International
Strong winds hit Bermuda as Hurricane Fiona heads for Canada
AFP | by Sarah TITTERTON
Bermuda assessed damage Friday after Hurricane Fiona brushed past the island overnight, causing flooding and leaving most of the population without power as it set course for Canada.
Hurricane conditions were expected to hit Nova Scotia province by evening, with the US National Hurricane Center saying Fiona had again strengthened to a Category 4 storm as “it races toward Atlantic Canada.”
Emergency officials in Bermuda called on residents to remain inside as strong winds raked over the British territory, which was buffeted by gusts of more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) per hour and pounding seas.
But no fatalities or major damage were reported as Fiona passed roughly 100 miles to the west of the island.
The Belco power company said 29,000 out of 36,000 households were without power.
“We are not in the clear. Stay off the roads,” Premier David Burt tweeted, adding no major incidents were reported.
The Royal Bermuda Regiment and Belco said they were waiting for winds to die down before clearing roads and restoring power.
Residents posted images of downed power lines and some flooding on social media.
“This morning (it is) very windy outside. We had some minor damage to the premises but nothing serious,” Jason Rainer, owner of a souvenir shop in the capital Hamilton told AFP, saying some doors and windows had been blown out.
Store owners had covered windows with metal and wood sheets.
The island of about 64,000 people is no stranger to hurricanes — but it is also tiny, just 21 square miles (54 square kilometers), and one of the most remote places in the world, 640 miles from its closest neighbor, the United States.
A well-prepared island
“You have to live with it because you live here, you can’t run anywhere because it’s just a little island,” said JoeAnn Scott, a shopworker in Hamilton.
Bermudians try to “enjoy it as it comes,” she said. “And pray and pray. That’s what we do, pray and party,” she added with a laugh.
At Bermuda’s famed Horseshoe Bay Beach, onlookers watched pounding waves on Thursday before the storm hit, while two kitesurfers risked extreme conditions out at sea.
Because of the island’s isolation, preparations are taken seriously.
Many boats were taken out of the water earlier in the week, public schools were closed, buses and ferries stopped and an emergency shelter opened.
In addition to laying in supplies of candles and food, some Bermudians drew buckets of water and filled bathtubs from the tanks at the side of their homes ahead of the expected power outages.
There is no fresh water source on the island, so all buildings have white, lime-washed roofs that are used to catch rainwater in tanks that is then pumped into homes.
Bermuda, whose economy is fueled by international finance and tourism, is wealthy compared to most Caribbean countries, and structures must be built to strict planning codes to withstand storms. Some have done so for centuries.
“The construction is really built to last, and we don’t see the devastation ever that the Caribbean has experienced over the years,” resident Elaine Murray said.
Fiona killed four people in Puerto Rico earlier this week, according to US media, while one death was reported in the French overseas department of Guadeloupe and another in the Dominican Republic.
President Joe Biden has declared a state of emergency in Puerto Rico, a US territory that is still struggling to recover from Hurricane Maria five years ago.
In the Dominican Republic, President Luis Abinader declared three eastern provinces to be disaster zones.
International
Merengue concert turns to mourning as Jet Set collapse claims 136 lives
Dominican rescue teams will end search and recovery operations on Wednesday, April 9, 2025, at the Jet Set nightclubin Santo Domingo, where the building collapsed during a live concert.
Authorities estimate that the final 20 bodies will be recovered from the rubble today, bringing the official death toll to 136. This includes 12 additional bodies found overnight in the disaster zone, adding to the previously confirmed 124 fatalities.
Outside the collapsed nightclub, desperate relatives of the missing continue to gather, clinging to hope for news. Many also visited nearby hospitals and morgues in search of their loved ones.
A list of confirmed victims has been posted on a tent set up near the site, where the bodies are being transferred for identification.
The tragedy occurred during a performance by renowned merengue singer Rubby Pérez, who was among the deceased.
Central America
Colombia to host fourth EU-CELAC Summit in November
The Fourth Summit between the European Union (EU) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) will take place on November 9 and 10 in Santa Marta, Colombia, according to a joint statement released Wednesday by the Colombian government and the European Council.
The summit will be co-chaired by Colombian President Gustavo Petro, in his role as pro tempore president of CELAC, and European Council President António Costa, the statement added.
The last EU-CELAC summit took place in July 2023 in Brussels, when both blocs agreed to hold these meetings every two years.
The summit brings together the 27 EU member states and the 33 CELAC countries, representing 14% of the global population, 21% of global GDP, and one-third of the members of the United Nations, the communiqué noted.
International
Russia and US to Meet in Istanbul for Diplomatic Talks on April 10
The Kremlin confirmed today a forthcoming meeting with the United States to discuss the normalization of diplomatic relations, which will take place in Istanbul.
“Our participation will be through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” said Dmitry Peskov, the presidential spokesperson, during his daily telephone press conference.
Peskov was responding to a question about who would represent Russia in the new round of negotiations, which is supposedly scheduled for April 10.
Subsequently, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the delegations will be led by the Russian ambassador to the U.S., Alexandr Darchiev, and the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, Sonata Coulter.
These are the same negotiators who met in late February in Istanbul, where the expert-level negotiation format was the same, according to the source.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had said a few days ago that the next meeting would be held in the Turkish city, though he did not confirm a date.
Lavrov, who participated in only one of these meetings, clarified that the upcoming discussions would address the issues still dividing Moscow and Washington diplomatically, referring to the operations of both countries’ embassies.
The Kremlin asserted that Washington has not yet responded to Russia’s security concerns, preventing a ceasefire declaration on land, sea, and air.
Meanwhile, Trump expressed discontent with Russia’s recent attacks, including one last week that killed 20 people in Krivi Rig, the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
So far, Russia has rejected a cessation of hostilities and only declared a 30-day ceasefire on March 18 against attacks on energy infrastructure, which was extended by Kyiv a week later.
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