Mexicans evacuated as hurricane nears
CABO SAN LUCAS, Mexico — Hurricane Odile bore down on the resort area of Los Cabos on Sunday, prompting Mexican authorities to evacuate vulnerable coastal areas and prepare shelters for up to 30,000 people.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Odile’s core was on a track to pass close to or directly over the south end of Baja California late Sunday and into today and move by the southern portion of the peninsula Tuesday.
Rain began falling at midafternoon, hours before the storm’s expected arrival. Gusty winds whipped palm trees and waves pounded the rocky shore.
Odile’s maximum sustained winds were 125 mph late Sunday afternoon, down a bit from earlier in the day. Its center was about 90 miles south-southeast of the southern tip of Baja California and was moving to the north-northwest at 16 mph.
After reaching Category 4 strength Sunday, Odile was downgraded to Category 3. But it was still a major storm that threatened to cause high winds and heavy rains in Baja and parts of the mainland, and forecasters said it could strengthen again as it approached land.
Mexican authorities declared a maximum alert for areas in or near Odile’s path.
Sierra Leone loses 4th doctor to Ebola
FREETOWN, Sierra Leone — A fourth doctor in Sierra Leone has died from Ebola after a failed effort to transfer her abroad for medical treatment, a government official said Sunday, a huge setback to the impoverished country that is battling the virulent disease amid a shortage of health care workers.
Dr. Olivet Buck died late Saturday, hours after the World Health Organization said it could not help medically evacuate her to Germany, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Brima Kargbo said.
Sierra Leone had requested funds from WHO to transport Buck to Europe, saying the country could not afford to lose another doctor.
the WHO had said that it could not meet the request but instead would work to give Buck “the best care possible” in Sierra Leone, including possible access to experimental drugs.
Ebola is spread through direct contact with the bodily fluids of sick patients, making doctors and nurses especially vulnerable to contracting the virus that has no vaccine or approved treatment.
More than 300 health workers have become infected with Ebola in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Nearly half of them have died, according to the WHO.
Militants’ video shows Lebanese captives
BEIRUT — An al-Qaida-linked militant group holding Lebanese soldiers and police released a video of the captive men Sunday, as officials continue mediation to release the men.
The ongoing captivity of some 20 Lebanese security men by militants in Syria has emerged as one of the most serious spillovers of violence from the neighboring conflict, now in its fourth year. Militants from Syria seized the men when they overran the border town of Arsal, killing and kidnapping soldiers and police.
At least eight of the men are being held by the Syrian al-Qaida affiliate, the Nusra Front, which has a history of releasing detainees unharmed. Others are being held by the extremist Islamic State group, which has decapitated two Lebanese soldiers in captivity.
In the two-part, 20-minute video released Sunday by the Nusra Front, one Lebanese soldier inquired after his mother, and another burst into tears as he spoke to his family.
The video was spliced with montages of dead Syrian children and others suffering from hunger, as the words “Who will pay the price?” flashed across the screen.
Lebanon is negotiating for the men’s release through mediation by officials from Qatar. The Nusra Front is demanding the release of accused Islamic militants from Lebanese detention, as well as money.
157 migrants arrested in getaway attempt
CAIRO — The Egyptian coast guard on Sunday arrested 157 migrants who had been planning to sail illegally in a rickety fishing boat from Egyptian shores to Italy, a security official said.
The official said the migrants included 43 Palestinians, 35 Sudanese and 18 Syrians. Women and children were among the migrants, who had been boarding the boat headed across the Mediterranean Sea from the Alexandrian district of Abu Qir.
The official also said that human traffickers had collected $3,500 from each passenger.
Officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Rights groups in the past have urged Egyptian authorities not to deport migrants, who are usually fleeing war zones, back to their countries.