International
Mexico prepares new plan for trapped miners after setback
AFP
Mexican authorities announced Monday a plan to seal leaks into a coal mine where 10 workers have been trapped for more than a week, after renewed flooding dealt a major setback to rescue efforts.
A sudden jump in water levels in the El Pinabete mine in the northern state of Coahuila deepened the despair of relatives, who are increasingly frustrated with the slow pace of the operation.
The water in the shaft that rescuers hope to enter was around 38 meters (125 feet) deep on Monday, compared with 1.3 meters early Sunday, civil defense national coordinator Laura Velazquez said.
The current level is even higher than in the initial aftermath of the August 3 accident, despite non-stop efforts to pump out water, according to figures given by the government.
The new strategy is intended to prevent more water from entering El Pinabete from the much bigger, abandoned Conchas Norte mine nearby, Velazquez said.
The plan is to drill 20 holes 60 meters deep into the Conchas Norte mine and inject cement into them to seal the leaks, Velazquez said.
Authorities believe the workers accidentally pierced a hole in a wall between the two mines, causing El Pinabete to flood.
“We’re not going to stop working to rescue the miners,” President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told reporters.
Five miners managed to escape following the initial accident, but there have been no signs of life from the others.
Several hundred rescuers, including soldiers and military scuba divers, are taking part in the rescue efforts.
The focus so far has been on pumping water out of El Pinabete and removing wood and other debris from the vertical shafts so rescuers can enter the main tunnels.
On Friday authorities had said they were finally in a position to begin searching the mine, but those hopes soon faded.
Over the weekend, relatives of the missing workers voiced growing desperation and distrust in the handling of the rescue operation.
They also called for the mine owners to be held responsible.
“This is a crime that cannot go unpunished,” Magdalena Montelongo told reporters, adding that the miners had to work in “very bad conditions.”
Accidents are common in Coahuila, Mexico’s main coal-producing region.
The worst was an explosion that claimed 65 lives at the Pasta de Conchos mine in 2006.
International
María Corina Machado: “Venezuela is closer than ever to regaining freedom”
Venezuelan opposition leader and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado declared on Friday that Venezuela is facing “the most decisive moment in its contemporary history” and that the country is “closer than ever to regaining freedom and democracy.”
Her remarks were delivered via video message during the 81st General Assembly of the Inter American Press Association (IAPA), held in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
Machado emphasized that the situation in Venezuela remains “extremely serious” due to censorship and repression imposed by Nicolás Maduro’s regime, particularly in a global context where “society is built on information.”
She warned that authoritarian governments manipulate public opinion through “psychological warfare” and disinformation, while shutting down media outlets and persecuting journalists.
“The only way to topple these regimes is through the constant, relentless, and unrestricted preaching of the truth. It is absolutely true that the truth will set us free,” she stated.
International
Millions to join “No Kings” march in U.S. amid Trump’s growing authoritarian backlash
Millions of Americans are set to take to the streets this Saturday in more than 2,500 cities across the United States for the second edition of the “No Kings” march, a massive protest organized by progressive groups and activists against what they describe as the authoritarian direction of President Donald Trump’s second administration.
The demonstration, expected to be the largest since Trump’s return to power, comes amid a federal government shutdown, further heightening political tensions in Washington.
From the White House, press secretary Abigail Jackson dismissed the event with a brief “Who cares?”, while senior Republican leaders labeled the march as an act of “hate against America.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson accused Democrats of blocking negotiations to reopen the government and claimed they were “unable to stand up to their raging base.” He also linked the protests to “supporters of Hamas and the Antifa terrorist group.”
President Donald Trump, in an interview with Fox News, blamed Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer for the legislative deadlock.
“He’s got nothing else left to do. Everyone’s hitting him hard,” Trump said.
The organizers — a coalition of Democratic leaders and more than 200 civil society and labor groups — argue that the Republican refusal to reopen the government is a clear symptom of the authoritarianism they seek to denounce.
The main rally will take place in Washington, D.C., which has been under heightened National Guard surveillance for weeks, officially to control rising crime. However, organizers contend the deployment is aimed at intimidating and silencing dissent.
Protesters have been urged to wear yellow, a reference to the 2019 pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong.
“With this color, we align ourselves with a historical context and remind the world that power must come from the people, not from crowns,” organizers stated on their website.
In addition to the capital, large marches are scheduled in New York, San Francisco, Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, Kansas City, and Honolulu, as well as abroad in London, Paris, Frankfurt, and several Spanish cities — Madrid (Puerta del Sol), Barcelona (Plaça Sant Jaume), Seville (Plaza Nueva), and Málaga (Plaza de la Marina).
During the first edition, held in June, the movement gathered around five million people, a figure organizers expect to surpass this weekend.
International
Petro expresses concern over fatal shooting during mass protests in Lima
Colombian President Gustavo Petro voiced his “concern” on Thursday over recent events in Peru, following the death of a protester reportedly shot during a massive demonstration in Lima against the government and Congress.
“I must express my concern over the events in Peru. A young artist has been killed in citizens’ protests,” Petro wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
The Colombian leader also noted that in Peru, “a popularly elected president remains imprisoned without conviction,” referring to Pedro Castillo, who led the country from July 2021 to December 2022 until he was removed by Congress following a failed attempted coup.
“This is a blatant violation of the American Convention on Human Rights,” Petro stated, adding, “I hope Peru seeks social and political dialogue to legitimize its public institutions.”
On Wednesday, Peru experienced widespread protests in several cities, with the largest demonstration in Lima in recent years, driven by citizens’ concerns over corruption and public insecurity.
During the capital’s mobilization, the Ombudsman’s Office confirmed the death of Eduardo Ruiz, 32, and reported clashes that left over 100 injured, including 78 police officers and 24 protesters, as well as ten arrests.
The Attorney General’s Office, investigating Ruiz’s death “in the context of serious human rights violations,” confirmed that the protester was shot.
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