Greece launches rescue effort for scores of stranded migrants
Severe floods in China killed 29, cost tens of billions in losses
BEIJING – Severe floods in China’s northern province of Hebei brought by remnants of Typhoon Doksuri this month killed at least 29 people and caused billions of dollars in damage, its provincial government said Friday.
Official news agency Xinhua reported rescue crews were still searching for 16 missing people and the province’s reconstruction is expected to take two years to complete. Estimates showed the province’s direct economic losses amounted to $13.2 billion, state media China News Service said.
Last week, Hebei was hit by serious flooding as the remnants of the typhoon battered the region and brought the heaviest rainfall in neighboring Beijing in at least 140 years. Official preliminary estimates announced Friday showed 3.9 million residents were being affected by the floods and more than 40,000 houses were collapsed, China News Service said.
Family of US publishing exec killed in Italy urges probe
ROME – The family of a U.S. publishing executive killed in a boating collision in southern Italy is urging Italian authorities to fully investigate the death and hold accountable anyone responsible.
“We are cooperating with the Italian authorities in their investigations, and will continue to do so until they conclude,” said the statement late Thursday to The Associated Press by Mike White, husband of Adrienne Vaughan, on behalf of their family.
Vaughan, 45, president of Bloomsbury Publishing’s U.S. branch, was killed Aug. 3 when the rented motorboat her family had hired slammed into a chartered sailboat off the Amalfi Coast. The motorboat’s skipper is under investigation for suspected manslaughter and causing a shipwreck, prosecutors have said. No charges have been announced.
Jury awards $35M to family of NY man fatally beaten by police
ISLIP, N.Y. – The family of a Long Island, New York, man who died after being beaten by police with flashlights and fists during a 2008 traffic stop was awarded $35 million in damages by a federal jury on Thursday.
Frederick K. Brewington, attorney for the family of Kenny Lazo, said “justice has been served,” Newsday reported. Lazo’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Suffolk County Police Department, Suffolk County and five police officers in 2009.
“It was absolutely appalling how the Suffolk County police physically abused and humiliated Mr. Lazo, then tried to cover it up,” Brewington said, “No family should have to go through what Mr. Lazo’s family had to.”
The family was awarded $13.5 million in compensatory damages and $21.5 million in punitive damages.
ATHENS, Greece – A rescue operation was underway to assist dozens of migrants on a sailboat reported in trouble off the southern coast of Greece, authorities said Friday, amid a rise in migration to the Mediterranean country.
Four civilian vessels were ordered to provide assistance while three coast guard boats and a naval ship were sent to the area, southwest of the Peloponnese region. A navy helicopter was helping coordinate the effort.
The coast guard said the migrants’ boat was not letting in water or otherwise in danger, as had been initially reported, and that the number of people on board was likely under 100.