Briefly

UNITED STATES

2nd vote fails to elect new House speaker

The US House of Representatives on Wednesday failed to elect a new speaker in the second round of voting, as Republican Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, lost more votes from his own party compared with the first round. Jordan won 199 votes out of the 221 House Republicans, losing 22 Republican votes in the second round of full-chamber voting. The latest chaos came after the unprecedented ouster of Kevin McCarthy, who was booted out of his position in a move initiated by a conservative member of his own party.

HAITI

Transition authority official kidnapped

The Secretary-General of Haiti's High Transition Council, Anthony Virginie Saint-Pierre, has been kidnapped, according to the head of the committee. Local media reports, citing HCT head Mirlande Manigat, said that Saint-Pierre was kidnapped around noon in the Debussy neighborhood of the capital Portau-Prince by heavily armed men dressed as police officers. In nearby Petion-Ville, local media said clashes had taken place between police and gang members.

Xinhua - Agencies