Hurricane Fiona caused street flooding and power outages in the Dominican Republic on Monday. Authorities have imposed red alert for 16 of the Caribbean state’s 32 provinces. According to the US Hurricane Center NHC, the hurricane reached wind speeds of up to 155 kilometers per hour. In the tourist city of Punta Cana, several roads were blocked by fallen trees or poles and power went out, an AFP journalist reported.

“Fiona” made landfall in Puerto Rico on Sunday afternoon with winds of up to 140 kilometers per hour. The power grid has collapsed on the Caribbean island of more than three million people. According to Governor Pedro Pierluisi, power was restored to about 100,000 people on Monday.

A man suffered fatal burns while trying to fuel his generator because of the power outage. About 196,000 people were temporarily cut off from their drinking water supply due to power outages and flooding. Downed power poles and trees blocked roads and a bridge collapsed in the city of Utuado.

My colleague Andrés says that Spain is a poor country. But according to the World Bank, Spain was the fourteenth country with the highest nominal GDP in October 2021. There are approximately 193 countries in the world, therefore Spain is among the richest 7% of countries in the world by nominal GDP.

If we talk about GDP per capita, Spain would move up to 33rd place (always according to World Bank data), which means that it would be among the 15% of the wealthiest countries in the world in terms of GDP per capita.

When I share this data with Andrés, he tells me that he compares Spain with “similar countries”. I assume you only think of the most opulent in Europe. But why not compare, for example, with those from North Africa or Latin America with whom we share proximity or language?

If Spain is among the 15% richest areas in the world, then Spain is a rich country. I think in order not to lose this wealth we have to be aware of it. Because what is not appreciated is lost.

Does the world end in the west?

Paradise by Abdulrazak Gurnah is a novel about the slave trade in Africa. My friend Luisa tried to read it but couldn’t. He says he couldn’t pique her interest. He is the third European I know who has put the book halfway down. However, the reviews are almost unanimously excellent.

A good way to become aware of our wealth is to know the situation of the rest of the countries in the world

We westerners seem to have a hard time taking an interest in what’s happening beyond our borders. It gives the impression that what is outside of our territory simply does not exist for us.

I think a good way to become aware of the wealth we enjoy is to know each other’s situations. Of course from countries that are richer than us, but also from other poorer regions.

Abdulrazak Gurnah’s work reflects the reality faced by certain parts of Africa. Casa Africa is an inter-government public body working to bring Africa and Spain closer together. On his website we can find more details about the work of this author:

Abdulrazak Gurnah was born in Zanzibar, Tanzania in 1948. He is an author of novels in English. The theme of refugee unrest has run through his entire body of work, ever since he began writing in British exile at the age of 21. His research focuses on post-colonialism and, breaking with convention, changes the colonial perspective to emphasize that of indigenous peoples. In 2021 he received the Nobel Prize in Literature for his “moving depiction of the effects of colonialism and the fate of refugees in the abyss between cultures and continents”.

Gurnah’s novel Paradise has been described as “a moving portrait of the African continent” by the New York Times Book Review and “a book that portrays the social and religious dynamics of Africa” ​​by the Library Journal.

Sometimes we Europeans have trouble looking beyond our borders. Reading the work of Abdulrazak Gurnah can be a good way to combat our lack of interest in what is different.

Miguel Forcat Luque He is an economist from the Complutense University of Madrid and an official at the European Commission. The article does not necessarily reflect the view of the institution you work for.

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The father of a four-year-old girl who was drowned by her mother in Coney Island put his daughter to rest on Monday but insisted his ex was not a “monster” when speaking after the funeral.

Shamir Small said his ex Erin Merdy, 30, loved her daughter Liliana “Lily” Stephen, four, despite drowning the girl and her two half-siblings last week.

“Contrary to what happened, her mother loved her,” Small said.

“I don’t care what nobody says,” he said, “what [Merdy] act was monstrous, but she herself is no monstrosity.’

Small also said he wanted his daughter to be remembered for how she lived, not how she died.

“I don’t want her to be remembered or known how she died,” he said, “I don’t even want to hear about it anymore.

“I don’t want to see it, read it, or nothing at all. I just want everyone to remember that Lily was loved by all of her family members for four years.’

Lily wore a pink dress before being laid out in a white coffin buried in Cypress, Queens. A Barbie doll was placed with her in her coffin.

Merdy faces triple count of second-degree murder, triple count of indifference to human life and triple count of murder of victims under the age of 11, an NYPD spokesman said. She has not yet appeared in court because she was not medically cleared to do so.

Lily wore a pink dress before being laid out in a white coffin buried in Cypress, Queens. A Barbie doll was placed with her in her coffin

Shamir Small said his ex Erin Merdy, 30, loved her daughter Liliana “Lily” Stephen, four, despite drowning the girl and her two half-siblings last week

Merdy had mental health issues for years and suffered from postpartum depression but was not properly screened just months before she allegedly drowned her three children, the youngest just four months old.

The city coroner found last Tuesday that Lily, seven-year-old Zachary Merdy and three-month-old Oliver Bondarev also drowned.

Merdy had slipped “through the cracks” of the New York City Administration for Children’s Ministries just months earlier, the New York Daily News reported.

Merdy sent a chilling text message to family members before her children’s deaths saying “the babies are gone,” prompting panic and a police search that ended with the heartbreaking discovery of the three children unconscious.

Liliana “Lily” Stephen’s funeral on Monday. The four-year-old girl was drowned by her mother last week

Small also said he wanted his daughter to be remembered for how she lived, not how she died

NYPD detective chief James Essig said the mother told police she dreamed of going into the water with her children.

“We believe that she went into the water and drowned the children… As for motive, we’ll leave that to the healthcare professionals,” Essig said.

Jacqueline Scott told the New York Daily News that her daughter is a good mother.

“She may have been going through postpartum depression. She was a good mom,” she told the publication.

“I contacted her yesterday and she said she does laundry and I said I wanted to talk to the kids. I tried to call her twice but there was no answer.’

Scott added that she was one of several concerned relatives who tried to reach Merdy on the night of 9/11.

Police were called to an apartment on Neptune Avenue, Brooklyn at 1:40 am on September 12 following a call from a concerned family member.

The caller said they believed Merdy harmed their three children and officers were present but could not locate the family.

At 3:15 a.m., police received a second call from a woman in “distress” walking barefoot on the boardwalk in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn.

Merdy claimed her three children were missing before they were found unresponsive on the beach two miles away.

The three children were found unconscious on the beach and taken to hospital, where they were pronounced dead.

Erin Merdy’s apartment is guarded by a police officer, New York, U.S., September 12, 2022

Police were called at 3:15 am on September 12 to reports of a 30-year-old woman walking barefoot on the boardwalk in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, in “distress”.

“Bright” Zachary Mendy, 7, was one of three siblings found dead on a Brooklyn beach

Merdy was first taken to the police station but later taken to the hospital in an ambulance.

Police had previously responded to six domestic incidents involving the distraught mother, including one on July 2 in which she refused to hand the children over to her husband.

Court records show that Merdy was threatened with eviction because she was thousands of dollars in arrears on her rent.

Alfred Brown, Zachary’s soccer coach, said the last time he saw the little boy was on June 25.

He told : “He hasn’t played this year, he was supposed to stay with his dad over the summer.

“He used to say ‘Coach, Coach, Coach’ – not hearing him say it today is just heartbreaking.

“I named him Zac Attack. His mother looked pretty normal, but we can all hide our problems.

“Zach was very lively, bright, giggly and full of life. The smile on his face was worth the world to me.”

Joseph, 60, a caretaker in the building where Merdy lives, said: “I’m speechless… drowning her children – I wonder what she was thinking and what led to it.

“People love their children, was she overwhelmed by the responsibility? It’s just a sad situation.’

Officials confirmed in a press conference that the children had no history of abuse or neglect

The father of one of the children reportedly told officers at their block of flats (pictured) that he was concerned for their safety after their mother made multiple statements that she would harm them

Merdy reportedly told officers her three children were missing before they were found unresponsive on the beach three miles away

The children, a seven-year-old boy, a four-year-old girl and a three-month-old girl, were taken to hospital but were pronounced dead on arrival

Victor Rodriguez, 54, another neighbor, added: “I used to see them all the time, their kids would always ask if they could pet my dog.

“Everything seemed fine with her but when Covid struck she looked depressed. She wasn’t that friendly anymore. And kept to himself.

“It’s devastating, especially knowing the kids. They were very sweet and respectful, they seemed like happy kids – no problem in the world.

“I think Covid had something to do with it. Before Covid and after Covid it was like Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde – two different people.’

An NYPD spokesman added there were no known previous instances of the children being abused or neglected.

Police are appealing for witnesses or anyone with information about the accident to come forward.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.

PEDRO PARDO / AFP A woman receives medical attention after an earthquake struck Mexico City September 19, 2022. – A 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck western Mexico on Monday, rocking buildings in Mexico City on the anniversary of two major tremors in 1985 and 2017, seismologists said. (Photo by Pedro PARDO / AFP)

PEDRO PARDO / AFP

For the third time in its history, Mexico was hit by an earthquake on September 19th.

NATURAL DISASTER – An unfortunate coincidence. A powerful 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck western Mexico on Monday, September 19, and was felt in central Mexico City. This earthquake occurred on the same day as the devastating September 19, 1985 and 2017 earthquakes, the National Seismological Institute said.

And, second coincidence, this earthquake happened barely half an hour after an anti-seismic exercise. It is organized every year in Mexico by the authorities on the occasion of the double anniversary of these two major earthquakes.

Participamos en el Simulacro Nacional 2022. It is very important that prevention is ante seismos o cualquier emergencia. Fu… https://t.co/BUE6qcgjLF

— Andres Manuel (@lopezobrador_)

See the tweet

🇲🇽 An hour ago, Mexico was rocked by a 7.6 magnitude earthquake. Mexico City airport has been evacuated. The v… https://t.co/wRg7i6lKAi

— air plus news (@airplusnews)

See the tweet

So far no damage

“We didn’t think that was true! But if. It’s impressive that the earth is shaking so hard again today,” Karina Suarez, 37, told the AFP news agency in the center of the capital.

The epicenter was in the state of Michoacan. “No damage has been reported so far,” Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said on Twitter. While President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador posted on his account: “We sincerely hope nothing serious happened”.

On September 19, 2017, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake killed 369 people. And on September 19, 1985, an 8.1 magnitude earthquake devastated central Mexico City, killing more than 10,000 people, most of them in the capital.

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