Haiti declares a 3-month state of emergency as gangs ravage country's central region
The measure will cover Haiti's West, Artibonite and Center departments 'to continue the fight against insecurity and respond to the agricultural and food crisis,' according to a government statement.
The region — known as Haiti's rice basket — has been under attack in recent years, with gangs killing farmers or forcing them to abandon their fields as they raze nearby communities.
The United Nations' human rights office noted that from October 2024 to the end of June 2025, more than 1,000 people have been killed, more than 200 injured and 620 kidnapped in the Artibonite and Central departments and nearby areas.
Gang violence also has displaced more than 239,000 people in Haiti's central region, according to the UN In late April, dozens of people waded and swam across the country's largest river in a desperate attempt to flee gangs.
On Friday, the government appointed a new interim director general to oversee Haiti's National Police, which is working with Kenyan police officers leading a UN-backed mission to help quell gang violence.
Andre Jonas Vladimir Paraison replaces former police director general Normil Rameau, who was criticized for his struggle to contain violence perpetrated by gangs that control up to 90 percent of Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince. Rameau had repeatedly warned about the department's severe underfunding.
Paraison previously served as head of security of Haiti's National Palace, and he was on duty as a police officer when former President Jovenel Moïse was killed at his private residence in July 2021.
The changes come as Laurent Saint-Cyr, a wealthy businessman, takes over as president of Haiti's transitional presidential council, which is charged with holding elections by February 2026.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Korea Herald
15 hours ago
- Korea Herald
US and China extend trade truce another 90 days
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump extended a trade truce with China for another 90 days Monday, at least delaying once again a dangerous showdown between the world's two biggest economies. Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that he signed the executive order for the extension, and that 'all other elements of the Agreement will remain the same.' Beijing at the same time also announced the extension of the tariff pause via the official news agency Xinhua. The previous deadline was set to expire at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday. Had that happened the US could have ratcheted up taxes on Chinese imports from an already high 30 percent, and Beijing could have responded by raising retaliatory levies on US exports to China. The pause buys time for the two countries to work out some of their differences, perhaps clearing the way for a summit later this year between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, and it has been welcomed by the US companies doing business with China. Sean Stein, president of the US-China Business Council, said the extension is 'critical' to give the two governments time to negotiate a trade agreement that US businesses hope would improve their market access in China and provide the certainty needed for companies to make medium- and long-term plans. 'Securing an agreement on fentanyl that leads to a reduction in US tariffs and a rollback of China's retaliatory measures is acutely needed to restart US agriculture and energy exports,' Stein said. Reaching a pact with China remains unfinished business for Trump, who has already upended the global trading system by slapping double-digit taxes – tariffs – on almost every country on earth. The European Union, Japan and other trading partners agreed to lopsided trade deals with Trump, accepting once unthinkably US high tariffs (15 percent on Japanese and EU imports, for instance) to ward off something worse. Trump's trade policies have turned the United States from one of the most open economies in the world into a protectionist fortress. The average US tariff has gone from around 2.5 percent at the start of the year to 18.6 percent, highest since 1933, according to the Budget Lab at Yale University. But China tested the limits of a US trade policy built around using tariffs as a cudgel to beat concessions out of trading partners. Beijing had a cudgel of its own: cutting off or slowing access to its rare earths minerals and magnets – used in everything from electric vehicles to jet engines. In June, the two countries reached an agreement to ease tensions. The United States said it would pull back export restrictions on computer chip technology and ethane, a feedstock in petrochemical production. And China agreed to make it easier for US firms to get access to rare earths. 'The US has realized it does not have the upper hand,' said Claire Reade, senior counsel at Arnold & Porter and former assistant US trade representative for China affairs. In May, the US and China had averted an economic catastrophe by reducing massive tariffs they'd slapped on each other's products, which had reached as high as 145 percent against China and 125 percent against the US. Those triple-digit tariffs threatened to effectively end trade between the United States and China and caused a frightening sell-off in financial markets. In a May meeting in Geneva they agreed to back off and keep talking: America's tariffs went back down to a still-high 30 percent and China's to 10 percent. Having demonstrated their ability to hurt each other, they've been talking ever since. 'By overestimating the ability of steep tariffs to induce economic concessions from China, the Trump administration has not only underscored the limits of unilateral US leverage, but also given Beijing grounds for believing that it can indefinitely enjoy the upper hand in subsequent talks with Washington by threatening to curtail rare earth exports,' said Ali Wyne, a specialist in US-China relations at the International Crisis Group. "The administration's desire for a trade détente stems from the self-inflicted consequences of its earlier hubris.' It's unclear whether Washington and Beijing can reach a grand bargain over America's biggest grievances. Among these are lax Chinese protection of intellectual property rights and Beijing's subsidies and other industrial policies that, the Americans say, give Chinese firms an unfair advantage in world markets and have contributed to a massive US trade deficit with China of $262 billion last year. Reade doesn't expect much beyond limited agreements such as the Chinese saying they will buy more American soybeans and promising to do more to stop the flow of chemicals used to make fentanyl and to allow the continued flow of rare-earth magnets. But the tougher issues will likely linger, and 'the trade war will continue grinding ahead for years into the future,' said Jeff Moon, a former US diplomat and trade official who now runs the China Moon Strategies consultancy.
Korea Herald
15 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Shooter kills 3 in Target parking lot in Austin, Texas
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A gunman opened fire Monday in the parking lot of a Target store in Texas' capital, killing two adults and a child before stealing two cars during a getaway that ended with police using a Taser to detain him on the other side of the city, authorities said. Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said the suspect is a man in his 30s with 'a mental health history.' Police said they were still working to determine a motive. The suspect fled the scene in a stolen car, wrecked that car and then stole another from a dealership, Davis said. He was captured about 32 kilometers away, in south Austin, where he was taken into custody, she said during a news conference. Davis said officers responding to a call at about 2:15 p.m. found three people shot in the Target parking lot. Davis said they believe one of the people who was shot was the owner of the car stolen from the store's parking lot. An adult and child were pronounced dead at the scene, while another adult died after being taken to the hospital, according to Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services. EMS officials said a fourth person was treated for a minor medical complaint not related to traumatic injuries. 'This is a very sad day for Austin. It's a very sad day for us all and my condolences go out to the families,' Davis said. She said she had no information to release about the victims. Lonnie Lee, 22, said she had visited the Target with her sister just a couple of hours earlier before they left to get lunch with their grandparents. When they returned to the area to continue shopping, she said they were shocked to see the parking lot was cordoned off and filled with police. 'We got really, really lucky,' Lee said. 'And some people didn't.' The shooting came amid back-to-school shopping ahead of the upcoming academic year. Target said in a statement that they were 'devastated' by what happened, and that they would be providing grief counseling to their team. 'Our hearts are with the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives, our team in Austin and all those impacted by this tragedy,' the statement said. Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said in a message on X that his 'heart is with the victims and their families" and that 'while this remains an active and ongoing investigation, what I'll say is that this was a sickening, cowardly act of gun violence." At a Jiffy Lube that shares its parking lot with the Target, employees hunkered down and locked the store doors as soon as they became aware a shooting was taking place. Paul Smith, an employee at the auto store, said he saw people running from their cars in the parking lot in a panic. 'I had just gotten back from the Target like a minute before,' Smith said. The Target shooting comes just over two weeks after an attack at a Walmart store in Michigan. A man accused of stabbing 11 people at the Traverse City store on July 26 has been charged with terrorism and multiple counts of attempted murder.
Korea Herald
15 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Trump suggests he'll know if Putin wants a peace deal with Ukraine soon into their meeting
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Monday that he expected to determine mere moments into his meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin this week whether it would be possible to work out a deal to halt the war in Ukraine. 'At the end of that meeting, probably the first two minutes, I'll know exactly whether or not a deal can be made,' Trump said at a White House press conference that he called to announce plans for a federal takeover of Washington's police force to help combat crime. He said he thought Friday's sitdown with Putin in Alaska would be "really a feel-out meeting." Trump added that 'it'll be good, but it might be bad' and predicted he may say, "lots of luck, keep fighting. Or I may say, we can make a deal.' Putin wants to lock in Russia's gains since invading Ukraine in February 2022 as Trump presses for a ceasefire that has remained out of reach. Trump's eagerness to reach a deal has raised fears in Ukraine and Europe about such an agreement favoring Russia, without sufficient input from Ukraine. Trump has alternately harshly criticized both leaders after promising — and so far failing — to swiftly end the conflict. Trump on Monday ducked repeated chances to say that he would push for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to take part in his discussions with Putin, and was especially dismissive of Zelenskyy and his need to be part of an effort to seek peace. He said the Ukrainian president had been to 'a lot of meetings' without managing to halt a war that Russia started. Trump also noted that Zelenskyy had been in power for the duration of the war and said 'nothing happened' during that time. He contrasted that with Putin, who has wielded power in Russia for decades. Trump said that, after his meeting with Putin, 'The next meeting will be with Zelenskyy and Putin" but it could also be a meeting with 'Putin and Zelenskyy and me.' European allies have pushed for Ukraine's involvement, fearful that discussions could otherwise favor Moscow. To that point, Trump said he would call Zelenskyy and European leaders after his discussion with Putin to 'tell them what kind of a deal — I'm not going to make a deal. It's not up to me to make a deal.' Trump spent the early part of his administration decrying Zelenskyy, even suggesting he was a dictator because his country has not held elections during the war. Zelenskyy was hounded out of the Oval Office in February after Trump and Vice President JD Vance suggested he hadn't been grateful enough for US support. More recently, Trump has expressed frustration with Putin that Russia hasn't appeared to take a push for a ceasefire more seriously, and softened his tone toward Zelenskyy. His comments Monday suggested he might have had another change of heart. 'President Putin invited me to get involved,' Trump said. He noted that he thought it was 'very respectful' that Putin is coming to the US for Friday's meeting, instead of insisting that Trump go to Russia. 'I'd like to see a ceasefire. I'd like to see the best deal that can be made for both parties," Trump said. The president repeated that any major agreement could involve land swaps, without elaborating. He had threatened Moscow with more economic sanctions if more isn't done to work toward a ceasefire, but suggested Monday that, should Friday's meeting be successful, he could see a day when the US and Russia normalize trade relations. Putin is expected to be unwavering in his demands to keep all the territory his forces now occupy and to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO, with the long-term aim of returning it to Moscow's sphere of influence. Zelenskyy insists he will never consent to any formal Russian annexation of Ukrainian territory or give up a bid for NATO membership. Putin believes he has the advantage on the ground as Ukrainian forces struggle to hold back Russian advances along the 1,000-kilometer front. On the front lines, few Ukrainian soldiers believe there's an end in sight to the war. With the Europeans and Ukrainians so far not invited to the summit, Germany sought to prepare by inviting Trump, Zelenskyy, the NATO chief and several other European leaders for a virtual meeting on Wednesday. The German chancellery said the talks would seek additional ways to pressure Russia and prepare for peace negotiations and 'related issues of territorial claims and security.' Steffen Meyer, spokesperson for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, said the German government 'has always emphasized that borders must not be shifted by force' and that Ukraine should decide its own fate 'independently and autonomously." Earlier, a Ukrainian drone attack killed one person and wounded two others in a region 418 kilometers east of Moscow. Russia's Defense Ministry said its air defenses intercepted and destroyed a total of 39 Ukrainian drones overnight and Monday morning over several Russian regions as well as over the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014.
