Haitian pastor wants shanty residents up first for land purchases in Bahamian Shanty Towns
President of the League of Haitian Pastors Pastor Jean Paul Charles said he has asked the government to give shantytown residents first preference to purchase land in those communities.
Shantytown residents have until August 10 to leave those communities. Once the deadline passes, those communities are expected to be demolished. Pastor Charles said the league has visited the 11 shantytowns on New Providence identified by the government on a weekly basis to meet with residents and hear their concerns.
Asked about those residents who intend to take the government to court, Charles said, “I know people said they would take the government to court but I don’t think that will make any difference. I think the government would do what it is willing to do.”
Charles said he hopes the “the government gives the Haitians who live in those places the first preference if they want to buy that piece of land and to rebuild it, up to code, properly”.
“We asked the government and they said they would look into that and get back to us,” he said. Haitian Embassy First Assistant Secretary Karl Henri Chatelier reportedly made a similar suggestion on ZNS.
He said that leasing the land is another option the Bahamian government can undertake instead of evicting those residents.
But the Ministry of Foreign Affair said his comments were out of line and that he had interfered in the domestic affairs of The Bahamas.
North Korea working on new missiles, US officials say
North Korea appears to be building new ballistic missiles despite recent warming ties with the Trump administration and pledges to denuclearise, reports say.
Unnamed US officials told the Washington Post that spy satellites had spotted continuing activity at a site that has produced ballistic missiles.
Reuters quotes an official as saying it is unclear how far the work has gone.
Donald Trump met North Korea's Kim Jong-un in Singapore in June.
After the first meeting between sitting leaders from the two countries, the two men pledged to work towards denuclearisation. Mr Trump later said North Korea was "no longer a nuclear threat".
But Mr Trump was criticised at home for making concessions without securing any firm commitment from Mr Kim to end the nuclear and missile programmes.
These are not the first reports that North Korea may be continuing its weapons programme, casting doubt on the real impact of the summit in Singapore.
Trump repeats Giuliani defense: 'Collusion is not a crime'
President Donald Trump on Tuesday embraced a line of defense offered by his attorney, Rudy Giuliani, that "collusion is not a crime," even though he continued to deny any alleged ties between his campaign and Moscow during the 2016 election.
"Collusion is not a crime, but that doesn't matter because there was No Collusion (except by Crooked Hillary and the Democrats)!" Trump tweeted.
For months, Trump has insisted that there was "no collusion," but his Tuesday morning tweet hints at a potential expansion of his defense amid the ongoing special counsel investigation. Speaking to CNN's "New Day" on Monday, Giuliani said he wasn't sure if collusion was a crime.
The President has repeatedly denied that there was any collusion between his campaign and Moscow, and he told the New York Times in December that "collusion is not a crime."
Legal experts, however, have repeatedly said that anyone found collaborating with Russia on the 2016 election could be charged with other crimes, such as conspiracy, and special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation has not concluded.
Final hikers rescued from Indonesian volcano, after devastating earthquake
More than 600 stranded hikers have been successfully rescued from Mount Rinjani on Indonesia's Lombok Island, two days after a powerful 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck the popular tourist destination.
The final six hikers were brought down from the mountain Tuesday morning, confirmed National Disaster Management Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, following a massive combined rescue effort involving almost 200 Indonesian police, military and medical personnel.
The hikers had become trapped on the mountain's numerous hiking routes after the earthquake, which struck early Sunday, unleashed a series of landslides blocking their path back down to safety.
The toll of the earthquake, which killed 16 people and left hundreds of others homeless, is still being counted across the rest of the popular tourist spot.
During a visit to the island Monday, Indonesian President Joko Widodo announced each damaged property would receive 50 million rupiah ($3468) in aid to help them rebuild, according to state news agency Antera.
"The provincial governor will announce the total amount of everything (damages), and the aid will be allocated in the form of cash to let the residents build their damaged houses on their own," the Indonesian president said.
Early estimates indicated more than 1,000 homes had been damaged or destroyed by the earthquake.
Warren, Sanders introduce debt relief bill to benefit Puerto Rico
A number of potential 2020 Democratic presidential contenders are behind a bill that would allow Puerto Rico to terminate its $73 billion in debt.
Sens. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, and Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, introduced a bill Wednesday that would give the US territory a way out of its crushing debt crisis exacerbated by the damage from Hurricane Maria in 2017.
Rep. Nydia Velázquez, D-New York -- the first Puerto Rican woman elected to the House -- plans to introduce companion legislation in the House.
The relief act aims to allow US territories to "terminate their public, unsecured debt" if they meet two of the following criteria: population decrease of 5% over 10 years, received major federal disaster assistance and per capita debt going beyond $15,000. Puerto Rico qualifies under these criteria.
The senators propose that Puerto Rico's governor and Legislature approve the debt relief, since Puerto Rico is a self-governing territory. The bill would then designate a "special master" to allocate $15 billion to creditors Puerto Rico owed. The bill would not extend to bond insurers, large financial firms and hedge fund investors.
Under the bill, eligible US territories would be allowed the option to terminate their debt only once every seven years. The Caribbean island has been in an economic recession for over a decade and in May 2017 it filed for bankruptcy the biggest municipal bankruptcy filing ever in the US.
Four months after filing for bankruptcy, Puerto Rico was hit by the strongest storm the island has seen in 85 years: Hurricane Maria.
When he was a candidate, Donald Trump said he would not "bail out" Puerto Rico, but as President and following Hurricane Maria, Trump floated the prospect of wiping out Puerto Rico's debt burden.
Nissan's new audible warning reminds parents not to leave kids in hot cars
So far this year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that 29 children have died of heatstroke after being left in a hot car. That number will only climb — on average, 1 child dies every 10 days due to in-car heatstroke. And it doesn't always have to be stifling hot outside for tragedy to strike. NHTSA says the interior of a car can soar to 110 degrees even with an exterior temperature of only 60 degrees.
To combat this very real problem, Nissan introduced Rear Door Alert technology in its 2018 Pathfinder that reminds owners to check the rear seat upon exiting their vehicle. Instead of a simple warning text on the dash, Nissan's system includes "a series of distinctive honks as the driver walks away from the vehicle." RDA monitors use of a car's rear door, and if it's opened at the beginning of a trip but remains closed at the end, the warning system activates.
RDA was developed by two engineers at Nissan who are also mothers. For 2019, Nissan has spread RDA across much of its lineup, including the Altima and Rogue. And by 2022, RDA will be standard across all four-door Nissan vehicles, including pickup trucks.
A homeless man handing out resumes in Silicon Valley gets more than 200 offers
After standing on a street corner and asking strangers for employment, one homeless man in Silicon Valley has been overwhelmed by job offers.
David Casarez, a college graduate in his 20s, was spotted holding a sign that read, "Homeless hungry 4 success take a resume." He was handing out his resume to motorists in Mountain View, California.
Casarez moved to California several months ago, seeking a job in the tech industry. He recently ran out of money and said he had to get creative to get noticed.
"I wanted to be in the Bay Area with all of the other tech companies. If you want to compete and play with the big dogs, you'd better come out here," he told KRON. "I was like, 'Let me try something to stand out.'"
The sign and perseverance paid off. After a woman shared a photo of Casarez with his sign, as well as his resume, on social media, he has been inundated with people trying to help.
When asked how many job offers he's received, Casarez said he's lost track.
"I would say it's way more than 200 at this point. Lost track as my inbox has been flooded," Casarez said.
Carr Fire in California is so hot it's creating its own weather system
The Carr Fire raging in Northern California is so large and hot that it is creating its own localized weather system with variable strong winds, making it difficult for experts to predict which way the blaze will spread.
At least 19 people were still reported missing in Shasta County, California, officials said after shifting winds, dry fuel and steep terrain helped the monstrous fire engulf more than 103,000 acres.
The fire has claimed six lives, including a firefighter and bulldozer operator working to extinguish the blaze. Authorities have received 48 missing person reports but 29 people have since been found safe, according to Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko.
The fire, which started a week ago, has burned 103,772 acres and is just 23% contained, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. It has scorched an area bigger than the size of Denver.
Flames have destroyed at least 966 structures in the area, making it one of the top 10 most destructive wildfires in California history. In fact, seven of the 12 most destructive fires have happened since 2015.
"We are seeing more destructive, larger fires burning at rates that we have historically never seen," said Jonathan Cox, Cal Fire regional battalion chief.
More than 3,300 fire personnel are battling the flames with more than 330 engines and 17 helicopters, Cal Fire reported.
Police Arrive At French Montana's Home After Armed Robbery
South Bronx rapper French Montana became the victim of a home invasion, TMZ reports, on Tuesday morning (July 31) after two armed assailants broke into his home in Calabasas residence.
Thankfully, TMZ further reports that no one was hospitalized. But considering that the 33-year-old’s home is in a gated community, the break-in could raise many eyebrows.
The invasion reportedly occurred hours beforehand, but for an undetailed reason, was reported later on. There is currently no information as to whether anyone was held at gunpoint or injured, but the site adds that French and “an unknown number of people” were in the house during the incident.
an investigation is currently underway, but there are no leads or suspects just yet. The home, which formerly belonged to 26-year-old pop singer Selena Gomez, has a history of sketchy activity, though. The site concludes that when Gomez resided there she’d dealt with a stalker who “made his way to her home” shortly after she moved in and despite the home being located in a gated community.
Sexual abuse 'endemic' in international aid sector, damning report finds
Sexual abuse of vulnerable women and girls by international aid workers is "endemic" and has been happening for years, with perpetrators easily moving around the sector undetected, according to a UK government report published Tuesday.
The report by the House of Commons International Development Committee comes after historical allegations of harassment and sexual misconduct by employees of several top NGOs, including Oxfam and Save the Children, surfaced earlier this year. Those allegations prompted the Committee to launch an inquiry into abuse in the aid sector in February.
Tuesday's report found sexual abuse and exploitation to be "endemic across the international aid sector" and targeted at both locals and staff members. Abuses ranged from unwanted sexual comments to rape.
"The power imbalance is predominantly, although not exclusively, men abusing women and girls," said the report, which warned that the cases that had come to light were likely just the "tip of the iceberg
A cause of "deep concern and alarm" was the ease with which individuals known to be predatory or potentially dangerous were able to move undetected from one aid organization to another, the report added.
The committee criticized aid groups for failing to tackle the problem despite being aware of reports of abuse for years. Chair of the committee, MP Stephen Twigg, said that the report set out "the collective failure over period of at least 16 years by the aid sector to address sexual exploitation and abuse."
He said that in effect, organizations had often put "their reputation ahead of women, children and other victims of sexual exploitation and abuse."