Page 12 - aruba-today-20171028

A12 WORLD NEWS
Saturday 28 OctOber 2017

NY governor visits Puerto Rico, pledges power, water aid

said. “It’s unacceptable. cannot keep FEMA, the
It’s inadequate. It’s a life- Military & the First Respond-
and-death situation.” ers, who have been amaz-
The storm hit Puerto Rico ing (under the most difficult
as a Category 4 hurricane circumstances) in P.R. for-
Sept. 20 with winds up to ever!”
155 mph. It killed 51 peo- The governor traveled to
ple, flattened Puerto Rico’s the U.S. Virgin Islands and
electrical system, deci- Puerto Rico last month to
mated thousands of homes survey hurricane damage.
and left tens of thousands He noted the approaching
unemployed, many of fifth anniversary of Super-
whom have left for the U.S. storm Sandy, which lashed
mainland in search of jobs New York City and Long Is-
and to enroll their children land.
in school. About 75 percent “We rebuilt a New York
of the island remains with- that is better and stronger
out power. Roughly 20 per- than it was before Hur-
cent is without water, and ricane Sandy,” he said.
officials warn that those “That should be the atti-
who do have water service tude in Puerto Rico.”
still need to boil it before New York already has sent
drinking it. millions of bottles of water,
A resident sweeps at a camp set up on the shore of Laguna de Condado in San Juan, Puerto Rico. “There’s been a different baby wipes, diapers and
The man was homeless before the Island was hit by the hurricane and was living at a shelter, but standard that has sublimi- other goods to Puerto Rico,
he is now living back on the street. nally been imposed,” Cuo- and it has deployed hun-
(AP Photo/Carlos Giusti) mo said. “It would not be dreds of National Guard
By DANICA COTO ria. covery. acceptable if any of the 50 military police, engineers
Associated Press During a one-day visit to the It is the second time that states went through this ... It and soldiers and also vol-
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) island, Cuomo pledged $1 the New York Democrat would be immediate out- unteer medical staff.
— New York Gov. Andrew million through the Empire has visited Puerto Rico since rage.” Cuomo said he also could
Cuomo announced Thurs- State Clean Water Fund to the storm, and he criticized Taking aim at comments send hundreds of power
day that his state will help buy water filtration systems the federal response. by President Donald Trump, crews to Puerto Rico within
restore power in Puerto and said he would deploy “To be here five weeks later Cuomo said rebuilding days if the island’s govern-
Rico and also improve ac- a tactical team in Novem- and people still don’t have Puerto Rico will take years ment activated a mutual
cess to clean water as the ber that specializes in the power, people still don’t and billions of dollars of aid agreement, which it
U.S. territory struggles to re- supervision of transmission have water, the results federal funding. Two weeks has not. Instead, Gov. Ri-
cover from Hurricane Ma- and distribution system re- speak for themselves,” he ago, Trump tweeted: “We cardo Rosello’s adminis-
tration awarded a $300
Cuba presents defense against sonic attack charges million contract to a small
Montana company called
Whitefish that has sparked
By M. WEISSENSTEIN ministration’s assertion that had failed to show that problems reported by their outrage and led members
A. RODRIGUEZ 24 U.S. officials or their rela- such attacks had actually diplomats,” the program’s of Congress from both par-
Associated Press tives had been subjected occurred because it had narrator said. ties to demand an inves-
HAVANA (AP) — Cuba pre- to deliberate attacks by a not given Cuba or the pub- The narrator said Cuba had tigation. The company is
sented its most detailed de- still-undetermined culprit. lic access to the testimony undertaken an exhaustive located in the hometown
fense to date against U.S. Many officials reported be- or medical records of U.S. investigation ordered by of Interior Secretary Ryan
accusations that American ing subjected to loud, grat- officials who reported at- “the highest government Zinke.
diplomats in Havana were ing noises before falling ill. tacks, despite three visits to authorities,” a clear refer- Rossello said he has asked
subjected to mysterious The U.S. has not accused Cuba by U.S. investigators ence to President Raul Cas- for an audit on the con-
sonic attacks that left them Cuba of carrying out the in June, August and Sep- tro. tract awarded by power
with a variety of ailments in- attacks, but says that Cuba tember. Cuba did not possess any company director Ricardo
cluding headaches, hear- has not met its obligation to “The members of the U.S. technology capable of Ramos.
ing problems and concus- protect diplomats on its ter- delegation said they don’t carrying out a sonic attack “I can’t make an assess-
sions. ritory. have evidence that con- and importing it was pro- ment right now on how ef-
In a half-hour, prime-time The television special point- firms that these reported hibited by law, according fective they’re being,” he
special Thursday titled “Al- ed out what it alleged was attacks occurred, and to the special. said of Whitefish workers,
leged Sonic Attacks,” Cu- a lack of evidence for the brought up that there was “Its entering the country adding that he sees them
ban officials attempted to U.S. accusations. no working theory about could only take place ille- working hard across the
undermine the Trump ad- It argued the United States the cause of the health gally,” the narrator said. q island.q