International
The trial of an Australian Instagramer accused of overmedicating her baby to get donations begins
An Australian Instagrammer accused of poisoning her one-year-old baby to gain followers and obtain donations administered her daughter a medicine against seizures in disobeying medical recommendations, as reported this Tuesday before the Australian court that judges the case.
In today’s hearing, the prosecution exposed before the Magistrates’ Court of the city of Brisbane, in east of Australia, that the girl had been diagnosed with tuberous sclerosis, a genetic disorder that caused benign tumors, according to the public channel ABC.
Last year, doctors prescribed the girl the drug “Carbamazelina”, used by people who suffer from epilepsy, but when they detected that it caused seizures in the baby, they withdrew the treatment.
However, the mother, 34 years old and who, according to what was exposed today by the prosecution, still had the prescription for the drug, would have ignored the opinion of the doctors and continued to administer the medicine to the little girl with the aim of obtaining donations and followers.
According to the Australian authorities, the accused thus obtained about 60,000 Australian dollars (37,500 US dollars or almost 36,000 euros).
“There really is no valid explanation for why… (the woman) did not go once, not twice, but three times… to a pharmacy to obtain a medicine that she knew she should no longer give her daughter because it caused her harm,” Police prosecutor Jack Scott said during the session.
Scott indicated during the hearing that on one occasion the seizures caused by the drug caused the girl a cardiac arrest that required medical intervention, according to information collected by the Australian Press Agency (AAP).
The court told EFE today in a statement that during the session a request for bail was also submitted for the detainee, which will continue to be evaluated at a hearing on Wednesday at 9:00 local time (23:00 GMT on Tuesday).
This case has shocked the southern country, very firm in its policies of control over social networks with recent measures that restrict access to them for adolescents, and maintained a tough battle with X for a video showing the knife attack of a teenager against a religious in Sydney in April 2024.
The woman, who has not been identified for legal reasons, was arrested on January 16 following a police investigation based on suspicions that the parent provided the baby with medicines without medical approval.
According to the Queensland Police investigations, between August 6 and October 15, 2024, the woman allegedly administered several prescription and unauthorized medications to the baby and tried to hide this behavior.
The mother also recorded her daughter “while she suffered anguish and immense pain” and published the videos on social networks “to attract monetary donations and online followers,” according to the Police.
In mid-October, medical staff at a hospital in southern Brisbane detected what happened and informed the police while the girl was admitted.
The blood tests carried out then detected that the baby had unauthorized medications in her blood.
After her arrest, the woman was charged with five crimes of poisoning with the intention of causing harm, three of preparation to commit crimes with dangerous objects and a crime of torture, one of manufacturing child exploitation material and one of fraud, which add up to more than two decades in prison if she was found guilty.
International
Mexican government prioritizes 191 communities after deadly floods
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed on Wednesday that the death toll from recent rains and floods across several central states has risen to 66, while the federal government has activated air bridges and prioritized assistance in 191 isolated communities.
“Unfortunately, 66 people have died, and 75 remain missing,” the president said during her morning press conference. She added that the official death toll will be updated later in a new report.
As of Tuesday, authorities had reported 64 fatalities. Sheinbaum also announced the creation of a public information center to centralize official data on the deceased, missing persons, damaged homes, and cut-off communities.
According to the president, the number of missing persons has decreased thanks to coordination with state authorities.
“Through calls to phone line 079, 103 people who had been reported missing have now been located,” she explained.
Priority Municipalities
The president noted that the federal government has classified 191 communities as ‘priority’, a designation based mainly on the percentage of homes affected.
International
New road and bridge explosions raise alarm amid indigenous protests in Ecuador
Ecuadorian authorities are investigating two explosions that occurred early Wednesday, one on a road in the southern part of the country and another under a bridge in Guayas province. These incidents follow the car bomb explosion in the coastal city of Guayaquil, also in Guayas, which occurred the day before and left one person dead and 30 injured.
Press reports indicate that one person was injured and several vehicles were damaged in the explosion on the Cuenca-Girón-Pasaje road in the south.
“Besides yesterday’s explosion in Guayaquil, we have received reports of explosives placed on bridges along the Guayaquil-Machala and Machala-Cuenca routes to disrupt traffic,” said Roberto Luque, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport (MIT).
On his X social media account, Luque reported that authorities have been deployed to the sites to assess the damage and determine the current condition of the structures.
“What they haven’t achieved with their call for a strike, some are trying to achieve through terrorism,” he stated, referring to the 24 days of protests organized by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (Conaie) against rising diesel prices and other demands.
The protests, called at a national level, have Imbabura province as their epicenter. Roadblocks have also been reported in the northern part of Pichincha province, whose capital is Quito, while activities in the rest of the country continue normally.
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.
Mexican government prioritizes 191 communities after deadly floods
New road and bridge explosions raise alarm amid indigenous protests in Ecuador
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
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