International
Pregnant teen receives ultrasound on stage at Mexico anti-abortion rally
AFP
A pregnant 15-year-old girl underwent an ultrasound on stage during an anti-abortion rights protest in Mexico City Sunday, where some 10,000 demonstrators prayed and shouted slogans amid the spectacle.
The March for Women and Life, which wound from the Paseo de la Reforma to a rally in front of the city’s iconic Angel of Independence monument, was made up mainly of Catholic groups pushing back after last month’s Supreme Court ruling that would decriminalize abortion in Mexico.
“The government … is elevating the right to abortion as a right to kill,” 56-year-old protester Alma Bello told AFP. “It worries us a lot, because it is not the feeling of a majority of Mexicans.”
A stretcher was rolled out onto the rally stage for gynecologist Fernando Urquiza to perform an ultrasound on 15-year-old Ana, who is 38 weeks pregnant.
Images of the inside of the teenager’s uterus were broadcast on huge screens on either side of the stage, accompanied by cheers and applause from the crowd.
“All good to go, ready to be born,” pronounced the doctor, who said he was “very excited” to be part of the display.
When asked how she was feeling during the exam, Ana replied only that she was “fine.”
Meanwhile, a rally announcer told Ana the event was “the biggest baby shower I have ever seen.”
Alison Gonzalez, a Catholic activist and head of Steps for Life, the group that organized the march, said the gathering was not meant as a response to any particular event — such as the Supreme Court ruling — but rather as a show of “national support for women.”
“We need policies that reconcile the professional with the maternal, that make sure we can return home safely, that help us move forward in the face of an unwanted pregnancy,” 26-year-old Gonzalez told AFP.
“Legal or illegal, abortion must be out of the question, because women deserve so much more,” she said.
In a highly orchestrated move, groups arrived in buses from far-flung cities such as Morelos in central Mexico and Jalisco in the west — attendees all carrying hundreds of banners, scarves and signs in the signature light blue color of the international “pro-life” movement.
Some factions prayed Hail Marys together, while others shouted chants such as “Legal or illegal, abortion still kills!”
International
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Ecuador’s Armed Forces carried out an operation on Monday — including airstrikes — against illegal mining in the town of Buenos Aires, in the country’s north, Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo reported.
The mountainous, gold-rich area has been a hotspot for illegal mining since 2017, located in the Andean province of Imbabura.
In 2019, former president Lenín Moreno deployed around 2,400 soldiers to the region in an attempt to curb the illegal activity. “The operation began with mortar fire, followed by gunfire and bombing runs by Supertucano aircraft,” Loffredo said in a video released by the Defense Ministry.
He added that the operation would continue on Tuesday with patrols across the area to locate possible members of “irregular armed groups that may have crossed from the Colombian border.”
The Armed Forces stated on X that the intervention focused on the “complete elimination of multiple illegal mining tunnels” in the areas known as Mina Nueva and Mina Vieja.
The operation coincided with the deployment of a military and police convoy into Imbabura, which has been the epicenter of protests against President Daniel Noboa since September 22, following his decision to scrap the diesel subsidy.
International
Caracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win
Venezuela has announced the closure of its embassy in Norway, just days after opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Venezuelan diplomatic mission provided no explanation for its decision on Monday.
“It is regrettable,” a ministry spokesperson said. “Despite our differences on several issues, Norway wishes to keep the dialogue with Venezuela open and will continue to work in that direction.” The ministry also emphasized that the Nobel Committee operates entirely independently from the Norwegian government.
In its announcement, the Nobel Committee stated that Machado met the criteria established by Alfred Nobel, “embodying the hope for a different future, where the fundamental rights of Venezuelans are heard.”
International
Sheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains
Thousands of military personnel and civilians in Mexico worked tirelessly on Tuesday to clear roads blocked by the torrential rains of recent days, which have left more than 300 communities cut off across central and eastern regions of the country. Authorities also launched mass fumigation efforts in several affected areas to prevent the spread of dengue fever.
The official death toll remains at 64, though dozens of people are still missing. President Claudia Sheinbaumacknowledged that the government does not yet know the full situation in many of the isolated villages, which range in population from 500 to 1,000 inhabitants.
“The reopening of roads is one of the greatest urgencies,” Sheinbaum said. “It’s essential to guarantee air bridges, food supplies, clean water, and a proper census of the isolated communities so we can determine the condition of every person living there.”
Private construction companies are also assisting the effort with heavy machinery and technical support to help reopen highways and reconnect rural areas.
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Caracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win
Sheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains
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