International
Experts cast doubt on inquiry into Mexico’s missing students
| By AFP |
Independent experts investigating the disappearance of 43 Mexican students in 2014 raised concerns on Monday about apparent inconsistencies in an official inquiry into the tragedy, which shocked the nation.
In August, a truth commission tasked by the government to investigate the atrocity branded it a “state crime” and said that the military shared responsibility, either directly or through negligence.
The Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI) questioned the credibility of purported WhatsApp messages presented by the commission as apparent evidence of collusion between criminals and authorities.
“It’s not possible to guarantee the authenticity of the messages,” which were shared as screen shots, a member of the group, Francisco Cox, told reporters.
The GIEI, created in 2014 under an agreement between Mexico and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, expressed concern that the government was trying “to speed up the results” without a full investigation.
The experts noted that some of the messages purportedly sent before the students disappeared had two blue ticks indicating they had been read — a feature only later introduced by WhatsApp.
Last week, the truth commission’s head, deputy interior minister Alejandro Encinas, said that of 154 screen shots, 99 were consistent with other evidence and 55 were not.
The teaching students had commandeered buses in the southern state of Guerrero to travel to a demonstration in Mexico City before they went missing.
Investigators believe that they were detained by corrupt police and handed over to a drug cartel that mistook them for members of a rival gang, but exactly what happened to them is unclear.
One theory put forward by the truth commission is that cartel members targeted the students because they had unknowingly taken a bus with drugs hidden inside.
An official report presented in 2015 by the government of then-president Enrique Pena Nieto concluded that cartel members killed the students and incinerated their remains at a garbage dump.
Those findings, which did not attribute any responsibility to members of the armed forces, were rejected by relatives and independent experts.
So far, the remains of only three victims have been identified.
Prosecutors announced in August that arrest warrants had been issued for more than 80 suspects, including military personnel and police officers, but so far only a handful of them have been detained.
International
Floods in Central Vietnam leave 28 dead, thousands displaced
The death toll from heavy rains and flooding in central Vietnam has risen to 28, with six people reported missing and 43 injured, local newspaper VnExpress reported Friday night.
More than 22,100 homes remain flooded, primarily in the cities of Hue and Da Nang. Floods and landslides have destroyed or swept away 91 houses and damaged another 181, the report added.
Around 245,000 households are still without electricity, particularly in Da Nang, where over 225,000 homes are affected.
Additionally, 80 stretches of national highways are blocked or disrupted due to landslides. Authorities expect the flooding to continue for another day or two in the region.
International
FBI foils ISIS-Inspired attack in Michigan, arrests five teens
Kash Patel did not provide further details, but police sources told CBS News that the potential attack was “inspired” by the Islamic State (ISIS).
“This morning, the FBI thwarted a potential terrorist attack and arrested several individuals in Michigan who were allegedly planning a violent attack during the Halloween weekend,” Patel wrote on X.
“Thanks to swift action and close coordination with our local partners, a possible terrorist act was prevented before it could be carried out,” he added.
CBS reported that five people between the ages of 16 and 20 were arrested on Friday. At least one of them was reportedly acquainted with a former member of the Michigan National Guard, who was arrested in May for plotting an ISIS-inspired attack on a U.S. military facility in the Detroit suburbs.
International
U.S. warns China over Taiwan during high-level defense talks in Kuala Lumpur
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth expressed concerns over China’s growing military activity near Taiwan during a meeting on Friday with Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun in Kuala Lumpur.
“It was a constructive and positive meeting,” Hegseth wrote on X. “I emphasized the importance of maintaining a balance of power in the Indo-Pacific and raised U.S. concerns about China’s actions around Taiwan,” the self-governed island that Beijing claims and does not rule out invading.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting-Plus, one day after U.S. President Donald Trump met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea. According to Trump, Taiwan was not discussed during their talks.
“The United States does not seek conflict and will continue to firmly defend its interests, ensuring it maintains the capability to do so in the region,” Hegseth added in his message.
Friday’s encounter followed a September 9 video call between Hegseth and Dong. Their previously planned meeting at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore was canceled due to Dong’s absence from the event.
Trump’s sit-down with Xi — their first since 2019 — resulted in some trade agreements but avoided addressing the issue of Taiwan, a long-standing source of tension between the world’s two largest powers.
Trump has taken a more ambiguous stance on Taiwan’s future compared with former President Joe Biden, who repeatedly stated that Washington would support Taipei if China launched an invasion. The Republican president has also criticized Taiwan for “stealing” the U.S. semiconductor industry.
Floods in Central Vietnam leave 28 dead, thousands displaced
FBI foils ISIS-Inspired attack in Michigan, arrests five teens
U.S. warns China over Taiwan during high-level defense talks in Kuala Lumpur
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
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