Coal mine explosion in China kills 90 people

-
A gas explosion at a coal mine in China’s northern Shanxi province killed at least 90 people, state media said on Saturday, in the country’s deadliest mining accident in recent years. Official news agency Xinhua said the accident at Changzhi city’s Liushenyu coal mine happened on Friday evening. Around 247 workers were on duty at the time. Nine miners were still unaccounted for as of Saturday afternoon, Xinhua said, and more than 120 people were hospitalized. The cause of the explosion was under investigation, Xinhua reported, and rescue work is pressing on with hundreds of rescuers and medical personnel sent to the site. Among the injured, many were hurt by toxic gas, according to state media CCTV. Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for an all-out effort to rescue the missing, reported Xinhua. Xi also called for the “proper handling of the aftermath of the accident and urged a thorough investigation into its cause, with accountability pursued in accordance wi...
Post a Comment

More than 100 killed or missing as Sinaloa Cartel war rages in Mexico

-

By Lizbeth Diaz Reuters

Some 53 people have been killed and 51 others are missing in Mexico’s western Sinaloa state since rival factions of the Sinaloa Cartel began clashing on Sept 9, local authorities said on Friday, with gruesome violence showing no signs of abating.

The trigger for the conflict between the two most powerful factions of the Sinaloa Cartel, a drug gang, dates back to July, when legendary trafficker and leader of one of those groupings, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, was arrested in the United States.

Zambada, 74, alleges that a senior member of the Los Chapitos, another faction of the cartel, kidnapped him and then flew him to the United States against his will.

Since fighting broke out on Sept 9, shootouts have disrupted daily life in the capital, Culiacan, where schools have had to close on some days while restaurants and shops shuttered early.

Sinaloa governor Rubén Rocha Moya on Friday said more than 40 people have been arrested in recent days, while more than 5,000 food packages have been handed out across Sinaloa.

Mexico’s military, which has struggled to calm the violence, on Thursday arrested the alleged head of security for Ivan Archivaldo Guzman, the leader of Los Chapitos and son of jailed former Sinaloa kingpin, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.

Fernando Perez Medina, known as “El Piyi”, was captured in Culiacan, according to a federal security source.

Meanwhile, Mexico’s Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (Profepa) said it was providing resources to local authorities to feed a tigress tied to a tree. Senior Sinaloan narcos often keep tigers as pet animals.

Profepa said in a statement that vets in Sinaloa had declined to assist due to security fears, and it had provided military officials with a “cage, a dart rifle and darts”. But the violence had prevented the military from rescuing it.

Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Thursday said that the United States was partly responsible for the instability because they “carried out this operation”, referencing the prior surrender talks between U.S. officials and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, the trafficker who kidnapped Zambada.

U.S. officials have privately confirmed that they held talks with Guzman but U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar, last month said that American officials were surprised to discover Zambada on U.S. soil.

Salazar added that no U.S. resources or personnel were involved in the July 25 kidnapping of Zambada.



from The Times Of Earth https://ift.tt/jJWf5Su

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Myanmar earthquake death toll rises as fresh tremors further complicate rescue efforts

-
Image
A5.1-magnitude earthquake struck near Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city, on Sunday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The tremor was part of a series of aftershocks following Friday’s devastating 7.7-magnitude earthquake, which resulted in the collapse of numerous buildings and significant infrastructure damage. The death toll has risen to over 1,600, with more than 3,400 individuals reported missing; these numbers are expected to increase as rescue operations continue. Foreign rescue teams and supplies arrived in Myanmar on Sunday to help the impoverished country cope with an earthquake that killed over 1,600 and left many near the epicentre scrambling for help without proper equipment. The 7.7-magnitude quake, one of Myanmar’s strongest in a century, jolted the Southeast Asian nation on Friday, leaving 1,644 people dead, 3,408 injured and 139 missing, the military government said. India, China and Thailand are among Myanmar’s neighbours that have sent relief ...
Read more

Israel says situation on Lebanon border ‘not sustainable’

-
By James Mackenzie Reuters  Israeli officials and media reacted with satisfaction on Monday after a  long-expected missile attack  by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement appeared to have been largely thwarted by pre-emptive Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon. Both Hezbollah and Israel seemed content to let Sunday’s attack, in retaliation for the  killing of a senior Hezbollah commander  in Beirut last month, count as settled for the moment. Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer said Hezbollah had suffered a “crushing blow” from the Israeli strikes but that a longer lasting solution was still needed. “The current situation is not sustainable,” he told a briefing, referring to the tens of thousands evacuated from their homes in northern Israel, a situation mirrored on the other side of the border in southern Lebanon. “Israel will do its duty and return its population to our sovereign territory.” Hopes that children might return for the start of the ...
Read more