The death toll in Haiti's powerful earthquake jumped to over 1,200 on Sunday, as crews desperately dug through collapsed buildings for survivors in the Caribbean nation still reeling from its president's assassination.   In Les Cayes, as in other hard-hit cities on the southwestern peninsula, most of the population spent the night sleeping outdoors in front of their houses -- or what remained of them -- amid fears of new aftershocks.   The streets there were filled with the grinding sounds of heavy equipment lifting debris from collapsed buildings, as well as the quieter sounds of people pulling away rubble by hand in desperate searches for the missing.   "Thanks to God and also to my phone, I'm alive," said Marcel Francois, who was rescued from his collapsed two-story home in hard-hit Les Cayes.   His younger brother Job Francois said a desperate-sounding Marcel had called to say, "'Come save me, I'm under the concrete'... He told me he couldn't breathe, that he was dying."   The neighbors and Job spent hours freeing him and his 10-year-old daughter from the heavy debris.   But at least 1,297 people were killed in the 7.2-magnitude tremor that struck Saturday about 100 miles (160 kilometers) to the west of the densely populated capital Port-au-Prince, which was devastated in a massive 2010 quake.   Some 13,600 buildings were destroyed and over 13,700 damaged, trapping hundreds under rubble and leaving more than 5,700 people injured, the country's civil protection agency said in an update.   - President assassinated -   Rescuers face new pressure as Tropical Depression Grace approaches, raising fears of torrential rainfall, flash floods and mudslides from late Monday, according to the US National Weather Service.   The United States and other nations have pledged to help Haiti cope with this latest disaster.   Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman spoke with Haiti's Prime Minister Ariel Henry on Sunday to reiterate Washington's support and said the United States was "already putting resources in place" to bolster the beleaguered country's emergency response, spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.   USAID head Samantha Power tweeted Sunday that her agency had deployed a 65-person urban search and rescue team -- equipped with "specialized tools, equipment & medical supplies" -- to join an earthquake disaster response team already in Haiti.   Haiti's neighbor the Dominican Republic said it was shipping 10,000 food rations and medical equipment. Mexico also sent an aid shipment. Cuba and Ecuador dispatched medical or search-and-rescue teams.   And Chile, Argentina, Peru and Venezuela also offered help, as did the United Nations.   "We want to plan a better adapted response than in 2010 after the earthquake -- all aid coming from abroad should be coordinated by the Civil Protection agency," said Henry.   A 7.0-magnitude quake in January 2010 left much of Port-au-Prince and nearby cities in ruins, killing more than 200,000.   More than 1.5 million Haitians were made homeless in that disaster, which also destroyed 60 percent of Haiti's healthcare system, leaving island authorities and the international humanitarian community with a colossal challenge.   The latest quake comes just over a month after President Jovenel Moise was assassinated in his home by a team of gunmen, shaking a country already battling poverty, spiraling gang violence and Covid-19.   Police say they have arrested 44 people in connection with the killing. Source: AFP/BSS AH

Rioting in South Africa this month has claimed 337 lives, the government said on Thursday, marking yet another jump in the death toll from the 276 announced the previous day.   "The South African police have revised the total number of deaths in Gauteng (province) to 79 and KwaZulu-Natal to 258 as related to the unrest," said Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, a minister in the president's office, adding that some of the latest deaths were of people succumbing to injuries sustained during the riots. Source: AFP/BSS AH

The death toll from the coronavirus or COVID-19 has jumped to 18,895 globally as of Wednesday. It has so far infected 422,629 people around the world, according to worldometer. Of them, 294,855 are currently being treated with 13,095 being in serious or critical condition. So far, 127,774 cases had outcomes and of them, 108,879 (85 percent) recovered and 15 percent died. Bangladesh has so far reported four deaths from the coronavirus. Besides, the total number of coronavirus cases in the country has reached 39. COVID-19 is affecting 197 countries and territories around the world and one international conveyance (the Diamond Princess cruise ship harbored in Yokohama, Japan). The World Health Organization on March 11 declared the coronavirus crisis a pandemic. Source: UNB AH

A deadly viral outbreak in China has now killed 41 people, while the number of infected cases has soared to nearly 1,300, authorities said Saturday. The 15 new deaths all took place in Wuhan, the city of 11 million where the deadly respiratory contagion first emerged, the Hubei Health Commission said. At least 444 new cases of the virus have been found, raising the total number to 1,287, the National Health Commission said in a separate statement. The disease has spread to 30 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. Wuhan and 13 other cities in Hubei have been locked down in an unprecedented quarantine effort aimed at containing the deadly respiratory contagion, which has spread to several other countries. The Hubei Health Commission also reported 180 new cases overall in the province, 77 of them in Wuhan but the bulk of the rest spread out across the locked-down smaller cities. There are now 729 cases in Hubei alone. Several of those cities were reporting their first cases of the pathogen — 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) — the commission said. The previously unknown virus has caused global concern because of its similarity to SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), which killed hundreds across mainland China and Hong Kong in 2002-2003. It also has struck at possibly the worst time for China, when hundreds of millions of people are travelling across the country or overseas to celebrate the Lunar New Year holiday, China’s most important festival. Source: AFP/BSS AH

The death toll in China’s viral outbreak has risen to 25, with the number of confirmed cases also leaping to 830, the government said on Friday. The National Health Commission said authorities were also examining 1,072 suspected cases of the virus that first emerged in central city of Wuhan. The markedly higher numbers were released just hours after the World Health Organization stopped short of declaring the situation to be a global health emergency. China has effectively quarantined nearly 20 million people across Wuhan and some nearby cities in response to the virus, and announced measures to curb its spread nationwide as hundreds of millions of people began travelling across the country this week for the Lunar New Year holiday. Streets and shopping centers in Wuhan, a major industrial and transport hub, are now eerily quiet after authorities told residents not to leave the city of 11 million, where most of the cases have been identified. The National Health Commission said the death toll was revised upward following eight new deaths on Thursday, and 259 new cases reported across the country. Out of the total 830 confirmed cases, 177 were in serious condition, it added. Thirty-four people have been “cured and discharged”. The respiratory virus emerged from a seafood and animal market in Wuhan and cases have been reported as far away as the United States. The new virus has caused alarm because of its similarity to SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), which killed nearly 650 people across mainland China and Hong Kong in 2002-2003. But after two days of talks to determine the level of global concern, the WHO stopped short of declaring a so-called “public health emergency of international concern” — a declaration used for the gravest epidemics. Source: AFP/BSS AH

The price of oil surged Friday as global investors were gripped with uncertainty over the potential repercussions after the United States killed Iran's top general. News that Gen. Qassem Soleimani, head of Iran's elite Quds Force, was killed in an air attack at the Baghdad international airport prompted expectations of Iranian retaliation against U.S. and Israeli targets. In previous flare-ups in tensions with the U.S., Iran has threatened the supply of oil that travels from the Persian Gulf to the rest of the world. About 20% of oil traded worldwide goes through the Strait of Hormuz, where the shipping lane is only 3 kilometers (2 miles) wide and tankers have come under attack this year. The international benchmark for crude oil jumped 4.1%, or $2.70, to $68.95 a barrel in London trading. "Revenge will come, maybe not overnight but it will come and until then we need to increase the geopolitical risk premium," said Olivier Jakob, head of consultancy Petromatrix, in a note to investors. He noted that Iran's response may not be limited to the Strait of Hormuz. In September, Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels launched drone attacks on the world's largest oil processing facility in Saudi Arabia. The strike briefly took out about half of the supplies from the world's largest oil exporter. The U.S. directly blamed Iran, which denied any involvement. Launching attacks that can't be easily linked back to Iran limits the chances of direct retaliation. But Iran has also directly targeted tankers. This year it seized a British-flagged tanker, the Stena Impero, for several weeks. And it has shot down a U.S. military drone. About 80% of the crude oil that goes through the Strait of Hormuz goes to countries in Asia, including China, Japan, India and South Korea. But the rise in the global price of oil will affect other countries more widely, particularly oil-importing countries with big manufacturing sectors like Germany and Italy. Those countries fared worst in the stock market on Friday, with their main indexes falling 1.4% and 1.1% respectively. Source: AP/UNB AH