Aurelia Butler

ACAPULCO, Mexico (Reuters) -Hurricane Otis claimed the lives of at least 27 people, Mexico’s government said on Thursday after one of the most powerful storms to hit the country hammered the beach resort of Acapulco, causing damage seen running into billions of dollars.Otis, which struck Mexico on Wednesday as a Category 5 storm, flooded streets, ripped roofs off homes and hotels, submerged cars and cut communications, road and air access, leaving a trail of wreckage across Acapulco, a city of nearly 900,000.Four people are still missing, the government said.”What Acapulco suffered was really disastrous,” President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told a press conference in Mexico City tallying the damage from the storm, which ripped into southern Mexico with winds of 165 miles per hour (266 kph).Otis, which intensified unexpectedly rapidly off the Pacific coast, was so powerful it tore large trees up by the roots, scattering debris all over Acapulco. It flooded hospitals, and hundreds of patients had to be evacuated to safer areas.The government declared a state of emergency in the region, but has given scant details about how the 27 people died, or how many others were injured.Erik Lozoya, a professional magician, said he endured “three hours of terror” with his wife and two baby daughters in an Acapulco hotel room as the hurricane smashed through the windows and swept through the building with a deafening intensity.”It literally felt as though our ears were going to explode,” said the 26-year-old Lozoya, who barricaded himself in a bathroom with his family and four others. “We saw mattresses, water tanks flying. The ceiling began to cave in.”The family left the bathroom, but the eighth-floor room soon began to flood, and Lozoya had to stand carrying his daughters with water up to his ankles for two hours because the wind was so strong they could not open the door to get out.The hurricane peeled off sections of buildings in downtown Acapulco. Some Mexican media posted videos of looting in the city. Reuters could not immediately confirm their veracity.The government has so far not estimated the cost of Otis, but Enki Research, which tracks tropical storms and models the cost of their damage, saw it “likely approaching $15 billion.”The people still missing are believed to be members of the navy, said Lopez Obrador, who went to Acapulco on Wednesday by road, changing his vehicle more than once as the storm caused stoppages, according to pictures published on social media.One showed him sitting in a military jeep stuck in mud.On Thursday afternoon, the government said the air traffic control tower of Acapulco’s international airport was up and running again and that an air bridge enabling tourists to reach Mexico City would be operating from Friday.SHOCKING POWERMexican authorities said Otis was the most powerful storm to strike Mexico’s Pacific coast, although Hurricane Patricia, which slammed into the resort of Puerto Vallarta eight years earlier, whipped up even higher wind speeds out at sea.Nearly 8,400 members of Mexico’s army, air force and national guard were deployed in and near Acapulco to assist in cleanup efforts, the defense ministry said.The destruction wrought by Otis has added to concerns about the impact of climate change, which many scientists believe will lead to more frequent extreme weather events.Acapulco is the biggest city in the southern state of Guerrero, one of the poorest in Mexico. The local economy depends heavily on tourism, and Otis caused extensive damage to some of the most famous hotels on the city’s shoreline.Calling the storm “totally devastating,” Guerrero state Governor Evelyn Salgado said 80% of the city’s hotels had been hit by the storm and that authorities were working to restore electricity and reactivate drinking water pumps.School classes were canceled in Guerrero for a second day and opposition politicians criticized the government for a lack of preparedness.Magician Lozoya said he and his family were not alerted by the hotel about the approach of the hurricane until about 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, barely 1-1/2 hours before Otis came ashore.Lopez Obrador had issued a warning about two hours earlier on social media about the impending arrival of Otis.State power utility CFE had over 1,300 employees working to restore power it said on Wednesday evening, when some 300,000 people remained without electricity.Telmex, the telecommunications firm controlled by the family of tycoon Carlos Slim, said it had restored its network in Acapulco by Thursday morning. Local cell phone service was gradually being restored, but remained patchy. More

BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil’s Finance Ministry is preparing a decree that nearly doubles the tax on the sale of firearms and ammunition, arguing that the measure is necessary to boost revenue and reduce crime, according to a draft document seen by Reuters.Prepared by the revenue service at the request of Finance Minister Fernando Haddad, the decree raises the industrial tax on revolvers, pistols, shotguns, carbines, pepper spray, and other equipment from 29.25% to 55%, in addition to also increasing the tax on ammunition.The proposal was sent by the revenue service to the ministry’s executive secretary, Dario Durigan, on Wednesday night. The revenue service declined to comment.Should the decree be signed by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva this month, its financial effects would start in March 2024, resulting in an increase in revenue of 342.5 million reais ($68.5 million) next year, 377.7 million reais in 2025, and 415.0 million reais in 2026, according to the draft. The move aligns with other actions by leftist Lula, who has consistently opposed policies that encourage the sale and use of firearms. Upon assuming office in January, Lula has been changing the federal gun control policy, which had been relaxed under his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro.($1 = 4.9969 reais) More

“It’s important for currencies to move stably reflecting fundamentals,” Suzuki said. “Excessive currency volatility is undesirable.”Suzuki, while repeating his usual mantra on market moves, declined to comment further when asked whether there had been any recent currency intervention.The Japanese currency broke past 150 yen to the dollar this week to reach its weakest level since October last year when authorities intervened in the market to stem the weakness.The 150 yen line is perceived by investors as a danger zone that could trigger currency intervention by Japanese authorities. More

(Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Thursday said the sharp rise in long-term bond yields is reflective of confidence in the U.S. economy and expectations that interest rates will be higher for longer as a result.Yellen, in a televised interview with Bloomberg, said it was also possible that yields on longer-dated bonds will come down, but “no one knows for sure.” More

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Thursday opposed the European Union giving Ukraine 50 billion euros in aid, and his Slovak counterpart cited corruption in expressing reservations over extending new financial support to Kyiv. The two spoke at a summit of the EU’s 27 national leaders, who highlighted diverging priorities in a first debate on where to put money from their shared budget in the next four years. Orban drew criticism from some of his peers at the summit for having met Russian President Vladimir Putin in China this month as Moscow wages a war against Ukraine and the European Union is shunning the Kremlin. The EU is due to decide in December on a revision of its 2021-27 budget worth 1.1 trillion euros ($1.2 trln), which is already strained by emergency spending during the COVID pandemic and since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. The bloc’s executive proposed that member states chip in more to the shared coffers to provide 50 billion euros to Ukraine and spend another 15 billion euros on migration. Another proposal would allocate 20 billion euros in military aid for Ukraine.Budgetary decisions require unanimity and divisions were on display on Thursday. Orban said Hungary would not back more aid for Ukraine unless it saw “a very well-justified proposal”. “The one in front of us … that’s not going to work. So, for the time being, we will reject that as well and we will see where we get in December,” he said.Orban’s comments came as Budapest is trying to unlock billions in aid envisaged for Hungary in the EU budget but blocked by the executive European Commission over rule-of-law concerns.Slovakia’s Robert Fico – in Brussels a day after being appointed prime minister for the fourth time – said Bratislava would no longer support Ukraine militarily.”We will only concentrate on humanitarian aid,” Fico wrote on social media from Brussels. Fico cited endemic corruption in warning against providing new resources to Kyiv, according to two EU diplomats briefed on the leaders’ closed-door discussions.Other states in eastern Europe disagreed, with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda saying the proposed 50 billion euros for Ukraine was not enough. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said that – beyond supporting Ukraine – joint expenditure should grow for improving EU defence capabilities.CASH CALLBelgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo backed continued support for Ukraine but also called on the Commission to make better use of the cash in its own coffers.”What is on the table today is unacceptable for us,” he said.”We ask the Commission and other institutions to look at their own funds and look at the funds that are not being fully used … instead of asking the member states for bigger contributions.”Summit chairman Charles Michel said after the talks some new spending might be financed through fresh contributions, and some could come from reshuffling resources in the budget. In the south, Greece pleaded for more money for migration as the bloc is pushing to tighten its external borders and reduce unauthorised arrivals from the Middle East and Africa.”Greece is a country of first reception and needs more European support to deal with the immigration problem,” said the Greek premier, Kyriakos Mitsotakis.Ireland’s Leo Varadkar added investments in EU competitiveness to the long list of conflicting priorities. “Where that money is found of course will be a matter of significant debate,” he said.($1 = 0.9467 euros) More

Yellen, in an interview with Bloomberg, said the administration has already taken a “large number” of steps to put sanctions against Hamas in place.Yellen also said she is not seeing much so far in the way of consequences to the global economy from the conflict between Israel and Hamas, but she is monitoring developments closely. More