NEWS OF THE DAY From Around the World
1 Caribbean storm: The remnant of Tropical Storm Beryl swept over the island of Dominica on Sunday night as forecasters in the eastern Caribbean warned of the dangers from heavy rains on islands struggling to recover from last year’s deadly hurricanes. People across the region stocked up on food and water. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said 3 inches of rain could fall on Dominica. Puerto Rico’s governor warned of likely new power outages. Officials were worried about those still living with tarps on their roofs after Maria slammed into Dominica as a Category 5 hurricane last year, killing dozens.
2 Haiti unrest: Looters pillaged burned and vandalized shops Sunday in Haiti’s capital of Port-au-Prince after two days of violent protests over the government’s attempt to raise fuel prices. Reporters observed people stripping shelves bare in supermarkets that were charred from the protests. Police Director-General Michel-Ange Gedeon ordered officers to crack down on what he called “bandits who disturb the peace and security of the country.” At least three people were killed in protests Friday, and police say the bodies of four people were found Sunday in the streets of the Delmas district, though they didn’t say whether those deaths were related to the protests. The government on Saturday scrapped plans to raise fuel prices.
3 Turkey derailment: At least 10 people were killed and more than 70 injured Sunday when multiple cars of a train derailed in western Turkey, said Health Ministry Undersecretary Eyup Gumus. Turkish media reported that the train left Edirne, on the border with Greece, bound for Istanbul with 360 passengers. The train derailed in a village in Tekirdag province. Images from the scene showed collapsed ground under the rails. Video footage captured overturned cars and several people being carried away on stretchers. Tekirdag governor Mehmet Ceyhan said the area where the derailment happened was muddy from heavy rain and difficult to reach.
4 Mexico killings: An unusually violent night in northern Mexico killed at least 15 people and wounded nine. Most died in bar shootings. The Nuevo Leon state prosecutor’s office said in a statement that the attacks took place in the cities of Monterrey, Guadalupe and Juarez late Saturday and early Sunday. Six nightspots were attacked in all, and an official at the prosecutors’ office said the death toll could rise because of the severity of some of the injuries. It was not immediately clear whether the incidents were linked. It has been several years since Monterrey has seen such a bloody night. In 2011, 20 people were shot dead at a bar in the city.
5 Peace initiative: The leaders of longtime adversaries Ethiopia and Eritrea met for the first time in nearly two decades Sunday amid a rapid diplomatic thaw aimed at ending one of Africa’s longestrunning conflicts. Ethiopia’s reformist new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed arrived in Eritrea’s capital of Asmara and President Isaias Afwerki greeted him in a scene unthinkable just months ago. The visit comes a month after Abiy accepted a peace deal that ended a two-year border war between the two nations that killed tens of thousands. Ethiopia and Eritrea agreed to restore diplomatic relations, which had been severed since the war began in 1998, with Abiy himself fighting in a town that remains contested today. Ethiopia’s prime minister took office in April and quickly set off a wave of reforms, freeing journalists and opposition figures from prison, opening up the staterun economy and unblocking hundreds of websites.
Chronicle News Services