International
The UN estimates the number of deaths in the Papua New Guinea avalanche at 670
A United Nations agency estimated this Sunday that more than 670 people were killed in the avalanche of land that in the early hours of Friday buried a remote village north of Papua New Guinea.
The head of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Papua New Guinea, Serhan Aktoprak, told Australian state television, ABC, that according to the new estimates, more than 150 houses were buried by a layer of rocks and earth between six and eight meters deep and they fear that more than 670 people have lost their lives.
However, the United Nations delegation in Papua New Guinea clarified this Sunday to EFE by email that the number of deaths confirmed so far by the emergency response team is five, those whose bodies have been recovered in the village of Kaokalam, 600 kilometers from the country’s capital, Port Moresby.
“The team has informed us that it is difficult to confirm the actual number (of deaths) while search and rescue efforts continue,” said Kesang Phuntsho, head of the United Nations office in Papua New Guinea.
In addition to the five corpses recovered, the UN delegation indicated in a report this Sunday that there are an undetermined number of injured, “including 20 women and children.”
The official UN statement is also more cautious about the number of houses buried by the analch, which at the moment is between 50 and 60, in addition to a school, a church, orchards and vehicles.
The United Nations report indicates that the disaster area remains dangerous due to the risk of new avalanches, so they are working on the evacuation of the survivors, about 1,250, according to Aktoprak.
“My colleagues had to escape from the place because of the growing danger, since rocks continue to fall non-stop and the earth continues to slide,” said the head of IOM in the country.
He has also warned that the large amount of land fallen during the avalanche is putting pressure on the houses in the area, so evacuation is necessary.
About 4,000 people officially live in the area where the avalh occurred, although the authorities estimate that the number of people affected is higher, since the town in which it occurred is a place where locals fleeing conflicts and tribal clashes in nearby villages take refuge.
Much of the village of Kaokalam was buried by a layer of between six and eight meters of rocks and stones and the avalanche affected an area of more than 200 square kilometers, including about 150 kilometers of the main road of the province, which makes it difficult to rescue and help the survivors.
In addition, other sections of access to the village are cut off by previous landslides, so it is only possible to access by helicopter or in off-road vehicles.
Images from the site of the catastrophe shared on social networks show a vast area of rocks and land torn from a hill, as well as neighbors collecting their behods and exploring the area buried by the landslide in search of survivors.
The affected area usually suffers from heavy rains and floods, and the landslides are not unusual in the country, in which, despite the wealth in natural resources, a large part of its more than nine million inhabitants live in extreme poverty and is isolated due to a deficit in communications and infrastructure, especially in remote places such as the current catastrophe.
International
Biden, Trump campaigns set rules for first pre-election debate on CNN
Campaign committees for U.S. President Joe Biden and businessman Donald Trump agreed on Saturday to the rules for their first debate ahead of the November elections, scheduled for June 27 and hosted by CNN: it will last ninety minutes, be audience-free, and feature muteable microphones.
CNN had indicated since its announcement in May that the debate would proceed without an audience, which is Biden’s preferred format.
It was also disclosed that both candidates’ campaign teams accepted a series of other provisions, including the use of identical podiums and the implementation of muteable microphones to enforce speaking times.
“The microphones will be silenced throughout the debate, except for the candidate who has the speaking turn,” CNN specified, adding that hosts Jake Tapper and Dana Bash “will use all available tools” to “enforce the timing and ensure a civilized discussion.”
The debate will feature 90 minutes of discussion with just two commercial breaks during which campaign teams cannot interact with the candidates, as specified.
Pre-written notes on the set will also be prohibited, but “the candidates will receive a pen, notepad, and a water bottle” for the event.
Biden and former President Trump (2017-2021) agreed to debate twice before the presidential elections on November 5, on June 27 and September 10. The second debate will be organized by ABC News.
International
Florida declares a state of emergency due to severe floods in five southern counties
The Government of Florida declared a state of emergency on Thursday in five southern counties where severe floods have occurred due to the torrential rains that began last Tuesday.
The governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, today issued the order covering Miami-Dade, Broward, Collier, Lee and Sarasota counties, where for now there have been no victims but mainly road flooding, putting drivers and their families at risk.
The state government stressed that tropical humidity will continue to cause heavy scattered rains in southern Florida and that the flood alert will remain in effect throughout this region and the Keys of Florida, a succession of islets in the extreme south of the state.
These storms have also caused tornadoes, highway cuts, suspension of classes and flight cancellations, about 200 this Thursday, at the airports of Miami and Fort Lauderdale, according to the Flightaware platform.
Several areas in the vicinity of Fort Lauderdale airport were impacted, as well as Hallandale Beach, Dania Beach and Lauderdale Lakes, where floods forced the cancellation of transport services.
Although the storm subsided this Thursday, several sectors remained underwater, including Hallandale Beach, whose residents today asked for more pumps to evacuate it. In addition, several vehicles remained stranded and some were even submerged.
Meanwhile, the Brightline train had to temporarily close its stations in Miami and Aventura, the two further south, and several universities and schools have suspended classes.
The mayor of Miami-Dade, Daniella Levine Cava, declared a local state of emergency on Wednesday night, with immediate effect.
International
The IMF approves the disbursement of another 800 million dollars for Argentina
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved the eighth revision of the agreement with Argentina, which allows an immediate disbursement of approximately 800 million dollars for the country.
The financial agency indicated in a statement that this disbursement “will support the efforts of the authorities to restore stability and strengthen Argentina’s external viability.”
The total disbursements made under the Fund’s agreement with Argentina amounts to about 41.4 billion dollars.
The IMF stressed that, when completing the review, “the Executive Board considered that the program was firmly on track, with all the quantitative performance criteria until the end of March 2024 met with margins.”
“Non-compliance exementions for a new exchange rate restriction and multiple exchange practices were also approved in the context of some relaxation of the restrictions on the payment of dividends.”
To maintain solid progress, according to the IMF, “it is necessary to improve the quality of fiscal adjustment, to initiate steps towards an improved monetary and exchange policy framework, implement the structural agenda.”
Likewise, “continue efforts to support the most vulnerable, expand political support and ensure agility in the formulation of policies.”
In March 2022, the then Government of the Peronist Alberto Fernández (2019-2023) signed an agreement with the IMF to refinance loans for about 45 billion dollars that the agency had granted to Argentina in 2018, during the presidency of the conservative Mauricio Macri (2015-2019).
The pact includes quarterly revisions such as the one now surpassed on the level of compliance with demanding goals in terms of fiscal discipline, accumulation of monetary reserves and limits on monetary issuance.
The approval for new disbursements to Argentina by the agency depends on the fulfillment of those goals and the approval of each review, funds that, in turn, the South American country uses to cancel its debt to the entity, which amounted to 40,899 million dollars at the end of 2023.
On Tuesday, the Argentine Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo, said that he will negotiate a new program with the IMF after the eighth review of the organization: “From there we will begin to negotiate a new program with them,” he said.
The IMF had highlighted in a statement last May that Argentina reached this eighth review with a “stabilization plan” where it could reach “the first quarterly fiscal surplus in sixteen years,” a “rapid fall in inflation” and “a strong reduction in sovereign risk.”
Argentina had passed this last review in May, but that step had to go through a formal procedure and be approved by the Executive Board of the IMF, something that took place this Thursday, to receive the 800 million.
This eighth review corresponds to the first quarter of 2024, a period marked by the drastic change in economic policy in Argentina after the arrival of Javier Milei to the presidency in December and the implementation of a severe adjustment plan to recover the fiscal surplus this year.
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