International

On the road with a migrant caravan leaving Honduras

AFP

Hundreds of men, women and children gathered early Saturday morning in the parking lot of San Pedro Sula’s main transit hub, on the edge of the northern Honduran city.

Before the sun rose, many had already departed on foot, carrying the few belongings they had in backpacks or bags towards Corinto, a small Honduran border town on the other side of the mountains.

While their final destination is the United States, their main goal is “a better future for their family,” said a Nicaraguan who provided only his first name, Ovaldo.

Originally from the Nicaraguan capital Managua, he lamented that the situation in his country “is quite difficult,” and his family faced “a very hard road.”

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He was accompanied by about 500 other migrants from a variety of countries including Honduras, Haiti, Venezuela and Nicaragua.

Some had even crossed the ocean from Africa.

They will join a nearly endless flow of people attempting to cross into Guatemala, then Mexico and ultimately the United States — which most will not manage to do.

At the Corinto border crossing, the group had arrived all together but broke into smaller groups to go through Guatemalan immigration.

Those who were missing identification or proof of a negative Covid-19 test were sent back into Honduras, according to an AFP photographer on the scene.

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Migrants who do make it past will still have more than 1,200 miles (2,000 kilometers) until the US border.

Guatemalan authorities said about 150 people entered the country at unauthorized crossings because they lacked the papers to get in.

A group of about 100 migrants who got past immigration controls were stopped in the jurisdiction of Izabal, near the border, where they threw stones and blunt objects at security forces.

The clashes injured a dozen officers who were trying to get the migrants to turn back, officials said.

The last caravan to leave San Pedro Sula was in January 2021, and contained about 7,000 people.

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It was broken up in Guatemala, when hundreds of soldiers attacked the migrants with sticks and tear gas, forcing them to return to Honduras.

Migrants in Saturday’s caravan said they were risking the dangerous journey for multiple reasons: to escape violence from drug traffickers and gangs, but also to start anew after natural disasters such as floods and droughts upended their lives.

International

Death toll from southern Spain train crash rises to 40

The death toll from the train accident that occurred on Sunday in southern Spain has risen to 40, according to investigative sources cited by EFE on Monday afternoon.

Since early Monday, search operations have focused on the damaged carriages of a Renfe train bound for Huelva, which collided with the last derailed cars of an Iryo train traveling from Málaga to Madrid after it left the tracks.

The crash has also left more than 150 people injured. Of these, 41 remain hospitalized, including 12 in intensive care units at hospitals across the Andalusia region.

More than 220 Civil Guard officers are working at the site, searching the railway line and surrounding areas for key evidence to help identify victims and determine the causes of the accident.

The tragedy has revived memories of the deadliest railway disasters in Europe in recent decades. In Spain, the most severe occurred on July 24, 2013, when an Alvia train derailed near Santiago de Compostela, killing 80 people and injuring 130 others.

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At the European level, the worst rail disaster took place on June 3, 1998, in Eschede, northern Germany, when a high-speed train struck a bridge pillar at 200 kilometers per hour, resulting in 98 deaths and 120 injuries.

International

Spain’s Prime Minister pledges transparency after train crash kills at least 39

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez pledged on Monday to ensure “absolute transparency” regarding the causes of a train crash that killed at least 39 people on Sunday in southern Spain, warning that the death toll could still rise.

The fatal accident occurred in the Andalusia region, where the number of confirmed deaths reached 39 by Monday morning, according to a spokesperson for the Ministry of the Interior.

Authorities were preparing to deploy heavy machinery to lift several derailed train cars. “We are waiting for cranes to be installed this morning to lift cars one, two and three of the Alvia train, which suffered the most damage,” said Andalusian regional president Juanma Moreno Bonilla on regional television. “It is likely that once they are lifted, we may find more victims,” he added.

The disaster also left more than 120 people injured. As of Monday afternoon, 43 victims remained hospitalized, including 12 in intensive care, according to emergency services.

International

Over 160 christian worshippers kidnapped in Kaduna Church attacks

More than 160 Christian worshippers were abducted on Sunday during coordinated attacks carried out by armed gangs on two churches in a remote village in Kaduna State, northern Nigeria, according to a cleric and a United Nations report accessed by AFP on Monday.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, has witnessed a renewed surge in mass kidnappings since November, prompting the United States government to carry out military strikes on Christmas Day in the northwestern state of Sokoto.

U.S. President Donald Trump accused Nigerian armed groups of targeting Christians, describing the violence as a form of “genocide” against the religious community.

According to Reverend Joseph Hayab, president of the Christian Association of Nigeria in the north, the attackers arrived in large numbers, blocked access to the churches, and forced worshippers to flee into nearby forests.

“The attackers came in large numbers, sealed off the entrances to the churches, and drove the faithful into the bush,” Hayab told AFP.