The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) measured the quake at a magnitude 6.1 at a shallow depth of 26 km (16 miles) and its epicenter 104 km west-northwest of Mantua, Cuba, about two to four hours by car from the capital Havana

International News via Reuters:

A historically strong earthquake struck off Cuba’s northwest coast on Monday, according to official reports, shaking parts of Cuba, Mexico and Florida that are typically not prone to quakes.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) measured the quake at a magnitude 6.1 at a shallow depth of 26 km (16 miles) and its epicenter 104 km west-northwest of Mantua, Cuba, about two to four hours by car from the capital Havana.

Monday’s earthquake was unusual for this area of the Caribbean, said Paul Earle, a seismologist at the USGS, noting that the quake occurred within a tectonic plate, where earthquakes are usually more scattered and less frequent than when they occur along plate boundaries.

An earthquake this strong had not hit within 322 km (200 miles) of Monday’s quake since 1880, when a 6.0 temblor hit near San Cristobal, Cuba, said Earle.

Authorities have not yet reported any major damage or casualties, but the quake spiked concern in Cuba, where decades of economic crisis have left buildings in severe disrepair. Ongoing widespread blackouts across the region have made communications difficult.

“It felt strong. I had never felt anything like that,” said Yusmila Hernandez, 44, at her home in Pinar del Rio, in western Cuba.

“People ran outside, everyone scared. I can’t even explain it. It felt like no earthquake has ever felt here before,” Hernandez said.

USGS reported that shaking was also felt in Florida. In Mexico, the quake was felt in the tourist hubs of Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Tulum on the country’s Yucatan peninsula. Residents and workers in Cancun’s city center, unaccustomed to strong quakes, evacuated buildings.

Emergency protocols were activated in Mexico’s Yucatan and Quintana Roo states, but there were not yet reports of damage, the state’s governors both said on social media. 

No tsunami warning or watch was issued after the earthquake, according to the U.S. National Weather Service.

Reporting by Annet Rios, Ayose Naranjo and Dave Sherwood in Havana, Cuba; Paola Chiomante in Cancun, Mexico, and Brendan O’Boyle and Cassandra Garrison in Mexico City; Writing by Brendan O’Boyle; Editing by Chris Reese and Nick Zieminski

The outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola was announced on May 15, though officials have since said it went undetected for weeks, leaving health authorities behind the curve and struggling to bring it under control

International News via Reuters:

Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday said confirmed Ebola deaths had climbed to 101 and that the presence of armed groups was continuing to hinder the response in the hardest-hit province.

The outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola was announced on May 15, though officials have since said it went undetected for weeks, leaving health authorities behind the curve and struggling to bring it under control.

It is unfolding in three provinces long beset by armed conflict: Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu.

In its latest situation report published on Monday, Congo’s government said there had been 35 new confirmed cases in the previous 24 hours, including 10 deaths. That brought the total number of confirmed cases to 550 and the total number of confirmed deaths to 101.

The cases have been recorded in 17 of Ituri’s health zones as well as in seven health zones in North Kivu and one health zone in South Kivu.

Mistrust and resistance have hampered the response, with attacks on burial teams and treatment centres reported. The latest such attack occurred on Sunday, a source familiar with the government response said, with a burial team targeted at the Nyamurongo cemetery in Bunia, leaving two people seriously injured and two vehicles damaged. 

The situation report said the presence of armed groups in Djugu, Irumu and Mambasa – all in Ituri – was continuing “to limit humanitarian access in multiple health zones affected or at risk.”

It said that Bunia, the capital of Ituri, was relatively calm.

Earlier on Monday, Africa’s top public health agency said the number of confirmed Ebola cases in Congo had risen to 544.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention gave Congo’s confirmed Ebola deaths as 88.

Reporting by Congo newsroom and Anait Miridzhanian; Writing by Robbie Corey-Boulet; Editing by Alexander Winning and Daniel Wallis

The comments came during the International Air Transport Association’s annual meeting in Rio de Janeiro, where executives said engine problems remain one of the industry’s biggest constraints despite signs of improvement

International News via Reuters:

Commercial jet enginemakers faced renewed pressure from airline CEOs on Monday, as carriers warned that grounded aircraft and higher repair costs could persist for years.

The comments came during the International Air Transport Association’s annual meeting in Rio de Janeiro, where executives said engine problems remain one of the industry’s biggest constraints despite signs of improvement.

“Obviously there is dissatisfaction, and the way to measure that dissatisfaction is how many aircraft I have grounded today,” LATAM Brasil CEO Jerome Cadier told Reuters, adding that it has 12 single-aisle planes grounded due to engine issues.

While airline executives have long complained about engine problems, supply-chain improvements and actions taken by manufacturers like RTX’s Pratt & Whitney were expected to help keep more planes flying.

Some CEOs and lessors say there has been progress. But with the supply of engines and aircraft still tight, executives expect constraints to persist.

“Year-on-year we’re certainly seeing incremental improvement,” lessor Avolon CEO Andy Cronin said in an interview. “When you look at the global fleet overall it continues to be very tight, so we expect the strain on the market to continue for at least another couple of years.”

Hundreds of A320neo planes, ​the latest version of the Airbus ⁠single-aisle jet, have been grounded globally, partly due ​to long wait times for engine inspections and ​repairs, and after a manufacturing problem at Pratt weighed on the output of the fuel-efficient GTF engines.

Airlines also cited issues with engines made by Rolls-Royce and GE Aerospace for Boeing and Airbus planes.  

RTX and GE Aerospace both said they are investing heavily to increase repair and production capacity for their engines. RTX added it is working to improve the durability of the GTF.

Rolls Royce was not immediately available for comment.

“I think the biggest constraint for at least the next five years is going to be lack of engines,” United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby told reporters on Sunday.

“GE is working hard. I’ll put them at the top of the list,” Kirby said. “Pratt has had well-publicized challenges, but is sincere and genuine in their desire to want to fix them and to work with us. … The truth is the only one that I sort of have in my doghouse is Rolls.”

ENGINE ISSUES CREATE HIGHER COSTS FOR AIRLINES   

WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech said modern engines are generating higher maintenance costs, offsetting some fuel savings.

“There’s a lot of unscheduled maintenance that’s happening,” he said.  “The cost of ownership is significantly higher than what we had anticipated.”

Azul CEO John Rodgerson said some engines are not as durable as initially expected: “They’re just not lasting as long.” 

Italy’s ITA Airways, which will take a decision in weeks on whether to sue RTX’s Pratt over GTF problems, said the grounding of almost 20% of its fleet is complicating growth plans to Latin America.

ITA Airways CEO Joerg Eberhart said the carrier needs the grounded single-aisle aircraft to feed passengers to airport hubs for longer haul routes.  Cathay Pacific CEO Ronald Lam told reporters that about half of the 10 Airbus A320s operated by its low-cost HK Express subsidiary are grounded at any one time due to GTF engine issues.

DISCONNECT BETWEEN PERFORMANCE OF AIRLINES, ENGINE MAKERS

IATA CEO Willie Walsh said there is a disconnect between the financial performance of enginemakers, which have increased their margins by double digits, and airlines which he said have faced about $11 billion in additional costs due to supply-chain disruptions.

“They’ve done extremely well at a time of major disruption for the airlines. And I think that paradox really does need to be called out,” Walsh said. 

GE Aerospace CEO Larry Culp has defended the jet-engine industry’s pricing practices, saying they reflect the scale of investment required to develop and support complex propulsion systems.

For LATAM Brasil’s Cadier, suing doesn’t make sense, but he wishes enginemakers could get a taste of the pain that airlines are absorbing.

“Just as airlines are suffering, I would also like to see engine makers’ margins suffer.”

Reporting by Allison Lampert, Gabriel Araujo, Luciana Magalhaes, Rajesh Kumar Singh and Joe Brock in Rio de Janeiro; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani

The Vatican provided few details of the meeting, which lasted about an hour. But it said Leo had listened to proposals to make Church safeguarding more effective, and promised to make it a safe space for all

International News via Reuters:

Pope Leo met on Monday with six survivors of abuse by Catholic clergy in Spain, the Vatican said, as groups of survivors who were not invited criticised the event as a mere photo opportunity.

The Vatican provided few details of the meeting, which lasted about an hour. But it said Leo had listened to proposals to make Church safeguarding more effective, and promised to make it a safe space for all.

Leo, on a week-long visit to Spain, had earlier made his first direct reference to scandals that have shaken the Spanish Church’s credibility, telling bishops that they must listen to survivors and offer them reparations.

Leo told the clerics that survivors of abuse should see a “determined commitment” from the Church to strengthen safeguarding and create a safe culture for children and other vulnerable people.

A ​2023 report ⁠by Spain’s human rights ombudsman estimated that hundreds ​of thousands of victims had been abused by Spanish clergy over decades, echoing scandals that have shaken the Church’s moral authority around the world and cost hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements.

Juan Cuatrecasas, president of the group “Stolen Childhood”, said the survivors’ meeting with the pope had fallen short by failing to include representatives of all Church victims.

“They are being used by the Church, by the Bishops’ Conference, to clean up the image of the Spanish Church”, he told reporters.

SURVIVORS SAY CHURCH MUST DO MORE 

While Leo’s predecessor, Francis, took steps to address clerical abuse, survivors’ groups have called for stricter accountability and a global zero-tolerance policy for clergy accused of misconduct.

“Stolen Childhood” and other Spanish groups have demanded measures including fair compensation and lifelong psychological care for victims, as well as support for education and employment. 

Last week, Madrid Cardinal Jose Cobo said it was not feasible for the pope to meet multiple groups of survivors during a packed itinerary.

“It is simply that his time is limited,” said Cobo.

Spanish activist Miguel Hurtado was dismayed that the pope was not due to meet survivors of abuse at the mountainside Montserrat Abbey outside Barcelona, where Hurtado says he was abused as a teenager.

Leo will visit Montserrat, which was included in the 2023 ombudsman report, on Wednesday and have lunch with its Benedictine monks.

“At the very least … remember the victims,” Hurtado told reporters. “Commit publicly to cleaning the Church of abusers and those who cover them up.”

The ombudsman’s report identified 15 victims and three alleged perpetrators linked to the abbey.  

Reporting by Joshua McElwee and Emma Pinedo; additional reporting by Joan Faus, Aislinn Laing, Elena Rodriguez and Silvio Castellanos; Editing by David Latona, Alex Richardson and Kevin Liffey