International
Mexican classrooms reopen amid Covid third wave
AFP
Millions of Mexican schoolchildren began returning to classrooms on Monday after more than a year of distance learning, despite another wave of Covid-19 infections sweeping the country.
The government said that the return would be “voluntary and safe,” but some parents and opponents of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador worry that it is too soon.
Anna Alvarez, one of an estimated 25 million students who were expected to go back to classrooms, said she was “nervous and excited” after 17 months of studying at home.
“I was happy because I was with my family, but sad because I missed my friends,” the eight-year-old said.
The children in her school in Mexico City wore face masks and teachers checked their temperatures and gave out antibacterial gel at the entrance.
Inside the classrooms, which had a maximum of six students at a time, the desks were surrounded by plastic covers and spaced further apart than usual.
The government ruled out forcing children to return to classrooms and said it would adopt a hybrid model with both face-to-face and distance learning.
“It’s the mothers, the fathers and the children who have to make the decision. School is irreplaceable,” Lopez Obrador said at his daily news conference.
Israel Garcia, 45, who brought his 11-year-old daughter Regina to school, said he was “a bit uncertain and afraid of how this scheme is going to work.”
Mexico has an official coronavirus death toll of more than 258,000 — one of the highest in the world — and the country of 126 million is facing a third wave of infections.
It is the first time since the pandemic began that classrooms are reopening on a nationwide basis, although the return was delayed in a handful of Mexico’s 32 states due to a tropical storm and rising coronavirus infections.
An earlier attempt to reopen classrooms in some regions in June was foiled by a number of outbreaks of Covid-19.
Mexican classrooms closed in March 2020 at the start of the pandemic, and more than 30 million students were sent home to take classes via television, the internet and radio.
That posed a challenge to teachers as well as disadvantaged families with no TV or internet.
“Working remotely has made us change the way we teach,” said head teacher Lorena Reyna.
“It’s been very complicated,” she said.
International
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.
The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.
An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.
Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.
Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.
Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.
Internacionales
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.
In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.
Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
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