Nepal still needs tents, food supplies

Nepal still needs tents, food supplies

KATHMANDU, Nepal

Nepal’s government renewed its appeal to international donors to send tents and tarpaulins and basic food supplies in the wake of last weekend’s devastating earthquake, saying some of the items being sent are of little use.

The government also asked donors to send money to help with relief efforts if they cannot send things that are immediately necessary.

“We have received things like tuna fish and mayonnaise. What good are those things for us? We need grains, salt and sugar,” Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat told reporters Friday.

Poll: Many doubt Clinton’s honesty

WASHINGTON

Americans appear to be suspicious of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s honesty, and even many Democrats are only lukewarm about her presidential candidacy, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll.

Is she strong and decisive? Yes, say a majority of people. But inspiring and likable? Only a minority think so.

Clinton’s struggles to explain her email practices while in government, along with questions about the Clinton Foundation and Republican criticism of her openness, wealth and trustworthiness seem to have struck a nerve in the public’s perception of the dominant Democratic figure in the 2016 campaign. In the survey, 61 percent said “honest” describes her only slightly well or not at all.

Even so, she is viewed more favorably than her potential Republican rivals.

Violence in Mexico

GUADALAJARA, Mexico

At least seven people died as flames and gunfire erupted around the western Mexico state of Jalisco on Friday when a military operation targeting a violent drug cartel was launched at the start of a three-day holiday weekend.

Suspected cartel members stopped buses and trucks to block key highways in the state capital of Guadalajara and other cities, snarling traffic on a day Mexicans took to the road in droves. Officials said 11 banks and five gas stations were firebombed in almost simultaneous attacks. Lesser violence also was reported in three neighboring states.

US liable for some Katrina flooding

NEW ORLEANS

Ruling in a nearly decade-old lawsuit, a judge in Washington said Friday that the federal government is responsible for some of the catastrophic flooding that followed Hurricane Katrina and other storms — flooding blamed on a now-closed navigation channel.

Judge Susan Braden of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington said the flooding was, in effect, a “taking” of property under the Fifth Amendment, for which the plaintiffs must be compensated.

Judge Braden set a conference for Wednesday in New Orleans to determine whether an agreement can be reached to have damages assessed by a mediator.

Retaliation for reporting assaults

WASHINGTON

Two-thirds of women in the military who reported they’d been sexually assaulted endure professional retaliation or other social ostracism, Pentagon’ leaders said Friday.

In releasing an annual study required by Congress on sexual harassment and assault within the ranks, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said combating the problem had proven difficult.

Carter said he was issuing a directive for his top military and civilian advisers to devise a strategy for protecting service members who report unwanted sexual contact.

About 22 percent of female service members and 7 percent of male service members experienced some form of sexual harassment last year, ranging from crude jokes to assaults, according to the report.

Combined dispatches