Far from Hollywood’s wealth, Los Angeles fire survivors feel forgotten

Far from Hollywood’s wealth, Los Angeles fire survivors feel forgotten
A person walks on rubble as he returns to the home after it has been burned down by wildfires in the Los Angeles area, at the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California, US January 9, 2025.(REUTERS)
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Updated 10 January 2025
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Far from Hollywood’s wealth, Los Angeles fire survivors feel forgotten

Far from Hollywood’s wealth, Los Angeles fire survivors feel forgotten
  • Altadena residents fear unequal resource allocation post-fire
  • Concerns over insurance payouts and gentrification rise

ALTADENA: In the close-knit Los Angeles suburb of Altadena, where rows of neat bungalows once nestled in the shadow of the San Gabriel mountains, smoldering ruins and the skeletal frames of burnt out cars now lie.
While the fires that have devastated celebrity neighborhoods near Malibu have caught the world’s attention, a similar size blaze in Eaton Canyon, north of Los Angeles, has ravaged Altadena, a racially and economically diverse community.
Black and Latino families have lived in Altadena for generations and the suburb is also popular with younger artists and engineers working at the nearby NASA rocket lab, who were attracted by the small town vibe and access to nature.
Many residents told Reuters they were concerned that government resources would be channeled toward high-profile areas popular with A-Listers, while insurance companies might shortchange less affluent households that don’t have the financial means to contest fire claims.
“They’re not going to give you the value of your house ... if they do you really have to fight for it,” said Kay Young, 63, her eyes welling up with tears as she stared at a sprawl of smoking rubble, the remnants of a home that has been in her family for generations.
Inez Moore, 40, whose family home in Altadena was destroyed by the fire, said communities like theirs would likely suffer financially more than wealthier suburbs because many people don’t have the resources or experience to navigate complex bureaucratic systems.
“You’re going to have some folks who are not going to get as much as they deserve, and some folks who may get more than actually they need,” said Moore, a lecturer at California State University.
Moore, Young and several other residents told Reuters they didn’t see any fire engines in Altadena in the early hours of Wednesday when they fled flames engulfing their community, fueling a resentment that their neighborhood wasn’t a priority.
“We didn’t get help here. I don’t know where everybody was,” said Jocelyn Tavares, 32, as her sister and daughter dug through the smoking debris of a life upended — a child’s bicycle half-melted, a solitary cup miraculously spared from the flames.
Los Angeles County Fire Department did not respond to a request for comment about the residents’ complaints.
REBUILD
Since breaking out on Tuesday night, the Eaton Fire has killed at least five people and grown to 13,690 acres as of Thursday night, consuming much of the northern half of Altadena, an unincorporated community of some 40,000 people.
As late as 1960, Altadena was almost entirely white. As new highways built in urban renewal projects tore apart Los Angeles neighborhoods, African American families began buying homes in what remained for decades a relatively affordable community.
Residents told Reuters they paid around $50,000 for a three-bedroom home in Altadena in the 1970s. The same house would cost more than $1 million today.
By 1990, nearly 40 percent of residents were Black. Today, about 18 percent are Black, 49 percent white and 27 percent are Hispanic or Latino, according to the US Census Bureau.
Altadena residents voiced concerns that the area may become more gentrified if families who have lived here for generations could not secure insurance payouts to cover the cost to rebuild a home that they bought cheap decades ago.
Despite the widespread wreckage, many locals were upbeat about the community rising from the ashes, sharing tales of narrow escapes and memories of decades spent growing up together with neighbors who were now sharing in the disaster.
“There are rows of us that went to school together,” said Young, gesturing to a vast stretch of scorched foundations.
Michael McCarthy, 68, a clerk in the City of Los Angeles, said his home was saved by a neighbor who risked his life by staying behind after everyone else had fled, using a hose to spray water on their roofs.
“I know this community will rebuild, everybody knows everybody here, everybody loves everybody,” said McCarthy, who is due to retire this year.
“Well, I got a new job now, and that’s putting all this back together and do what I can for the neighborhood.”


Serbian president’s flight halted in Baku en route to Moscow for WW2 parade

Serbian president’s flight halted in Baku en route to Moscow for WW2 parade
Updated 57 min 39 sec ago
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Serbian president’s flight halted in Baku en route to Moscow for WW2 parade

Serbian president’s flight halted in Baku en route to Moscow for WW2 parade
  • It was unclear whether Vucic would be able to continue his trip beyond Azerbaijan
  • Several regional states shut their airspace over Ukrainian drone strikes

BAKU: A plane carrying Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic to Moscow for Russia’s parade marking the 80th anniversary of victory over Nazi Germany was halted in Baku on Wednesday due to ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Tanjug news agency reported.
It was unclear whether Vucic would be able to continue his trip beyond Azerbaijan after several regional states shut their airspace over a third day of Ukrainian drone strikes in Moscow, which forced most of the Russian capital’s airports to close.


Vucic was set to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 9, the day of the parade, the semi-official Serbian news agency reported, citing a Kremlin official.
European Union officials have urged presidents of nations aspiring to join the EU, including Vucic, to align their foreign policies with the bloc and avoid Moscow’s World War Two victory rites because of Russia’s three-year-old invasion of Ukraine.
Last weekend, Vucic abruptly returned from the United States where he had expected to meet with President Donald Trump, citing health reasons. But his physicians said his condition had improved and he could return to work in mid-week.


US may soon deport migrants to Libya on military flight, sources say

US may soon deport migrants to Libya on military flight, sources say
Updated 07 May 2025
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US may soon deport migrants to Libya on military flight, sources say

US may soon deport migrants to Libya on military flight, sources say
  • Two of the officials said the US military could fly the migrants to the North African country as soon as Wednesday
  • Reuters could not determine how many migrants would be sent to Libya

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump’s administration may deport migrants to Libya for the first time this week, three US officials said on Tuesday, as part of his immigration crackdown and despite Washington’s past condemnation of Libya’s harsh treatment of detainees.
Two of the officials said the US military could fly the migrants to the North African country as soon as Wednesday, but stressed that plans could change.
The Pentagon referred queries to the White House. The White House and Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A State Department spokesperson said: “We do not discuss the details of our diplomatic communications with other governments.”
Reuters could not determine how many migrants would be sent to Libya or the nationalities of the individuals that the administration is eyeing for deportation. Libya’s Government of National Unity said on Wednesday it rejected the use of Libyan territory as a destination for deporting migrants without its knowledge or consent. It also said there was no coordination with the United States regarding the reception of migrants.
Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army, which controls eastern Libya, also rejected in a statement the idea of the country taking migrants deported from the United States, saying it “violates the sovereignty of the homeland.”
Trump, who made immigration a major issue during his election campaign, has launched aggressive enforcement action since taking office, surging troops to the southern border and pledging to deport millions of immigrants in the United States illegally.
As of Monday, the Trump administration has deported 152,000 people, according to DHS.
The administration has tried to encourage migrants to leave voluntarily by threatening steep fines, trying to strip away legal status, and deporting migrants to notorious prisons in Guantanamo Bay and El Salvador.
LIFE-THREATENING
In its annual human rights report released last year, the US State Department criticized Libya’s “harsh and life-threatening prison conditions” and “arbitrary arrest or detention.”
In its travel advisory, the Department advises US citizens against visiting the country due to “crime, civil unrest, kidnapping and armed conflict.”
Libya’s west is overseen by the GNU under Prime Minister Abdulhamid Al-Dbeibah, who was installed in Tripoli through a UN-backed process in 2021. Eastern Libya has a parallel administration and is controlled by commander Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army.
Major fighting ended with a truce in 2020 but the underlying political dispute between the sides remains and there are sporadic clashes between rival factions.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week said the United States was not satisfied only with sending migrants to El Salvador, and hinted that Washington was looking to expand the number of countries that it may deport people to.
“We are working with other countries to say: We want to send you some of the most despicable human beings, will you do this as a favor to us,” Rubio said at a cabinet meeting at the White House last Wednesday.
“And the further away from America, the better.”
A fourth US official said the administration has for several weeks been looking at a number of countries to send migrants to, including Libya.
It wasn’t immediately clear if the administration had struck an agreement with the Libyan authorities to accept deportees of other nationalities. On April 19 the Supreme Court justices temporarily barred the Trump administration from deporting a group of Venezuelan migrants it accused of being gang members. Trump’s administration, which has invoked a rarely used wartime law, has urged the justices to lift or narrow their order.
It is unclear what kind of due process might be underway ahead of any Libya deportations.
Libya has had little peace since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising, and it split in 2014 between eastern and western factions, with rival administrations governing in each area.
A Tripoli-based Government of National Unity under Prime Minister Abdulhamid Al-Dbeibah was installed through a UN-backed process in 2021 but the Benghazi-based House of Representatives no longer recognizes its legitimacy.


Kabul warns India, Pakistan that escalation ‘not in interest of region’

Kabul warns India, Pakistan that escalation ‘not in interest of region’
Updated 07 May 2025
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Kabul warns India, Pakistan that escalation ‘not in interest of region’

Kabul warns India, Pakistan that escalation ‘not in interest of region’
  • The Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged both sides to exercise restraint
  • Relations between the Taliban government and neighboring Pakistan have been strained

KABUL: Afghanistan’s Taliban government warned India and Pakistan on Wednesday that further escalation was not “in the interest of the region” after they exchanged artillery fire along their contested frontier.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on the social media platform X that “it urges both sides to exercise restraint and resolve their issues through dialogue and diplomacy.”


Islamabad said 26 civilians were killed by the Indian strikes or gunfire along the border, while New Delhi reported at least 12 dead from Pakistani shelling.
Relations between the Taliban government and neighboring Pakistan have been strained over security concerns and Islamabad’s deportation campaign which has expelled tens of thousands of Afghans since the beginning of April.
The Taliban, who returned to power in Kabul in the summer of 2021, have in contrast developed closer ties with New Delhi, even though it does not recognize their government.
The violence between India and Pakistan was sparked after New Delhi accused Pakistan of backing the deadliest attack in years on civilians in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22, which killed 26 men. Islamabad rejects the charge.


India urges restraint but remains ‘fully prepared’ amid tensions with Pakistan, army says

India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri holds a press briefing with Indian army officials following India’s military strikes.
India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri holds a press briefing with Indian army officials following India’s military strikes.
Updated 07 May 2025
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India urges restraint but remains ‘fully prepared’ amid tensions with Pakistan, army says

India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri holds a press briefing with Indian army officials following India’s military strikes.
  • Indian strikes were ‘measured, non-escalatory, responsible’ foreign secretary says
  • Pakistani officials say at least 26 civilians were killed in Indian missile strikes

NEW DELHI: Indian forces are fully prepared to respond to any retaliation from Pakistan, an army spokeswoman said on Wednesday, after Delhi launched missile strikes on Pakistani sites that it said were linked to last month’s deadly attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Indian Armed Forces launched “Operation Sindoor” in the early hours of Wednesday, hitting nine locations in Pakistan’s densely populated Punjab province and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, from where it said “terrorist attacks against India have been planned and directed.”

The strikes came amid heightened tensions between the rivaling neighbors in the aftermath of an attack on tourists near the resort town of Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir on April 22, in which 26 people — 25 Indians and one Nepali citizen — were killed.

“India has demonstrated considerable restraint in its response. However, it must be said that the Indian armed forces are fully prepared to respond to Pakistani misadventures, if any, that will escalate the situation,” Wing Commander Vyomika Singh told a joint briefing by the Indian military and Ministry of External Affairs in the Indian capital.

“Operation Sindoor was launched by Indian Armed Forces to deliver justice to the victims of Pahalgam terror attack and their families.”

She said that Indian forces used niche technology weapons and carefully chose warheads to avoid collateral damage to civilians and civilian infrastructure, without providing more detail.

Sindoor, which refers to the vermilion powder worn by married Hindu women, is an apparent reference to the widows left by the April 22 attack, in which the victims were all men.

Indian officials showed footage of what they said were strikes on the targets in Pakistan during the Delhi briefing, as well as a map marking locations of what they said were “terror infrastructure.”

“Over the last three decades, Pakistan has systematically built terror infrastructure. It is a complex web of recruitment and indoctrination centers, training areas for initial and refresh of courses and launch pads for handlers. These camps are located both in Pakistan as well as Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir areas,” Singh said.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said India’s actions were “measured, non-escalatory, proportionate and responsible.”

“They focused on dismantling the terrorist infrastructure and disabling terrorists likely to be sent across to India.”

He said the strikes were launched because there was “no demonstrable step” from Pakistan to “take action against the terrorist infrastructure on its territory or on territory under its control” since the Pahalgam attack.

“Instead, all it has indulged in are denials and allegations. Our intelligence monitoring of Pakistan-based terrorist modules indicated that further attacks against India were impending,” he said.

Kashmir has been the subject of international dispute since the 1947 partition of the Indian subcontinent into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan.

Both countries claim the Himalayan region in full and rule in part, and have fought two of their three wars over it.

Indian-administered Kashmir has for decades witnessed outbreaks of separatist insurgency to resist control from the government in Delhi, which accuses Pakistan of arming and training militants since 1989. Islamabad has denied those allegations, saying it offers only moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri people in their struggle for self-determination.

A Pakistan military spokesperson said at least 26 civilians were killed in the Indian strikes on Wednesday.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday the country’s top national security body had authorized its armed forces to take “corresponding actions” in response to the Indian strikes.

India and Pakistan have had near daily exchanges of fire across the de facto border, called the Line of Control, which divides disputed Kashmir between them.

On Wednesday morning, they also exchanged intense shelling and heavy gunfire across much of the frontier, which reportedly killed and injured dozens of civilians on both sides.


EU takes Hungary to top court in migrant smuggler case

EU takes Hungary to top court in migrant smuggler case
Updated 07 May 2025
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EU takes Hungary to top court in migrant smuggler case

EU takes Hungary to top court in migrant smuggler case
  • The EU charged that no system was put in place to ensure smugglers were taken back into custody once expelled
  • Brussels accuses Budapest of a failure to meet its obligations

BRUSSELS: The European Commission on Wednesday said it will take Hungary to the EU’s top court for breaching rules on combatting people-trafficking, in the latest showdown between Brussels and the nationalist government in Budapest.
Brussels launched legal action in 2023 after Budapest decided to release and expel several thousand jailed migrant traffickers on the grounds holding them in Hungarian prisons was a burden to the taxpayer.
An April 2023 decree by Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government enabled the smugglers’ release — giving them three days to leave Hungary, theoretically with a view to serving out their sentences in their home country.
But the EU charged that no system was put in place to ensure smugglers were taken back into custody once expelled, and decided to refer Hungary to the European Court of Justice after it failed to address the concerns.
More than 2,400 people-smugglers had been released under the measure as of January this year, according to Hungarian government figures.
Brussels accuses Budapest of a failure to meet its obligations to “impose effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions” for migrant smuggling.
Hungary’s government has retorted that human traffickers can only operate because of European laws encouraging migration.
Brussels has repeatedly locked horns with Orban’s government over its tough line on migration — one of a long list of areas where the EU deems Budapest to be falling short of its democratic standards.
In June last year, the EU’s top court fined Hungary 200 million euros ($216 million) and imposed a daily one-million-euro penalty for illegally deporting migrants.
More broadly, billions of euros in EU funds are currently frozen over issues including the treatment of asylum seekers, LGBTQ rights, alleged corruption and the independence of academics.