Media group urges Mexico to help find missing writer
The international press freedom group Reporters Without Borders on Tuesday urged Mexican authorities to find a radio and newspaper reporter missing in the northern border state of Coahuila.
Rafael Ortiz, 32, was last seen before dawn Saturday after leaving the offices of the daily Zocalo newspaper in the city of Monclova, about 135 miles from Eagle Pass.
We urge the Coahuila state authorities to do everything possible to find Ortiz quickly and to alert the new prosecutors office that specializes in attacks on the press, the New York-based media watchdog group said in a news release.
In February, President Vicente Fox named a special prosecutor to investigate attacks against journalists after pleas from international journalist-rights organizations that his government do more to protect reporters working in dangerous areas or covering sensitive subjects, such as drug trafficking or other organized crime.
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Finding missing U.S. kids in Mexico a difficult task
If the two small children abducted from a home near Queen Creek on Sunday were taken to Mexico, as family members believe, they won't be easy to find.
Mexico is the No. 1 foreign destination for children taken by a family member from the United States, according to the U.S. State Department. Insufficient cooperation between the two countries, a lack of resources in Mexico, the slow Mexican court system and a cultural fear of officials hamper their recovery.
"Some cases can take days, but some can take years," said Julia Alanen, director of the
Finding missing U.S. kids in Mexico a difficult task
If the two small children abducted from a home near Queen Creek on Sunday were taken to Mexico, as family members believe, they won't be easy to find.
Mexico is the No. 1 foreign destination for children taken by a family member from the United States, according to the U.S. State Department. Insufficient cooperation between the two countries, a lack of resources in Mexico, the slow Mexican court system and a cultural fear of officials hamper their recovery.
"Some cases can take days, but some can take years," said Julia Alanen, director of the
CPJ urges Mexico's Fox to move on special prosecutor for free expressio crimes
The Committee to Protect Journalists is disappointed that a special prosecutor has not been appointed to investigate crimes against free expression despite your pledge to seek the position in response to a wave of murderous violence against the media in northern Mexico.
CPJ believes that the protection of free expression is crucial in the months leading up to the July presidential elections. A new legal framework would allow all Mexicans to express themselves freely and would protect the public's right to information about vital developments in your
U.S. urges Mexico to act on border tunnels
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators has asked the Mexican government to enact legislation to criminalize the construction or financing of border tunnels between the United States and Mexico.
In letters to Mexican President Vicente Fox and members of the Mexican Congress, the senators -- led by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, California Democrat -- said 40 tunnels into the United States have been discovered since 2001 and urged the Mexican officials to enact legislation to crack down on those involved.
College student still missing in Mexico
A college student was still missing Tuesday after a weekend night out with friends in Matamoros, Mexico. Friends of Juan Carlos "Charlie" Ramos, 24, said they were about to cross back to the United States on Saturday, when Ramos left them after a fight about who would pay the border-crossing fee. Ramos attends the University of Texas at Brownsville-Texas Southmost College. Police said he isn't in Matamoros hospitals or jails.
Source: chron.com
Mexican troops joined police and civil defense workers in the rescue effort in Aguililla, roughly 410 kilometers (245 miles) southwest of Mexico City.
Local news media reported at least one person had died. Mary Cortez of the Michoacan state civil defense agency said no confirmed deaths had been reported to the state headquarters, but she said people were missing and 200 houses were damaged.
About 10,000 people live in the town of Aguililla, the county seat of an area that has strong family ties, due to emigration, to Redwood City, California.
The flooding came a day after President Vicente Fox toured parts of
Grupo Mexico Urges Authorities to End 24-Day Copper Mine Strike
Grupo Mexico SA, the worlds seventh-largest copper producer, said it is urging authorities to arrest union members blocking work at a copper mine and concentrator in Mexico after a 24-day strike threatens to leave the company short for May copper deliveries.
Mexico City-based Grupo Mexico is losing daily production of about 1,100 metric tons of copper content in concentrate from what the company calls illegal work stoppages, said Juan Rebolledo, Grupo Mexicos spokesman, in a telephone interview. The company said last week it notified customers it may not make May
News of extensive flooding and mudslides, accompanied by lack of communication, raises fears that the death toll in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and southern Mexico could be a great deal higher than the 450 reported following Hurricane Stan"s havoc last weekend.
In Guatemala, the president has asked Congress to declare a state of emergency because entire villages have been destroyed by the mudslides and flash floods, and many people are still missing.
El Salvador likewise fears that more people than the reported 64 have died, because the 54,000 evacuated throughout the country will have difficulty returning to their
Mexico's Slim Urges Spending Up to $2 Bln on Mexico City Water
Mexico's Carlos Slim, Latin America's wealthiest businessman, said he's pushing for a combination of government and private investment to spend as much as $2 billion to ease Mexico City's water shortage.
Slim has a three-point plan to increase the supply of water in the Valley of Mexico by fixing leaky water pipelines, capturing rainwater in reservoirs and building water treatment plants, he said following an event on improving Mexico City's downtown area.
``This is where it makes sense for private investment to support these projects so they're not limited
Mexico Urges US to Improve Cross-Border Security
Mexican migration experts are urging the Bush administration to press ahead with a temporary migrant worker program to improve cross-border security and save the lives of hundreds of people who are dying in their attempts to cross illegally into the United States.
U.S. border control statistics indicate that from January to the end of September this year, 464 people died while illegally attempting to cross the border between Mexico and the United States. That is an increase of 43 percent from the previous year.
A heat wave during August is partly to blame for some
