Nation and world news in brief for November 11

Strong quake rocks eastern Cuba, damaging buildings, infrastructure

HAVANA (Reuters) — An earthquake rocked eastern Cuba on Sunday, shaking buildings in Santiago de Cuba, the island’s second-largest city, and the surrounding countryside.

The quake, which the U.S. Geological Survey listed as magnitude 6.8, struck Cuba’s southeastern coast in Granma province near the municipality of Bartolome Maso, where former Cuban leader Fidel Castro had his headquarters during the Cuban Revolution.

“There have been landslides, damage to homes and power lines,” said Cuban president Miguel Diaz-Canel on X. “We have begun to assess damages…the first and essential thing is to save lives.”

Reuters spoke with several area residents who reported the quake felt as strong as any in their lifetimes. Homes and buildings shook violently, they said, and dishes, glasses and vases rattled off shelves.

“We’ve felt earthquakes in the past, but nothing like this,” said Santiago resident Griselda Fernandez by telephone.

Many of the region’s homes and buildings are older and vulnerable to quake damage. State-run media published images of terracota roofs and facades of concrete block homes that had collapsed with the shake. Many images showed structural damage to ceilings, walls, windows columns as well as to public infrastructure.

The earthquake struck an island still struggling to recover from hurricanes. Much of Cuba’s eastern end was still digging out from a direct hit by Hurricane Oscar in October. Last week, Cuba’s national grid collapsed after Hurricane Rafael tore through the western end of the island, leaving 10 million without power.

Head of key Japan opposition party admits extra-marital affair

TOKYO (Reuters) — Yuichiro Tamaki, the head of the Japanese opposition party that has emerged as kingmaker as lawmakers select the next prime minister on Monday, said a tabloid report about his extra-marital affair was “basically true”.

“I apologise for the trouble caused,” the head of the Democratic Party for the People (DPP) told reporters at a hastily called news conference after tabloid SmartFlash reported the affair earlier today.

Bitcoin rises above $80,000 for first time

(Reuters) — Bitcoin was trading near record $80,000 on Sunday after hitting it earlier in the session, following Donald Trump’s decisive victory in the U.S. presidential election earlier in the week.

Bitcoin, the world’s biggest and best-known cryptocurrency, is up 65.4% from the year’s low of $38,505 it hit on Jan. 23.

Trump has vowed to make the United States “the crypto capital of the planet.”

Fed’s Kashkari says US deportations could disrupt labor for some businesses

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Widespread deportation of foreign-born workers from the United States probably would disrupt some businesses, but the impact on inflation and the broad economy would depend on the details, Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari said on Sunday.

Kashkari, appearing on the CBS program “Face the Nation,” offered his views on the economic impact of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign promise to deport immigrants who are in the United States unlawfully.

“If you just assume people are working — either working in farms or working in factories — and those businesses now lose employees, that would probably cause some disruption,” Kashkari said.

Olaf Scholz signals willingness for earlier German confidence vote

BERLIN (Reuters) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Sunday that he would be willing to call a vote of confidence in parliament before Christmas, a move that would pave the way for snap elections following the collapse of his three-way governing coalition.

The timing is earlier than the January date he had proposed last week and follows increasing pressure from politicians and the public for a quicker vote.

Europe’s largest economy was thrown into disarray last week with the collapse of Scholz’s coalition and disagreements over how much money the government should spend to encourage growth and support Ukraine.

“I’m not clinging to my job,” he said in an interview on ARD television.

Scholz had suggested holding a vote of confidence in his government on Jan. 15, with a snap election in March, but the conservative opposition led by Friedrich Merz wants an election in January. A confidence vote is a necessary precursor to an election.

Haiti to replace prime minister as security crisis mounts

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) — Haiti will name entrepreneur and former senate candidate Alix Didier Fils-Aime to replace Prime Minister Garry Conille, who was tapped for the role in May, according to a transitional presidential council draft resolution seen by Reuters.

The shakeup is the latest blow to political stability in the country, which has been wracked with worsening violence. Armed gangs have gained control of most of capital Port-au-Prince and expanded to nearby regions, fueling hunger and forcing hundreds of thousands from their homes.

Promised international support still lags and nearby nations have deported Haitian migrants back to the country.