International
Five police officers killed in violent confrontations in Haitian capital
Tension has returned to Port-au-Prince with shootouts between police and armed gangs, following a seemingly calm morning in the Haitian capital after a violent day yesterday that left at least five dead and dozens injured.
According to the latest report from the Haitian Police Union, the number of officers killed on Thursday has risen to five, and their bodies have yet to be recovered.
Initially, it was reported that four police officers lost their lives when armed gangs attacked a police station in Bon Repos, in Canaan, north of the capital.
Given the extreme violence of these events, hundreds of people are fleeing the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince to provincial cities or other areas that have been less exposed to attacks by powerful armed gangs.
Some reports suggest that the gangs may be attempting to enter the capital’s main prison, in the city center, to free their incarcerated colleagues who have been held there for years.
Despite this, there is a timid resumption of activity on the streets of Port-au-Prince, and public transportation, in particular, is operating again after being completely shut down on Thursday, when schools and businesses sent their students and employees home, and an airplane at the airport was targeted by gunfire.
On Thursday, violence escalated further in Haiti after Bahamian Prime Minister Phillip Davis stated that his Haitian counterpart, Ariel Henry, committed during the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) summit in Georgetown to holding elections before August 31, 2025.
Henry is currently in Nairobi, where Kenya and Haiti signed a bilateral agreement requested by Kenyan courts to allow for the deployment of a contingent of 1,000 Kenyan police officers as part of the multinational security support mission led by Kenya, which the UN approved last October.
Amidst all this, the leader of the G9 gang coalition, the powerful former police officer Jimmy Cherisier ‘Barbecue,’ once again announced the start of a “revolution” and promised to overthrow the government of Henry.
“We, the armed men, have decided to take the future into our own hands” given the situation in Haiti, stated ‘Barbecue’ about a country engulfed in a severe crisis on all fronts and amidst the extreme violence of the gangs, which control much of Port-au-Prince and other areas.
International
Germany says football bodies alone will decide on possible World Cup boycott
The German Football Association (DFB) and FIFA will decide with full “autonomy” whether to boycott the upcoming World Cup, which will be hosted mainly by the United States in six months, following threats made by former U.S. president Donald Trump, the German government told AFP on Tuesday.
Trump has threatened to seize Greenland and impose higher tariffs on European countries that oppose the plan, raising political tensions between the United States and Europe.
“This assessment therefore lies with the relevant federations, in this case the DFB and FIFA. The federal government will respect that decision,” Sports State Secretary Christiane Schenderlein said in a statement emailed to AFP.
AFP had asked the German government about the possibility of a boycott of the World Cup to be jointly hosted by Canada, the United States and Mexico from June 11 to July 19.
“The federal government respects the autonomy of sport. Decisions regarding participation in major sporting events or possible boycotts fall exclusively within the responsibility of the relevant sports federations, not the political sphere,” said Schenderlein, a member of the conservative CDU, the party of Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
International
Daily Mail publisher insists reports relied on legitimate sources amid privacy trial
Two British tabloids accused of phone hacking and other forms of “unlawful information gathering” against Prince Harry and six other individuals, including singer Elton John, insisted on Tuesday that their reporting relied on legitimate sources.
Associated Newspapers Ltd (ANL), the publisher of the Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday, sought to rebut allegations of privacy violations through illegal methods on the second day of trial at London’s High Court, following a lawsuit filed by the seven claimants.
Prince Harry, 41, who attended court hearings on both Monday and Tuesday, could be called to testify starting Wednesday in a trial expected to last up to nine weeks.
Lawyers for the claimants said the alleged illegal activities took place between 1993 and 2011, with some incidents reportedly extending as late as 2018. They argue that the tabloids hired private investigators to intercept phone calls and obtain confidential information, including detailed phone records, medical histories, and bank statements.
However, Anthony White, counsel for ANL, told the court that the trial would show the company presents “a compelling account of a pattern of lawful source acquisition” for its articles.
White added that the claims would require the court to believe that journalists and staff at the tabloids had engaged in widespread dishonesty, which the company strongly denies.
International
Death toll from southern Spain train crash rises to 40
The death toll from the train accident that occurred on Sunday in southern Spain has risen to 40, according to investigative sources cited by EFE on Monday afternoon.
Since early Monday, search operations have focused on the damaged carriages of a Renfe train bound for Huelva, which collided with the last derailed cars of an Iryo train traveling from Málaga to Madrid after it left the tracks.
The crash has also left more than 150 people injured. Of these, 41 remain hospitalized, including 12 in intensive care units at hospitals across the Andalusia region.
More than 220 Civil Guard officers are working at the site, searching the railway line and surrounding areas for key evidence to help identify victims and determine the causes of the accident.
The tragedy has revived memories of the deadliest railway disasters in Europe in recent decades. In Spain, the most severe occurred on July 24, 2013, when an Alvia train derailed near Santiago de Compostela, killing 80 people and injuring 130 others.
At the European level, the worst rail disaster took place on June 3, 1998, in Eschede, northern Germany, when a high-speed train struck a bridge pillar at 200 kilometers per hour, resulting in 98 deaths and 120 injuries.
Germany says football bodies alone will decide on possible World Cup boycott
Daily Mail publisher insists reports relied on legitimate sources amid privacy trial
Death toll from southern Spain train crash rises to 40
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
-
International4 days agoU.S. deportation flight returns venezuelans to Caracas after Maduro’s ouster
-
International2 days agoDeath toll from southern Spain train crash rises to 40
-
Central America3 days agoGuatemala prison uprisings leave 46 guards held by gangs
-
Central America2 days agoGuatemala raises police death toll to nine after gang violence escalates
-
International5 days agoCanada accuses Iran of killing its citizen during anti-government unrest
-
International5 days agoSheinbaum highlights anti-drug gains after U.S. says challenges remain
-
International2 days agoOver 160 christian worshippers kidnapped in Kaduna Church attacks
-
International3 days agoChile declares state of catastrophe as wildfires rage in Ñuble and Biobío
-
International4 days agoFormer South Korean President Yoon sentenced to five years in prison
-
International17 hours agoDaily Mail publisher insists reports relied on legitimate sources amid privacy trial
-
International17 hours agoGermany says football bodies alone will decide on possible World Cup boycott
-
International2 days agoSpain’s Prime Minister pledges transparency after train crash kills at least 39