Urioles Nájera were tidying up their family tomb at the municipal graveyard in Morelia. They built a small altar for two of José’s siblings and adorned it with marigolds, sugar skulls and tiny bottles of Coca-Cola – his sister’s favourite drink.
Normally, they would spend the night of 1 November here, lighting candles and remembering their loved ones. But this year the cemetery will be closed because of Covid-19 restrictions, so they made their visit a few days early.
Continue reading...Suspect was dressed in medieval clothing and wielded a Japanese sword, police said, in attack that killed two and wounded five
A 24-year-old man has appeared in court via video link charged with murdering two people with a sword in Quebec City, Canada on Halloween night.
Two people were killed and five wounded after being stabbed by a man dressed in medieval clothes and wielding a sword, Quebec police said on Sunday, noting the attack appeared to be driven by personal motives and not linked to any terror group.
Continue reading...Silva, 44, had lived in France for three decades and worked as carer for elderly people
The 44-year old victim of the Nice knife attack who told paramedics “tell my children I love them” as she died of stab wounds has been named Simone Barreto Silva, who worked as a carer for elderly people.
Silva, who was born in the Brazilian state of Bahia, was a citizen of France, where she had reportedly lived for about 30 years.
Continue reading...More than 2.6 million without power in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, with life-threatening weather to continue
More than 2.6 million customers were without power on Thursday morning across several southern states and at least six people had been killed after Hurricane Zeta howled ashore in Louisiana with winds over 100mph then weakened to a tropical storm and raced through the region.
According to the website PowerOutage.us, shortly after dawn at least 2 million were without electricity in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, and the number grew from there. Georgia has the most outages, with more than 800,000 people in the dark.
Continue reading...Search teams believe locals must have known about site in Salvatierra, Guanajuato state
Search teams are excavating a site in the central Mexico state of Guanajuato where 59 bodies have been found in clandestine graves in the past week.
The striking aspect of the discovery is that the site is not a desolate area far out in the countryside, but the town of Salvatierra.
Continue reading...Twenty years after a landmark UN resolution, leading figures share insight on women’s vital role in mediating conflict
In October 2000, the UN security council adopted resolution 1325 – the first resolution that acknowledged women’s unique experience of conflict and their vital role in peace negotiations and peacebuilding. Twenty years on, we speak to four women helping keep the peace around the world.
Continue reading...The Trump administration justifies the expulsions under a public health law but critics say they risk spreading coronavirus in the Caribbean nation
US immigration authorities have radically stepped up deportation flights to Haiti in the weeks before the election, raising concerns over returned migrants’ safety on their return home and the risks of spreading coronavirus in the impoverished Caribbean state.
Continue reading...Canadians positive even as millions remain out of work and country faces grim economic projections due to pandemic
Despite a global pandemic that has destroyed economies and fanned nationalism around the world, Canadians say they are increasingly open to welcoming immigrants and refugees.
A new study from the polling firm Environics Institute found that attitudes among Canadians have become increasingly positive, even as millions remain out of work and the country faces grim economic projections.
Continue reading...PM’s message a stark contrast to dismissive or overly optimistic tone set by some other world leaders, such as Donald Trump
As countries around the world contemplate fresh lockdowns, spiraling caseloads and the inexorable surge of new Covid-19 deaths, leaders have at times struggled to capture the frustration and despair brought on by the crisis.
Related: A Trump win or a disputed result are Canadians' worst fears
Continue reading...At least three senior Colombian lawmakers have been accused of acting as surrogates for Donald Trump in Florida
The American embassy in Bogotá has warned Colombian politicians to “avoid getting involved” in the US election, amid a growing row over allegations that far-right lawmakers from the South American country are campaigning in support of Donald Trump.
At least three senior Colombian politicians have been accused of acting as Trump surrogates in Florida, a pivotal battleground state which has been flooded with political advertising and fake news aimed at Latino voters.
Continue reading...Zeta, the earliest ever 27th named storm of the Atlantic season, is expected to head to Gulf of Mexico and then the US by Wednesday
Storm Zeta has strengthened into a hurricane as it churned towards beach resorts on Mexico’s Caribbean coast, which it is expected to rake with strong winds and heavy rain before making possible landfall in the US later this week.
Zeta – the earliest ever 27th named storm of the Atlantic season – was centered about 90 miles (145km) south-east of Cozumel island Monday afternoon, the US National Hurricane Center said. It had maximum sustained winds of 80mph (130kph).
Continue reading...Disease now suspected of killing at least 139,153 people compared with official toll of 88,924
Mexico’s government has admitted its Covid-19 death toll is dramatically higher than official figures have suggested, with the disease now suspected of killing at least 139,153 people.
The official coronavirus death toll of Latin America’s second largest economy stands at 88,924 – the fourth highest number in the world after the US, Brazil and India. But on Sunday night officials conceded the true number of Covid-19 deaths was likely to be at least 50,000 higher.
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