International
Mexico prepares to begin underground search for trapped miners
AFP
Mexican authorities said Friday they were finally in a position to begin searching a flooded coal mine where 10 workers have been trapped for more than a week, offering fresh hope to anguished relatives.
Several hundred rescuers, including soldiers and military scuba divers, are taking part in efforts to save the miners missing since August 3 in the northern state of Coahuila.
“We have all the conditions to go down there… to search for and rescue” the miners, civil defense national coordinator Laura Velazquez said by video link during President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s morning news conference.
But as nightfall later approached, Velazquez sounded a more cautious note, telling reporters it was unclear when the search would begin.
A specialist military team had made several more descents into one of the vertical shafts of El Pinabete mine to remove wood and other debris blocking their way, she said.
But they had not yet reached the floor of the 60-meter (200-foot) deep shaft to access the main tunnels where the workers were believed to be trapped, Velazquez added.
“I cannot even tell you for sure when we’re going to enter the galleries. There’s no way,” she said.
Earlier Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval said that the water level in one of the three shafts that rescuers would try to enter has been reduced to 70 centimeters (27 inches), from more than 30 meters initially.
The other two shafts still have 3.9 and 4.7 meters of water.
Authorities consider 1.5 meters to be an acceptable water level to gain access to the crudely constructed El Pinabete mine.
“In any case, we’re going to continue pumping… The process is slow but we don’t want to take any risks,” said Velazquez.
Five miners managed to escape following the initial accident, in which workers carrying out excavation activities hit an adjoining area full of water, but there have been no signs of life from the others.
– Songs, prayers –
The government’s announcement on Friday morning had provided a new glimmer of hope for families that have become increasingly frustrated with the pace of the rescue operation.
“With that level (of water) you can already enter — God willing,” David Huerta, the brother-in-law of one of the trapped workers, told AFP.
The 35-year-old said that he himself had dug for coal in small artisanal mines like El Pinabete for nearly 13 years before abandoning the dangerous, grueling work.
At the bottom of the vertical shafts rescuers will reach the underground tunnels where the digging takes place, and where the missing miners are probably located, Huerta said.
“Crews can go in there and search faster,” he added.
Armando Ontiveros, one of the miners volunteering to help the rescuers, said there was still a chance that the workers were in a higher part of the mine above the water.
“Hopefully there’s a miracle and they’re out there alive,” the 47-year-old said.
Relatives and friends held a candlelit vigil on Thursday night for those missing, singing and praying for their safe return.
Coahuila, Mexico’s main coal-producing region, has seen a series of fatal mining incidents over the years.
The worst accident was an explosion that claimed 65 lives at the Pasta de Conchos mine in 2006.
Last year, seven died when they were trapped in a mine in the region.
International
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.
The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.
An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.
Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.
Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.
Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.
Internacionales
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.
In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.
Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
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