Haiti leader seeks help against climate change
Haiti's president says increasingly violent hurricanes are exacerbating problems in extremely poor countries like his and is urging world leaders to do more to tackle climate change.
President Jovenel Moise told the UN General Assembly this morning that "small island nations ... emit little greenhouse gases but suffer the largest part of the damage caused by more frequent, more violent hurricanes."
For example, he said Hurricane Matthew in 2016 caused damage in Haiti equivalent to 32 per cent of gross domestic product. He said that aggravates deep poverty and social tensions even as he tries to pull Haiti out of its chronic troubles.
He urged countries and companies to follow through on promises made in Paris last year to help vulnerable countries to adapt to climate change.
Many world leaders at the UN General Assembly also called for more action by rich countries to help poor ones cope with flooding, drought and other extreme weather.
Source-AP
Liat cancels flights as TS Kirk approaches the region
The regional airline, LIAT, Wednesday announced the cancellation of several flights as a strengthening Tropical Storm Kirk moved closer towards the Lesser Antilles.
LIAT said that several of its flights would either be delayed or cancelled “in the interest of passenger and crew safety” and that it would continue to track this system and update passengers on changes to its schedule.
According to the airline, among the flights cancelled are LI 336 from Trinidad to Barbados, LI 368 from Barbados to St Lucia, LI 369 from St Lucia to Barbados, LI 769 from Barbados to St Vincent and LI 770 from St Vincent to Barbados.
It said that several other flights have been retimed including the LI 523 departs Barbados for Grenada, the LI 523 departs Grenada for Trinidad and LI 393 which departs Barbados for Ogle in Guyana.
Forecasters say Tropical Storm Kirk is on a path to dump heavy rains that could bring dangerous flooding to the eastern Caribbean.
At 8:00 am EST, the National Hurricane Center says the centre of Kirk was about 60 miles (95 kilometres) east of Barbados. It had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (85 kph) and was moving ahead at 16 mph (26 kph).
Tropical storm-force winds are blowing as far as 140 miles (225 kilometres) from Kirk's centre. A tropical storm warning is in effect for the islands of Barbados, St Lucia, Dominica, Martinique and Guadeloupe.
Source-CMC
Florence death toll rises in North Carolina
The death toll from Hurricane Florence has increased again, nearly two weeks after the eye of the storm reached the Carolinas.
North Carolina Emergency Operations Centre spokeswoman Sonja Bennett-Bellamy said Thursday that an 85-year-old man from New Hanover County died Tuesday. The man contracted an infection in a wound he received while cleaning up storm debris on his property.
The death toll now stands at 48 deaths in three states, 37 of them in North Carolina.
Governor Roy Cooper said Thursday that motorists still need to be on alert for high water even as rivers recede and more roads open.
Cooper said 1,500 people still remain in shelters. More than 550 people have enrolled in a programme to stay in hotels while longer-term housing is arranged.
Source-AP
Gladys Knight to lead American Music Awards tribute to the Queen of Soul
Gladys Knight, Ledisi, Mary Mary, Donnie McClurkin and CeCe Winans will perform a tribute to the late Aretha Franklin on the 2018 American Music Awards.
Their performance will honor The Queen of Soul’s gospel roots and her 1972 Grammy-winning live album, Amazing Grace, which was recorded at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles.
“It’s a blessing to be a part of this moving musical tribute to honor our late queen and sister, Aretha,” Knight says. “She was an icon and visionary, radiated light and love through all of her life’s work, and touched all of us through her incredible gift of music.”
“We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the American Music Awards, dick clark productions and American Music Awards’ producer, Larry Klein, for honoring Aretha Franklin with a musical tribute for this year’s broadcast,” says Sabrina Owens, Franklin’s niece and executor of the Aretha Franklin Estate.
“We still remember when Aretha won her first American Music Award in 1976 for Favorite Female Artist -- Soul/R&B,’ Owens adds. "Throughout the years, she went on to win five more awards and we will never forget when she hosted the show, as well as her memorable performances. Dick Clark helped to revolutionize American music and along the way, Aretha Franklin was part of that revolution.”
The 2018 American Music Awards will be broadcast live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Tuesday, October 9, 2018 at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC. Drake and Cardi B lead all artists, with eight nominations.
Source-ABC
Nelly settles with rape accuser
Nelly has reportedly settled with a woman who claimed that he raped her last year.
TMZ reports that the rapper from St. Louis settled out of court with Monique Greene, and according to his attorney, no money was exchanged. Greene’s lawyer, Karen Koehler, also says that both parties agreed to dismiss their cases, but she disputes the statement that money wasn't exchanged.
Greene had accused Nelly of raping her on his tour bus in October 2017 after she met him at a club in Seattle where he was performing. Nelly was arrested for the incident but the case was dropped after Greene refused to cooperate with the prosecutor. She filed a civil suit, and Nelly responded with a defamation countersuit.
As previously reported, Nelly stated that he and Greene had consensual sex and that she became "aggressive and disruptive." In his countersuit, he claimed that Greene damaged his reputation and cost him money.
Source-ABC/TMZ
France wins the Fifa World Cup for a second time
France won the Fifa World Cup for the second time by overcoming Croatia's bold challenge in a thrilling final in Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium.
Didier Deschamps' side repeated the success on home soil at France '98 by a margin that hardly looked possible as Croatia stood toe-to-toe with the favourites for an hour.
France's victory meant Deschamps, who captained them 20 years ago, became just the third man to win the competition as a player and coach.
Croatia also felt their luck deserted them, but ultimately France ran out victorious to erase the memories of the loss to Portugal in the Euro 2016 final in Paris.
In one of the most exciting World Cup finals of the modern era, played out to a soundtrack of thunder, Croatia and France delivered an enthralling spectacle that brought the joint highest goal tally in a final since 1958, a pitch invasion, and a controversial intervention from the video assistant referee that had a huge influence on the outcome.
France took the lead after 18 minutes when Antoine Griezmann's free-kick deflected in off Mario Mandzukic's head - but Croatia were by far the better side in the first half and deservedly equalised courtesy of Ivan Perisic's left-foot finish.
Croatia were left nursing a burning sense of injustice when France restored their lead seven minutes before half-time through Griezmann's penalty, awarded by referee Nestor Pitana for handball against Perisic after a lengthy delay while VAR was consulted.
In a compelling second half, France looked to have wrapped it up with two strikes in six minutes from Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe either side of the hour mark.
Croatia, however, showed unbreakable spirit and even threatened a comeback when Mandzukic took advantage of France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris hesitating over a clearance to pull a goal back.
But France closed out the win to bring redemption for Deschamps after defeat at the Euros two years ago, sparking wild celebrations and ensuring Lloris lifted the World Cup.
France are the team for all seasons - possessing an all-round quality that has carried them to this World Cup triumph.
When that is added to an element of good fortune, it can prove a deadly combination.
Croatia will complain bitterly that Griezmann went down theatrically for the free-kick that led to Mandzukic's own goal, and they will also feel Perisic's handball was not clear-cut enough for VAR to make that decisive intervention just before half-time.
What is not in doubt, however, is the sheer quality this France side possesses, a potent attack the spearhead for a strong midfield and outstanding defence.
When Croatia threatened to come back once more early in the second half, Pogba and Mbappe's strikes from the edge of the area past the static Danijel Subasic - who still looked less than fully fit after injuring a hamstring in the quarter-final against Russia - proved the defining passage of this final.
France celebrated joyously at the final whistle after claiming the sport's greatest trophy once more, with Deschamps - the coach whose conservative methods have often brought criticism - tossed high into the air by his players.
Croatia return home as beaten World Cup finalists but their approach to this match will have won the hearts of neutrals and earned them a prolonged standing ovation from their fans at the final whistle.
Source-BBC
Novak Djokovic wins fourth Wimbledon title
Novak Djokovic earned his first Grand Slam title in more than two years by beating Kevin Anderson to win his fourth Wimbledon championship.
Djokovic, seeded 12th, won 6-2 6-2 7-6 (7-3) to claim a 13th Slam - his first major since the 2016 French Open.
The Serb, 31, quickly took control to win the opening set in 29 minutes, breaking twice more in the second set.
Djokovic saw off five set points in an even third set before dominating the tie-break to seal victory.
He dropped to his haunches just inside the baseline as Centre Court rose to acclaim the champion, hugging South African Anderson at the net before skipping over towards his box and celebrating wildly in front of his coaching team and wife Jelena.
"I had many moments of doubt, I didn't know if could come back to this level to compete," said Djokovic, who also won the Wimbledon title in 2011, 2014 and 2015.
"There is no better place to make a comeback, it's a sacred place for the world of tennis, it's very special."
He is now in outright fourth place on the all-time list of Grand Slam men's singles titles, moving clear of Roy Emerson and closing the gap on Roger Federer (20), Rafael Nadal (17) and Pete Sampras (14).
The former world number one will move back into the top 10 when the latest rankings are released on Monday.
Source-BBC
Sale of NFL franchise Carolina Panthers finalized
Hedge fund billionaire David Tepper finalized a deal to purchase the Carolina Panthers of the NFL for $2.275 billion, according to an ESPN report.
The franchise's former owner and its founder, Jerry Richarson, finalized the sale after he was fined $2.75 million for sexual and racial workplace misconduct on June 28. Allegations of the inappropriate behavior surfaced in late 2017. Shortly after the public learned of the allegations, it was announced Richardson would sell the team.
Tepper said in a statement:
"I am thrilled to begin this new era of Carolina Panthers football and am humbled by the overwhelming excitement and support for the team. On behalf of the fans and myself, I thank Jerry Richardson for bringing the team to the Carolinas and for entrusting me with its future."
Richardson also released a statement on behalf of he and his wife Rosalind:
"[We] are grateful to the Carolina community for the love and support you have shown your Panthers. Your enthusiasm for football and devotion to the team has been a source of strength for us and for everyone who calls the Carolinas home."
Tepper has now taken over the day-to-day operations of the team.
European Union is a foe on trade added the Donald
US President Donald Trump has described the European Union as a foe on trade.
He told CBS News that European countries were taking advantage of the US and not paying their Nato bills.
EU Council President Donald Tusk said anyone calling the EU foes was spreading "fake news".
Mr Trump said he had "low expectations" for his meeting on Monday with Russia's Vladimir Putin, which comes after 12 Russians were indicted for alleged hacking during 2016 US elections.
Mr Trump said he would raise this issue with Mr Putin at the summit in the Finnish capital, Helsinki, and "maybe some good" would come of it.
There have been calls in the US for Mr Trump to cancel his meeting with Mr Putin over the indictments, announced on Friday by US Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
Sunday also saw a protest march against the summit in Helsinki. Demonstrators chanted "media must be free", and carried a banner calling for human rights.
"In a trade sense, they've really taken advantage of us and many of those countries are in Nato and they weren't paying their bills and, you know, as an example a big problem with Germany," he said.
He then returned to the theme of Germany's reliance on Nord Stream 2, a pipeline which will increase the flow of gas to EU states and which he controversially criticised ahead of last week's Nato summit.
He said: "There's a lot of anger at the fact that Germany is paying Russia billions of dollars."
He also accused Germany of "waving a white flag".
The comments drew a quick response from Mr Tusk on Twitter.
In an interview for ABC's This Week programme, US National Security Adviser John Bolton said he found it "hard to believe" that Mr Putin did not know about the alleged hacking.
"That's what one of the purposes of this meeting is, so the president can see eye to eye with President Putin and ask him about it," he said.
"He'll listen to President Putin's response, and we'll go from there."
Mr Trump also repeated his earlier criticism of the Obama administration, which was in power when the alleged hacking of Democratic party officials took place.
"This was during the Obama administration. They were doing whatever it was during the Obama administration," he said.
"The DNC should be ashamed of themselves for allowing themselves to be hacked. They had bad defences and they were able to be hacked," he added.
He said he had been told "by a number of people" that hackers had also targeted the Republican party but "we had much better defences", although he added that "this may be wrong".
The US president has taken in a Nato summit and a visit to the UK ahead of his meeting with Mr Putin.
The visit has been controversial because of a newspaper interview in which he said the US would probably not give the UK a trade deal under the terms of Prime Minister May's Brexit plans, and also said Europe was "losing its character" because of immigration from Africa and the Middle East.
He has since downplayed his Brexit comments - but speaking to the BBC on Sunday Mrs May said Mr Trump had advised her to "sue the EU".
He is expected to leave the UK later after staying at his Turnberry resort on Scotland's Ayrshire coast during the private leg of his visit.
Source-BBC
Haiti prime minister resigns after deadly unrest
Embattled Haiti Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant resigned today following deadly violence and looting sparked by a now-abandoned plan to raise fuel prices.
"I submitted my resignation to the president of the republic," who has "accepted my resignation," Lafontant said in the lower house of Haiti's legislature.
Last week, the government in the impoverished Caribbean country announced plans for major fuel price hikes – 38 per cent for gasoline, 47 per cent for diesel and 51 per cent for kerosene.
The announcement sparked mass protests, with streets in the capital Port-au-Prince and other cities blocked with barricades of debris and burning tires.
Dozens of shops were looted and burned and cars were set ablaze. At least four people were killed. The government quickly did an about-face and called off the planned price increases.
Lafontant, who took office in February 2017, had faced widespread criticism even before the spasm of violence.
Source-AFP