Haiti gang violence: UK warns against all travel to Caribbean nation as US secretary of state tries to solve crisis

Published

3 months ago

March 11, 2024

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The UK government has warned against all travel to Haiti as intense fighting and gang violence continues to spiral in the Caribbean nation.

It follows US secretary of state Antony Blinken heading to Jamaica in an attempt to solve the crisis, which threatens to bring down Haiti’s government.

Attacks by powerful gangs on key government targets began on 29 February across Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, with gunmen having burned police stations, closed the main international airports and raided the country’s two biggest prisons, releasing 4,000 inmates.

There are no British consular officials in the country, with embassy staff having relocated to the Dominican Republic in November 2019.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said assistance would be “severely limited” in Haiti.

It said on its website: “FCDO advises against all travel to Haiti due to the volatile security situation.”

The United Nations estimates thousands have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced in the conflict, with widespread reports of rape, torture and ransom kidnappings.

Food and water are dwindling and the main port in Port-au-Prince remains closed, stranding dozens of containers with critical supplies.

Mr Blinken will meet Caribbean leaders as pressure grows on Prime Minister Ariel Henry to resign or agree to a transitional council.

It is unclear if Mr Henry, who has been locked out of his country, would attend the meeting, organised by members of a regional trade bloc known as the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), which has pressed for a transitional government for months.

In a statement, the State Department said Mr Blinken will discuss a proposal to expedite a political transition in Haiti and also discuss the long-awaited deployment of a multinational security mission to restore order in Haiti, set to be led by Kenya.

Haiti entered a state of emergency on 3 March after gangs boss – and former police officer – Jimmy Cherizier, known as Barbecue, called for criminal groups to unite and overthrow Mr Henry.

The prime minister was in Kenya when the attacks began, pushing for the UN-backed deployment of a police force from the east African country – which has been delayed by a court ruling.

He landed in Puerto Rico last week after being denied entry into the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti.

Mr Henry has not issued any public comment since the attacks began.

World

France foils plan to attack Olympic Games football stadium

Published

18 hours ago

May 31, 2024

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France foils plan to attack Olympic Games football stadium

France says it has foiled an attack targeting one of the football stadiums being used for this summer’s Olympic Games.

The country’s security forces arrested an 18-year-old from Chechnya earlier this month in the southeastern city of Saint-Etienne, interior minister Gerald Darmanin said.

According to investigators, the man was preparing an attack on the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium in Saint-Etienne.

He planned to target spectators and police forces in order to “die and become a martyr”, the minister’s statement added.

The Paris Olympics will take place between 26 July and 11 August, and will be held under heavy security.

President Emmanuel Macron has said the opening ceremony could be scaled down if the security threat is deemed too high.

There are considerable security concerns around the ceremony, which will bring together 100 leaders and involve athletes sailing down the River Seine with huge crowds on its embankments.

Organisers have decided to scale back spectator numbers from 600,000 to 300,000. They have also decided not to give tourists free access to the ceremony as planned.

The Geoffroy-Guichard stadium is one of several venues to be used for the Olympic football tournament.

Originally built in the 1930s, it has been used for major sporting and cultural events, including the 1998 World Cup and concerts, and has undergone several renovations.

Football matches will take place across various French cities before the final at the Stade de France on the outskirts of Paris.

World

Israel has offered ceasefire and hostage proposal to Hamas, says Biden

Published

19 hours ago

May 31, 2024

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Israel has offered ceasefire and hostage proposal to Hamas, says Biden

Israel has offered a comprehensive new ceasefire deal to Hamas, US President Joe Biden says.

The deal would involve the return of Israeli hostages from Gaza and reconstruction of civilian areas.

Mr Biden urged leaders on both sides not to “lose this moment”.

“Everyone who wants peace now must raise their voices and work to make it real. It’s time for this war to end,” he said during a surprise address at the White House on Friday.

The first phase of the proposed deal would be a ceasefire lasting six weeks, during which Israel and Hamas would negotiate a permanent end to the fighting in Gaza, Mr Biden said.

If the negotiations take longer than six weeks, the ceasefire would continue for as long as it takes to strike a deal, he added.

Phase two would involve Hamas handing over all remaining hostages and Israel withdrawing all of its forces from Gaza.

The final phase would be about a “major reconstruction plan”, according to the president.

He also urged Israel’s leadership to back the proposal, arguing that Hamas was no longer capable of carrying out another attack on Israelis like the one on 7 October.

Sky US correspondent Mark Stone describes the announcement as a “big moment”, saying it “feels significant” compared with other similar ones in the past.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

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World

Donald Trump found guilty in hush money case – becoming first ex-president to be criminally convicted

Published

1 day ago

May 31, 2024

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Donald Trump found guilty in hush money case - becoming first ex-president to be criminally convicted

Donald Trump has become the first former US president to be criminally convicted.

In a historic decision, a New York jury has found him guilty of falsifying business records to commit election fraud.

He was found guilty of all 34 counts he faced. Unanimity was required for any verdict.

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Trump found guilty on all counts

The former president is set to be sentenced on 11 July – days before the start of the Republican National Convention on 15 July where Trump is expected to be formally nominated for president.

The verdicts plunge the country into unexplored territory ahead of the election on 5 November as opinion polls show Trump and Joe Biden locked in a tight race for the White House.

Trump faces a maximum sentence of four years in prison, though others convicted of the same crime often receive shorter sentences, fines or probation.

Speaking outside the court, Trump said the conviction was a “disgrace” and that he is “a very innocent man”.

He said the trial was “rigged” and that the judge was “conflicted” and “should never have been allowed to try this case”.

“This is long from over,” Trump added.

After the conviction he travelled in a convoy of black jeeps to dinner in New York City.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Joe Biden said in a statement: “No one is above the law.”

“Donald Trump has always mistakenly believed he would never face consequences for breaking the law for his own personal gain,” said Michael Tyler, the Biden-Harris campaign’s communications director.

“The threat Trump poses to our democracy has never been greater. He is running an increasingly unhinged campaign of revenge and retribution, pledging to be a dictator ‘on day one’ and calling for our Constitution to be ‘terminated’ so he can regain and keep power,” he added.

“A second Trump term means chaos, ripping away Americans’ freedoms and fomenting political violence – and the American people will reject it this November.”

Alvin Bragg, the New York district attorney who brought the case against Trump, said in a press conference after the verdicts that his team “followed the facts and the law without fear or favour”.

He thanked the NYPD, court staff and the jury, saying the latter was “careful and attentive”.

“I feel a deep gratitude to work alongside them to be a part of this system,” he said.

“While this defendant may be unlike any other in American history, we arrived at this trial and ultimately today at this verdict, in the same manner as every other case,” Mr Bragg added.

Meanwhile, Michael Cohen, Trump’s former fixer and a key witness in the trial, said: “Today is an important day for accountability and the rule of law.

“While it has been a difficult journey for me and my family, the truth always matters.”

He also posted on X celebrating the verdicts.

The case against Trump

Trump was at the centre of a scheme to cover up “hush money” payments to buy the silence of a porn star in the days before the 2016 election.

When revelations by Stormy Daniels of a sexual liaison with Trump threatened to upend his presidential campaign, he directed his lawyer to pay her $130,000 (£102,000) to keep her quiet.

The payment buried the story, and Trump was later elected to be the 45th president of the United States.

Trump watched the jurors dispassionately as they were polled to confirm the guilty verdict. They had deliberated for nine-and-a-half hours.

Judge Juan Merchan thanked the jurors for their service, saying: “Nobody can make you do anything you don’t want to do. The choice is yours.” Jurors are now free to speak about the trial.

Both supporters and protesters gathered outside and could be heard in the hallway on the 15th floor of the courthouse, where the case had been heard.

The five-week trial in the Manhattan Criminal Court heard how the backdrop to the crime was a scandal in the Trump campaign a month before the 2016 election.

A video tape from the TV show Access Hollywood was made public, in which Trump was caught on a microphone talking in lewd terms about groping women (“When you’re a star they let you do it, grab them by the p***y. You can do anything.”)

The trial heard how it was viewed as a “crisis” within Team Trump and that the campaign was soon facing another.

Ms Daniels, an adult film actor, claimed she had a sexual encounter with Trump in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, in 2006.

Fast-forward 10 years and, as he ran for office, she was hawking her story.

The details, as heard in this trial, were that she had met Trump at a golf tournament, and he had invited her to dinner.

She arrived at his hotel suite to find him dressed in satin pyjamas, until she asked him to change.

At one point, he produced a magazine, and she told the court she spanked him “right on the butt”.

Later, she emerged from the bathroom to find him lying on the bed in a T-shirt and boxer shorts, and they ended up having sex.

Trump denies the liaison took place.

‘Catch and kill’

Her plan to sell her story was communicated to Trump by David Pecker, former publisher of the National Enquirer magazine.

He was a friend of Trump and operated a “catch and kill” scheme on his behalf, to catch negative stories and kill them before they could be published.

He’d already paid $150,000 (£117,000) to silence Karen McDougal, a Playboy model with a story of a 10-month affair with Trump.

Trump also denies that affair ever took place.

Mr Pecker told the court he’d attended a meeting at Trump Tower, New York, in August 2015 with Trump and Michael Cohen, Trump’s lawyer and fixer.

At the meeting, Mr Pecker told Trump he’d be his “eyes and ears”.

Michael Cohen testified that, upon learning that Ms Daniels planned to sell her story, Trump told him: “This is a disaster, a total disaster. Women are going to hate me.

“This is really a disaster. Women will hate me. Guys, they think it’s cool. But this is going to be a disaster for the campaign.”

Subsequently, Cohen paid Ms Daniels $130,000 (£102,000) to buy and bury the story.

Critically, he testified that he did so at Trump’s direction, placing the former president at the heart of the conspiracy.

Paying hush money isn’t illegal – the crime was the way in which Trump reimbursed his ‘Mr Fix-It’ and the reason the money was paid.

After Trump was elected president, he repaid Cohen $420,000 (£329,000) which accounted for the $130,000 (£102,000) and other payments and bonuses, “grossed up” to account for tax liability.

The repayment was made in a series of cheques, which were recorded as legal expenses.

That was the crime – the falsification of business records, aggravated by the reason for it – the effort to conceal from voters a negative story that could have harmed Trump’s election chances.

In the words of the prosecution, it was “a planned, coordinated, long-running conspiracy to influence the 2016 election”.