Storm victims blast U.N. for fight at shelter
PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI — Residents of a Haitian slum lashed out at local authorities Monday for abandoning them in the recovery from Tropical Storm Noel, and said U.N. troops and Haitian officials failed to protect one shelter from marauding gangs.
Protesters blocked roads and burned tires on the outskirts of the Cité Soleil slum to demand the government clean up after Noel, which killed 148 people in the Caribbean and left tens of thousands homeless.
Evacuees who spent four days in the overcrowded National School under U.N. protection said international troops abandoned the school Friday, leaving them defenseless from being robbed in the dead of night.
U.N. spokesmen said the shelter was turned over to Haitian authorities shortly after sundown, and that Friday’s incident was a fight over food.
Prison fire kills 30 inmates BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA — Officials recovered the bodies of 30 prisoners Monday from a fire-scorched cellblock where inmates lit mattresses in what appeared to be an escape attempt, the worst prison fire in Argentina since 2005. At least 14 inmates and prison guards were treated for burns, smoke inhalation and other injuries. Prison officials said none of the inmates managed to escape.
Longtime foes at brink of war NAIROBI, KENYA — Ethiopia and Eritrea, stubbornly hostile neighbors for years, are possibly weeks away from a renewed border war that could engulf the volatile Horn of Africa region, according to a report released Monday by a foreign policy research group.
The countries have been on the brink for some time. But the military buildup along their border has reached “alarming proportions,” with opposing troops separated in some areas by only a dry riverbed, according to the report by the International Crisis Group in Belgium.
Spanish enclave welcomes royals MADRID, SPAIN — Thousands waving Spain’s flag welcomed the king and queen to a Spanish enclave in North Africa. King Juan Carlos’ two-day visit was his first to Ceuta and Melilla in his 32 years as head of state. The cities on Morocco’s northern coast are remnants of Spain’s colonial empire.
On Monday, Moroccan Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi said Morocco will work “to recover the two occupied cities and the neighboring islands,” the official MAP news agency said.
