MEXICO
N Korean diplomat ousted
The government on Thursday said it had declared North Korean Ambassador to Mexico Kim Hyong-gil persona non grata in protest of the country’s nuclear tests, an unusually firm step that moved it closely into line with Washington. In a statement, the government said it had given Kim 72 hours to leave Mexico to express its “absolute rejection” of North Korea’s recent nuclear activity, describing it as a grave threat to the region and the world. “North Korea’s nuclear activity is a serious risk for international peace and security and represents a growing threat to nations in the region, including fundamental allies of Mexico like Japan and South Korea,” the government said. However, an official at the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs said that President Enrique Pena Nieto’s government was not breaking diplomatic ties with North Korea.
MEXICO
Police kill gang member
Prosecutors in Jalisco State on Thursday said that detectives killed a member of a local drug gang who allegedly burned his victims or tossed their bodies into a well. State prosecutor Eduardo Almaguer did not identify the dead suspect, who allegedly refused orders to surrender when he was surrounded on a highway late on Wednesday. Almaguer said only that the man was known by his nicknames: “Tun Tun,” “Barbas” (“the Beard”) or “El Viejon” (“the Old Man”). Almaguer said that two burned bodies had been found at a rural encampment where the suspect hung out and that there was evidence he had killed at least 30 people and tossed some bodies into a well near an old mine. Separately on Thursday, officials in Tamaulipas State said soldiers killed six suspected kidnappers during a shoot-out near the US border. Authorities said the troops were patrolling a neighborhood near the border crossing that leads to McAllen, Texas, when they came under fire from assailants inside a property. The soldiers returned fire, entered the property and found two kidnap victims, as well as a bulletproof vehicle and seven rifles, officials said.
UNITED STATES
City laments turkey issue
A small Oregon city is asking the state for advice on how to handle a flock of wild turkeys that are ruining gardens and leaving droppings just about everywhere. Officials in Pilot Rock, a city of 1,500 people about 370km east of Portland, said there are dozens of turkeys roaming the area, the East Oregonian reported. City Councilor Bob Deno said he has 15 birds frequenting a tree on his property. Resident Mary Ann Low on Tuesday told a city council meeting that she once counted 68 turkeys in her mother’s yard. City officials considered several options, including a spay-and-neuter program, but they decided to ask the state for advice. Greg Rimbach, a wildlife biologist with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, had six recommendations, ranging from a ban on feeding the birds to killing them and donating the meat to a food bank.
GERMANY
Pensioner survives crash
A pensioner on Wednesday had a lucky escape after losing control of his car and repeatedly crashing into a gas station, causing nearly 50,000 euros (US$60,271) of damage. Police said the 77-year-old driver, who smashed into the station’s shop four times and hit a van before coming to a stop by two refrigerators in the store, probably confused the accelerator with the brake pedal and the forward and reverse gear. The driver was taken to a hospital with light injuries after the incident in Wendlingen, 30km southeast of Stuttgart, local media reported.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was