News | 8 septembre 2017

Strongest quake in century hits Mexico +++ Hurricane Irma powers towards Florida

Strongest quake in century hits Mexico +++ Hurricane Irma powers towards Florida +++ Spanish court suspends Catalan independence vote +++ Russia says it has killed several IS commanders +++ Australians surrender almost 26,000 guns +++ Surge in number of Rohingya refugees +++ The Weather

News | 8 september 2017

Strongest quake in century hits Mexico

A state of emergency has been declared in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, after a powerful earthquake struck just off the Pacific coast. The country's president said the quake is the strongest to hit Mexico in a century. The government said at least seven people have been killed in the states of Chiapas and Tabasco. It shook buildings in the capital Mexico City, hundreds of kilometres away. A local journalist, Franc Contreras, was in his apartment in Mexico City when the earthquake hit: "Suddenly you could start to feel the building move quite heavily. You could hear loud cracks in the concrete, it sounded like a giant wooden branch just being broken open violently. People were streaming out of the hallways here, and everybody walking out single file into the streets."

Hurricane Irma powers towards Florida

The International Red Cross says at least a million people have been battered by Hurricane Irma, with millions more still threatened. Haiti and the Turks and Caicos islands are the latest places to be hit by the storm. It's one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes ever recorded. At least 14 people have been killed by the storm so far, as it left a trail of destruction across St Martin, Barbuda, and some of the Virgin Islands. The storm is heading towards the Bahamas and Cuba and is expected to plough into south Florida over the weekend. Some half a million people have been told to leave Florida. Michael Brennan is with the National Hurricane Centre: "We can see storm surge flooding exceeding five to ten feet above ground level in these areas, so if you've been asked to evacuate from an evacuation zone - please follow that advice."

Spanish court suspends Catalan independence vote

Spain's constitutional court has suspended a referendum law passed by the Catalan parliament to hold a vote on independence next month. The court says it will consider whether the law breaches Spain's constitution. Despite the decision, Catalan leaders say the vote will be held as planned on October the 1st.

Russia says it has killed several IS commanders

The Russian military says it has killed about forty Islamic State militants in an airstrike in the vicinity of the Syrian city of Deir al-Zor. Officials in Moscow said four senior figures were among the dead.

Australians surrender almost 26,000 guns

Australians have handed in nearly 26,000 firearms, in the nation's first gun amnesty for more than 20 years. The amnesty was declared in July in response to growing fears over terrorism, and guns entering Australia illegally. It finishes at the end of September, after which anyone caught with an unregistered gun could face a jail sentence of up to fourteen years.

Surge in number of Rohingya refugees

Around 270,000 Rohingya Muslims are now thought to have sought refuge in Bangladesh in the past two weeks after fleeing violence in Myanmar. The U.N. Refugee Agency said the estimated number of Rohingya refugees has surged - after new groups were found in border areas. The agency says the numbers are alarming and that the humanitarian response must be stepped up.

The Weather

A mainly sunny and warm afternoon with highs ranging from 18 to 26 degrees. It will be sunny and warm in the east tomorrow, and cooler and rainy in the West.

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