International
Two dead, more than 3,000 buildings damaged in Mexico earthquake
AFP
Two people were killed and more than 3,000 buildings were damaged by a powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck Mexico on the anniversary of two devastating tremors, authorities said Tuesday.
A woman died of injuries caused by a falling wall in Manzanillo in the western state of Colima, civil defense national coordinator Laura Velazquez told reporters.
A man was killed by falling debris in a shopping center in the same city during Monday’s earthquake, which caused buildings to shake and sway in Mexico City.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said it was lucky that the death toll was not higher.
“It was a tremor of considerable intensity,” he said.
The epicenter was located near the Pacific coast, around 400 kilometers (250 miles) west of the capital and 59 kilometers south of Coalcoman in the state of Michoacan, according to seismologists.
The depth was estimated at 15 kilometers.
At least 26 people received hospital treatment in Michoacan, where authorities reported damage to 3,161 houses as well as several dozen education and health centers.
Nine people were injured in Colima, where more than 150 houses and other buildings were damaged, officials said.
There were hundreds of aftershocks, the most powerful of which was magnitude 5.8, according to the national seismological agency.
The earthquake struck less than an hour after millions of people in Mexico City participated in emergency drills on the anniversary of two previous disasters.
“It was very scary. I thought, on the 19th again, it can’t be,” said Laura Plaza, a retired teacher.
On September 19, 1985, an 8.1 magnitude quake killed more than 10,000 people and destroyed hundreds of buildings.
On the anniversary of that earthquake in 2017, a 7.1 quake left around 370 people dead, mainly in the capital.
The timing of Monday’s tremor was no more than a coincidence, the national seismological agency said.
“There is no scientific reason to explain it,” it added.
Mexico sits in the world’s most seismically and volcanically active zone, known as the Ring of Fire, where the Pacific plate meets surrounding tectonic plates.
Mexico City, which together with surrounding urban areas is home to more than 20 million people, is built in a natural basin filled with the sediment of a former lake, making it particularly vulnerable to earthquakes.
The capital has an early warning alarm system using seismic monitors that aims to give residents enough time to evacuate buildings when earthquakes hit seismic zones near the Pacific Coast.
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.
International
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
he Vatican’s post offices and select collector shops began selling special edition stamps this week to mark the period between the death of Pope Francis and the election of his successor.
Known as “Sede Vacante” stamps, they feature an image used on official Vatican documents during the interregnum between popes — two crossed keys without the papal tiara. These stamps went on sale Monday and will remain valid for postal use only until the new pontiff appears at the window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
Until then, they can be used to send letters, postcards, and parcels. “Once the new pope is elected, the stamps lose their postal validity, but their collectible value rises,” said Francesco Santarossa, who runs a collectors’ shop across from St. Peter’s Square.
The Vatican has issued the stamps in four denominations: €1.25, €1.30, €2.45, and €3.20. Each is inscribed with “Città del Vaticano” and “Sede Vacante MMXXV” — Latin for “Vacant See 2025.”
International
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
The conclave, which in the coming weeks must choose the successor to Pope Francis, will strictly follow a precise protocol refined over centuries.
The 135 cardinal electors, all under the age of 80, will cast their votes four times a day — except on the first day — until one candidate secures a two-thirds majority. The result will be announced to the world through the burning of the ballots with a chemical that produces the eagerly awaited white smoke, accompanied by the traditional cry of “Habemus Papam.”
The start date for the conclave could be announced today, as the cardinals are set to hold their fifth meeting since the pope’s passing. Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich suggested it could begin on May 5 or 6, following the traditional nine days of mourning. According to German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the conclave could last only “a few days.”
Although the late Argentine pontiff appointed the majority of the cardinal electors, this does not necessarily ensure the selection of a like-minded successor. Francis’ leadership style differed significantly from that of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, a German theologian who was less fond of large public gatherings. It also marked a contrast with the popular Polish pope, John Paul II.
The Argentine Jesuit’s reformist papacy drew strong criticism from more conservative sectors of the Church, who are hoping for a doctrinally focused shift. His tenure was marked by efforts to combat clerical sexual abuse, elevate the role of women and laypeople, and advocate for the poor and migrants, among other causes.
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
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