Bermudans take stock of Nicole’s blows
HAMILTON, Bermuda — Bermuda’s government dispatched crews to clear roads and engineers to inspect infrastructure as the British territory moved to recover quickly from Hurricane Nicole, which battered the island as a Category 3 storm.
The heavy rains and wind dissipated overnight Thursday as many of the island’s 65,000 residents ventured outside to assess the damage caused by 115 mph winds.
Authorities, however, urged people to remain indoors for their safety.
“There has been significant flooding in areas around the island and some severe road damages,” said National Security Minister Jeff Baron. “Obviously, we are also concerned about downed trees and downed power lines, which are live.”
Forecasters were still trying to determine if heavy winds or tornadoes created by the hurricane were to blame for some of the damage, said James Dodgson, deputy director at the Bermuda Weather Service.
The hurricane continued weakening Friday to a Category 1 storm as it churned toward the middle of the Atlantic Ocean after pummeling Bermuda. By Friday afternoon, it was about 715 miles south-southeast of Cape Race, Newfoundland, Canada’s easternmost island, with maximum sustained winds near 75 mph. The system was moving east-northeast at 20 mph.
Egyptian-checkpoint battle kills dozens
EL-ARISH, Egypt — Suspected Islamic militants in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula attacked an army checkpoint on Friday, killing 12 soldiers and wounding eight, according to security and medical officials.
The officials said the attack took place about 50 miles east of the Suez Canal, near the town of Bir el-Abd, where the wounded were taken for treatment before they were ferried to the city of el-Arish to the east.
A military statement confirmed the death toll, but said six troops were wounded. The military said 15 of the attackers, who arrived at the checkpoint in all-terrain vehicles, were killed and an undetermined number of others were wounded in a gunbattle.
According to the officials, the militants opened fire on the checkpoint with light arms and heavy machine guns.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said in a brief statement later Friday that the latest attack would only strengthen Egypt’s resolve to continue the “battle for building and survival.”
Brother questions death in German cell
BERLIN — A 22-year-old Syrian man suspected by German authorities of planning to carry out a bomb attack was looking forward to life in Germany the last time they spoke, his brother said Friday.
Jaber Albakr was found dead in a cell at Leipzig prison Wednesday, two days after being arrested on suspicion of plotting to attack a Berlin airport using homemade explosives.
But Alaa Albakr, in a telephone interview, insisted that his brother had no violent intentions and that he would never have committed suicide because that is forbidden by Islam.
“He sounded like he was excited about life and like he was ready to resume his life in Germany,” Alaa Albakr said of the last time he spoke to his younger brother.
Federal prosecutors said Jaber Albakr, who was granted asylum in Germany last year, was planning to carry out an “Islamist-motivated attack.” Authorities found 3.3 pounds of “extremely dangerous explosives” that could have been used to make a suicide vest at an apartment in which he had been staying in the eastern city of Chemnitz.
Ex-Alberta premier dies in plane crash
TORONTO — Former Alberta Premier Jim Prentice and three others died in the crash of a small plane in southern British Columbia.
The Conservative Party of Canada confirmed Friday that he died. He was 60.
Prentice was among former Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s most trusted ministers. He served as the industry minister, environment minister and minister of Indian and northern affairs. He left federal politics for provincial politics and became premier of Alberta in 2014. His party was defeated a year later in elections.
Spokesman Bill Yearwood said a Cessna Citation aircraft with four people on board went down at about 10:30 p.m. Thursday after taking off from Kelowna, British Columbia on a flight to Springbank, outside Calgary.