MEXICO: Magnitude 8.2 Quake Strikes Mexico

Mourners have lined the streets in the Mexican city of Juchitan to pay their respects to those killed in an 8.1 magnitude quake. Over half of the quake's victims were killed in the city, while 5,000 homes were destroyed.

Multiple funeral processions converged on cemeteries in the southern Mexican city of Juchitan on Saturday as residents buried family and friends who died in the worst earthquake to strike Mexico in 85 years.

Out of the 65 known victims of Thursday night's 8.1 magnitude quake, 37 of them were killed as buildings collapsed in Juchitan.

The picturesque city was the hardest-hit in the nation, with 5,000 homes destroyed and many more left without running water or electricity.

Accompanied by the sound of snare drums, horns and saxophones playing serenades for the dead, pallbearers carefully maneuvered caskets around the rubble in Juchitan's graveyard.

A toddler was asleep when the quake's tremors brought down his bedroom walls on top of him, his mother and older brother. Maximo died shortly after he was pulled out of the rubble.

A woman was displeased at Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto's response to the disaster. The president made a brief appearance in the city on Friday, declaring three days of national mourning and pledging to rebuild.

Pena Nieto was able to make it here in his helicopter super fast. That's how help should be arriving, right? Exactly how he got here. But it hasn't, Alvarez said, reflecting a belief that southern Mexico has been neglected by the richer north.

Rescuers continued to comb through the rubble with sniffer dogs and heavy machinery to search for survivors.

Several residents dragged mattresses onto sidewalks to sleep outdoors, with some concerned that their badly damaged homes could collapse at any moment.

Mexico's Interior Department reported that 428 homes were destroyed and 1,700 were damaged in the state of Chiapas alone, which was closest to the epicenter.

The earthquake was felt around 800 kilometers (500 miles) away in Mexico City and as far south as Honduras.

Just one day after the quake struck, Hurricane Katia made landfall north of Tecoluta in Veracruz state as a Category One storm.

Meteorologists cautioned that Katia could still bring 3 to 6 inches (7.5 to 15 centimeters) of additional rain to the region, which has a history of deadly mudslides and flooding.

The most powerful earthquakes to hit Mexico was followed by Hurricane Katia, which roared onshore in the Gulf. The president has declared three days of national mourning.

Rescue workers were struggling to cope with two natural disasters after the earthquake off the southern coast was followed by Hurricane Katia hitting the coast north of Tecolutla in Veracruz state overnight into Saturday.

The US National Hurricane Center reported Katia's maximum sustained winds had dropped to 75 mph (120 kph) when it made landfall and then weakened as it moved over land, becoming a tropical depression before dawn.

The center said that Katia was stalling over Mexico's Sierra Madre mountains, where it could bring 10 to 15 inches (25 to 37 centimeters) of rain to a region with a history of deadly mudslides and flooding.

After the earthquake on the other coastline, Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto said 45 people were killed in Oaxaca, 12 in Chiapas and four in Tabasco. The death toll is likely to rise from the 8.2 magnitude earthquake, which struck off Mexico's southern Pacific coast late on Thursday, officials said.

Pena Nieto on Friday visited Juchitan in Oaxaca, one of the worst hit cities, where at least 36 people were killed.

The priority in Juchitan is to restore water and food supplies and provide medical attention to those affected, Pena Nieto tweeted after visiting the devastated town. Authorities have handed out ration packs, blankets and other supplies to people left homeless in the town of 100,000 people.

The quake's epicenter was about 123 km (76 miles) south of the town of Pijijiapan in Chiapas, but the shock was felt over 900 kilometers north of the epicenter, in the capital, Mexico City, knocking out electricity and sending residents fleeing swaying buildings.

The Interior Department reported that 428 homes had been completely destroyed and a further 1,700 homes were damaged in Chiapas alone.

The quake was also felt in much of Guatemala, which borders Chiapas, Mexico's southernmost state.

The temblor occurred in a very seismically active region near the point of collision between three tectonic plates: the Cocos, the Caribbean and the North American.

At least six other magnitude 7.0 or greater earthquakes have hit the area since 1900 - three of them within a nine-month period from 1902-1903.

Civil Defense officials wrote on Twitter that their personnel were patrolling the streets in Chiapas, aiding residents and looking for damage.
Chiapas Governor Manuel Velasco told broadcaster Televisa some homes had been damaged and a shopping center had collapsed in the town of San Cristobal.

"Homes, schools and hospitals have been affected," Velasco said.

In Tabasco state, next to Chiapas, Governor Arturo Nunez said two of the dead were small children who were residents of his state. One child was crushed by a falling wall while the other was an infant who perished when his ventilator stopped functioning after a power outage in a hospital.



Tourism Observer

USA: Trump Travel Ban, Court issues Emergency Order Temporarily Barring The U.S. From Deporting People

A federal judge in New York has issued an emergency order temporarily barring the U.S. from deporting people from nations subject to President Donald Trump's travel ban.

U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly issued the order Saturday evening after lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union filed a court petition on behalf of people from seven predominantly Muslim nations who were detained at airports across the country as the ban took effect.
Cheers broke out in a crowd of demonstrators outside a Brooklyn courthouse as the decision, effective nationwide, was announced.
The order barred U.S. border agents from removing anyone who arrived in the U.S. with a valid visa from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.

It also covered anyone with an approved refugee application.
It was unclear how quickly the order might affect people in detention.

7 p.m.
New York City's Kennedy Airport became a scene of anguish Saturday for relatives of people detained after arriving in the U.S. from nations subject to President Donald Trump's travel ban.
Lawyers and advocates working at the airport say they didn't have a hard count on the number of people taken into custody after getting off their flights.
Yosre Ghaled was among about a dozen distraught people waiting at a terminal Saturday to see if loved ones would be released or deported.
She says her mother-in-law's sister had been detained.
The 67-year-old Yemeni citizen had flown to the U.S. to live with family because she is sick from heart problems and diabetes.
Two members of congress joined hundreds of protesters at the airport, demonstrating against the detentions.

1 a.m.
The government of Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto is taking exception to the Israeli prime minister's praise of a border wall to keep out illegal immigration.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Twitter Saturday that "President Trump is right" for building a wall.
"I built a wall along Israel's southern border," he wrote. "It stopped all illegal immigration. Great success. Great idea."
Mexico's Foreign Ministry said in a communique that it had expressed its "profound surprise, rejection and disappointment in the prime minister's message on Twitter" to Israel's ambassador. "Mexico is Israel's friend and should be treated as such."

12:20 a.m.
President Donald Trump says his crackdown on refugees and citizens from seven majority-Muslim countries "is not a Muslim ban."
A day after signing an executive order implementing the ban immediately, Trump says it's "working out very nicely."
But confusion, worry and outrage boiled over Saturday as airlines blocked people from travelling to the United States and legal challenges were mounted.
Included is a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. The U.S. refugee program is suspended for 120-days.
Trump's order imposed the most aggressive ban on Syrians, indefinitely blocking entry to the U.S. by anyone from that country, including those fleeing civil war.

12:10 a.m.
Airlines around the world are turning away passengers, refunding tickets and rebooking flights in the aftermath of President Donald Trump's immigration order.
The order signed Friday included a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens of Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen. It also suspended the U.S. refugee program for four months.
That forced airlines to tell some customers they couldn't proceed on flights to the U.S.
Dubai-based Emirates said a small number of its passengers were affected Saturday, and it was helping them rebook. Delta Air Lines and British Airways both said they were offering refunds for passengers who couldn't complete their trips.
Several airlines, including Qatar Airways, posted travel alerts on their websites warning customers about the changes.

11:50 p.m.
In Tehran, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says his country's decision to not issue Americans visas will not be retroactive.
Zarif says on Twitter: "Unlike the U.S., our decision is not retroactive. All with valid Iranian visa will be gladly welcomed."
U.S. visa restrictions that took effect on Saturday for people from several countries, including Iran, ban travel even for those who already had American visas.

11:20 p.m.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has a message for refugees rejected by U.S. President Donald Trump: Canada will take you.
Trudeau tweeted Saturday "To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength .WelcomeToCanada."

Trudeau also tweeted a picture of him greeting a Syrian child at Toronto's airport.

Trudeau oversaw the arrival of more than 39,000 Syrian refugees soon after he was elected in late 2015.
The young prime minister has been reluctant to criticize President Donald Trump. His government has been trying to balance his liberal view of the world while not offending the new Trump administration.
More than 75 per cent of Canada's exports are to the U.S.

10:20 p.m.
An Iraqi who was detained overnight at a New York City airport because of President Donald Trump's ban on refugees from certain Muslim nations has called America "the land of freedom" after being released from custody.
Hameed Khalid Darweesh worked as an interpreter for the U.S. Army when it invaded Iraq in 2003. Later he was a contract engineer for the U.S.
He was granted permission to relocate to the U.S., but was detained along with another traveller from Iraq after arriving at Kennedy Airport Friday night.

Lawyers petitioned a federal court early Saturday to let them go. Two Democratic U.S. Representatives, Nydia Velazquez and Jerrold Nalder, were at the airport trying to get 11 other detainees released.
After he was freed Saturday, Darweesh told a waiting crowd that "America is the greatest nation, the greatest people in the world."

9:50 p.m.
In Somalia, people are reacting with dismay and warnings that countries could retaliate against the United States' new immigration and visa policies with restrictive policies of their own.
"I am shocked beyond words. This will mean that my new husband will never be able to join me in the U.S.," said Fatima Ashkir, a Somali-American woman from Florida who came to Mogadishu to marry her Somali boyfriend.
Others say they are not surprised at President Donald Trump's executive order imposing a three-month ban on refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Somalia.

"His intentions of hurting rather than to help were clear from the very beginning," said Ahmed Abdullahi, a university student in Mogadishu. "But you have to know that this will have a serious effect on relations between Americans and the Muslim world. A tit-for-tat response by Muslim countries, in which Americans could be barred from entering countries affected, is likely to be seen."

8:30 p.m.
Iran's foreign ministry is suggesting the country will limit issuing visas to American tourists in retaliation for U.S. President Donald Trump's suspension of immigration and visas for nationals from Muslim countries including Iran.

The official IRNA news agency Saturday carried a statement by the Iranian foreign ministry that says Iran will resort to "counteraction" to Trump's executive order.

The statement says: "Iran, to defend the dignity of the great Iranian nation, will implement the principle of reciprocity until the removal of the insulting restriction against Iranian nationals."

The statement adds: "It will apply corresponding legal, consular and political actions."
The two countries have had no diplomatic relations since 1979 when militants stormed the U.S. embassy.

8 p.m.

Cairo airport officials say five U.S.-bound Iraqi migrants from one family who have been prevented from boarding an EgyptAir flight to New York's JKF airport would return to Iraq.

They said the five will spend Saturday night at Cairo airport and leave for Irbil, capital of Iraq's Kurdish region, Sunday morning.
They added that the sixth U.S.-bound migrant, a Yemeni national, left the airport to return to Cairo, where he resides.

The officials said Saturday's action by the airport was the first since President Donald Trump imposed a three-month ban on refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries: Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.

The officials said the six migrants, escorted by officials from the U.N. refugee agency, were stopped from boarding the plane after authorities at Cairo airport contacted their counterparts in JFK airport.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

7:05 p.m.
Dutch airline KLM says it has had to turn away seven would-be passengers because they would no longer have been accepted into the United States under President Donald Trump's ban on immigration from seven Muslim-majority nations.
Manel Vrijenhoek, at KLM's press office, said: "We would love to bring them there. That's not the problem. It's just that this is what the U.S. sprang on the rest of the world -- that these people are no longer welcome."
She said the seven were due to fly with KLM from different airports around the world. Vrijenhoek said she had no specifics on their nationalities, although she confirmed they were from countries affected by the three-month immigration ban: Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.
Trump signed the order Friday.

6:40 p.m.
A U.S. federal law enforcement official says any non-U.S. citizen from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia or Yemen is now barred from entering the United States.
That covers legal permanent residents -- green card holders -- and visa-holders from those seven countries who are out of the United States after Friday, when President Donald Trump signed an executive order with the temporary ban. They cannot return to the U.S. for 90 days.
The official says there's an exemption for immigrants and legal permanent residents whose entry is in the U.S. national interest, but it's unclear how that exemption will be applied.
The official says visa and green card holders already in the U.S. will be allowed to stay.
The official wasn't authorized to publicly discuss the details of how Trump's order is being put in place and spoke only on condition of anonymity.
Customs and Border Protection is notifying airlines about passengers whose visas had been cancelled or legal residents scheduled to fly back to the U.S., and the airlines are being told to keep them off those flights.

6:35 p.m.
Israel's leader has endorsed President Donald Trump's plan to build a wall along the Mexican border.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted Saturday that Israel's wall along its border with Egypt has been successful in stopping a swell of African migrants.
"President Trump is right. I built a wall along Israel's southern border. It stopped all illegal immigration. Great success. Great idea," he wrote, with images of the Israeli and American flag.
The tweet marked a rare public foray for the Israeli leader into a charged American domestic affair. The two leaders spoke earlier this week and Netanyahu is planning to visit Trump in the White House next month.
After repeated clashes with President Obama, Netanyahu has high expectations for Trump, who has signalled he will take a kinder approach.

5:45 p.m.
Malala Yousafzai, shot in the head by the Pakistani Taliban in 2012 to stop her campaigning for girls' education and co-winner of the 2014 Nobel peace prize, says she is heart-broken by U.S. President Donald Trump's ban on refugees from entering the United States for four months.
The order Friday suspends a program that saw around 85,000 people displaced by war, political oppression, hunger and religious prejudice resettled in the U.S. last year. Trump indefinitely blocked people fleeing Syria's civil war, and imposed a 90-day ban on U.S. entry from seven Muslim majority nations.
In a statement Saturday, Yousafzai implores Trump "not to turn his back on the world's most defenceless children and families."
Refugees and immigrants, she says, have "helped build your country."
Trump's mother was born in Scotland.

5:15 p.m.
Qatar Airways is advising passengers bound for the United States from seven newly banned majority Muslim countries that they need to have either a U.S. green card or diplomatic visa to travel.
A statement on the company's website says: "Nationals of the following countries: Sudan, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Yemen ... may travel to the U.S. only if they are in possession of a permanent resident card (Green card) or any of the below visas."
It listed foreign government, United Nations, international organization and NATO visas.
President Donald Trump has issued a 90-day ban on all entry to the U.S. from countries with terrorism concerns, including Syria, Iraq and Libya.

3 p.m.
Cairo airport officials say seven U.S.-bound migrants -- six from Iraq and one from Yemen -- have been prevented from boarding an EgyptAir flight to New York's JFK airport.
The officials said the action Saturday by the airport was the first since President Donald Trump imposed a three-month ban on refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries: Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.
The officials said the seven migrants, escorted by officials from the U.N. refugee agency, were stopped from boarding the plane after authorities at Cairo airport contacted their counterparts in JFK airport.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

2:45 p.m.
The head of a leading refugee aid agency says President Donald Trump's decision to ban Syrian refugees hurts innocents fleeing violence.
Jan Egeland of the Norwegian Refugee Council tells The Associated Press on Saturday that Trump's decision "will not make America safer, it will make America smaller and meaner."
Trump on Friday suspended refugee admissions for four months and indefinitely banned those from war-torn Syria, pending program changes that are to ensure refugees won't harm national security.
Egeland says the decision dealt a "mortal blow" to the idea of international responsibility for those fleeing persecution. He says the U.S. is leading a "race to the bottom" in which politicians in wealth countries provide "zero moral leadership."

1 p.m.
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani says the time has come for removing walls between nations rather that building new ones.
Rouhani did not name any particular country but his remarks come shortly after President Donald Trump's executive order Friday suspending all immigration and visa processes for nationals from a handful of countries with terrorism concerns, including Iran, for 90 days.
Rouhani said Saturday that, "It is not the day for creating distance among nations."
Speaking at a tourism conference broadcast on state TV, Rouhani said that those seeking to create such walls, "have forgotten that the Berlin Wall collapsed years ago."

12:30 p.m.
The International Rescue Committee is calling President Donald Trump's suspension of the U.S. refugee resettlement program a "harmful and hasty" decision.
In a statement issued late Friday night after the suspension was announced, IRC President David Miliband said, "America must remain true to its core values. America must remain a beacon of hope."
The IRC statement declared that the U.S. vetting process for prospective refugees is already robust -- involving biometric screening and up to 36 months of vetting by "12 to 15 government agencies."
Miliband praised The United States' record as a resettlement destination and said, "This is no time for America to turn its back on people ready to become patriotic Americans."

MEXICO: Qatar And Mexico Sign Aviation Deal During Emir’s Visit

Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani review the honour guard during an official welcoming ceremony for al-Thani, in Mexico City.

Mexico and Qatar signed an agreement on Tuesday to establish commercial flights between their capitals as the Gulf monarchy's ruler visited the Latin American nation.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto hosted Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, at Mexico City's National Palace, where they oversaw the signing of several agreements.

It was the first visit by a Qatari emir since the two nations established diplomatic relations in 1975.

Pena Nieto declared that the meeting will open opportunities for business between the two nations in energy and infrastructure, the Mexican presidency said in a statement.

The two countries inked an air service agreement to establish flights between Doha and Mexico City, the statement said.

Their respective central banks signed a memorandum of understanding to exchange experiences in banking regulation and supervision.

The governments also agreed on a technical cooperation deal to promote trade, mining, energy, agriculture, tourism and education.

Pena Nieto accepted an invitation to visit Qatar at an undetermined date, which would be the first trip there by a Mexican leader.

During a meal, Pena Nieto highlighted the "clear interest" to boost ties, while the emir echoed the desire for "strong relations," the statement said.

Qatar is Mexico's fourth biggest trade partner in the Middle East.

MEXICO: Jailbreaker Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Henchmen Arrested

Mexico's government on Wednesday announced the capture of six people believed responsible for the July prison break by Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, including the elusive drug lord's brother-in-law and the suspected mastermind of the escape.

Attorney General Arely Gomez said the alleged mastermind is a member of Guzman's legal team who had access to the Altiplano prison near Mexico City, and was able to notify the capo of the operation's progress and receive instructions. The person also purportedly relayed orders and payments to others involved in the escape.

Other suspects arrested included Guzman's brother-in-law, believed to have supervised construction of the mile-long (1.5-kilometer) escape tunnel and organized transportation; a person who negotiated the purchase of the plot of land where the tunnel emerged; and an airplane pilot.

"Today we are able to affirm that the group responsible for planning, organizing and carrying out the escape from outside the prison) has been broken up," Gomez said.

She confirmed that after the escape, the notorious Sinaloa drug cartel boss traveled by land to the city of Queretaro where officials say he caught a small plane to a mountainous region of Sinaloa, his home state and stronghold.

The attorney general added that two Cessna aircraft left from Queretaro. She did not give details or take questions, but a federal official who was not authorized to discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity said one of the flights was apparently a ruse to throw any pursuers off the scent. Authorities recently detained a second pilot in the case.

Gomez did not name any of the suspects but said they planned, organized and carried out the jailbreak in cahoots with officials inside the maximum-security lockup.

About 23 prison officials and employees have also been arrested; some face criminal charges.

Security agents have focused their manhunt in recent weeks on Sinaloa and neighboring Durango state, part of Mexico's notorious drug-producing Golden Triangle region. Officials say Guzman was injured in the leg and face there while evading a dragnet in rugged terrain.

"El Chapo's" July 11 escape through a tunnel dug to the shower in his cell was his second brazen flight from prison. In 2001, he slipped out of another maximum-security facility, purportedly hidden in a laundry cart.

The latest jailbreak made him once again Mexico's most-wanted fugitive and was a huge black eye for the government of President Enrique Pena Nieto, which had dismissed the possibility that Guzman could escape a second time.

Washington had called for Guzman's extradition to face charges in U.S. federal courts, fearing that Mexico might have trouble keeping him behind bars. But Mexican officials said he would only be extradited after first serving out long prison sentences for crimes committed in his home country.