International
Volcano refugees start returning to DR Congo from Rwanda
AFP/Editor
More than a thousand refugees left a camp in Rwanda to return to the Democratic of Congo on Saturday, officials said, after escaping over the border fearing Mount Nyiragongo could erupt again.
Africa’s most active volcano roared back to life a week ago, sending terrified people in the nearby city of Goma running for their lives as rivers of lava destroyed homes and claimed nearly three dozen lives.
The eruption stopped, but warnings in recent days that it could blow again sent nearly 400,000 people rushing from Goma, with thousands crossing into Rwanda at a nearby border point.
Around 3,000 people sought refuge at a temporary camp in Rugerero, about ten kilometres (six miles) from the border.
But on Saturday an estimated 1,200 had left for Goma, a Rwanda government official at Rugerero told AFP on condition of anonymity. Military trucks were seen transporting refugees to the border.
William Byukusenge, a construction worker, said he felt the danger had passed.
“My house is in good shape, I have a wife and two kids. If it erupts again, we will come back to Rwanda,” the 21-year-old Congolese evacuee told AFP.
But another evacuee, Marie Claire Uwineza, said she had nowhere left to go.
“My house was burned, and I have nothing left,” said the 39-year-old, who fled with two of her children.
She was being sent to another camp at Busasamana, around 35 kilometres from the border, along with other evacuees unwilling or unable to return home yet.
At the camp, aid workers hastily erected tents and toilet facilities to meet growing demand.
Boubacar Bamba, the UN refugee agency’s deputy representative for operations in Rwanda, told AFP the camp’s population had swollen in recent days from around 800 evacuees to closer to 2000.
“There is no time to plan. We plan and execute at the same time, because we are caught short by events,” he said.
“This site is designed for a maximum of 3,000 people. The likelihood of receiving more people depends on the activity of the volcano, we do not control that. We are preparing for all eventualities, even if our resources are not sufficient,” he added.
DR Congo’s government said Saturday that the eruption of a second, nearby volcano it had announced hours earlier was a “false alarm”.
Nearly 3,500 metres (11,500 feet) high, Nyiragongo straddles the East African Rift tectonic divide.
Its last major eruption, in 2002, claimed around 100 lives and the deadliest eruption on record killed more than 600 people in 1977.
Volcanologists say the worst-case scenario is an eruption under nearby Lake Kivu — a so-called “limnic eruption” when lava combines with a deep lake and spews out lethal, suffocating gas across a potentially large area.
International
Erin brings strong winds and storm surge despite weakening offshore
Hurricane Erin weakened to a Category 2 storm on Tuesday but continues to pose a threat to parts of the U.S. East Coast with potentially dangerous flooding, according to meteorologists.
Although the hurricane’s eye is expected to remain offshore, experts are concerned about Erin’s size, as strong winds extend hundreds of kilometers beyond the storm’s center.
In its 18:00 GMT bulletin, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) lifted tropical storm warnings for the Bahamasand Turks and Caicos Islands, but kept them in effect for parts of North Carolina.
Erin was located several hundred kilometers southeast of North Carolina and was moving northwestward.
“This means there is a risk of potentially life-threatening flooding of 60 to 120 centimeters above ground level,” said NHC Director Michael Brennan.
He also warned of the possibility of destructive waves, combined with storm surge, that could cause severe damage to beaches and coastal areas, making roads impassable.
International
Three U.S. Warships deploy near Venezuela to combat drug trafficking
Three U.S. naval vessels are moving toward the coasts of Venezuela, according to international media reports on Tuesday, after White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt confirmed that President Donald Trump is ready to combat and curb international drug trafficking.
Reports indicate that the ships will reach Venezuelan waters within the next 36 hours as part of a recent U.S. deployment aimed at countering international narcotics operations.
The announcement coincides with Leavitt’s statement that Trump is prepared to “use the full extent of his power” to halt drug flows into the United States. The naval deployment involves approximately 4,000 military personnel.
“The President has been clear and consistent. He is ready to use every element of U.S. power to prevent drugs from flooding our country and to bring those responsible to justice. The Maduro regime is not the legitimate government of Venezuela—it is a narco-terror cartel,” the spokesperson said during a press conference.
International
Cuban authorities free salvadoran convicted in 1997 hotel bombing
Salvadoran national Otto René Rodríguez Llerena was released after serving a 30-year prison sentence for his involvement in a terrorist attack at a hotel in Cuba in 1997, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.
During his trial, Rodríguez Llerena admitted to placing an explosive device at the Meliá Cohiba Hotel under the orders of anti-Castro exile leaders. He was arrested the following year when he returned to Havana with another load of explosives that failed to detonate.
“The Cuban government reiterates its commitment to combating terrorism, respecting human rights, and the need for the international community to hold accountable those who promote such acts,” the statement read.
He was released on August 15 and is the second Salvadoran to complete his sentence. In December of last year, another Salvadoran, Ernesto Cruz León, was released after planting bombs at tourist centers, one of which killed an Italian tourist identified as Fabio Di Celmo.
A third Salvadoran, Francisco Chávez Abarca, also received a 30-year sentence from Cuban courts in 2010 after being extradited from Venezuela through Interpol for actions against Cuba.
Rodríguez Llerena had requested conditional release in 2016, arguing that his actions had not caused any direct fatalities, but no further information was released about his situation until now.
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