Mexico City metro overpass collapses onto road; 23 dead

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Written by northsouth

Category: content

Published: 04 May 2021

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By E. EDUARDO CASTILLO

MEXICO CITY - An elevated section of the Mexico City metro collapsed and sent a subway car plunging toward a busy boulevard late Monday, killing at least 23 people and injuring about 70, city officials said. Rescuers initially searched a car left dangling from the overpass for anyone who might be trapped.

Those efforts were suspended early Tuesday, however, because of safety concerns for those working near the precariously dangling car. A crane was brought in to help shore it up.

“We don’t know if they are alive,” Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said of the people possibly trapped inside the car following one of the deadliest accidents for the city’s subway system, which is among the busiest in the world.

Earlier Sheinbaum said someone had been pulled alive from a car that was trapped on the road below. She said 49 of the injured were hospitalized, and that seven were in serious condition and undergoing surgery.

“There are unfortunately children among the dead,” Sheinbaum said, without specifying how many.

The overpass was about 5 meters (16 feet) above the road in the borough of Tlahuac, but the train ran above a concrete median strip, which apparently lessened the casualties among motorists on the road below.

“A support beam gave way” just as the train passed over it, Sheinbaum said.

The Mexico City Metro has had at least two serious accidents since its inauguration half a century ago. In March of last year, a collision between two trains at the Tacubaya station left one passenger dead and injured 41 people. In 2015, a train that did not stop on time crashed into another at the Oceania station, injuring 12.

Hundreds of police officers and firefighters cordoned off the scene Tuesday as desperate friends and relatives of people believed to be on the train gathered outside the security perimeter. Despite the fact that the coronavirus situation remains serious in Mexico City, they crowded together as they waited for news.

Adrián Loa Martínez, 46, said that his mother called him to tell him that his half-brother and sister-in-law were driving when the overpass collapsed and that beam fell onto their car.

He said that his sister-in-law was rescued and sent to a hospital, but that his half-brother José Juan Galindo was crushed and he feared he was dead. “He is down there now,” he told journalists pointing toward the site.

Gisela Rioja Castro, 43, was looking for her husband, 42-year-old Miguel Ángel Espinoza. She said that her husband always take that train after finishing work at a store, but he never got home and had stopped answering his phone. When she heard what has happened, she immediately feared the worst but has gotten no information from the authorities.

“Nobody knows anything,” she said.

The collapse occurred on the newest of the Mexico City subway’s lines, Line 12, which stretches far into the city’s south side. Like many of the city’s dozen subway lines, it runs underground through more central areas of the city of 9 million, but then runs on elevated concrete structures on the city’s outskirts.

The collapse could represent a major blow for Mexican Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard, who was Mexico City’s mayor from 2006 to 2012, when Line 12 was built. Allegations about poor design and construction on the subway line emerged soon after Ebrard left office as mayor. The line had to be partly closed in 2013 so tracks could be repaired.

Ebrard wrote on Twitter: “What happened today on the Metro is a terrible tragedy.”

“Of course, the causes should be investigated and those responsible should be identified,” he wrote. “I repeat that I am entirely at the disposition of authorities to contribute in whatever way is necessary.”

It was not clear whether a 7.1-magnitude earthquake in 2017 could have affected the subway line.

Global leaders react to Joe Biden's election win

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Written by northsouth

Category: content

Published: 07 November 2020

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LONDON - Democrat Joe Biden captured the US presidency on Saturday as voters narrowly rebuffed Republican incumbent Donald Trump's tumultuous leadership and embraced Biden's promise to fight the coronavirus pandemic and fix the economy in a divided nation.

Following are reactions from world leaders: (statements or tweets unless otherwise stated)

CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER JUSTIN TRUDEAU

"On behalf of the Government of Canada, I congratulate Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on their election as the next President and Vice President of the United States of America. Canada and the United States enjoy an extraordinary relationship – one that is unique on the world stage."

"I look forward to working with President-elect Biden, Vice President-elect Harris, their administration, and the United States Congress as we tackle the world's greatest challenges together."

GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL

"I look forward to future cooperation with President Biden. Our transatlantic friendship is irreplaceable if we are to master the great challenges of our time."

GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER HEIKO MAAS

"We look forward to working with the next US administration. We want to invest in our cooperation, for a transatlantic restart and a New Deal."

BRITISH PRIME MINISTER BORIS JOHNSON

"Congratulations to Joe Biden on his election as President of the United States and to Kamala Harris on her historic achievement.

"The US is our most important ally and I look forward to working closely together on our shared priorities, from climate change to trade and security."

FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON

"The Americans have chosen their President. Congratulations @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris! We have a lot to do to overcome today's challenges. Let's work together!"

INDIAN PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI

"Congratulations @JoeBiden on your spectacular victory! As the VP, your contribution to strengthening Indo-US relations was critical and invaluable. I look forward to working closely together once again to take India-US relations to greater heights."

INDIAN PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI, ON KAMALA HARRIS

"Heartiest congratulations @KamalaHarris! Your success is pathbreaking, and a matter of immense pride not just for your chittis, but also for all Indian-Americans. I am confident that the vibrant India-US ties will get even stronger with your support and leadership." (Chittis is the Tamil word for "aunts" that Harris used in her speech while accepting the Democratic Party's nomination for vice president.

PAKISTANI PRIME MINISTER IMRAN KHAN

"Congratulations @JoeBiden & @KamalaHarris. Look forward to President Elect Biden's Global Summit on Democracy & working with him to end illegal tax havens & stealth of nation's wealth by corrupt ldrs. We will also continue to work with US for peace in Afghanistan & in the region."

EUROPEAN UNION COMMISSION PRESIDENT URSULA VON DER LEYEN

"I warmly congratulate Mr Joe Biden on his victory in the US presidential election and look forward to meeting him at the earliest possible opportunity.

"The European Union and the United States are friends and allies, our citizens share the deepest of links...As the world continues to change and new challenges and opportunities appear, our renewed partnership will be of particular importance."

IRISH PRIME MINISTER MICHEAL MARTIN

"I offer warmest congratulations to Joe Biden on his election as the 46th President of the United States. Ireland takes pride in Joe Biden's election, just as we are proud of all the generations of Irish women and Irish men and their ancestors whose toil and genius have enriched the diversity that powers America."

POLISH PRESIDENT ANDRZEJ DUDA

"Congratulations to @JoeBiden for a successful presidential campaign. As we await the nomination by the Electoral College, Poland is determined to upkeep high-level and high-quality PL-US strategic partnership for an even stronger alliance."

UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKIY

"Congratulations to @JoeBiden @KamalaHarris! Ukraine is optimistic about the future of the strategic partnership with the United States. Ukraine and the United States have always collaborated on security, trade, investment, democracy, fight against corruption. Our friendship becomes only stronger!"

DUTCH PRIME MINISTER MARK RUTTE

"On behalf of the Dutch cabinet I would like to congratulate @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris with their election victory after a close race. I am looking forward to continue the strong bond between our countries, and hope to speak with him about these matters soon."

NORWEGIAN PRIME MINISTER ERNA SOLBERG

"On behalf of the Norwegian government, I congratulate Joe Biden on his election victory. The United States is Norway's most important ally and we work closely together in many areas.

"The world needs American leadership to solve the major global challenges. We look forward to cooperating with the Biden administration at the United Nations Security Council, and in efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic and climate change."

PETER BEYER, GERMAN GOVERNMENT'S TRANS-ATLANTIC COORDINATOR, TOLD REUTERS

"We will have a US President who is interested in Europe and doesn't want to set us against each other."

SPANISH PRIME MINISTER PEDRO SANCHEZ

"The American people have chosen the 46th President of the United States. Congratulations @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris. We wish you good luck and all the best. We are looking forward to cooperating with you to tackle the challenges ahead of us," he said.

SPANISH FOREIGN MINISTER ARANCHA GONZALEZ LAYA

"Record citizen participation, strong institutions and a President-elect @JoeBiden with a first woman to ever hold the position of Vice-President @KamalaHarris. Looking foward to working together"

GREEK PRIME MINISTER KYRIAKOS MITSOTAKIS

"Congratulations to US President-Elect @JoeBiden. Joe Biden has been a true friend of Greece and I'm certain that under his presidency the relationship between our countries will grow even stronger."

Pope Francis tells rich world to stop stifling Africa’s progress

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Written by northsouth

Category: Africa

Published: 01 February 2023

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KINSHASA - Pope Francis on Tuesday criticised those he said have been keen on stifling progress in Africa, and especially in the Democratic Republic of Congo, telling the rich world that the people in the continent are more precious than the minerals in the earth beneath them.

Speaking shortly after he arrived in Kinshasa, the Catholic pontiff said the region is not only suffering internally with conflict but also from what he called “a terrible form of exploitation”.

"While you Congolese struggle to safeguard your dignity and territorial integrity against the despicable attempts to fragment the country, I come to you, in the name of Jesus, as a pilgrim of reconciliation and peace".

"It is tragic that Africa still suffers from various forms of exploitation," he said.

According to him, after "political colonialism, an "equally enslaving economic colonialism has been unleashed".

"Get your hands off the Democratic Republic of Congo, get your hands off Africa. Stop smothering Africa; she is not a mine to be exploited or a land to be robbed," the pope said.

Pope Francis Tuesday arrived at N'djili International Airport at 2.40pm and was greeted by a large crowd of Catholic clergy and some members of the government led by Prime Minister Sama Lukonde, while President Félix Tshisekedi was waiting for him at the Palais de la Nation ( State House), 25 kilometres from N'djili airport.

A warm welcome

Along the streets of Kinshasa, the Pope received a warm welcome from the people of Kinshasa, who lined up Lumumba Boulevard, greeting the pontiff as he passed.

Cardinal Fridolin a Ambongo led the masses on this welcome.

"I am happy to be here, in this land so beautiful, so vast and so luxuriant, which embraces, to the north, the equatorial forest, in the centre and towards the south, the high plateaus and the wooded savannahs, to the east, the hills, mountains, volcanoes and lakes, to the west, other great expanses of water, with the Congo River joining the ocean," the Pope said in his message, which was delivered in Italian.

"I have longed to be here," he told President Tshisekedi in the garden of the Palais de la Nation.

Before the pope spoke, President Tshisekedi welcomed in a speech that described the situation in the country, highlighting the war that is currently shaking the DRC.

Enemies of peace

"The lives of our people are still deeply linked to religious convictions that reflect the dynamism and vitality of their faith. These convictions structure our collective action, and the lives of our families are largely based on these religious values. Among these values is hospitality, which is a cardinal value shared by all our families and our people.

“Unfortunately, it has to be said that over the last three decades, this hospitality that characterises us has been undermined by the enemies of peace and terrorist groups, mainly from neighbouring countries," Tshisekedi said, citing Rwanda as a supporter of the rebel groups.

He said in 30 years of violence in the east of the DRC, 10 million people have died due to, among other things, "foreign powers greedy for the minerals in our Congolese subsoil".

For almost 20 minutes, Pope Francis poured out his heart to the people of DR Congo.