3 people die of asphyxiation during Mexico City celebrations after World Cup win.
#MEXICO CITY — Mexican health authorities said Wednesday that four people died during massive celebrations in downtown Mexico City after the national team’s victory over Ecuador secured a place in the World Cup Round of 16.
Two women and one man were found unconscious on streets near the iconic Angel of Independence monument, where thousands had gathered Tuesday night to celebrate, Mexico City’s Health Secretariat said on the social platform X. The victims, who authorities said died of asphyxiation, were 48, 44 and 19 years old. Authorities did not provide additional details about the circumstances of the deaths.
Later Wednesday, Mexico City Health Secretary Nadine Gasman, told a news conference that another man, about 30, was treated by emergency personnel after suffering an epileptic seizure, convulsions, and gastrointestinal bleeding. He died shortly afterward at a hospital of cardiorespiratory arrest.
Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada said on social media that emergency crews responded immediately after receiving reports of the three unconscious people, but they had already died.
Brugada also urged the public to celebrate “responsibly, carefully and with empathy.”
Fireworks lit up the sky around the Independence Monument -- popularly known as “El Angel” -- on Tuesday night as thousands of Mexicans celebrated along the 5-kilometre (3-mile) Paseo de la Reforma, which links the capital’s main square, the Zocalo, with Chapultepec Park.
In a video posted Tuesday on social media, Brugada said about 1.4 million people were celebrating in the streets and urged the public to stop heading to the city centre to ease overcrowding. Instead, she encouraged people to attend a concert by a popular cumbia band in the eastern part of the city.
All of Mexico City seemed overwhelmed Tuesday night. Improvised bands sprang up on street corners, while carts loaded with rockets known as “toritos” inched through streets so packed that people could barely move.
Bottles of alcohol were passed from hand to hand among young revelers as hundreds more tried to push closer to the city centre, some succeeding, many others turned back by the crush of the crowd.
By Maria Verza.
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#Pope promotes Italian nun to top migrant role in his first major appointment of a woman to Holy See.
#ROME — Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday made his first major appointment of a woman to the Holy See hierarchy, promoting Italian Sister Alessandra Smerilli to head the Vatican office responsible for migrants, the environment and development.
Smerilli, an economist, is currently the No. 2 in the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. As prefect, she replaces the retiring Canadian Cardinal Michael Czerny, who turns 80 soon.
With the appointment of Smerilli, Leo appears to be following the lead of his predecessor, Pope Francis, who made a point of promoting women to top-level management positions within the Holy See as part of his response to calls by women for greater decision-making roles in the church.
Earlier this month, Leo named a Mexican-American woman, Maria Montserrat Alvarado, to head the Vatican’s communications operations.
But for more central Holy See offices like Smerilli’s, Leo too is following Francis’ lead by simultaneously naming Cardinal Fabio Baggio as a “pro-prefect” of the office, where he is currently undersecretary.
The dual nominations recognize that sometimes the role of a Vatican department head requires being an ordained priest and cardinal.
Baggio was also given the mandate to head up the Vatican’s Borgo Laudato Si environmental educational center, at Castel Gandolfo, near Rome.
The Catholic Church reserves the priesthood for men, and women have long complained of a second-class status despite carrying out the lion’s share of the church’s work running schools, hospitals and passing the faith on to younger generations.
Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
The Associated Press
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After an earthquake, how long can trapped victims survive? If their injuries aren’t too severe, victims can survive for a week or more, assuming the weather isn’t too hot or cold, experts say.
In #Venezuela, rescue teams have been racing against the clock to pull survivors from the rubble after two powerful earthquakes shook the northern state of La Guaira last Wednesday. More than 770 buildings were totally or partially collapsed from the earthquakes, and aftershocks continued to shake the region.
Most rescues happen in the 24 hours after a disaster. The chances of survival drop with each day after that, experts say. Most victims are badly injured or buried by falling stones or other debris.
What factors affect earthquake survival?
Trapped victims are more likely to survive if they are in a debris-free pocket that prevents major injury while they await rescue, like under a sturdy desk, said geophysicist Victor Tsai from Brown University. Experts call this a survivable void space.
If fire, smoke or hazardous chemicals were released as a result of the building collapse, they may decrease a person’s survival odds, said emergency response expert Dr. Joseph Barbera, an associate professor at George Washington University.
Beyond that, having air to breathe and water to drink are crucial as the days go on.
“You could survive a while without food,” Barbera said. “You could survive less without water.”
Temperatures where someone is trapped may affect survival, and temperatures outside the rubble can affect rescue missions.
More than 2,600 rescue workers from around the world arrived in Venezuela with trained search dogs and machinery, the government said. And rescue efforts in La Guaira, the hardest-hit area, appeared significantly more organized on Sunday, after residents expressed frustration and anger about the level of response in the days before.
It can be important for survivors to receive vital medical care before they are removed from the rubble, Barbera said. If not, the buildup of toxins from crushed muscles could make them go into shock after they are rescued.
After the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, a teenager and his 80-year-old grandmother were found alive after nine days trapped in their flattened home. And the year before, a 16-year-old Haitian girl was rescued from earthquake rubble in Port-au-Prince after 15 days.
What to do during an earthquake
The best practices for survival during an earthquake depend on where you are in the world. Building codes in regions with active fault lines are often designed to withstand earthquakes, but that doesn’t hold true everywhere.
In many countries, including the United States, the best practices are to drop, seek cover and hang on unless you are close to a building exit. Seek shelter under a heavy table or near sturdy furniture that may yield a survivable pocket if the roof collapses. Cover your face with cloth or a mask to protect from dust and debris.
If you are trapped in the rubble after and earthquake, save your energy and don’t overexert. Ration food and water, listen for rescue calls and search for something near you to make noise. If you have a phone with you, conserve its battery and try for help in short spurts each day.
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Adithi Ramakrishnan, The Associated Press
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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Teams scramble to locate survivors four days after #Venezuela earthquakes.
LA GUAIRA, Venezuela — Local and international rescue teams raced against the clock to pull survivors from the rubble in #Venezuela on Sunday, four days after two powerful earthquakes shook the northern state of La Guaira.
The government reported 1,450 dead from the quakes Sunday afternoon as it faced growing criticism from Venezuelans that its response was inadequate and was overshadowed by civilian-led efforts to rescue people buried under collapsed buildings. Thousands have been reported missing.
Even as the likelihood of finding people alive diminished with each passing hour, rescuers continued to free survivors from mountains of debris, offering anguished families reason to keep hopes alive. Aid agencies consider the first 48 to 72 hours after a natural disaster as crucial for retrieving people alive, though that can be extended if they have access to food and water.
Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez said Sunday night that even as the threshold passed, the search for survivors would continue. More than 2,600 rescue workers from around the world had arrived with trained search dogs and machinery, the government said.
“It’s been incredibly hard work, but we’re going strong,” said Jason Mercano, a civilian who was able to communicate with family buried under the rubble and was working with rescue teams to pull them out.
“We’ve never given up hope,” he added.
More than 770 buildings partially or totally collapsed
Still, many Venezuelans are struggling to hold onto hope in an increasingly desperate situation. The one-two punch of 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes that hit last Wednesday have left a trail of devastation.
A layer of dust coated coastal communities, and as the stench of decomposing bodies spread, more people began to wear masks.
Authorities said Sunday that more than 770 buildings had totally or partially collapsed from the earthquakes, twice as many as were reported destroyed or damaged on Friday. The risk of further damage remains as aftershocks continued to shake Venezuela; quakes measuring 4.2 and 4.5 hit Sunday morning.
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KRASNODAR, June 28. Drone fragments fell in the town of Slavyansk-on-Kuban in southern Russia’s Krasnodar Region, sparking a fire on the territory of a local refinery, the region’s crisis response center said on the Max messenger.
"In Slavyansk-on-Kuban, falling drone fragments started a fire on the territory of an oil refinery. Also, the fragments damaged a power line and smashed windows at a local house," the center said in a statement.
No casualties were reported. First responders are working in the area.
In a separate incident, a man was wounded and four houses were damaged by drone fragments in the settlement of Trudobelikovsky in the Krasnodar Region.
The man received first aid on site. Hospitalization was not required.
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#Chinese dissident who fled by dinghy to South Korea arrives in #Canada: friend, HONG KONG — A Chinese political dissident who had fled to South Korea last month in a dinghy has arrived in Canada, his friend said on social media on Saturday.
Dong Guangping was aboard a 3.3 metre (10.8 foot) inflatable boat in the waters off a western South Korean island in May when he was detained by South Korea’s coast guard for allegedly violating the country’s immigration law. It was his fourth known attempt to flee China.
Appearing at a court hearing in South Korea, he told reporters that he hopes to go to Canada to reunite with his wife and daughters, who have already been resettled there, according to South Korean media.
In a post Saturday on X, his friend Sheng Xue, a Chinese Canadian activist, said Dong had landed in Toronto following an Air Canada flight on Friday.
“He just had a big bowl of noodles with eggs, tomatoes and shrimps,” she wrote in the post, adding that she has spent more than 10 years trying to get him out of China.
She attached a photo of Dong in a car with her and another photo of Dong holding a bowl.
Dong, a former police officer in China, had previously been detained several times for his activism. He was imprisoned for three years in 2001 for “inciting subversion of state power” and spent more than eight months behind bars after being arrested in 2014 for participating in a memorial for victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, according to past statements from Amnesty International.
He previously escaped to Thailand and Vietnam, but authorities there deported him back to China. Dong also unsuccessfully tried to swim to a Taiwanese island.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has not immediately commented.
Kanis Leung, The Associated Press
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Artificial intelligence may fuel inflation not just by driving up the cost of chips, but also by making consumers wealthier and more willing to spend, according to the International Monetary Fund’s chief #economist
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