International

Rescuing trapped grandkids via kayak: the aftermath of Hurricane Ian

AFP | Gerard Martinez

Suzanne Clarke wades through waist-deep water, struggling to reach her daughter’s apartment as she drags a kayak behind her.

When she finally reaches the home, she loads her two small granddaughters into the boat and pushes them toward higher ground, where she has parked her car on a freeway.

The building where Clarke’s daughter lives, in McGregor, a small city in southwestern Florida, was flooded Wednesday as Hurricane Ian thrashed over the community, which is situated along the Caloosahatchee River.

“I am very stressed, it’s been rough,” said 54-year-old Clarke. “I came early. The water was really, really high and I was scared.”

A day after Ian’s fury was unleashed, the inhabitants of Lee County — one of the areas most affected by the storm — are left to count the damage inflicted over the last several hours, now standing under a radiantly sunny sky.

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Some six miles (10 kilometers) away in Iona, only a few particularly large cars dare to navigate through a flooded street.

Resident Ronnie Sutton spent the night with a friend in a town south of here called Cabo Coral. Even though he hasn’t been able to get to his house yet, he is sure the water has destroyed everything.

“It’s terrible,” the 67-year-old said. “I guess this is the price you pay for being at sea level. Sometimes it comes back to bite you.”

Boats in the street

Ian battered this section of southwestern Florida for hours on Wednesday, leaving behind scenes of destruction, including splintered trees, felled traffic lights and shattered glass.

In Fort Myers, a quiet city of approximately 83,000 people, the rising Caloosahatchee River pushed dozens of small boats — usually anchored at the local marina — up into the streets of downtown, where they remained Thursday on the now-dry ground.

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Tom Johnson witnessed the flooding up close from his apartment on the second floor of a two-story building.

Wednesday afternoon, he saw how the hurricane propelled two boats up into his complex’s courtyard in a matter of just five minutes.

“I was scared because I’ve never been through that,” recalled 54-year-old Johnson, whose home was not damaged, gesturing to the crafts still laying there.

“It was just the most horrifying sounds, with debris flying everywhere, doors flying off.”

One of Johnson’s neighbors, Janelle Thil, was not as lucky. Her ground-floor apartment began to flood, but she was able to ask another resident for help to get out.

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“They got my dogs and then I jumped out of the window and swam over there,” Thil said, pointing to a vacant second-floor unit where she and others took refuge.

The 42-year-old had finished clearing out the mud that found its way into her home, and began gathering her few possessions that were not lost in the flood.

“I cried a little bit when I finally got to my apartment,” she said. “Opened the door and I had to wait about five minutes for all the floodwaters to come out.”

“I loved my home, but I’m alive and that’s what matters.”

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International

Two killed in shooting at restaurant near Frankfurt Airport

Two people were shot dead early Tuesday at a restaurant in Raunheim, near Frankfurt Airport, according to local police.

Preliminary findings indicate that an armed individual entered the establishment at around 03:45 local time (02:45 GMT) and opened fire on the victims, who died at the scene from their injuries.

The suspect fled and remains at large, while the motive behind the shooting is still unclear, German media reported. Authorities have launched a large-scale search operation.

International

U.S. counterterrorism chief resigns over opposition to war in Iran

Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced Tuesday that he has resigned from his post, citing his opposition to the ongoing war in Iran.

In a post on X, Kent said he could not, “in good conscience,” support the conflict, arguing that Iran did not pose an imminent threat to the United States. He also claimed that the war was driven by pressure from Israel and its lobbying influence in Washington.

In a resignation letter addressed to Donald Trump, Kent alleged that at the start of the current administration, senior Israeli officials and influential figures in U.S. media carried out a disinformation campaign that undermined the “America First” platform and fostered pro-war sentiment aimed at triggering a conflict with Iran.

Kent further stated that he could not support sending a new generation of Americans to “fight and die in a war that provides no benefit to the American people and does not justify the cost in American lives.”

Since the United States and Israel launched attacks against Iran on February 28, at least 13 U.S. service members have been killed, while 10 others have been seriously wounded and around 200 have sustained minor injuries, according to a report published by The Wall Street Journal.

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International

German president warns Iran war could spread and disrupt Strait of Hormuz

The president of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, warned Monday that the war involving Iran could expand and further disrupt shipping through the strategic Strait of Hormuz. He urged a swift end to hostilities between Iran, United States and Israel.

Speaking in Panama City during a joint appearance with Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino, Steinmeier said available information suggests Iran has significant capacity to disrupt maritime traffic through the key oil route.

“Iran has considerable potential to interfere with shipping through the Strait of Hormuz,” Steinmeier said through an interpreter. “We should therefore reach an end to the hostilities as soon as possible and call on all parties involved to make that happen.”

The remarks came during Steinmeier’s visit to Panama, the first by a German president to the Central American nation.

The German leader described the possibility of the conflict spreading as “very dangerous,” saying recent developments indicate that such a scenario cannot be ruled out.

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Over the weekend, U.S. President Donald Trump urged allied nations to help ensure safe passage for ships through the Strait of Hormuz after Iran moved to block the waterway in response to U.S. strikes. However, several allies—particularly in Europe—have shown little support for the proposal.

“Some are very enthusiastic, others are not, and some are countries we have helped for many years,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “We have protected them from terrible external threats, and they’re not that enthusiastic. And the level of enthusiasm is important to me.”

Meanwhile, Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s top diplomat, said the Strait of Hormuz falls “outside NATO’s scope” and stressed that “the war involving Iran is not Europe’s war.”