Page 12 - ARUBA TODAY 7 NOV 2015

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WORLD NEWSSaturday 7 November 2015

Haiti officials shut down orphanage founded by US man

DAVID McFADDEN mas 91 neighborhood of turned to try again to stop by Haitian authorities but it phanage closed Thursday
Associated Press Port-au-Prince. About two- the shutdown. is not known if they seized as well as the Wings of
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti dozen shouting men tried Haitian investigators look- his U.S. passport. Hope home for physically
(AP) — Haitian authorities to prevent the closure, but ing into new allegations of In an Oct. 29 court order and mentally disabled
this week closed an or- a government agent scat- sexual abuse against or- seen by The Associated children and young adults
phanage for boys found- tered the group by firing a phanage founder Michael Press, Judge Bernard Sa- in the hills above the capi-
ed three decades ago by gun into the air. Geilenfeld have sought to invil allowed all of Geilen- tal and a newer facility
a U.S. citizen facing accu- Police and judicial officials detain him in recent days feld’s charitable opera- called Trinity House in the
sations he sexually abused locked the main door of but have been unable tions in Haiti to be shut- southern coastal city of
children in his care. the orphanage before to locate the Iowa na- tered by authorities due to Jacmel. It was not imme-
Police padlocked the the men, many of them tive and former Catholic allegations of “rape and diately clear if police also
doors at the St. Joseph employees and former brother. He has had travel sexual aggression.” shuttered those facilities
Home for Boys in the Del- residents of the home, re- restrictions placed on him The order covered the or- Thursday.q

Council names 2 candidates for Haiti presidential runoff

Presidential candidate Jovenel Moise from the PHTK political party waves to supporters as he ar- headquarters, which was a public-private project
rives to a press conference in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Moise and former state construction chief Jude under guard by heavily called Agritrans to suc-
Celestin will advance to a runoff election for Haiti’s presidency, election authorities announced armed police. He said Moi- cessfully export the fruit to
Thursday. se received 511,992 votes Europe. But several major
or 32.8 percent of the total, candidates have alleged
(AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery) and Celestin got 394,390 or fraud by the well-financed
25.2 percent. Tet Kale campaign behind
DAVID McFADDEN presidency, according Electoral Council. Since no Seven of the council’s nine Moise and voiced concern
Associated Press to preliminary results an- candidate won a majority members signed off on that the results do not ac-
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) nounced early Friday. in that ballot, the two top the preliminary results, indi- curately reflect national
— Government-backed The much-anticipated re- finishers are set to meet in a cating that there was not will. The candidate who
candidate Jovenel Moise sults from the 54-candidate Dec. 27 runoff. unanimous agreement with placed third in the official
and former state construc- first round presidential con- Opont did not take any the tally. An appeals period tally with 14.2 percent, for-
tion chief Jude Celestin ap- test on Oct. 25 were issued questions from reporters will follow the Thursday an- mer senator Moise Jean-
pear to be advancing to by Pierre Louis Opont, the after delivering the prelimi- nouncement and officials Charles, has asserted in re-
a runoff election for Haiti’s leader of the Provisional nary results at the council say certified results are ex- cent days that he won half
pected in late November of Haiti’s 10 departments.
or early December. Last week, he insisted that
Moise, handpicked by partially burned ballots
outgoing President Michel checked with his name
Martelly to be his successor, were found by his backers
greeted applauding parti- in Port-au-Prince and nu-
sans gathered at a fancy merous ballots supporting
hotel in Petionville, not far his bid had gone missing
from the electoral council elsewhere.
headquarters. Looking into After the preliminary results
TV cameras, the top vote were announced, Jean-
getter told Haitians they Charles said the results
were backing the right were a sham orchestrated
man. by Martelly, who he insists
“I’m standing in front of you would be pulling strings in
because I am the winner,” a Moise presidency. He
said Moise, an agricultural called on his supporters to
entrepreneur who set up participate in a “peaceful
a banana plantation in revolution” to ensure their
Haiti’s north and founded voice is heard.q

Puerto Rico to debate restructuring bill on tight deadline

DANICA COTO extension to finalize a deal an increase would repre- meet,” according to the In September, the Electric
Associated Press with creditors and bond- sent another burden for bill, which says approval is Power Authority reached
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) holders on restructuring islanders recently hits with needed to finalize the util- a deal with fuel line lenders
— Puerto Rico’s governor part of its $9 billion debt. new taxes and tax increas- ity’s deal with bondholders to restructure about $700
submitted a long-awaited Many Puerto Ricans es. and creditors. million in expired debt and
bill this week to restructure thought the bill would re- Gov. Alejandro Garcia Pa- There is currently no law a separate agreement
the island’s heavily indebt- veal details of an anticipat- dilla’s administration said it that allows Puerto Rico or with some creditors to re-
ed public power company ed increase in power bills, has lowered energy costs its agencies to file for bank- duce principal owed in ex-
as legislators rush to de- but the measure said the through artificial means ruptcy. change for new securities.
bate multiple measures to proposed rate structure in recent years, but those The bill also would allow The utility is still in discus-
help keep the U.S. territory would not be revealed un- measures are not enough. the power company to sions regarding a separate
financially afloat. til restructuring bonds are It noted the power compa- improve collection of over- restructuring deal with sev-
The measure was sent to issued. ny faces a $1 billion short- due bills, invest $2.4 billion eral monoline bond insur-
lawmakers less than a day Power bills in Puerto Rico fall this fiscal year. in renovations and enter ers that have not extended
after the Electric Power are on average twice that “The Authority faces ob- into public-private partner- their forbearance agree-
Authority obtained a brief of the U.S. mainland and ligations that it cannot ships. ment but have not sued.q