International
Fiona batters Turks and Caicos as Category 3 hurricane
AFP
Hurricane Fiona battered the Turks and Caicos islands as a powerful Category 3 storm on Tuesday after leaving a trail of destruction in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.
The top US disaster management official was headed to Puerto Rico meanwhile to assess the damage in the US territory still struggling to recover from Hurricane Maria five years ago.
Fiona has left at least two people dead as it churned across the Caribbean — a man whose home was swept away in the French overseas department of Guadeloupe and another in the Dominican Republic who died while cutting down a tree.
The Turks and Caicos, a British territory of some 38,000 people, was being lashed by heavy rains and strong winds as Fiona crept northwards on a path that could see the storm approaching Bermuda late Thursday.
“Hurricane Fiona has proven to be an unpredictable storm,” Anya Williams, the deputy governor of the Turks and Caicos, said in a broadcast.
Williams said no casualties or serious injuries had been reported in the Turks and Caicos overnight but she urged residents to continue to shelter in place.
Blackouts were reported on Grand Turk and several other islands in the archipelago and 165 people were admitted to shelters, she said, adding that Britain’s Royal Navy and the US Coast Guard are standing by provide assistance.
The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Fiona was packing maximum winds nearing 115 miles (185 kilometers) per hour, making it a major hurricane, and it is expected to become even stronger.
Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader has declared three eastern provinces to be disaster zones: La Altagracia — home to the popular resort of Punta Cana — El Seibo and Hato Mayor.
Several roads were flooded or cut off by falling trees or electric poles around Punta Cana where the power was knocked out.
Footage from local media showed residents of the east coast town of Higuey waist-deep in water trying to salvage personal belongings.
“It came through at high speed,” Vicente Lopez told AFP, bemoaning the destroyed businesses in the area.
‘I have food and water’
US President Joe Biden has declared a state of emergency in Puerto Rico — where the storm hit a day earlier — and dispatched the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to the island.
“We’re sending hundreds of additional staff in the next few days to place staff in each of the impacted communities,” FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said.
Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi said the storm had caused catastrophic damage on the island of three million people since Sunday, with some areas receiving more than 30 inches (76 centimeters) of rain.
Michelle Carlo, medical advisor for Direct Relief in Puerto Rico, told CBS News that “a lot of people in Puerto Rico are suffering right now.”
“About 80 percent of Puerto Ricans are still without power and about 65 percent are without water service,” Carlo said.
Across Puerto Rico, Fiona caused landslides, blocked roads and toppled trees, power lines and bridges, Pierluisi said.
A man was killed as an indirect result of the power blackout — burned to death while trying to fill his generator, according to authorities.
On Monday afternoon, Nelly Marrero made her way back to her home in Toa Baja, in the north of Puerto Rico, to clear out the mud that surged inside after she evacuated.
“Thanks to God, I have food and water,” Marrero — who lost everything when Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico — told AFP by telephone.
The hurricane has left around 800,000 people without drinking water as a result of power outages and flooded rivers, officials said.
After years of financial woes and recession, Puerto Rico in 2017 declared the largest bankruptcy ever by a local US administration.
Later that year, the double hit from hurricanes Irma and Maria added to the misery, devastating the electrical grid on the island — which has suffered from major infrastructure problems for years.
The grid was privatized in June 2021 in an effort to resolve the problem of blackouts, but the issue has persisted, and the entire island lost power earlier this year.
International
Floods in Central Vietnam leave 28 dead, thousands displaced
The death toll from heavy rains and flooding in central Vietnam has risen to 28, with six people reported missing and 43 injured, local newspaper VnExpress reported Friday night.
More than 22,100 homes remain flooded, primarily in the cities of Hue and Da Nang. Floods and landslides have destroyed or swept away 91 houses and damaged another 181, the report added.
Around 245,000 households are still without electricity, particularly in Da Nang, where over 225,000 homes are affected.
Additionally, 80 stretches of national highways are blocked or disrupted due to landslides. Authorities expect the flooding to continue for another day or two in the region.
International
FBI foils ISIS-Inspired attack in Michigan, arrests five teens
Kash Patel did not provide further details, but police sources told CBS News that the potential attack was “inspired” by the Islamic State (ISIS).
“This morning, the FBI thwarted a potential terrorist attack and arrested several individuals in Michigan who were allegedly planning a violent attack during the Halloween weekend,” Patel wrote on X.
“Thanks to swift action and close coordination with our local partners, a possible terrorist act was prevented before it could be carried out,” he added.
CBS reported that five people between the ages of 16 and 20 were arrested on Friday. At least one of them was reportedly acquainted with a former member of the Michigan National Guard, who was arrested in May for plotting an ISIS-inspired attack on a U.S. military facility in the Detroit suburbs.
International
U.S. warns China over Taiwan during high-level defense talks in Kuala Lumpur
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth expressed concerns over China’s growing military activity near Taiwan during a meeting on Friday with Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun in Kuala Lumpur.
“It was a constructive and positive meeting,” Hegseth wrote on X. “I emphasized the importance of maintaining a balance of power in the Indo-Pacific and raised U.S. concerns about China’s actions around Taiwan,” the self-governed island that Beijing claims and does not rule out invading.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting-Plus, one day after U.S. President Donald Trump met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea. According to Trump, Taiwan was not discussed during their talks.
“The United States does not seek conflict and will continue to firmly defend its interests, ensuring it maintains the capability to do so in the region,” Hegseth added in his message.
Friday’s encounter followed a September 9 video call between Hegseth and Dong. Their previously planned meeting at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore was canceled due to Dong’s absence from the event.
Trump’s sit-down with Xi — their first since 2019 — resulted in some trade agreements but avoided addressing the issue of Taiwan, a long-standing source of tension between the world’s two largest powers.
Trump has taken a more ambiguous stance on Taiwan’s future compared with former President Joe Biden, who repeatedly stated that Washington would support Taipei if China launched an invasion. The Republican president has also criticized Taiwan for “stealing” the U.S. semiconductor industry.
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