03/04/2026

FRIDAY | APR 3, 2026

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Florida official fatally shot, husband jailed

Death of Myanmar refugee in New York ruled homicide

TALLAHASSEE: The vice-mayor of Coral Springs, Florida was shot and killed on Wednesday and her husband was taken into custody as the lone suspect in what police called a case of domestic violence, officials said. Nancy Metayer Bowen, 38, was the first Black woman and first Haitian American woman to serve as commissioner in Coral Springs, a town of about 134,000 people some 72km north of Miami. She was elected to the commission in 2020, re-elected in 2024 and named vice-mayor by her fellow commissioners, according to the city’s website. Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris named her as her campaign’s Caribbean vote director in Florida, the Sun Sentinel reported in 2024. Police responding to a call found Metayer Bowen’s body in her home and later arrested her husband. He was booked into the Broward County jail in Fort Lauderdale, officials said. Stephen Bowen, 40, is listed as chief operating officer of Men of St Luke, a religious and fraternal NGO registered in Broward County. Court records have not yet listed a defence lawyer for Bowen and authorities have not said if he has retained counsel. Commissioner Joshua Simmons remembered Metayer Bowen as a “battle buddy”. “She had such a good heart. Truly cared about people, even when people were saying some of the most horrible things about her.” – Reuters Cuba thanks Russia for oil shipment MEXICO CITY: Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez has thanked President Vladimir Putin for sending a humanitarian oil shipment, which demonstrates “friendship tested in the most difficult moments”and will allow Cubans to gradually ease the energy crisis, Sputnik/RIA Novosti reported. On Monday, a Russian tanker carrying 100,000 tonnes of crude oil arrived in Cuba. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the issue of delivering Russian petroleum products to Cuba was raised during contacts with the United States. “Thank you, Putin. Thank you, the crew of tanker Anatoly Kolodkin , whose arrival at a Cuban port with a valuable cargo of fuel brings us confidence in a friendship tested in the most difficult moments, as has happened many times in history,”said Diaz-Canel on Wednesday. He added that Cuba will continue to defend its sovereign right to import fuel “without any interference or pressure”. “Work is underway to unload, process, distribute and rationally utilise this cargo, which, although insufficient given the acute shortage, will gradually alleviate the situation in the coming weeks.” On Jan 29, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order authorising tariffs on imports from countries supplying oil to Cuba, and declared a state of emergency due to an alleged Cuban threat to US national security. The Cuban government claimed that the United States is using the energy blockade to stifle the Cuban economy and make living conditions unbearable for its population. – Bernama-Sputnik

WASHINGTON: Health officials on Wednesday ruled the death of a Rohingya refugee from Myanmar who was found dead on a street in New York state after his release from immigration detention a homicide. On Feb 24, the body of 56-year-old Nurul Amin Shah Alam was discovered in Buffalo, in northeastern New York state, sparking a public outcry against the Trump administration’s harsh immigration crackdown to expel undocumented migrants. Local media reported at the time that US Border Patrol agents had dropped off Nurul Amin, described as almost blind and unable to speak English, in frigid weather five days earlier at a restaurant. He was found dead six kilometres away. After an investigation, the Erie County Medical Examiner’s office determined that the cause of death

o Mayor calls incident ‘deeply disturbing and dereliction of duty’ by immigration agents

of flooding and related hazards may increase in the coming hours as the storm system continues to affect multiple regions. Wind speeds of up to 120kph have been recorded in the southern Aegean while waves over six metres high have been sighted in the southeast of the Aegean, local media reported. The EMY state weather service forecast “severe weather” yesterday in most parts of the country, “with prolonged and intense rain and thunderstorms, and possibly localised hailstorms”. Meteorologists expected the storm to continue until yesterday evening. – Bernama-Xinhua violated a previous order from her on warrantless arrests when they carried out an immigration sweep in a Home Depot parking lot in Sacramento. An appointee of former Democratic president Joe Biden, US District Judge Jennifer Thurston, had issued an order in April last year barring federal agents from warrantless arrests without finding probable cause of a flight risk. She said border agents appeared to be in violation of her order when they carried out the immigration enforcement action in Sacramento in July 2025 and ordered agents throughout the Eastern District of California to properly document reasons to make future stops. President Donald Trump’s administration has pursued an aggressive and hardline immigration crackdown, which has been widely condemned by human rights groups as being in violation of due process and free speech rights. Rights groups also say the crackdown has created an unsafe environment for ethnic minorities in the United States and raised fears of racial profiling. Trump has cast his actions as being aimed at reducing illegal immigration and improving domestic security. “Congress requires agents to consider whether, when making warrantless arrests, the non-citizen poses a flight risk or a danger to community if released. Rather than abide by Congress’ mandate, agents arrested everyone who could not establish citizenship,” said Thurston in court records released on Wednesday. She said in the immigration enforcement action in Sacramento, agents used 11 “virtually identical” forms to support detentions and arrests. “Having carefully examined the entire record, including the recorded footage of the Sacramento action, the court finds that the defendants have again detained people without reasonable suspicion for doing so.” – AFP

Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan called it “deeply disturbing and a dereliction of duty” by immigration agents. But Customs and Border Protection said immigration agents established that Nurul Amin could not be deported and therefore offered him a lift to a “warm, safe location near his last known address”. “He showed no signs of distress, mobility issues or disabilities requiring special assistance,” the agency said at the time. In a separate development, a federal judge in California said on Wednesday US Customs and Border Protection officials had

was “complications of a perforated duodenal ulcer precipitated by hypothermia and dehydration”, the county’s Health Department said in a statement. The manner of death, meaning how the cause came about, was homicide, it said. “For death certification purposes, ‘homicide’ refers to death resulting from the volitional act of another, which may include negligent acts or omissions. The designation of homicide does not imply intent to cause harm or death.” Nurul Amin’s next of kin were notified about the findings, the county Health Department said.

Powerful storm wreaks havoc across Greece ATHENS: Storm Erminio swept across Greece on Wednesday, killing at least one individual and causing transport disruptions, infrastructure damage and significant impacts on daily life, reported Xinhua. broadcaster ERT. There were extremely high levels of particulate matter due to Saharan dust. CELESTIAL EXPEDITION ... The crew of the Artemis IIlaunch mission to fly by the moon walking to board the astronaut van for their drive to launch pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Florida in the United States on Wednesday. – REUTERSPIC

Greek radio reported. In the greater Athens area, fallen trees, flooded streets and traffic disruptions were reported, with the fire brigade receiving nearly 500 emergency calls in the greater Athens area, including more than 30 rescue requests. Transport services were also severely affected. Strong winds forced the suspension of ferry services, including the Rio-Antirrio route in western Greece, while flights in several regions, including Chania and Heraklion in southern Crete, were cancelled or diverted due to poor visibility. Authorities warned that the risk

According to the meteorological office, concentrations of over 1,000 micrograms per cubic metre of air have been recorded in some areas. On Poros, an island in the Saronic Gulf in southern Greece, flooding turned roads into torrents and caused a bridge collapse, prompting authorities to shut down schools as a precaution. In the Cyclades and the Dodecanese islands of Mykonos, Paros, Rhodes and Kos, schools at all levels were closed. Lessons were taking place online,

The Fire Department said a man, around 50 years old, was found trapped under a car in Nea Makri, a rural area northeast of Athens. The island of Crete, in southern Greece, was among the hardest-hit areas, with gale-force winds reaching up to 11 on the Beaufort scale, heavy rainfall and one of the most intense Saharan dust episodes in recent years, sharply reducing visibility and forcing schools to close, according to Greek national