Canadians say tour operators in Mexico let them down
Weary Canadian tourists returning home from Mexico say the weather was bad thanks to hurricane Emily, but the lack of help from their tour operators was even worse.
“It was horrible. It was scary,” Gracia Agostinho told CBC News in Montreal on Tuesday as she and her family returned home.
“It was the longest night of my life,” she said, describing how her family huddled in a hotel bathroom while
Hurricane Emily roared by.
More: cbc.ca
Storm strands hundreds of Canadians in Mexico
As many as 3,000 Canadians were stranded in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula near Cancun Monday after hurricane Emily pounded parts of the region.
Many of them were trying to get flights out, but Cancun's airport had closed on Sunday afternoon, before the Category 4 storm packing winds of 217 km/h slammed into the region.
FROM JULY 18, 2005: Yucatan begins cleanup as hurricane Emily roars on
Foreign Affairs estimates that as many as 3,000 Canadians remain in the region, but said the worst was over.
"The situation appears to be a little bit more encouraging than
Canada Fifth As Venezuela, Colombia And Mexico Earn World Cup Berths
In the end, the ground was too much for Canada to make up at the Nations Cup.
Stuart Anderson and Craig Taylor did what they could, but a final round 4-under 67 was not enough to assure Canada one of three spots in next month’s World Golf Championships World Cup.
With a 72-hole total of 15-under 269, Canada finished in fifth spot, three shots back of Chile and Mexico, who finished in a tie for third.
Canada started the final round four-shots out of third spot.
Venezuela and Colombia both fired a final-round
Hurricane halts Mexico travel
Tour operators are holding back tourists from the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, which was hit by Hurricane Emily last week, until hotels reopen and damage is assessed.
Winds of 125mph swept across the popular holiday region on Monday, killing six and forcing the evacuation of 30,000 tourists in Cancun. Many had to camp in a local gymnasium for the night. Some tourists on the island of Cozumel also had to abandon their hotels.
The hurricane continued to the north-east coast and moved inland, travelling westwards. A hurricane warning remained in effect from La Cruz to the Texas border at
The Mexican government is expected to implement new regulations this month to allow companies to buy and resell domestic long-distance phone service from operators, a move designed to comply with a 2004 World Trade Organization ruling.
A spokeswoman for the Federal Telecommunications Commission, or Cofetel, told Dow Jones Newswires Thursday the regulations have been submitted to the executive branch for publication, which is expected soon.
The new rules would allow the remarketing of packages of long-distance minutes bought from operators, which could lead to lower calling costs for end users since bulk rates are cheaper.
More: businessweek.com
Mexico's Zapatista rebels to start 6-month campaign tour
Mexico's Zapatista rebels were to launch a six-month nationwide campaign tour on Sunday aimed at attracting more support from citizens.
The Zapatistas, who were emerging from their jungle hideouts, said they would carry out the tour in a peaceful way by rejecting rifles or wars.
The rebels launched a brief uprising on the New Year's Day 12 years ago, calling for more rights for Mexico's Indian minority.
During a visit to Mexico's 31 states, Zapatista leader Subcomandante Marcos promised to
Whats wrong with Mexico
With all the ink and all the air time the problem of illegal immigration from Mexico has been receiving lately, no one is asking the right question -- namely, Whats wrong with Mexico?
The United States has been a beacon of hope for immigrants for hundreds of years. Theres no mystery why people want to come here. But illegal immigrants from Canada are not swamping our northern border. Why are Canadians content to follow our immigration laws and Mexicans not?
Could it be that Canadians are naturally more law-abiding? Hardly. More likely, theres something rotten in the
Zapatistas' "Marcos" begins motorbike tour through Mexico
Subcomandante Marcos, the leader of the Zapatista National Liberation Army, or EZLN, on Sunday began a motorcycle tour of Mexico with the aim of uniting leftist civil organizations before this year's national elections.
At about 11:25 a.m. (1725 GMT), the EZLN chief passed through the town of La Garrucha without making any public remarks or stopping to meet with the hundreds of indigenous Zapatista sympathizers, journalists and domestic and foreign activists who had gathered here expecting to hear him deliver a solemn speech.
Marcos is traveling together with other EZLN members, who
Update 6: Zapatistas Begin Tour to Reshape Mexico
Zapatista rebels met Monday with leaders of poor and Indian groups at the start of a campaign that has carried them from their jungle strongholds for the first time in four years in a bid to reshape Mexico's politics.
The rebels' ski-masked spokesman, Subcomandante Marcos, arrived Monday in a caravan of minivans, SUVS and pickup trucks for the meetings with non-governmental organizations in this mountain city in southern Mexico.
The night before, Marcos formally launched the nationwide tour with a speech railing against capitalism, free trade and the Mexican government before 15,000 rebels
Mexicos Calderon to tour Latam, skipping Venezuela
Mexican President-elect Felipe Calderon, who wants to counter the influence of Latin American leaders like U.S.-foe Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, sets off on a tour of the region next week.
Conservative Calderon, 44, will take in Guatemala, Costa Rica, Colombia, Chile and Brazil on the trip, but will not visit Venezuela and other countries like Bolivia whose leftist leaders are aligned with Chavez.
Calderon has said he wants Mexico to play a more active role in regional politics to balance the influence of Chavez, who is trying to reduce U.S power over Latin American affairs.
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Maldonado rises to home challenge in Mexico
MUCH to the delight of the local crowd, Mexico golfer Antonio Maldonado won the 48 Abierto Mexicano Corona, the first event of the 2006 European Challenge Tour season, in some style with a final round of four-under-par 67 at the Club de Golf La Hacienda.
The result secured his place on the Tour for the next 12 months as a tournament winner. Not only that, but by winning the first prize of $48,000, the 38-year-old has given himself the perfect start to the new Challenge Tour season.
Frenchman Mikael Dieu and Rafael Gomez of
