International

Mexico celebrates 200 years of independence

AFP

Mexico celebrated the 200th anniversary of the country’s independence from Spain on Monday with a commemoration featuring fireworks, theatre, and pyrotechnics in the capital’s central plaza.

The event in Mexico City’s Zocalo square, once the heart of the Aztec empire, was headed by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

“What we experienced that day, 200 years ago, marked forever our political separation with Spain,” said AMLO, the acronym by which the president is known.

Multiple countries sent congratulatory messages, including US President Joe Biden, who assured that his country “has no closer friend than Mexico.”

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“I look forward to all that our two nations will accomplish together in the years to come,” Biden said in recorded video.

Pope Francis’ congratulations included an acknowledgment of the Catholic Church’s “sins” in Mexico.

AMLO has asked the Spanish government and the Vatican several times to apologize for the “massacres and oppression” committed in the name of colonizing and evangelizing the indigenous peoples of Mexico.

“Both my predecessors and I have asked for forgiveness for personal and social sins,” Pope Francis wrote.

In a ceremony that limited visitors due to the Covid-19 pandemic, organizers used theatre, multimedia displays, and pyrotechnics to illustrate the country’s pre-Hispanic history, including the war for independence.

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The staging is part of a series of events organized by the Mexican government to mark the 700th anniversary of the founding of the Aztec capital and the 500th anniversary of the Spanish conquest.

Most Mexicans have mixed European and indigenous ancestry and have contrasting feelings about the violence of the conquest, which imposed culture, language, and religion on the country.

As part of Monday’s celebration, Italian general Roberto Riccardi was awarded the Aztec Eagle, the highest distinction granted to a foreigner in Mexico, for his work in the recovery of archaeological pieces.

Since 2018, 5,746 historical artifacts have been repatriated to the country, most of which are archaeological, AMLO said.

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International

Death toll from southern Spain train crash rises to 40

The death toll from the train accident that occurred on Sunday in southern Spain has risen to 40, according to investigative sources cited by EFE on Monday afternoon.

Since early Monday, search operations have focused on the damaged carriages of a Renfe train bound for Huelva, which collided with the last derailed cars of an Iryo train traveling from Málaga to Madrid after it left the tracks.

The crash has also left more than 150 people injured. Of these, 41 remain hospitalized, including 12 in intensive care units at hospitals across the Andalusia region.

More than 220 Civil Guard officers are working at the site, searching the railway line and surrounding areas for key evidence to help identify victims and determine the causes of the accident.

The tragedy has revived memories of the deadliest railway disasters in Europe in recent decades. In Spain, the most severe occurred on July 24, 2013, when an Alvia train derailed near Santiago de Compostela, killing 80 people and injuring 130 others.

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At the European level, the worst rail disaster took place on June 3, 1998, in Eschede, northern Germany, when a high-speed train struck a bridge pillar at 200 kilometers per hour, resulting in 98 deaths and 120 injuries.

International

Spain’s Prime Minister pledges transparency after train crash kills at least 39

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez pledged on Monday to ensure “absolute transparency” regarding the causes of a train crash that killed at least 39 people on Sunday in southern Spain, warning that the death toll could still rise.

The fatal accident occurred in the Andalusia region, where the number of confirmed deaths reached 39 by Monday morning, according to a spokesperson for the Ministry of the Interior.

Authorities were preparing to deploy heavy machinery to lift several derailed train cars. “We are waiting for cranes to be installed this morning to lift cars one, two and three of the Alvia train, which suffered the most damage,” said Andalusian regional president Juanma Moreno Bonilla on regional television. “It is likely that once they are lifted, we may find more victims,” he added.

The disaster also left more than 120 people injured. As of Monday afternoon, 43 victims remained hospitalized, including 12 in intensive care, according to emergency services.

International

Over 160 christian worshippers kidnapped in Kaduna Church attacks

More than 160 Christian worshippers were abducted on Sunday during coordinated attacks carried out by armed gangs on two churches in a remote village in Kaduna State, northern Nigeria, according to a cleric and a United Nations report accessed by AFP on Monday.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, has witnessed a renewed surge in mass kidnappings since November, prompting the United States government to carry out military strikes on Christmas Day in the northwestern state of Sokoto.

U.S. President Donald Trump accused Nigerian armed groups of targeting Christians, describing the violence as a form of “genocide” against the religious community.

According to Reverend Joseph Hayab, president of the Christian Association of Nigeria in the north, the attackers arrived in large numbers, blocked access to the churches, and forced worshippers to flee into nearby forests.

“The attackers came in large numbers, sealed off the entrances to the churches, and drove the faithful into the bush,” Hayab told AFP.