International
A sixth man is found dead after the explosion in a tequila factory in Mexico
The number of people killed by the explosion in a tequilera company rose to six, the Civil Protection and Firefighters Unit of Jalisco, a state of western Mexico, reported on Wednesday, which also reported a second fire in the factory that left no injuries.
The agency stated in a statement that municipal and state firefighters found a sixth victim during the cooling work of the area after Tuesday’s east.
He also revealed that on Wednesday morning there was a new fire in a cardboard storage that reached a 200-liter container with tequila waste, but it was already controlled and left no victims.
The death of six people and two more injured, one of them seriously, after the explosion of a tank and the subsequent fire that reached three other containers, has overshadowed the celebrations of International Tequila Day that were scheduled for this Wednesday.
In addition, it has forced the authorities to stop tourist activities in the town of Tequila, where the drink with a designation of origin is produced.
The National Chamber of the Tequila Industry canceled the presentation of a commemorative bottle and the Tequila Regulatory Council did the same with the tastings and the celebration ceremony that it would do in conjunction with the Government of the State of Jalisco.
The mayor of the municipality of Tequila, José Alfonso Magallanes, assured that the companies José Cuervo y Sauza, which have their main headquarters in the town, stopped their production and the tourist and administrative activities of the municipality were also suspended until they were assured that there is no risk of new incidents.
Magallanes told a local media that, according to the first investigations, the explosion could have originated because some workers were welding one of the stills (utensil for distilling), which was combined with an accumulation of gases.
Even so, he warned that they will wait for the expert opinions of the specialists of the Jalisco Institute of Forensic Sciences who are still working on the spot.
“What we know is that, when it comes to welding, maybe the gases make this giant tank move through the air with everything and the person who was welding and was fastened with a harness,” he said in an interview.
It was also assured that the deceased people are part of the companies that the tequilera outsources to carry out maintenance work, although on Tuesday they first identified themselves as employees of José Cuervo.
In a statement, José Cuervo reported that they evicted the distillery and its surroundings to prioritize the safety of workers and neighbors, and that they help the authorities to investigate the causes of the accident.
International
Meta Says Russia Seeks to Ban WhatsApp for Defending Secure Communication
U.S. tech giant Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, said that Russia is seeking to ban the messaging app because it “challenges government attempts to violate people’s right to secure communication.”
Russian authorities have encouraged citizens to switch to state-backed applications, and in August they already blocked WhatsApp’s calling feature.
On Friday, the communications regulator Roskomnadzor claimed that the platform was being used to “organize and carry out terrorist acts in the country, recruit perpetrators, and facilitate fraud and other crimes.”
“If the messaging service does not comply with Russian law, it will be completely blocked,” the regulator warned.
WhatsApp remains one of Russia’s most widely used messaging services, alongside Telegram.
Moscow is pressuring both platforms to grant authorities access to user data upon request for investigations into fraud and activities the government labels as “terrorist.”
Human rights advocates fear the demand could be used to target critics of the Kremlin, President Vladimir Putin, or the war in Ukraine.
International
Archbishop Wenski criticizes Trump’s deportation policies, calls for stronger push for reform
The Archbishop of Miami, Thomas Wenski, has called for increased pressure on the U.S. Congress to advance comprehensive immigration reform and criticized President Donald Trump’s mass deportation policies, arguing that they “do nothing to help.”
“We need to apply more pressure on Congress so lawmakers can make the necessary changes. It is also important for the Administration to listen to our voice. We do not want to be anyone’s enemy—we are Americans,” Wenski said in an interview with EFE.
The religious leader, who heads one of the dioceses with the largest Latino and Haitian populations in the United States, issued a call to defend the rights of migrants. He also emphasized that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has maintained a strong and public stance in favor of migrants for decades.
International
Trump relaunches diplomatic push to finalize U.S.-Backed peace plan for Ukraine War
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that his diplomatic team will resume meetings with delegations from Russia and Ukraine in an effort to pressure both sides to accept the peace plan proposed by Washington to end the war in Ukraine.
As part of this new round of talks, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Meanwhile, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll will hold discussions with Ukrainian representatives to narrow differences on the remaining points of the agreement.
Trump also confirmed his intention to meet personally with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and with Putin, though he emphasized that such meetings will only take place “when the agreement is fully finalized or in its final stage.”
The president claimed that his administration has made “tremendous progress” toward resolving the conflict and reiterated that the war “never would have started” if he had been in the White House at the onset of the crisis.
The U.S.-backed peace plan consists of 28 points and has been revised following feedback from both sides. According to Trump, only “a few points of disagreement” remain under active discussion.
One of the most controversial aspects of the proposal is the suggestion that Ukraine cede parts of the Donbas region to Russia and limit the size of its armed forces. Kyiv is working closely with Washington to soften these clauses in search of an arrangement that does not compromise its sovereignty or security.
With this diplomatic push, Trump aims to solidify his role as the main mediator in the conflict and steer the war toward a political resolution after years of devastation, humanitarian crisis, and rising global geopolitical tensions.
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