PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti: Haitian police killed four “mercenaries” they said were behind the assassination of President Jovenel Moise Wednesday and took two more into custody, as the impoverished and crisis-hit Caribbean nation was pitched into uncertainty.
Police did not identify the suspects or say what their motives were for the gun attack on Moise and his wife Martine, who survived, at their private residence in the capital Port-au-Prince early Wednesday.
Police chief Leon Charles said there were still more members of the hit squad at large.
“As I speak, the police are engaged in battle with these assailants,” he said late Wednesday. “We are chasing them so that either in the exchange of fire they will be killed or we will apprehend them.”
Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph declared a national “state of siege” and said he was now in charge.
At the UN Security Council, members unanimously called “for the perpetrators of this abhorrent crime to be swiftly brought to justice,” and for “all parties to remain calm, exercise restraint” and avoid “any act that could contribute to further instability.” An emergency meeting on the crisis has been set for midday Thursday.
The airport was closed in Port-au-Prince, but witnesses said the city was quiet with the streets deserted and no extra security forces on patrol.
“Four mercenaries were killed, two were intercepted under our control. Three policemen who had been taken hostage have been recovered,” said Charles, the head of Haiti’s national police.
The attack took place around 1:00 am (0500 GMT) at Moise’s home. Shell casings could be seen on the street outside as forensics experts combed the scene for evidence. A nearby car was peppered with bullet holes.
Magistrate Carl Henry Destin told the Nouvelliste newspaper that the president’s body had twelve bullet holes in it, from large caliber rifles and smaller 9mm weapons, to the forehead, chest, hips and abdomen.
“The president’s office and bedroom were ransacked. We found him lying on his back, blue pants, a white shirt smeared with blood, his mouth open, his left eye gouged out,” he said.
Moise’s wife was first treated at a local hospital then rushed by air ambulance to the Ryder Trauma Center in Miami.
Joseph said she was “out of danger,” later adding that “her situation is stable.”
Their daughter Jomarlie was in the home during the attack but hid in a bedroom, Destin, the magistrate, said.
He said a maid and another domestic staff member had been tied up by the commandos who allegedly shouted “DEA operation” as they burst in.
Joseph said the president was “assassinated at his home by foreigners who spoke English and Spanish.”
“This death will not go unpunished,” Joseph said in an address to the nation.
Haiti’s ambassador to Washington, Bocchit Edmond, also said the killers were “professional” mercenaries disguised as US Drug Enforcement Administration agents.
The unpopular Moise had ruled Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, by decree after legislative elections due in 2018 were delayed.
In addition to the political chaos, kidnappings for ransom have surged in recent months.
The capital’s streets were at a standstill in the hours after the assassination, with just a handful of citizens outdoors.
“We didn’t expect it. This is another earthquake in Haiti,” said a mother of two who gave her name only as Bernadette, referring to deadly 2010 quake.
“I can’t believe it, I can’t believe it,” said 50-year-old Jacquelyn.
Haiti will observe two weeks of national mourning from Thursday.
Joseph — who spoke by telephone to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken Wednesday — has only been in his post for three months, and was due to step down within days after Moise named his replacement on Monday.
As well as presidential, legislative and local elections, Haiti was due to hold a constitutional referendum in September after it was twice postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
US President Joe Biden condemned the killing as “horrific” and said Washington was ready to assist in any way.
Washington also called for Haiti to proceed with the elections, with the State Department spokesman saying a fair vote would “facilitate a peaceful transfer of power to a newly elected president.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Haitians to “remain united” and “reject all violence.”
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned of “risk of instability and a spiral of violence.”
Moise, a successful businessman, burst onto the political stage in 2017 and campaigned as a populist. He was sworn in in February 2017.
The end date of his mandate however became the source of a standoff, as Moise maintained that his term of office ran until February 7, 2022, but others said it ended on February 7, 2021.
The disagreement is because Moise was elected in a 2015 vote that was canceled for fraud, and then re-elected in November 2016.
Without a parliament, the country fell further into crisis in 2020.
Many feared Haiti could tip further into violence.
“How much worse can hell get?” asked Haiti expert Irwin Stotzky at the University of Miami.
“Haiti faces even more violence and death and failure as a democratic nation than ever before, which is hard to imagine given its recent and chaotic history.”
The killing comes days after Moise appointed Ariel Henry, a French-trained neurosurgeon, as Haiti’s new prime minister.
Henry, 71, is close to the opposition, but his appointment was not welcomed by the majority of opposition parties.
Haiti police hunt down president’s assassins as uncertainty grows
https://arab.news/2q7ys
Haiti police hunt down president’s assassins as uncertainty grows

- Police chief Leon Charles said there were still more members of the hit squad at large
Manila mayor launches weekly clean-up drive to deal with city’s garbage crisis

- Manila residents affected by rotting trash uncollected for weeks
- Waste collection contractors have quit, citing millions of dollars of unpaid bills
MANILA: Manila, one of the world’s most densely-populated cities, launched a weekly clean-up initiative on Saturday to address its worsening garbage problem, in the same week that a state of emergency was declared in the Philippine capital due to piles of uncollected rubbish.
For weeks, garbage has been causing problems in the city, with roads becoming impassable for cars in some areas and the stench of rotting waste inescapable for Manila’s two million residents.
The reason behind the crisis was revealed on Monday, when Manila Mayor Francisco Domagoso assumed office: the capital’s rubbish collection contractors had quit, claiming they were owed millions of dollars by the previous administration.
“Since the beginning of 2025, it was obvious that the garbage trucks weren’t coming in regularly — unlike the year before,” Manila resident Sophie Escudero told Arab News on Saturday. “Every time I (go out), the garbage is just way more than what I normally see.”
By Tuesday, Domagoso had declared a state of health emergency and issued an executive order mandating “every Saturday … as regular clean-up and de-clogging day throughout the city of Manila,” and highlighting the city’s “deteriorating sanitary conditions and worsening garbage collection problem” as a hazard to people’s health and safety.
Under the order, the city’s Department of Public Services and the Department of Engineering and Public Works are directed to take part in the weekly, citywide clean-up drive. Residents are also “strongly encouraged” to participate.
“I need everyone’s cooperation—because together, we can make Manila great again,” Domagoso said on Friday. “I humbly appeal to everyone: let’s work together to lift our city up and make it a cleaner, more livable, and more peaceful place for our fellow citizens here in the nation’s capital.”
He also claimed that he could “confidently say” the garbage crisis was “70 percent solved,” after joint efforts from city officials and having reached out to a former waste collection contractor for help. The emergency declaration also allowed his office to access “more resources and exercise broader authority,” he said.
Domagoso, a former teen idol also known by his screen name Isko Moreno, prioritized cleaning up the city’s streets during his first stint as mayor from 2019 to 2022. He won the election in May with a promise to “Make Manila Great Again.”
“The reason I voted for Isko was because, somehow, you could actually be proud that Manila was at least a bit clean (during his previous term in office). Because when (his successor, former Mayor Honey) Lacuna took over, I was so frustrated. In some streets, you couldn’t even pass through,” Manila resident Malu Rongalerios told Arab News. “Now, the improvement is huge. No joke.”
Prior to this week, Rongalerios said garbage trucks had only been coming to his neighborhood once or twice a week.
“That’s just not acceptable,” he said. “We even segregate our trash. We make sure to take it out properly. To step out of your house and see trash everywhere? That’s just too much.”
On Saturday, city authorities across Manila were flushing the streets with water, hauling piles of garbage away, and de-clogging drains to comply with the executive order.
The city’s garbage crisis would have been preventable if “waste reduction measures such as bans on single-use plastic and support for reusable packaging and refill systems were to be implemented,” claimed Marian Ledesma, a zero-waste campaigner with Greenpeace Philippines, who warned that Manila may face a similar crisis in the future if strict waste segregation from households and businesses is not enforced.
“Right now, collectors just dump everything into one truck,” Ledesma told Arab News. “This poor collection practice of mixing waste doesn’t (reward) the good habits of people who do segregate, and cities lose valuable resources because glass and other recyclables are thrown out, and food or organic waste that can be composted are mixed with other waste.”
Several hurt in Ryanair false fire alarm

- “Passengers were disembarked using the inflatable slides and returned to the terminal,” Ryanair said
- “While disembarking, a small number of passengers encountered very minor injuries”
MADRID: A false fire alarm aboard a Ryanair jet preparing for takeoff from Spain’s Palma de Mallorca airport saw several passengers injured as they left the plane via inflatable ramps, the Irish carrier said Saturday.
Friday evening’s Manchester-bound flight was suspended owing to a false fire alarm warning indication.
“Passengers were disembarked using the inflatable slides and returned to the terminal,” Ryanair said in a statement, adding that there was no fire on the aircraft.
“While disembarking, a small number of passengers encountered very minor injuries (ankle sprains, etc.) and crew requested immediate medical assistance.
“To minimize disruption to passengers, we quickly arranged a replacement aircraft to operate this flight, which departed Palma at 07:05 this morning.”
Local Mallorca media reported 18 injuries, all minor, with six requiring hospitalization and the remainder treated on site.
The low-cost airline is popular with British tourists visiting coastal destinations in Spain and southern Europe, including the Balearic island of Mallorca.
State-owned Spanish airport managing company Aena confirmed that “there was an incident on a Ryanair plane last night at Palma de Mallorca Airport.
“There was no fire and the incident did not affect airport operations.”
UN condemns Russia’s largest drone assault on Ukraine

- Guterres also called for a full, immediate and unconditional ceasefire
UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned Saturday Russia’s biggest drone and missile attack yet in the three-year war in Ukraine.
“The Secretary-General strongly condemns the latest series of large-scale drone and missile attacks by the Russian Federation,” Guterres said in a statement referring to the assault Friday and also calling for a full, immediate and unconditional ceasefire.
Pope Leo XIV resumes the tradition of taking a summer vacation, but he’s got plenty of homework

- Leo will disappear further this weekend when he begins a six-week vacation in his first break
- People who know and work with Leo expect he will use these weeks away from the public eye
VATICAN CITY: In his very first sermon as pontiff, Pope Leo XIV told the cardinals who elected him that anyone who exercises authority in the Catholic Church must “make oneself small,” so that only Christ remains.
In word and deed since, Leo has seemed intent on almost disappearing into the role. The shy 69-year-old Augustinian missionary has eschewed the headline-grabbing protagonism of past pontiffs in favor of a quieter, less showy and more reserved way of being pope.
Leo will disappear further this weekend when he begins a six-week vacation in his first break since his historic election May 8. Leo is resuming the papal tradition of escaping the Roman heat for the relatively cooler climes of Castel Gandolfo, the papal summer retreat on Lake Alban, south of Rome.
People who know and work with Leo expect he will use these weeks away from the public eye and the daily grind of Vatican audiences to get his head around the most pressing problems facing the church. He’s a methodical, hard-working and well-prepared manager, they say, who wants to read entire reports, not just the executive summaries, before making decisions.
Here is a look at Leo’s summer homework, the outstanding dossiers he may be studying from now until Aug. 17 in between dips in the pool, walks in the gardens and occasional Masses, prayers and visits in town.
Big nominations
After his election, Leo reappointed all Vatican prefects until further notice, so the Holy See machinery is still working with the old guard in place. But a few major appointments await, most importantly to fill Leo’s old job as prefect of the office that vets bishop nominations.
Leo also has to decide who will be his No. 2. The Vatican secretary of state, the equivalent of a prime minister, is still Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Pope Francis’ pick who was himself an unsuccessful contender in the conclave that elected Leo pope.
Even before he gets his people in place, Leo has to get a handle on one of the most pressing problems facing the Holy See: Its troubled finances. The Vatican is running a structural deficit of around 50 million to 60 million euros ($59-71 million) and has a 1 billion euro ($1.18 billion) shortfall in its pension fund.
The Rupnik problem
There are plenty of high-profile clergy sex cases that festered during Francis’ pontificate that are now are on Leo’s desk. History’s first American pope will be watched closely to see how he handles them, since he cannot claim ignorance about abuse or its dynamics, given the devastation the scandals have wrought in the United States.
On the eve of his vacation, he made an important appointment, naming French Bishop Thibault Verny head of the Vatican’s child protection advisory board, replacing the retiring American Cardinal Sean O’Malley.
Leo has already said it’s “urgent” to create a culture of prevention in the church that shows no tolerance for any form of abuse, be it abuse of authority or spiritual or sexual abuse.
On that score, there is no case more pressing than that of the Rev. Marko Rupnik, a famous mosaic artist who was belatedly thrown out of the Jesuits after its superiors determined he sexually, psychologically and spiritually abused two dozen adult women and nuns. Even though the case didn’t involve minors, it became a toxic problem for Francis because of suggestions Rupnik received favorable treatment at the Vatican under the Jesuit pope.
Nearly two years after Francis caved into pressure to reopen the Rupnik file, the Vatican has finally found external canon lawyers to hear the case, the head of the Vatican’s doctrine office, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, told reporters last week. As recently as March, Fernandez had said he was having trouble finding any willing candidates. Now that Francis is dead, the case may be less politically delicate, even as the priest’s supporters maintain his innocence.
Leo has already sent a signal, with Vatican News removing Rupnik’s artwork from its website.
The Becciu case
Another legal headache facing Leo is what to do about Cardinal Angelo Becciu and the Vatican’s “trial of the century,” which is heading into the appeals phase in September.
The city-state’s criminal tribunal in 2023 convicted Becciu and eight other people of a variety of financial crimes stemming from the Holy See’s bungled 350 million euro ($412 million) investment in a London property.
But the trial was itself problematic, with defense claims that basic defense rights weren’t respected since Francis intervened on several occasions in favor of prosecutors.
In the months since the verdicts were handed down, there have been new revelations that Vatican gendarmes and prosecutors were apparently in regular touch with a woman who was coaching the star witness into testifying against Becciu.
The once-powerful cardinal has denounced the contacts as evidence that his conviction was orchestrated from the start, from the top.
Leo, a canon lawyer, may want to steer clear of the whole thing to try to give the tribunal the impression of being independent. But Leo will ultimately have to decide what to do with Becciu, who recused himself from the conclave but remains a cardinal with a very unclear status.
The Latin Mass issue
Leo has said his priority as pope is unity and reconciliation in the church. Many conservatives and traditionalists hope that means he will work to heal the liturgical divisions that spread during Francis’ 12-year papacy, especially in the US, over the old Latin Mass.
Francis in 2021 restricted access for ordinary Catholics to the ancient liturgy, arguing that its spread was creating divisions in the church. In doing so, Francis reversed his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, who in 2007 had relaxed restrictions on its celebration.
Cardinal Raymond Burke, a figurehead of the conservative and traditionalist camp, told a recent conference on the Latin Mass that he had spoken to Leo about the need to “put an end to the present persecution of the faithful” who want to worship according to the old rite.
“It is my hope that he will as soon as it is possible take up the study of this question and try to restore the situation as it was” under Benedict’s reform, Burke said.
AI and travel priorities
Leo has also identified artificial intelligence as a pressing issue facing humanity, suggesting a document of some sort might be in the works.
Also under study is when he will start traveling, and where.
Leo has a standing invitation to undertake Francis’ last, unfulfilled foreign commitment: Marking the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea, Christianity’s first ecumenical council, with a visit to Turkiye. Leo has already said a visit is in the works, possibly in late November.
Beyond that, Leo has received plenty of invitations: Vice President JD Vance extended a Trump invitation to visit the US, but Leo demurred and offered a noncommittal “at some point.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky invited him to visit Kyiv, but the Vatican under Francis had refused a papal visit there unless one could also be arranged to Moscow.
Leo’s old diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, meanwhile, is waiting for their bishop to come home, and then there’s Argentina, which never got a papal visit from the first-ever Argentine pope.
A town awaits
The residents of Castel Gandolfo, meanwhile, are aching for a pope to return. Francis had decided not to use the retreat and instead spent his 12 papal summers at home, in the Vatican.
The town has recovered from the economic hit of pope-free summers, after Francis instead opened the papal palace and gardens to the public as a museum year-round.
But townsfolks cannot wait for Leo to take up residence and enjoy the town’s gorgeous lake views and quiet starry nights. It’s the perfect place for a pope to rest, read, write and think in private, they say.
“Remember, many encyclicals were written here,” noted the Rev. Tadeusz Rozmus, the town’s parish priest.
Indonesia joins hands with Saudi Arabia to achieve energy transition goals

- Initial energy agreements signed on sidelines of President Prabowo Subianto’s visit to Jeddah
- Indonesia aims to achieve 34 percent share of renewable power in its energy mix by 2034
Jakarta: Indonesian state energy firm Pertamina has signed an agreement with Saudi power giant ACWA Power to develop clean energy projects, as the Southeast Asian country seeks to make renewables a third of its total energy mix.
Indonesia, one of the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitters, has been working to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels, and aims to increase the share of renewable sources in its energy mix from around 14 percent currently to 34 percent by 2034.
A memorandum of understanding between Pertamina and ACWA Power was signed on Wednesday on the sidelines of President Prabowo Subianto’s visit to the Kingdom. The agreement covers technology development of up to 500 MW renewable energy and green hydrogen projects.
“Pertamina is fully committed to its dual growth strategy, which is to ensure energy security while also accelerating energy transition. Our collaboration with ACWA Power is a strategic step to realize this vision,” Pertamina CEO Simon Aloysius Mantiri said in a statement.
“By joining forces on renewable energy, green hydrogen, and sustainable infrastructure, we aim to create tangible value for both nations and lead the region’s transformation toward a low-carbon economy.”
ACWA Power has also signed an agreement with new sovereign wealth fund Danantara Indonesia to explore investment opportunities that will center on renewable energy generation, combined cycle gas turbines, green hydrogen, and water desalination.
The total project funding is up to $10 billion, ACWA Power said in a statement.
“These partnerships represent our commitment to support Indonesia in achieving its long-term energy and water security goals, contributing to the development of a sustainable and greener future,” said Raad Al-Saady, vice chairman and managing director of ACWA Power.
The Saudi company already has several projects in Indonesia, including development of the Saguling Floating Solar Photovoltaic Project in West Java province, which will have a 92 MW peak capacity.
Last year, ACWA Power announced it was collaborating with PLN and Indonesian chemicals company Pupuk Indonesia to develop a green hydrogen project that will produce 150,000 tons of green ammonia annually, with plans for commercial operations to begin in 2026.
The latest collaboration came as Prabowo made his first visit to the Kingdom since taking office. The Indonesian president met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah on Wednesday, where the two leaders agreed to strengthen their strategic cooperation.
During the visit Saudi Arabia and Indonesia also signed deals worth a total of $27 billion between private sector institutions in fields that include clean energy and petrochemicals.