International
Mexican journalist killed hours after posting about disappeared students
AFP
A journalist was shot dead Monday afternoon in southern Mexico, authorities said, shortly after posting online about the disappearance eight years ago of 43 students from a nearby area.
Fredid Roman, who published his work on various social media pages and contributed to a local newspaper, was found dead in his car in the city of Chilpancingo, the capital of Guerrero state, the local prosecutor’s office said Monday evening.
The case of the 43 students from Guerrero, who went missing in 2014 after commandeering a bus to head to a protest, is considered one of the worst human rights disasters in Mexican history.
The case was forced back into the spotlight last week when a truth commission branded the atrocity a “state crime” that involved agents of various institutions.
A few hours before his death, Roman published a long Facebook post titled “State Crime Without Charging the Boss,” in which he mentioned an alleged meeting between four officials at the time of the students’ disappearance, including former attorney general Jesus Murillo Karam.
Murillo Karam was arrested after the publication of the truth commission report last week, while dozens of warrants were issued for suspects including military personnel, police officers and cartel members.
It was not immediately clear if Roman’s recent post on the missing students or his other journalistic work played a role in his death.
Twelve journalists have been killed in Mexico so far this year, according to the government, while the NGO Reporters Without Borders (RSF) lists nine. Some media outlets have put the figure at 15 or 16.
With about 150 journalists murdered since 2000, according to RSF, Mexico is considered one of the most dangerous countries in the world for the press.
Most of those murders remain unpunished.
International
Shark attack kills 40-year-old fisherman in Great Barrier Reef waters
A shark attacked and killed a 40-year-old man who was fishing with his family in the waters of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, authorities reported.
The predator struck on Saturday afternoon near Humpy Island, on the east coast of the country, according to emergency services.
“The man was fishing with family members when he was bitten by a shark,” said the Queensland state police in a statement.
He suffered “injuries that put his life at risk” and died an hour and a half later, the police added.
A spokesperson for the Queensland ambulance service told AFP on Sunday that the victim had suffered a “significant” neck wound.
Humpy Island is known for its camping site, with access to reefs for diving and snorkeling.
International
Machado appeals to venezuelan military and police to join the change for freedom
The Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado expressed on Saturday that she is confident the military and police are “one step away from doing the right thing,” in light of the “will for change” expressed in the elections five months ago, referring to the contested victory of Edmundo González Urrutia, despite the fact that President Nicolás Maduro was declared the winner.
“Military citizens, police citizens, this message is for you. The time for decision has come, and it is time to tear down the last obstacle that separates us from freedom. Venezuela trusts you. I trust in the moral reserve of our men of honor and arms. See you soon in the streets,” wrote the former congresswoman on X.
In an audio posted on this social media platform, Machado addressed the members of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) and police forces, saying the people “are united in one voice” and that “everyone, deep down, has made the right decision and is just waiting for the collective resolution to act.”
In this context, the opposition leader urged the military and police to ask themselves “if silence” does not make them “accomplices of the current tyranny,” and “if undue obedience” does not “place them at the service of a handful of criminals.”
International
U.S. health authorities report mutation of avian flu virus in Louisiana patient
The avian flu virus mutated inside the first seriously ill patient in the United States, according to the country’s health authorities. However, they assured that, so far, no person-to-person transmission of the virus has been identified in this patient, who is hospitalized in Louisiana.
Scientists warned that while it is concerning because mutations could make the virus potentially more transmissible between humans, they would be alarming if found in animal hosts or in the early stages of infection or symptom onset, which would facilitate the spread to close contacts.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have identified at least 65 human cases of avian flu in the United States, with more than half (36) reported in California, including the country’s first child infected with this virus.
CDC analysis of the Louisiana patient identified mutations in the hemagglutinin gene, which were not found in the samples from infected poultry at the source of the outbreak. This suggests that the changes emerged as the virus replicated in the seriously ill patient.
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