Peru earthquake death toll climbs to 450PISCO, Peru (Reuters):
Peruvians pulled hundreds of dead from the rubble of homes and churches on Thursday, and bodies piled up on street corners after a huge earthquake ravaged the country's central coast.
Firefighters, civil defence officials and the United Nations said around 450 were killed in the 8.0-magnitude quake on Wednesday night. Some 2,000 people were injured and the death toll was expected to rise further.
As rescuers scrambled through the debris in search of survivors, dazed residents guarded bodies in the street, unsure where to take them. Many of the victims were poor and were trapped after their traditional adobe-brick homes collapsed.
Widespread damage from Hurricane Dean
ROSEAU, Dominica (CMC):
Disaster officials here yesterday reported major infrastructural damage as a strong Hurricane Dean continued to pound theisland with strong winds and heavy rain. Disaster Preparedness Coordinator, Cecil Shillingford, said the island was under the "heavy influence of Hurricane Dean" adding that roofs have been blown off houses and numerous trees and electricity poles were uprooted.
Up until mid-morning, the entire island was still without electricity and water as heavy wind and strong rain continued to pound the south coast believed to be most badly hit by Dean. Police also reported that they had held a number of people in connection with looting in the capital which remained closed.
CDERA on standby to assist countries
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC):
Regional disaster relief officials were yesterday beginning to assess the trail of damage Hurricane Dean left in St. Lucia and Dominica, before determining if external assistance was needed, an official said. Jeremy Collymore, head of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA) told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) that it was too early to make a determination on the agency's involvement in the countries which bore the brunt of the storm's 100 miles per hour wind as reports were still very preliminary.
"The reports are still very preliminary but the damage may not have been as great as we had anticipated given the size of the event. "Generally, we have been getting reports of downed poles, road blocks, trees uprooted and some limited infrastructural impact with respect to housing, but this is all very preliminary information, so we cannot say conclusively how extensive the damage will be," he added.
Guyana welcomes aid from India
GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC):
President Bharrat Jagdeo has praised the Indian Government for its contribution towards his country's development. "I acknowledge with appreciation the development assistance which Guyana has received from the Government of India over the years. This valued assistance has been in various sectors and served to enhance national capacity to promote development," Jagdeo told a ceremony on Thursday night, as part of the celebrations marking India's 60th anniversary of political independence from Britain.
Guyana and India forged diplomatic ties 30 years ago, and Jagdeo told the ceremony that "history though indentureship brought our two countries and people together, and the paternal bonds between us have grown in strength and character over the years."
Police intercept illegal drugs
ST. JOHN'S, Antigua (CMC):
Law enforcement officials say a number of nationals from Antigua and St. Vincent and the Grenadines are assisting their investigations into the discovery of more than EC$1.9 million (US$703,700) in illegal drugs on a boat intercepted near the eastern section of the island.
A government statement said that more than 1,360 pounds of marijuana had been found on the boat during a search and that the boat has since been seized.
The statement gave no indication as to how many persons were assisting the police in their investigations, except to state that they were from Antigua and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Belize seeks help from Venezuela
BELMOPAN, Belize (CMC):
Belize is seeking assistance from Venezuela in developing its oil industry, Prime Minister Said Musa has announced. Musa was among regional leaders who attended a summit in Caracas last weekend to discuss PetroCaribe, the oil initiative Caracas had signed with a number of Caribbean islands. A government statement said that the meeting "concentrated on the accomplishments to date and the difficulties being encountered" by the 14 countries that have signed the accord. "Members agreed that much had been accomplished during the two years of the cooperation agreement," the statement said.
Pro-Aristide militant kidnapped in Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (CMC):
A human rights activist and well-known militant of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's Lavalas Family Party has been kidnapped and held for ransom in the Haitian capital, his entourage reported Thursday.
Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine was kidnapped on Sunday evening in the residential district of Delmas in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, shortly after dropping off several foreign visitors he had just driven back from the coastal southern town of Cote-de-Fer.
"He had dropped the visitors at their hotel and was driving back home by 10 p.m. when he was kidnapped," Guerline Douzable, a member of his entourage said.
Underground search for 6 miners suspended
HUNTINGTON, Utah (AP):
The desperate underground drive to reach six trapped miners was suspended indefinitely yesterday after a catastrophic cave-in killed three rescuers inside a Utah mountainside mine that keeps shaking.
The announcement from Richard Stickler, head of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, came after a cave-in Thursday killed three rescue workers and injured at least six others who were trying to tunnel through rubble to reach them. The initial cave-in occurred August 6.
"Is there any possible way we can continue this underground operation and provide safety for the rescue workers? At this point we don't have an answer," Stickler said.
He said mine-safety experts were being summoned to central Utah to discuss the crisis.
Outside the mountain, crews were drilling a fourth hole for any sign of the six men, whose survival status still was unknown on the 12th day of confinement, 1,500 feet (457 meters) below ground.
Case against Energy Minister dismissed
ST. GEORGE'S, Grenada (CMC):
A United States court has dismissed a lawsuit filed against Energy Minister Gregory Bowen, a senior government official said yesterday.
Special advisor to the Grenada cabinet, Hugh Wildman, said a court in New York had dismissed the case against Bowen, who had been accused of being part of a plot to block a U.S. company from obtaining a licence to explore for oil and natural gas off the coast of Grenada in 1996.
"The motion to dismiss the case was upheld by the judge last Friday," said Wildman. "We have always maintained that Jack Grynberg case was frivolous and vexatious and had no base in law. The case lacked credibility," Wildman said.
