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'No inch here was spared': Hurricane Melissa destroys Jamaica townThe BBC's Nada Tawfik reports from Black River, Jamaica, where the strongest storm to hit the country in modern history has left scenes of desperation. The storm made landfall 28 October as a category five hurricane with sustained winds of 185mph (298kph). Thousands of people remain without power.
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Hurricane death toll rises as Jamaica aid effort struggles8 hours agoShareSaveWill Grant and Nick Davis,Kingston and Brandon Drenon,Reporting from Mandeville, JamaicaShareSaveWatch: BBC reports from “ground zero” of Hurricane Melissa's destructionAt least 19 people have died in Jamaica as a result of Hurricane Melissa, Information Minister Dana Morris Dixon says, as search and rescue efforts continue and authorities try to get aid to hard-hit areas.
The hurricane, one of the most powerful to strike the Caribbean, also killed at least 30 people in Haiti, officials say.
In Jamaica, “there are entire communities that seem to be marooned and areas that seem to be flattened”, Dixon said, with “devastating” scenes in western regions.
Electricity remains out to most of the island and as people try to salvage damaged homes and belongings from flood water and mud, many thousands are growing increasingly desperate for aid.
Parts of the country have been without water for several days and fo..
CBS stalwart Gayle King, who has fronted the broadcaster’s morning show for over a decade, is expected to step down from her anchor role on next year, according to a new report.
King, host of “CBS Mornings,” may switch to a different role in the news section, though this has not been confirmed, sources told Variety.
It comes following a major overhaul under CBS News’ new editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss, which has seen sweeping cuts, the loss of two streaming shows and roughly 100 layoffs, among other things. Among those to be let go were eight on-air correspondents and hosts, all of whom were women, and half of whom were people of color.
King’s existing contract with CBS is set to expire in May, per Variety, though it is possible she may stay with the broadcaster with a deal to produce her own programming.
King, who has fronted the broadcaster’s morning show for over a decade, is expected to step down from her anchor role on next yearThe outlet notes that former “CBS Evening News” anchor N..
Several passengers were injured onboard a JetBlue flight from Mexico to New Jersey, after the aircraft suffered a flight control issue and was forced to make an emergency landing.
The Airbus 320 was heading to Newark Liberty International Airport from Cancun International Airport when it was forced to divert to Tampa, Florida, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The flight landed in Florida at around 2:20 p.m. ET Thursday.
JetBlue said the aircraft experienced a drop in altitude and the “flight was met by medical personnel who evaluated customers and crew members, and those needing additional care were transported to a local hospital.”
The airline did not immediately say how many people were injured, though pilots told air traffic control that at least three people were injured with possible lacerations following the incident, ABC reported.
JetBlue said the aircraft (not pictured) experienced a drop in altitude and the flight was met by medical personnel who evaluated cu..
'We saw people murdered in front of us' – Sudan siege survivors speak to the BBC1 hour agoShareSaveBarbara Plett UsherAfrica correspondentShareSaveBBCEzzeldin Hassan Musa was beaten with sticks before he managed to fleeShaken, scratched and left with just the clothes he is wearing, Ezzeldin Hassan Musa describes the brutality of Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the wake of the paramilitary group taking control of el-Fasher city in the Darfur region.
He says its fighters tortured and murdered men trying to flee.
Now in the town of Tawila, lying exhausted on a mat under a gazebo, Ezzeldin is one of several thousand people who have made it to relative safety after escaping what the UN has described as “horrific” violence.
On Wednesday, RSF leader Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo admitted to “violations” in el-Fasher and said they would be investigated. A day later a senior UN official said the RSF had given notice that they had arrested some suspects.
About an 80km (50-mile) ..
Trump caps refugee admissions at record low – with most to be white South Africans4 hours agoShareSaveBernd Debusmann Jrat the White HouseShareSaveGetty ImagesTrump criticised South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in May and claimed white farmers in his nation were being killed and “persecuted”The Trump administration will limit the number of refugees admitted to the US to 7,500 over the next year, and give priority to white South Africans.
The move, announced in a notice published on Thursday, marks a dramatic cut from the previous limit of 125,000 set by former President Joe Biden and will bring the cap to a record low.
No reason was given for the cut, but the notice said it was “justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest”.
In January, Trump signed an executive order suspending the US Refugee Admissions Programme, or USRAP, which he said would allow US authorities to prioritise national security and public safety.
The previous lowest refugee admiss..
Hurricane Melissa has seen its death toll enter double digits amid widespread destruction across Cuba, Haiti and Jamaica, where roofless homes and water-logged furniture dominated the landscape.
At least 25 people were killed across Haiti and 18 are missing, Haiti's Civil Protection Agency said in a statement on Wednesday.
Twenty of those reported dead and 10 of the missing are from the southern coastal town of Petit-Goave, where flooding collapsed dozens of homes.
Hurricane Melissa damaged more than 160 homes and destroyed 80 others, with 10 of the 20 people killed there confirmed to be children.
open image in galleryA man places plastic tarps over tents at a shelter for families displaced by gang violence during a break in the rain brought by Hurricane Melissa in Port-au-Prince, HaitiLawyer Charly Saint-Vil, 30, said he saw bodies lying among the debris after the storm as he walked the streets of the small coastal town where he grew up.
“People have lost everything,” he said, ad..
CloseMoment Hurricane Melissa tears through Jamaica's resort town Montego BayThe death toll from Hurricane Melissa is growing as the powerful storm nears the Bahamas after leaving a trail of “catastrophic” destruction across Jamaica and parts of Cuba.
Authorities in Haiti said that at least 25 people, including children, have been killed, the Associated Press reports. Haitian officials initially reported that 40 people were killed, but they later corrected the number. In Jamaica, at least eight people have been killed. One death has also been reported in the Dominican Republic. That would bring the current known death toll from the hurricane to 37 across the Caribbean.
It’s expected that the extent of Hurricane Melissa’s damage will be clearer in the coming days as authorities work to reach the hardest-hit areas.
Hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated to shelters ahead of the arrival of the “extremely dangerous” storm, with a hurricane warning put in place for Santiago de..
Jamaicans take stock after hurricane causes damage, flooding and power cuts2 hours agoShareSaveNick Davis,Mandeville and Rachel HaganShareSaveEPAA woman surveys the damage to her home in northern JamaicaJamaicans are taking stock after Hurricane Melissa, the strongest storm to strike the island in modern history, barrelled across the country leaving behind a trail of ruin.
Without power or phone coverage, much of the country is isolated and so information is trickling through.
Authorities were only able to confirm the first deaths as a result of the hurricane over 24 hours after landfall. The bodies of three men and one woman were washed up by the flood waters in St Elizabeth Parish, local government minister Desmond McKenzie said.
There, Prime Minister Andrew Holness said “images of destruction are all around”.
“The damage is great, but we are going to devote all our energy to mount a strong recovery,” he said.
Three-quarters of the country are still without power, according to the la..
Two suspects partially admit involvement in Louvre heist, prosecutor says5 hours agoShareSaveTom McArthurShareSave© RMN – Grand Palais (Musée du Louvre) Mathieu RabeauPrecious crown jewels including the Parure Marie-Amélie diadème are yet to be recoveredTwo men arrested in connection with the Louvre theft two weeks ago have “partially recognised” their involvement in the brazen heist, according to officials.
The pair in custody are suspected of being the two who used power tools to enter the museum's Apollon gallery and steal some of the French crown jewels.
Items worth €88m (£76m; $102m) were taken from the world's most-visited museum on 19 October, when four thieves broke into the building in broad daylight.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said that the jewels had not been recovered yet, and the gang involved could be bigger than the four people caught on CCTV.
How Louvre gang carried out France's most shocking theftThe two men, both in their thirties, have criminal rec..
