Sin categoría

Argentina coach Scaloni to miss Chile trip with Covid

AFP

Coach Lionel Scaloni will miss Argentina’s World Cup qualifier away to Chile after testing positive for Covid-19, he told reporters on Wednesday.

His assistant coach Pablo Aimar will also stay in Argentina for Thursday’s clash in Calama.

“Pablo has been at home for several days because he is a close contact. I finished quarantine several days ago but I keep testing positive and to enter Chile you need a negative test,” said Scaloni in a video press conference.

Argentina will also be without English based midfielders Alexis Mac Allister of Brighton and Aston Villa’s Emiliano Buendia after the roommates both tested positive.

20260330_renta_mh_728x90

“One of those two would have played,” said Scaloni.

Backroom staff Walter Samuel and Roberto Ayala will take charge of the team on Thursday.

Argentina, alongside Brazil, have already qualified for the Qatar World Cup that begins in November, despite having five matches still to play.

Chile, though, are amongst seven teams battling for the remaining two automatic qualification spots.

They have their own Covid problems with three players missing after testing positive: Watford center-back Francisco Sierralta is in quarantine in England while midfielder Mauricio Isla and forward Jean Meneses both tested positive upon arriving in Santiago.

20260330_renta_mh_728x90

Scaloni left seven-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi, who recently recovered from Covid, out of his squad for the matches against Chile and Colombia.

Since the beginning of the year, Argentina has seen a new wave of Covid infections, registering more than 100,000 new cases and 300 deaths a day.

The country of 45 million has registered eight million cases and 120,000 deaths in total from Covid.

More than three quarters of the population is fully vaccinated.

20260330_renta_mh_728x90

Sin categoría

Tehran engulfed in toxic cloud after strikes on fuel facilities

Tehran woke up under a sky that shifted from gray to black following strikes on fuel infrastructure, as the city has become engulfed in a toxic cloud that is turning daily life into a public health and environmental emergency.

Residents warn that what is falling from the sky is no longer just rain, but a mixture of oil and pollutants. Attacks on fuel depots have triggered prolonged fires, releasing thick plumes of smoke that continue to spread across the العاصمة.

For several days, facilities have remained ablaze, while a dark layer has settled over streets, homes, and even water reserves. Authorities have urged the population—more than nine million people—to remain indoors, especially vulnerable groups.

The extreme toxicity is linked to mazut, a dense petroleum byproduct with high sulfur content still used in Iran due to industrial limitations and sanctions. When burned, it releases hazardous particles that, when combined with moisture, result in contaminated rainfall.

The situation is worsened by Tehran’s geography. Surrounded by mountains, the city is affected by a temperature inversion phenomenon that traps pollutants near the ground, preventing their dispersion and creating a stagnant layer of toxic air over the population.

20260330_renta_mh_728x90

Residents have reported symptoms such as eye and skin irritation, headaches, and respiratory difficulties. Emergency agencies have also warned of potential chemical burns caused by acid rain.

Long-term concerns are mounting, as prolonged exposure to fine particles and heavy metals could lead to serious health conditions, including lung damage and cancer.

Contamination is also spreading to water sources and agricultural land, threatening the food supply in a country already facing water scarcity.

At a regional level, the environmental impact is expanding, with oil spills reported in the Persian Gulf, affecting marine ecosystems and fishing communities.

20260330_renta_mh_728x90

Sin categoría

FBI Most Wanted Fugitive Arrested in Mexico and Deported to U.S.

Authorities in Mexico announced Thursday that Samuel Ramírez Jr., a U.S. citizen accused of murdering two women and listed among the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, was arrested in the northern state of Sinaloa.

Ramírez Jr., 33, was detained Tuesday in Culiacán just 1 hour and 13 minutes after being added to the Federal Bureau of Investigation Ten Most Wanted list, the agency said in a statement.

The suspect, who was born in California, has already been deported to the U.S. state of Washington, where he faces charges related to the fatal shooting of two women at a bar in Federal Way in May 2023.

A court issued an arrest warrant for Ramírez in November last year, and the FBI initially offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to his capture, later increasing the amount to up to $1 million.

“To protect individuals’ privacy and ensure continued cooperation from the public, the FBI does not confirm the identity of those who provide information,” the agency said in its statement.

20260330_renta_mh_728x90

Sin categoría

UN experts warn Nicaragua runs vast transnational network to monitor exiled dissidents

Nicaragua maintains an “extensive” transnational network to monitor and intimidate opposition figures living in exile, affecting “hundreds of thousands” of people, the United Nations Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua warned on Tuesday.

In a statement, the experts said their report “details an extensive transnational architecture of surveillance and intelligence used to monitor, intimidate and attack the hundreds of thousands of Nicaraguans living abroad.”

The report, which will be presented on March 16 to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, states that the structure maintained by the government of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo includes the army, the police, migration authorities and diplomatic missions.

According to the statement, “the government has arbitrarily stripped 452 Nicaraguans of their nationality, left thousands more exiled in a situation of de facto statelessness, and prevented many from returning to Nicaragua.”