Dam reaches breaking point in Puerto Rico
Many Puerto Ricans living below a dam are moving to higher ground, as the 90-year old structure is being pushed to failure in Puerto Rico. Last Friday, the National Weather Service warned that 70,000 people may have to evacuate, and buses have been transporting people out. The governor of Puerto Rico says it is difficult to get information out of Guajataca, a city in the western part of the island. The governor has traveled to Guajataca with satellite phones so emergency officials may better communicate. The governor’s office says the death count has reached nine, but they expect it to go higher.
Emergency officials are also struggling to transport diesel to hospitals that are low on fuel. The federal emergency management agency claim they are bringing one million liters of water, 31 high capacity generators, medicine and food to the island.
Electoral commission investigated in Kenya
An investigation into possible misconduct in last month’s annulled vote has been ordered by Kenya’s chief prosecutor. After declaring it “neither transparent or verifiable,” the Supreme Court annulled the result of the August 8th poll. The election process, originally rescheduled for October 17th, will be held on October 26th. The electoral commission had originally declared the winner to be incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta by a difference of 1.4 million votes.
Opposition leader Raila Odinga, of the National Super Alliance, went to court to announce his suspicions of a rigged election. Odinga claims he will not take part in new elections unless the electoral commission replaces many of its members. Many worry that political violence will break out in Kenya, after a disputed presidential vote in 2007 led to clashes that cost over 1,200 lives.
In Phillippines, mass protests against dictatorship
Thousands of demonstrators marched last week against President Rodrigo Duterte’s controversial law-and-order policies in the Philippines. However, thousands also marched in support of Duterte’s hardline war on drugs. Opponents are critical of Duterte’s proposal to reinstate martial law. Drug-trafficking allegations have even been placed against Duterte’s own son, Paolo. Duterte has stated he will approve Paolo’s execution if the allegations turn out to be true. “My order is to kill you if you are caught,” he said, “And I will protect the police who kill you, if it is true.”
Paolo said a Senate inquiry earlier this month that allegations that he had helped ship drugs from China to the Philippines. were “rumours and gossip.” Duterte, who took office in 2016, has been known for his brutal stance against crime and corruption. He has often urged civilians to conduct extra-judicial killings of anyone they believe to have commit a crime.
North Korea and Trump ramp up threats
In a tweet late last Saturday, President Trump said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the country’s foreign minister “won’t be around much longer” if they continue to threaten nuclear attack. Earlier that Saturday, North Korea’s Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho told the United Nations General Assembly that targeting the United State’s mainland was an “inevitable” after “Mr. Evil President” Trump claimed Kim Jong Un was a “rocket man” on a suicide mission. Last Sunday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Munchin rolled back Trump’s comments. “The President doesn’t want to be in a nuclear war and we will do everything we can to make sure that doesn’t occur,” he told reporters. “On the other hand, the President will protect the American people and our allies.” Also on Sunday, State-run television in North Korea showed tens of thousands of citizens attending an anti-U.S. Rally Kim Il Sung square in Pyongyang.
