World Cup: Messi magic reignites Argentina; France in last 16

DOHA -- Lionel Messi reignited Argentina's World Cup challenge with a superb goal in a 2-0 win over Mexico on Saturday as Kylian Mbappe's double fired France into the last 16.

Rocked by a stunning upset defeat against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, Argentina faced Mexico knowing that a defeat would send them crashing out of the tournament.

But Messi breathed fresh life into Argentina's campaign with his eighth World Cup goal in his fifth appearance in the finals.

The 35-year-old maestro, desperate to crown his glittering career by lifting football's greatest prize, rifled home a low shot on 64 minutes to put Argentina en route to victory.

Rising star Enzo Fernandez made the game safe with a magical curling strike in the 87th minute, sparking wild celebrations amongst Argentina fans at the glittering Lusail Stadium.

An Argentinian victory on Wednesday against Poland -- who were 2-0 winners over Saudi Arabia earlier Saturday -- will carry the South American champions into the knockout rounds from Group C.

"We knew that today we had to win, that another World Cup was starting for us, and we knew how to do it," Messi said.

Mbappe double

Elsewhere on Saturday, France became the first team to reach the last 16 after two goals from star striker Mbappe secured a 2-1 victory over Denmark. 

Mbappe, one of the heroes of France's march to the 2018 World Cup title, ensured Les Bleus would be the first team into the knockout rounds after popping up with an 86th-minute winner to break Danish hearts at Stadium 974 in Doha.

The win all but guarantees France will enter the last 16 as winners of Group D heading into their final game against Tunisia on Wednesday.

"For us, it's ideal, we have six points so we're sure to qualify after two matches," France coach Didier Deschamps said.

"We'll appreciate that before the next match in four days. It brings tranquility and the assurance that we qualify."

Mbappe had fired France into the lead on 61 minutes after Denmark's defence finally buckled following wave after wave of French pressure.

However Andreas Christensen jolted France with a 68th minute equaliser before Mbappe's late show sealed all three points.

Earlier Saturday, Poland star Robert Lewandowski finally broke his World Cup scoring duck in a clinical win over Saudi Arabia.

It was a World Cup reality check for the Saudis following their stunning win over Argentina.

"The importance of the goal and how I scored it made all my dreams from childhood come true," said Lewandowski, who had missed a penalty in Poland's opening 0-0 draw with Mexico on Tuesday.

The 34-year-old was overcome with emotion having capitalised on a blunder by midfielder Abdulelah Al-Malki.

'Emotional' Lewandowski

"I think the older I get the more emotional I get," Lewandowski said. "I'm aware it might be my last World Cup and I wanted to be able to say that I've played and scored at World Cups. 

"The result is most important, but getting both is great."

Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny was the hero for Poland, however, producing a stunning double save in the first half.

He first denied Salem Al-Dawsari from the penalty spot, then made a stunning stop to keep out the rebound.

In other games on Saturday, Australia defeated Tunisia 1-0, recovering from a chastening opening defeat against champions France to keep their hopes alive.

Striker Mitch Duke scored the only goal of a tight game with a clever header in the first half and Australia desperately held on to silence Tunisia's vociferous fans.

The Socceroos sit second in Group D with three points from two games, with a game to come against Denmark.

With Messi throwing Argentina a lifeline on Saturday, all eyes on Sunday will now be on Germany in a must-win battle with Spain in Group E. 

Germany, beaten 2-1 by Japan in a remarkable opening upset, would be eliminated if they lose to the 2010 champions and Japan avoids defeat to Costa Rica.

Germany coach Hansi Flick described the game as his team's "first final of this World Cup."

"I am convinced of our ideas," Flick said. "We will approach the game with courage and belief in our quality."

Agence France-Presse

Philippines, Brazil, Mexico among those due to get Pfizer shots from COVAX in Q2

GENEVA - Some 14.1 million doses of the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine have been allocated to 47 countries and economies for delivery in the second quarter of this year, the Gavi Vaccine Alliance said on Monday.

Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, the Philippines, South Africa, and Ukraine are set to be among the main recipients of the Pfizer vaccine between April and June, according to Gavi, which co-leads the COVAX facility with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other partners.

The COVAX program offers a lifeline to low-income countries in particular, allowing them to inoculate health workers and others at high risk, even if their governments have not managed to secure vaccines from the manufacturers.

Australia, Britain, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates are due to receive their first shots via COVAX with the Pfizer doses, which is "based on current knowledge of COVID-19 vaccine supply availability", Gavi said in a statement.

The program delivered nearly 38.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to 102 countries across six continents, six weeks after it began to roll out supplies, Gavi said last Thursday.

Deliveries of the AstraZeneca vaccine to 142 participants under a previously announced round were underway, "with some delays" that may extend deliveries past May, Gavi said on Monday.

Reduced availability delayed some deliveries in March and April, and much of the output of the Serum Institute of India, which makes the AstraZeneca vaccine, is being kept in India, where the number of daily infections is spiraling.

The chief executive of Gavi, Seth Berkley, said last Friday that COVAX aimed to deliver one third of a billion COVID-19 doses by mid-year, on the way to more than 2 billion in 2021.

-reuters-

Mexico passes 200,000 COVID deaths

MEXICO CITY - Mexico on Thursday became the world's third country to surpass 200,000 coronavirus deaths, as fears grew of another wave of infections after Easter.

The nation's COVID-19 fatality toll now stands at 200,211, the health ministry said in its daily update.

The bleak milestone comes despite a decline in new cases and deaths in recent weeks, following a surge in January that pushed many hospitals to the breaking point.

The country's coronavirus czar, Hugo Lopez-Gatell, has warned of the risk of a new wave of infections as millions of Mexicans prepare for the Easter holidays around the start of April.

That prospect also worries epidemiologist Alejandro Macias, although he thinks that it is possible that Mexico has now gained some degree of immunity.

"The world is in a third wave. Perhaps few countries had it as intensely as Mexico in the second, so the virus would have fewer people to infect," he told AFP.

Mexico's death toll is far worse than the government's "catastrophic" scenario of 60,000 deaths.

"I imagined it was going to be worse than they were assuming," said Macias, who led the country's fight against the swine flu pandemic in 2009.

"But it was much more lethal," he said.

Excess mortality data suggests the real COVID-19 death toll is much higher than the official figure, due to limited testing.

 'PART OF THE STATISTICS'

It was on March 18, 2020 that a man named Carlos Hernandez became Mexico's first known COVID-19 victim, at a time when doctors were facing an adversary they knew little about.

When Hernandez complained of joint pain, his wife Adriana Meneses assumed it was because they had spent hours on their feet during a heavy metal concert.

A private doctor diagnosed him with pneumonia, but the symptoms worsened.

"We never thought what happened would happen," said Hernandez's sister Ana, who begged him not to agree to be intubated in a public hospital.

Three days later, due to what the family calls "negligence" and a lack of medical supplies, the news came that they had feared the most.

Hernandez, who suffered from diabetes and was overweight, died a week before his 42nd birthday.

His doctor told the family that it was a new virus and they did not know how to treat it.

"We were harassed by the neighbors and on social networks. They threatened to burn down our house," said his widow. "Today, unfortunately, we are part of the statistics."

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who has himself recovered from the virus, was accused of being slow to impose a lockdown and has worn a mask only on rare occasions.

The left-wing populist, who continues to enjoy high public approval ratings, points out that the Mexican government was 1 of the first in Latin America to start vaccinations, on Dec. 24.

But Mexico desperately needs more vaccines.

So far roughly 6.1 million doses have been applied in the country of 126 million people.

"For there to be a true mass vaccination, we need to have 10 million vaccinations a month," Macias said.

Agence France-Presse

Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim has COVID-19

MEXICO CITY - Mexican telecoms billionaire Carlos Slim, one of the world's richest men, is being treated for Covid-19 but has only mild symptoms, the 80-year-old mogul's family said Monday.

"He's very well. He is making very good progress with Covid-19 after more than a week of minor symptoms," the tycoon's son, Carlos Slim Domit, said on Twitter.

Slim and his family, who control mobile telecom giant America Movil, are worth an estimated $59.9 billion, according to Forbes magazine, making him Latin America's richest man.

Through his foundation, he is helping to fund joint production in Mexico and Argentina of the coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford for distribution in Latin America.

The announcement by his family came a day after Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said that he, too, was infected with the novel coronavirus but had only mild symptoms.

Mexico has officially registered more than 1.7 million Covid-19 cases and nearly 150,000 deaths -- the world's fourth-highest fatality toll after the United States, Brazil and India.

Agence France-Presse

Mexico's coronavirus deaths surpass 100,000

MEXICO CITY - Mexico said Thursday its coronavirus death toll had risen above 100,000, becoming the world's fourth country to pass the grim milestone.

"Today in Mexico we have 100,000 people who have lost their lives due to COVID-19," deputy health minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell told a news conference.

The health ministry announced 576 more deaths in its daily update, taking the total to 100,104, behind only the United States, Brazil and India.

The overall number of infections registered now stands at 1,019,543 in the nation of more than 128 million, up 4,472 from the previous day.

While the number of daily infections has begun to rise again in recent weeks, the authorities say that deaths remain on a downtrend.

"There are infections, but fortunately... there are fewer deaths and that's the aim," President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said this week.

But Malaquias Lopez, an epidemiologist and former health ministry official, said it was unclear if the situation was improving.

"We're at a point where we don't see a clear phase of descent. We don't know where it's going," he told AFP.

The government says poor diets and health problems including obesity, hypertension and diabetes are partly to blame for the high death toll.

"These conditions increase the possibility of a patient dying, it's true, but in Mexico they're almost a death sentence," said Lopez, who thinks the authorities have used the risk factors to deflect criticism of their handling of the pandemic.

Half of Mexico's workforce is in the informal sector and if they become sick they cannot afford to self-isolate, he said.

The government says the high number of deaths reflects its large population.

When it comes to deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, Mexico is in 11th place worldwide, based on official data.

The authorities acknowledge that the real number of coronavirus deaths is higher than the official toll due to the low level of testing.

Luis Vargas, a doctor working at a coronavirus testing site in Mexico City, said that recently people seemed to have become more nervous because a relative or friend had caught the virus.

He fears that many shoppers neglected to follow sanitary measures during the country's equivalent of the Black Friday sales this month.

"I think the number of cases is going to increase," he said.

Eighteen-year-old Aaron Romero, who was waiting to be tested and has symptoms of Covid-19, said his family had agreed not to get together at Christmas this year.

"It's strange and difficult, but it's for the best," he said.

Agence France-Presse

Mexico surpasses 1 million COVID cases

MEXICO CITY - Mexico surpassed one million COVID-19 cases on Saturday, registering 5,860 new infections over the previous day in a country with one of the world's highest death tolls from the virus, the government said.

A total of 1,003,253 people have now tested positive for the virus in Mexico, said health ministry official Ricardo Cortes.

The death toll meanwhile reached 98,259, including 635 registered over the past day, he added.

Mexico has the world's fourth-highest death toll from the virus behind the United States, Brazil and India, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

It also has the 11th highest number of infections.

Cases have been spiking in a number of areas of the country.

"We probably still need to see the worst," Alejandro Macias, former national commissioner against the AH1N1 influenza pandemic in Mexico City in 2009, told AFP. 

The government earlier declared a lockdown on March 23, although essential economic activities remained open, with no sanctions for non-compliance. 

The mayor of Mexico City, Claudia Sheinbaum, announced on Friday the closure of bars for 15 days and earlier closing times for restaurants, cinemas and gyms due to the spike in infections and hospitalizations over the last week.

Sheinbaum also said that daily tests will be increased to 10,000. 

The capital has seen an increase in infections since mid-October and remains the epicenter of the pandemic in Mexico.

Agence France-Presse

Robot eases loneliness of Mexican virus patients

MEXICO CITY - A robot at a hospital in the Mexican capital is providing a lifeline for coronavirus patients separated from their relatives and reducing the risk of infection for medical workers.

"Hi, I'm LaLuchy Robotina! What's your name?" the 1.4-meter-tall (4.6 feet) robot asks patients as it goes from room to room.

It moves around on wheels and has a camera and display screen enabling relatives and doctors to chat with patients or staff in full protective gear in the coronavirus ward.

"It allows us to have a physical presence... but with zero exposure to aerosols within the COVID-19 area," said Lucia Ledesma, a neuropsychologist at the November 20 National Medical Center.

The hospital robot, part of a global trend aimed at reducing the risk of infection during the pandemic, was even designated as a "co-therapist" for coronavirus patients in July.

Since then, it has carried out around 160 missions with infected patients, their relatives and the mental health team.

It can even make soothing sounds to reduce the stress caused by isolation.

The robot "helps us with the mental health of the patient," said Sandra Munoz, who coordinates the hospital's strategy against the virus, which has killed more than 60,000 people in Mexico.

The bot has computer vision enabling it to recognize people and sensors to help it to move around.

It is a lifeline for patients like Rosa Maria Velazquez, one of more than half a million Mexicans who have been infected with the virus.

"As (families) cannot enter, they see us and we see them, and that cheers us all up," the 55-year-old said from her hospital bed.

Agence France-Presse

Mexico's coronavirus deaths surpass 50,000

MEXICO CITY - Mexico's coronavirus death toll surged past 50,000 on Thursday, the government said, just days after becoming the third-highest in the world.

The health ministry announced 819 more deaths in its daily update, taking the total to 50,517 since the Latin American country's first case was detected in February.

The overall number of infections registered now stands at 462,690 in the nation of more than 128 million.

"Unfortunately, because it is always unfortunate even if it was only one, we have 50,517 deaths from COVID-19 in Mexico," deputy health minister Hugo Lopez Gatell told a news conference.

Mexico recently overtook Britain to become the third hardest-hit country in terms of virus deaths, after Brazil and the United States.

Its fatality toll far exceeds the range of between 6,000 and 30,000 that the government of leftist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador projected at the end of February.

His government, which began easing lockdown measures at the start of June, has faced scrutiny over its handling of the crisis.

The pandemic has dealt a heavy blow to Mexico's economy, the second biggest in Latin America.

Gross domestic product (GDP) plunged 17.3 percent in the second quarter of the year from the previous quarter.

Agence France-Presse

Mexican president mourns 39,000 virus dead

MEXICO CITY - Mexican president Manuel Lopez Obrador on Sunday vowed to improve health standards in the nation, which has the fourth-highest coronavirus death toll in the world, as the number of fatalities rose to nearly 39,000.

"We want to remember those who died from the COVID-19 pandemic, and send a loving, fraternal hug to their relatives, to their friends," Lopez Obrador said in a video released on social media.

Mexico, with 127 million inhabitants, had recorded 38,888 deaths from the new coronavirus, according to health authorities on Saturday, with additional suspected coronavirus deaths lifting the total to more than 40,000.

Mexico has the second-highest death toll in Latin America after Brazil, which has 78,772 deaths. 

"There will be time later to pay tribute with all the protocol and ceremonies -- a solemn tribute to those who have lost their lives due to this terrible pandemic," added Lopez Obrador, flanked by a Mexican flag and two soldiers.

He read out 10 commitments to protect those vulnerable to COVID-19, including tackling "diseases caused by hunger and poverty," launching "a permanent campaign" to promote healthier eating and lifestyles, and treating hypertension, diabetes and obesity as a priority.

Agence France-Presse

Strong earthquake shakes buildings in Mexico City, sends people into streets

MEXICO CITY - A very strong earthquake hit southern Mexico on Tuesday, shaking buildings in the center of the capital Mexico City hundreds of miles away and sending hundreds of people fleeing their homes into the streets.

The US Geological Survey said the quake's magnitude was 7.7, while Mexico's seismological institute put its strength at 7.1. Quakes of such size can be devastating.

The earthquake was centered in the southern state of Oaxaca, the Mexican institute said.

Reuters witnesses in Mexico City saw no initial signs of injuries or damage.

-reuters-

As Mexico focuses on coronavirus, drug gang violence rises

MEXICO CITY/ACAPULCO - The coronavirus is threatening to hamstring Mexico's fight against some of its most vicious drug gangs, as police and officials fall sick, security forces are diverted to guard medical centers and military barracks are converted to COVID-19 clinics.

The powerful Jalisco cartel and its rivals are exploiting a security void to step up the fight for control of the drug trade in Mexico, security officials and analysts say.

The number of murders nationally has risen to record levels even as the amount of other crimes have tumbled due to most of the country staying at home to avoid the coronavirus.

In recent weeks, gunmen abducted and killed seven police officers, murdered 10 people in a drug rehab center and dumped 12 bullet-riddled bodies of a rival crime outfit, all in areas where the Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) cartel operates.

The military, a central part of Mexico's anti-cartel fight, has been drafted to help stem the coronavirus, converting barracks into COVID-19 treatment clinics.

Police officers who are overweight or have underlying health conditions have been taken off the streets in some regions because they are regarded as being at high risk from COVID-19, Mexican officials say.

In Guerrero state, where about 40 armed groups including the CJNG operate, the police have been debilitated by outbreaks of coronavirus in its ranks, a senior Guerrero police official said.

When one officer gets sick, on average four more have to isolate for two weeks, he added, complaining that some officers were also turning up with dubious sick notes to avoid work.

In rural Guerrero, a mountainous state on the Pacific coast that governments have long struggled to control, armed vigilante groups that analysts say have links to cartels have imposed curfews and barred residents from leaving villages to try to contain the virus, residents told Reuters.

With an official tally of over 18,300 fatalities, Mexico has the seventh-highest coronavirus death toll in the world.

Coronavirus is straining the federal government's bandwidth to deal with organized crime, another senior security official said.

"Coronavirus is the priority right now, no doubt," the official said. "You can feel that."

Nationally, 4,700 National Guard security personnel, out of a total of 90,000, have been tasked with guarding hospitals, medical equipment and health workers, the federal security ministry told Reuters.

The Mexican government did not directly answer a request from Reuters for comment about whether combating coronavirus is holding back the fight against cartels but a senior security ministry official said the government remains focused on its duties.

The official said only a small percentage of the National Guard militarized police force has been reassigned to coronavirus duties and that the majority maintain their crime prevention and combat functions.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said this month that Mexico is "not going to stop responding to and confronting
organized crime."

MURDER RATE GROWS

CJNG's push for dominance helped drive homicides rates to an all-time high in the first four months of 2020, dealing a blow to Lopez Obrador. A record 34,582 people were murdered in 2019.

Lopez Obrador this month said about 70% of the homicides this year were cartel-linked.

Mexico has been in lockdown due to the coronavirus since March 23, when it ordered schools, business and government offices to shut.

But drug turf battles pushed murder rates higher in March, when 3,000 homicides were recorded. That was the second-highest monthly tally ever, and the biggest since Lopez Obrador assumed
power in Dec. 2018.

The daily murder rate was near-identical in April, government data showed and on June 7, Mexico suffered its most violent day of the year with 117 murders.

"There are shootouts that you can't miss almost daily," said Jose, a student in Aguililla, one of many towns in the state of Michoacan where local cartels are fighting to keep the Jalisco gang out.

CJNG, led by former policeman Nemesio "El Mencho" Oseguera who has a $10-million U.S. bounty on his head, has faced stiff resistance from smaller gangs in its quest for control of smuggling routes for methaphetamine, heroin and fentanyl to the United States. Last month police in Michoacan found 12 bodies of suspected CJNG members in a truck.

A note draped over the bodies, purportedly signed by The Familia Michoacana cartel, taunted a CJNG regional chief.

Cartels have long fought for the control and drug trafficking routes across the large strip of land known as Tierra Caliente, or "Hot Land" region of western Mexico, encompassing the states of Michoacan, Guerrero and Mexico.

Even before the pandemic, federal and state authority was often absent from rural areas across the region.

"There are areas where the government doesn't enter...and crime groups have total control," said Gregorio Lopez Jeronimo, a Roman Catholic priest better known as "Father Goyo" in the Michoacan town of Apatzingan, part of the Tierra Caliente.

Adding insult to injury, gangs are trying to take over some of the role of government to ease social needs during the pandemic.

In several regions, they are lending money to hard-up businesses in areas where people have taken an economic hit due to the shutdown, according to a government document detailed by local newspapers.

Videos of gun-toting fighters from several gangs doling out groceries to impoverished local populations during the lockdown have driven home the government's loss of territorial control.

"The pandemic has completely exposed the gaps in the government's control over certain territories," said Mike Vigil, a former U.S. Drugs Enforcement Administration agent.

"Those voids are being filled, unfortunately, by the drug cartels."

(Reporting by Drazen Jorgic and Uriel Guerrero; additional reporting by Diego Ore; Editing by Alistair Bell)

-reuters-

In Mexico, 'lucha libre' masks en vogue in virus fight

PUEBLA, Mexico -- All around the world, the coronavirus pandemic has left people scrambling for protective face coverings.

But in Mexico, where the masked stars of "lucha libre" wrestling are already cultural icons, people are using their colorful masks to ward off the disease in style.

The wrestling masks, fitted out with an added chin strap, are highly sought after since they cover both the nose and the mouth of the wearer, and hundreds have been sold since the outbreak began.

The handmade masks use the same colors and designs worn by the most famous wrestling stars and are produced by a 53-year-old former wrestler, Jose Isaias Huerta, known in his days in the ring as "The Grey Cat."

In less than a month, Huerta has sold 600 masks, churning out 30 a day -- and he has a backlog of orders that will take more than a month to fulfill.

"Mexicans have lucha libre in their blood -- the wrestler is a living hero for the fans," he told AFP.

"I see that with this," he added, pointing at his masks.

The emblematic masks of stars such as El Santo, Blue Demon or Parka have been recreated using regular fabrics, and the maker does not claim they have the protective quality of actual surgical masks.

Huerta sells them for 50 pesos (around $2) apiece -- almost 10 times the price of a conventional mask sold in packets of 10 in pharmacies, which are not as thick as his.

- Kids 'feel like superheroes' -

Huerta made his amateur debut in the wrestling ring at age 11 and had his first professional bout when he was 14. Since then, he has never strayed far from the canvas.

After retiring, he got his hands on a couple of old sewing machines and started turning out –- together with his sister –- masks for both professional wrestlers and their fans.

They sold well at the gates to the lucha libre arenas, given the widespread homegrown fan base and the curiosity of tourists looking for souvenirs.

But several weeks ago, all wrestling matches were suspended as part of the effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus, which left vendors and producers facing bankruptcy.

But then Huerta stumbled on the idea of selling the masks as protective face gear.

The inspiration came by chance, when he gave a mask to his eight-year-old grandson –- also a big fan of the sport.

That was when his son-in-law noticed how useful and attractive the mask could be for Mexicans facing the airborne virus.

Cristobal Lobato, a fan of the "tough guys" strain of lucha libre wrestling, whose adherents flout the rules and are craftier in the ring, was one of the first to buy in.

"I saw them on the internet and hunted until I found out where to buy them," said the digital strategist who bought 10 masks to give to family members, especially the kids.

"They don't really understand what is going on and putting on the mask of a luchador makes them feel like superheroes, while it also protects them," he said.

- 'Our idols' -

The walls of Huerta's poorly lit workshop, where he works furiously to meet his orders, are covered with old newspaper cuttings and photos of him in his glory days as The Grey Cat.

His newfound success came suddenly, when a local radio station in Puebla -- 120 kilometers (75 miles) to the south of Mexico City -- mentioned his masks and triggered a surge of interest.

Huerta has quickly cobbled together a crew of six friends and family members to churn out masks for as long as demand lasts.

Every day, they have to figure out how to send packages to far-flung parts of the country, like prosperous Monterrey in the north.

Having no experience of servicing nationwide demand, they have even had to ask their new clients if they know how much it costs to send packages across the country.

"We're up front with them -- we don't want to make a bad impression. We sell in small batches -- five, 10, no more," said Huerta.

The first masks were made with leftover fabric, and acquiring new material has been difficult because of the national lockdown and the closure of stores.

His passion for the wrestling craft has been key to the success of his business.

"We know they're made-up -- Santo, Blue Demon -- but we carry on watching them and say, 'These are our idols,' and they are the ones that sell the most," he said.

Mexico had reported 11,633 cases of coronavirus virus as of Friday, and 1,069 deaths.

Agence France-Presse

‘Hope against COVID-19’

A religious activist from the evangelical church "Psalm 100", dressed as an angel, stands with a sign outside a hospital caring for patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on Saturday. The Johns Hopkins University recorded more than 2.3 M COVID-19 cases with more than 160,000 deaths around the globe, as of April 17.

-reuters-

Nestle vows to plant 3 million trees in Mexico, Brazil to help set off emissions

MEXICO CITY - Nestle SA is launching a reforestation project to plant at least 3 million trees in Mexico and Brazil in the next year and a half as the Swiss food group strives for carbon neutrality by 2050, executives told Reuters.

Nestle is one of a number of major corporations including Microsoft and Amazon that have taken on ambitious targets to reduce carbon emissions, often in response to growing demands from customers and investors to step up efforts to combat climate change.

In September, Nestle - whose products range from KitKat chocolates to Nescafe coffee, Cheerios cereal and Poland Spring bottled water - signed a United Nations-backed pledge aimed at limiting global temperature rise and said it would adjust its business to prioritize renewable energy, alternative packaging materials and carbon absorption.

At a cost of $1 to $15 per tree, the first phase of Nestle's reforestation project could cost as much as $45 million for planting alone.

Laurent Freixe, Nestle's chief executive for the Americas, said the project would be a starting point for further efforts to protect the environment in places like Mexico, where the company sources coffee, cocoa, sugar and dairy products.

"If we want to sustain the economy in this country, if we want to sustain our business in this country, we need to invest in the environment and sustainability, and enhance the biodiversity of the country," Freixe said in an interview on Tuesday.

The company is working with non-profit One Tree Planted to determine which types of trees to plant and where, with Mexico's southeastern states of Tabasco and Veracruz among the options.

The carbon captured by the first million trees would eventually be enough to offset the emissions of a coffee-processing plant expected to start operating in October in Veracruz, said Magdi Batato, Nestle's head of operations.

The $154 million plant is expected to process 20,000 tonnes of coffee per year and employ 250 people directly. When it is fully up and running, Batato said its use of technology, automation and clean energy would make it a model among Nestle's factories.

The project was touted in 2018 by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador as the first major investment announcement under his administration, and a source of direct and indirect jobs that would push Mexico to become Nestle's top coffee producer. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Mexico declares first case of coronavirus: health ministry

MEXICO CITY - Mexico's Health Ministry confirmed the country's first case of coronavirus on Friday, saying a young man had tested positive for it in the capital.

"The individual is in stable condition," said Hugo Lopez-Gatell, a senior ministry official. "He has a mild, mild illness," with symptoms "similar to that of a cold. He is a young individual and so he is at very low risk."

The man and five members of his family have been isolated in the National Institute of Respiratory Diseases, Lopez-Gatell said.

Another man in the northwestern state of Sinaloa who had been in contact with the confirmed case is under observation by health authorities, the official said. 

Brazil confirmed Latin America's first coronavirus case on Wednesday.

The new coronavirus has infected 83,670 people and killed 2,865 around the world, according to an AFP toll based on official sources as of 1000 GMT on Friday.

Mainland China, where the epidemic started in late December, has 78,824 infected and 2,788 deaths. 

Elsewhere in the world, 55 countries -- including Mexico -- and territories are affected with 4,846 cases and 77 deaths.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

100,000 condoms distributed in Mexico City ahead of Valentine's Day

MEXICO CITY - Residents in Mexico's sprawling capital were encouraged to play it safe on Valentine's Day, as 100,000 condoms were distributed across the city's metro stations on Thursday in the run up to the annual love fest.

Dozens of volunteers, some dressed as garish-colored condoms, dished out packets of rubber protection across 24 metro stations as part of a campaign to prevent venereal diseases, rising HIV infections across Mexico and unwanted pregnancies.

Celebrating 'International Condom Day' on Feb. 13, sexual safety campaigners from AIDS Health Foundation (AHF) organization launched their campaign using the "Condom use is sexy" tagline.

"Unfortunately, every year, because of shame or misinformation, people are infected with various diseases," said Miriam Ruiz, head of the AIDS Rapid Testing Area at AHF.

Only 15 percent of Mexican couples use condoms, according to AHF, and the organization wants to break the "taboo" around the use of condoms.

The campaign resonated with many residents in Mexico City, which is home to nearly 9 million people, with over 21 million in its greater metropolitan area.

"I use condoms, but the truth is that there is still a lot of machismo in Mexico and men do not want to use a condom," said 23-year-old student Manuela Zepeda.

"I tell men: if you want (sex), put it on," she added, while showing the female condom that she had just been given.

Daily HIV infections increased to 44 from 33 per day between 2017 and 2018, according to Mexico's National Centre for the Prevention and Control of HIV and AIDS (Censida).

Lourdes Zamuro, a 63-year-old woman, took two strips.

"These condoms are for my grandchildren," she said in front of her smiling husband, Adrian Carrera, 65.

"Things were different before. We can't stop them having sex. Better to inform them and help them." 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Trump signs long-awaited North American trade deal

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed the new North American trade pact with Canada and Mexico into law, pronouncing a "glorious future" for US industry.

It was another opportunity for Trump to tout successes in the midst of an impeachment trial where he is fighting charges of abuse of office and obstructing Congress. On Tuesday he announced a Middle East peace plan -- rejected immediately by the Palestinians -- and earlier this month he signed a truce in his trade war with China.

But even if the new USMCA trade deal with America's neighbors was crafted in close consultation between Trump's Republicans and the Democrats, the president pointedly didn't invite any of the Democratic leaders to his big White House signing ceremony.

The USMCA replaces the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, which Trump has long targeted, saying that it resulted in shipping US jobs abroad.

"Today, we are finally ending the NAFTA nightmare," he said at the White House.

Analysts say USMCA retains many elements of NAFTA, a mammoth deal that created a free trade zone across all of North America, shaking up entire industries and supply chains.

Economists say that overall NAFTA increased growth and raised the standard of living in North America, binding the three countries in a complex web of trade rules and services.

But the new deal does change content rules on auto manufacturing, to boost US jobs, and requires higher salaries for some Mexican auto workers. 

It also makes changes to e-commerce, intellectual property protections and dispute settlement for investors, as well as imposing tougher labor provisions, requiring reforms to Mexico's laws.

'COLOSSAL'

Mexico ratified the new agreement December 10, and Canada is expected to follow suit in coming weeks.

For Trump, the "colossal victory" of USMCA fits neatly into his "America first" campaign message ahead of a difficult November reelection fight and his current battle to see off impeachment over alleged abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

"Two decades of politicians ran for office vowing to replace NAFTA... yet when selected they never even tried," he told government members, lawmakers, union representatives and selected workers assembled at the White House's South Portico.

"I'm not like those other politicians -- I guess in many ways," he said. "I keep my promises."

Under NAFTA, "we lost our jobs, we closed our factories and other countries built our cars. But we changed that," he said. "The USMCA closed these terrible loopholes."

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, who led Washington's negotiations both with USMCA and the recent truce in an even higher-stakes trade battle with China, called it a "great, historic agreement."

NAFTA, he said, had been "highly controversial from the start" and many lawmakers subsequently "came to regret" their support.

And Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who is a senior advisor, said the president was wrong-footing his many critics with USMCA, the China deal and the Mideast plan.

"He's brought a businessman's approach to Washington. He's a pragmatist," Kushner said on the FOX & Friends show, which provides mostly uncritical coverage of Trump's White House.

"The people in Washington may not like it that he's making them do work and he's making things happen that people have spoken about for many years before but couldn't deliver on," Kushner said.

Agence France-Presse

6 injured as giant cruise ships collide off Mexico

MEXICO CITY, Mexico - Six people were injured Friday when 2 enormous cruise ships operated by US-based Carnival collided off Mexico's Caribbean coast, the company said.

"Oh my God!" a man can be heard saying in a dramatic video of the Carnival Glory crashing into the Carnival Legend as it docked at the popular island resort of Cozumel.

"Someone could have died!" he said.

Videos posted online show the 290-meter (952-foot) Glory slowly arcing through the azure water off Cozumel toward the 294-meter Legend, then making impact with a loud boom.

The Legend's massive bow then scraped along the back of the Glory, leaving the tip of the other ship's stern a mangled jumble of wreckage.

"Carnival Glory was in the process of docking when it made contact with Carnival Legend which was already docked," the company said in a statement.

"Six guests with minor injuries have presented themselves to the Carnival Glory medical center for evaluation."

Carnival said it was still assessing the damage, but insisted there was no impact on the seaworthiness of either ship or their itineraries.

"We have advised guests from both ships to enjoy their day ashore in Cozumel," it said.

According to Carnival, the Glory weighs 110,000 tons and has capacity for 2,980 guests and 1,150 crew. The Legend weighs 88,500 tons and has capacity for 2,124 guests and 930 crew.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Mexico rejects US trade deal proposals on steel, aluminum

Mexico's foreign minister said Sunday the country would not accept a US proposal for steel and aluminum production under the new trade deal, saying it would leave Mexico at a disadvantage.

During a meeting with senators to discuss details of negotiations for the United States-Mexico-Canada treaty (USMCA), Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said the US proposed that 70 percent of steel for automobile production come from the North American region.

The proposal would put Mexico "at a very great disadvantage," said Ebrard, because cars produced in Mexico also use components made in Brazil, Japan and Germany.

Ebrard said the Mexican delegation will ask at the next meeting of treaty representatives that the provision come into effect "more than 5 years" after the start of the trade pact, rather than immediately.

Mexico will also not accept "any term" for aluminum provisions, Ebrard said, because they do not have the resources to produce aluminum.

Mexico is one of the world's largest automobile exporters due to multiple brands -- including General Motors, Nissan, Fiat-Chrysler and Volkswagen -- building facilities in the country.

Ebrard's comments come just a few days after after Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he would not accept a US proposal for supervisors to oversee the implementation of Mexico's labor reforms under the USMCA.

Mexico is the only country so far to ratify the new deal, negotiated at US President Donald Trump's behest to replace the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which he considers "a disaster" for the United States.

In a bid to comply with its commitments under the new deal, which was signed in November 2018, Mexico has raised its minimum wage and passed labor reforms to give unions more power and workers more say in running them.

But US labor groups and opposition Democrats in the House of Representatives have voiced skepticism over the Mexican government's ability to enforce the new rules.

That has led to a drawn-out ratification process in the United States, where the trade deal now risks getting mixed up in Trump's ongoing impeachment drama and electoral politics heading into his 2020 re-election campaign.

Canada has said it will ratify the deal in tandem with the US.

Agence France-Presse

Thousands rally worldwide against abuse of women

PARIS - Tens of thousands have rallied across the world to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, as France unveiled new measures to combat domestic violence.

Demonstrators on Monday gathered in countries as diverse as Guatemala, Russia, Sudan and Turkey, where riot police in Istanbul blocked the path of roughly 2,000 protesters before firing tear gas and plastic bullets to disperse them.

The French government announced it would make it easier for doctors to share information on vulnerable women and write into law the concept of psychological "entrapment", following massive rallies in France over the weekend.

Roughly 87,000 women and girls were murdered across the world in 2017, according to the United Nations.

Monday's rallies -- animated by growing anger over the failure of justice systems to punish offenders -- follow a weekend of protests against what is being termed femicide.

Crowds marched through the streets of Moscow to highlight the government's failure to pass laws protecting women, and hundreds of Sudanese women chanted "freedom, peace and justice" as they gathered in Khartoum in the first such protest in decades.

In Mexico City, masked demonstrators with sledgehammers smashed glass panes of bus stops, spray-painted monuments and clashed with riot police Monday to protest authorities' failure to halt soaring rates of femicide and rape in the country.

'Sexist, patriarchal attitudes'

Tens of thousands of Spaniards marched in Madrid on Monday evening following a weekend of protests. Spain's long-standing laws against gender violence have not halted the problem -- 52 women have been killed by their partners or ex-partners since the start of 2019.

South Africa has one of the worst records of any country on gender violence and the government has faced several rounds of mass protests on the issue.

President Cyril Ramaphosa used Monday's events to launch a campaign to improve victims' access to justice and urge men to drop their "sexist and patriarchal attitudes".

The UN warned that more action was needed around the world, singling out Afghanistan as a country where too little is done to counter sexual violence and rape.

And in a rare move, global police cooperation agency Interpol launched an international appeal to find eight men suspected of murdering or committing violence against women.

'Electric shock'

The French government is among those to face sustained pressure for reform -- at least 117 women have been killed by their partner or former partner since the start of the year, according to a count by AFP, compared with 121 women last year. 

Also, 213,000 women have suffered physical or sexual violence carried out by their partner or ex-partner, according to the latest official figures. 

The lights of the Eiffel Tower were switched off for one minute at midnight to mark the day.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said he hoped his new measures would deliver an "electric shock" by focusing on ending "absurdities" and "dysfunctional aspects" in the law.

He said the measures, to be put to parliament in January, would be backed by 360 million euros ($400 million) of additional funding.

Advocates for women's rights broadly welcomed Philippe's announcement but called for more concrete help.

"What is needed is to bolster special measures such as offering sanctuary and then supporting the victims," said Francoise Brie, who heads the National Federation of Women's Solidarity.

Equality Minister Marlene Schiappa promised that the new measures would be funded, but also stressed in a newspaper interview that the "fight against marital violence is not just a question of money".

An AFP examination this month of every case of femicide in France showed how the justice system had failed to act in the face of warning signs of the potential for violence.

But in an open letter Monday, more than a dozen top French judges urged women to keep faith in a system that is "improving and adapting itself."

source: news.abs-cbn.com