Dozens are killed in air strikes attributed to israel in syria but whos counting

The fire broke out shortly before midnight at the National Migration Institute (INM) facility in Ciudad Juarez, prompting the mobilization of firefighters and dozens of ambulances. An AFP journalist saw forensic personnel remove a dozen bodies from the INM's parking lot, where several other bodies were laid and covered with blankets. "The National Migration Institute (INM) of the Interior Ministry regrets the deaths -- so far -- of 39 foreign migrants, caused by a fire," an INM statement said. A rescuer, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said there were about 70 migrants, mostly Venezuelans, at the center. Numerous migrants have been detained in the center in recent days after local authorities rounded up street vendors, some of whom were foreigners, from the area. A Venezuelan woman who gave her name as Viangly stood outside the immigration center, desperate for information about her 27-year-old husband who had been detained … [Read more...] about At least 39 killed in fire at Mexico-US border migrant center

BRUSSELS, March 24 - A "third man" seen with two Islamic State suicide bombers at Brussels Airport was the focus of a Belgian manhunt on Thursday after police identified three others, including two brothers, who killed at least 31 people at the airport and on a city metro train. Turkey's president criticised Belgium for failing to track Brahim El Bakraoui, a convicted Belgian armed robber whom it deported last year and who blew himself up at the airport on Tuesday an hour before his brother Khalid, a fellow convict, killed some 20 people at Maelbeek metro station in the city centre. The third bomber, security sources told Belgian media, was Najim Laachraoui, a veteran Belgian Islamist fighter in Syria suspected of making explosive belts for November's Paris attacks and who also detonated a suitcase bomb at the airport. The "third man", captured on airport security cameras pushing a baggage trolley into the departures hall alongside Laachraoui and Brahim El Bakraoui, is now the … [Read more...] about Belgians hunt ‘third man’ after Islamic State bombings

It took a loaded pistol pointed at Lazzaro D'Auria's head for the Italian landowner to finally say yes to the country's newest and most violent mafia. The Puglia farmer had resisted their extortion attempts in the past –- the threats, the fires, the damage to his crops and property. But surprised by the early morning visit of a dozen men, including a boss with a gun, he agreed to their demand for 150,000 euros a year. Instead of paying up the next day, D'Auria went to the police, making him one of the few people to ever denounce Foggia's little-known mafia, Italy's long-ignored and today its most violent organised crime syndicate. "If more citizens pressed charges, the local mafia could be weakened," D'Auria, who has lived under police protection since 2017, told AFP. "Citizens, speak out!" implored the 57-year-old, who sees recent crackdowns by authorities as a sign the mafia can be weakened if locals overcome their fears. Its bloody clan wars were once dismissed as … [Read more...] about Italy’s ‘Fourth Mafia’, little-known but extremely violent

Some beaches in the central province of Quang Nam are struggling with serious erosion. Around two kilometres of Cua Lo Beach in Nui Thanh District’s Tam Hai Commune have been eroded, damaging the local protective forest as well as shrimp breeding farms. The problem has been occurring at the beach for more than five years. According to local residents, the erosion is mostly attributed to high tides and strong current. Many households have relocated their shrimp breeding farms. The situation is threatening more than 100 households in Binh Trung. Cua Lo area is being dredged by a company which has planned to build a dyke to consolidate the beach. Meanwhile, the beach in Duy Hai Commune in Duy Xuyen District is in the same situation. Nguyen Van Thong, chairman of Duy Hai Commune, said that the 2.5-kilometre erosion has affected 380 households with more than 1,000 people. The locality has proposed building a dyke. Lots … [Read more...] about Quang Nam beaches severely eroded

Stakeholders have much to say about the current state of the tourism industry, and what must be done Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired a tourism recovery conference on March 15 and talked to management agencies and tourism businesses about removing obstacles for the industry to thrive once again. Despite being one of the first Southeast Asian countries to fully reopen to international tourism after the pandemic, Vietnam’s tourism industry still trails other countries in the region. The PM raised a series of questions about tourism promotion, competitive advantages, products, and visa policies – all factors that are considered to be subjective causes for Vietnam’s tourism to fail its foreign tourism targets thus far. “Tourism cannot develop alone, and tourism cannot develop if culture and the entertainment industry do not develop,” PM Chinh said. He directed the tourism industry to build green and sustainable tourism products, finance tourism activities, and develop … [Read more...] about Tourism breakthrough within reach

Kam Thon and other women who live by the Mekong have been collecting river weed, or khai, for decades, but their harvest has fallen since China built nearly a dozen dams upstream. The dams have altered the flow of water and block much of the sediment that is vital for khai and rice cultivation, researchers say. "Generally, the water is clear and the level is lower in the dry season, and we can easily wade in and harvest khai. But now, the water level is higher during dry season, which makes it more difficult," said Kam Thon, who sells khai at the local market. "We need to spend more time collecting khai, and there is also less khai, which has affected our income," the 48-year-old said, as she rolled handfuls of the stringy green weed into balls and placed them in a nylon bag slung on her shoulder. Kam Thon, who lives in Chiang Khong by the Thai-Laos border, said she only makes only about a third of what she used to earn when the Mekong’s waters ran low in the dry season and the … [Read more...] about China’s Mekong dams turn Thai fishing villages into ‘ghost towns’

A Canadian man living in Khanh Hoa Province, south-central Vietnam has reclaimed his daughter’s passport from the provincial public security department, which seized the personal document to facilitate an investigation into a traffic accident in which the two foreigners were victims earlier this month. The return of the Canadian passport owned by the seven-year-old daughter of Gélinas Guy came on Sunday evening after the man called for help from his home country’s competent agencies, his representative said on Monday. The designated Canadian agencies, particularly the Global Affairs Canada, the Canadian Embassy in Vietnam, and the Canadian Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, sent a diplomatic note to the Vietnamese authorities regarding Guy’s case. TVA, the largest television broadcaster in Québec, where Guy resides in Canada, also reported on March 21 and 22 on the traffic accident that had happened to his family on March 3. When Guy, his Vietnamese wife, and their … [Read more...] about Canadian man receives daughter’s passport after seizure for hit-and-run investigation in Vietnam

A kilogram of husked local Vietnamese Musang King ranges from VND500,000-850,000 per kilogram, equivalent to VND1.5-1.8 million per kilogram (husk removed). The price has increased 10% over the a year ago. Malaysia’s Musang King is considered the "best durian in the world" and is currently grown by Vietnamese farmers in the Central Highlands and the Mekong Delta. The fruit regularly sells out at local markets, and buyers have to wait between two weeks and a month to receive their stocks. Oanh, a durian connoisseur in Ho Chi Minh City, said Musang King durian flesh is fragrant, supple and fat. "I have to pay deposits a month in advance to receive the goods." A fruit shop in Hanoi also reported that it had just sold 10 unhusked Musang Kings for VND700,000 per kg (2-4 kg per fruit). "Since it is a fallen fruit, and is shipped by air, the quality is high. No matter how many we have, customers buy them all," the store manager said. Explaining the high price of Vietnam-grown … [Read more...] about Vietnam-grown Musang King durian more expensive than imports

Australia and the Netherlands initiated the action over MH17 last year at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The passenger jet was struck over rebel-held eastern Ukraine by what international investigators and prosecutors say was a Russian-made surface-to-air missile, killing all 298 people on board. Australia has said Russia was responsible under international law and that taking the matter to ICAO would be a step forward in the fight for victims who included 38 Australians. The ICAO upheld its jurisdiction to hear the matter during a session on Friday, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a written statement. "This decision is an important step in our collective efforts to hold to account those responsible for this horrific act of violence," Wong said. Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra called the decision to hear the case "an important step towards establishing the truth, justice and accountability." "Together with Australia, we will … [Read more...] about UN aviation council votes to hear MH17 case against Russia