DEVELOPING Defence rests without Donald Trump taking the witness stand in his New York hush money trial
Donald Trump's lawyers rested their defence Tuesday without the former president taking the witness stand in his New York hush money trial.
Haiti's newly installed transitional council chose a little known former sports minister as the Caribbean country's prime minister Tuesday as part of its monumental task of trying to establish a stable new government amid stifling violence.
Fritz Belizaire was chosen in a surprise move to replace current interim Prime Minister Michel Patrick Boisvert, gaining the support of four of the seven voting members on the nine-member panel but with other panel members saying they were unfamiliar with Belizaire.
The council also planned to choose a cabinet as it seeks to quell gang violence that is choking the capital, Port-au-Prince, and beyond. Heavy gunfire was reported in several of the capital's neighbourhoods during the council's meeting.
More than 90,000 people have fled the capital in the span of one month, and overall, more than 360,000 people have been left homeless in recent years as gunmen raze communities in rival territories.
Earlier on Tuesday, the council chose former presidential candidate Edgard Leblanc Fils as the president of the panel.
"This is a very good choice for prime minister," Fils said of Belizaire during a brief speech to nearly two dozen attendees. "The important thing for us is this will, this determination to go beyond divisions, to overcome conflicts and to reach a consensus."
He said the council met Monday with army and police officials to talk about Haiti's security crisis and how best to resolve it. "We are publicly recognizing the suffering," he said of the population.
The announcement of Belizaire was unexpected. A murmur rose through the attendees as officials announced that four council members with voting powers had selected Belizaire as prime minister.
Leslie Voltaire, one of the voting council members, told The Associated Press, "I don't know him," when asked whether he supported Belizaire.
Belizaire served as Haiti's sports minister during the second presidency of Rene Preval from 2006 to 2011.
"He's kind of an unknown figure," said Robert Fatton, a Haitian politics expert at the University of Virginia. "He doesn't seem to have his own constituency. Maybe that made him the likely prime minister so different parties can accept him as prime minister."
Council member Louis Gerald Gilles, who supported Belizaire, told The Associated Press that the council wanted to act quickly in choosing a prime minister. "The Haitian population can no longer wait," he said. "The security issue is essential for societal calm."
Hours later, many ordinary Haitians remained in the dark.
"They chose a new prime minister?" Jean-Paul Eliason said as he shuffled through the streets of Port-au-Prince ringing a bell to advertise his shoe-shining business.
When told of Belizaire, 70-year-old Eliason said his name sounded familiar.
"It's good news because maybe the country can embark on the right path," he said. "Security, that's priority. People are fleeing and gangs are burning their homes."
Sony Duvert, who leaned against his motorcycle parked near a makeshift barrier aimed at protecting his neighbourhood from gangs, said he had never heard of the new prime minister and that he hoped he would make Haiti safer.
"Every day, we post here like soldiers," he said. "I would love to see a big change for Haiti."
After the brief announcement, which was made nearly two hours after the event was supposed to start, the council went behind closed doors again to talk about their choices for cabinet. Voltaire, however, said he didn't expect the council to announce cabinet selections on Tuesday.
The majority supporting Belizaire included Fils, the council's new president, Smith Augustin, Gilles and Emmanuel Vertilaire.
Fatton called them an "unlikely" alliance: "We'll see if it can last."
Fils represents the January 30 political group, which is made up of parties including PHTK, whose members include former president Michel Martelly and slain President Jovenel Moise. Meanwhile, Augustin represents the EDE/RED political party, founded by former Prime Minister Claude Joseph.
Gilles represents the Dec. 21 agreement, which is associated with former prime minister Ariel Henry, who resigned weeks after the gang attacks began. Meanwhile, Vertilaire is linked to the Pitit Desalin party, which is led by powerful politician Jean-Charles Moise, who celebrated Tuesday's announcement.
"He is someone very important in the country," Moise said of Belizaire. "He knows the state pretty well -- he knows how to govern."
The transitional council will act as the country's presidency until it can arrange a presidential election some time before it disbands, which must be by February 2026.
Haitians remain divided over whether they believe a transitional government can help calm a troubled country whose capital has been under siege since gangs launched coordinated attacks on Feb. 29.
Gang members have burned police stations, opened fire on the main international airport that remains closed since early March and broke into Haiti's two biggest prisons, releasing more than 4,000 inmates. The country's biggest seaport also remains largely paralyzed by gang violence.
But one thing is certain: Haitians want security.
"Haitians are very impatient now. They want to see results," Fatton said.
The council is expected to support the UN-backed deployment of a Kenyan police force to help fight gangs, although it's unclear when that might happen.
Henry, the former prime minister, was on an official trip to the East African country when the coordinated gang attacks began, and he remains locked out of Haiti. He submitted his resignation last week.
Donald Trump's lawyers rested their defence Tuesday without the former president taking the witness stand in his New York hush money trial.
One passenger was killed and 30 injured after a Singapore Airlines SIAL.SI flight from London hit severe turbulence en route on Tuesday, forcing it to make an emergency landing in Bangkok, officials and the airline said.
Anything is possible this week, as far as Canada's weather is concerned, with forecasts ranging from scorching heat in some parts of the country to rain and snow in others.
Canada's annual inflation rate slowed to a three-year low of 2.7 per cent in April, matching expectations, and core measures continued to ease, data showed on Tuesday, likely boosting chances of a June interest rate cut.
Donald Trump's reelection campaign called 'The Apprentice,' a film about the former U.S. president in the 1980s, 'pure fiction' and vowed legal action following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. But director Ali Abbasi is offering to privately screen the film for Trump.
Nestle NESN.S will market a new, US$5 line of frozen pizzas and protein-enriched pastas in the United States which it says it designed specifically for people taking drugs such as Wegovy or Ozempic for weight loss.
If you've been to a party lately and haven't seen someone drinking a BORG, you're likely not partying with college students.
As the month-long boycott of Loblaw-owned stores wears on, small independent food retailers and alternative grocery options say they're seeing a boost in traffic and sales.
Prince Harry can't expand his privacy lawsuit against The Sun tabloid publisher to include allegations that Rupert Murdoch and some other executives were part of an effort to conceal and destroy evidence of unlawful information gathering, a London judge ruled Tuesday.
For those who go to their local libraries often, they know there’s much more to their library than just borrowing books. Local libraries in Atlantic Canada are now renting out a broader range of items for people.
Flashes of purple darting across the sky mixed with the serenading sound of songs will be noticed more with spring in full force in Manitoba.
Catching 'em all with impressive speed, a 7-year-old boy from Windsor, Ont. who only started his competitive Pokémon journey seven months ago has already levelled up to compete at a world championship level.
A sanctuary dedicated to animals with disabilities is celebrating the third birthday of one of its most popular residents.
2b Theatre recently moved into the old Video Difference building, seeking to transform it into an artistic hub, meeting space, and temporary housing unit for visiting performers in Halifax.
A B.C. woman says her service dog pulled her from a lake moments before she had a seizure, saving her life.
A Starbucks fan — whose name is Winter — is visiting Canada on a purposeful journey that began with a random idea at one of the coffee chain's stores in Texas.
Members of Piapot First Nation, students from the University of Winnipeg and various other professionals are learning new techniques that will hopefully be used for ground searches of potential unmarked grave sites in the future.
ALS patient Mathew Brown said he’s hopeful for future ALS patients after news this week of research at Western University of a potential cure for ALS.