Mexican authorities rescue 3,400 trafficked baby turtles
During a roadblock in the southern state of Chiapas, agents found the critters "in overcrowded conditions" in boxes in a vehicle whose driver was arrested on wildlife trafficking charges, the environmental protection prosecutor's office said in a statement.
The baby animals were freshwater Meso-American sliders, native to Mexico, Central America and Colombia.
They are protected in Mexico against overexploitation.
"The specimens were transported without documentation proving their legal origin, which constitutes a violation of environmental regulations," the prosecutor's office said.
The turtles were taken to a specialised unit for rehabilitation and to determine whether they can be released back into the wild.
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IOL News
2 days ago
- IOL News
The Killing of Journalists in Gaza: Israel's War on the Soul of Humanity
Al-Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif reports near the Arab Ahli (Baptist) Hospital in Gaza City on October 10, 2024. The Israeli military acknowledged in a statement targeting correspondent Anas al-Sharif, accusing him of being a "terrorist" affiliated with Hamas. Image: AFP Jamal Kanj After sealing Gaza off from international reporters and blocking the world's eyes from its genocide, Israel has moved to the next phase of its blackout strategy: hunting down Palestinian journalists inside Gaza. The goal is obvious: silence the last independent witnesses so that the genocide and starvation of an entire people proceed unseen, unrecorded, and unchecked by the global community. The latest murder of two of Gaza's most prominent TV correspondents, Anas Al-Sharif and Mohammed Qreiqeh, as well as four other reporters, in a tent housing journalists outside a Gaza hospital. This brings the number of Palestinian media workers killed by Israel to more than 230, the highest number killed in any world conflict. This is not just in Gaza; let us not forget Israel's cold-blooded murder of American-Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in May 2022 in the West Bank. Then, as now, Israel followed the same familiar playbook pattern: lie, deny, and distort the truth, before claiming, months later, that Abu Akleh was 'accidentally' killed by a sniper's bullet. Israel bars international journalists from covering its atrocities, and when local reporters defy the blackout, silencing them becomes a calculated item on its 'to-do list': erasing truth-tellers and blinding the world. By this, Israel sends a clear message with every murder to those still breathing: report the truth, and you will join them. Political Zionism, from its inception, has perfected the art of pairing the crime with the lie. After murdering a journalist, all it needs to say is: he was Hama. No evidence is needed, no investigation is demanded. Israel fabricates evidence, if any, and then Western media, unquestionably, market the lie. For example, the headlines for Reuters were: 'Israel kills Al Jazeera journalist it says was Hamas leader.' Instead of highlighting the documented Israeli death threats against the journalist or the fact that Al-Sharif's father was murdered by Israel in December 2023, Reuters, NBC, BBC, and others chose to privilege the unverified Israeli narrative. This is not unique; Western media almost always treat Israeli statements with a nuance of credibility they deny non-Western ones. Consider Benjamin Netanyahu, a proven habitual liar, not by his enemies but by his close allies. He claims Israel wants to 'liberate' Gaza from Hamas and relocate civilians to so-called 'safe areas.' Despite his proven record of deceit, Netanyahu's false assertions are well covered and repeated uncritically by Western media outlets. Contrast this with the treatment of Russia's claims that its war in Ukraine is to 'liberate' the country from neo-Nazis. Those claims are met with great skepticism, fact-checks, and ridicule. Why does the same media grant Israeli lies a pass? Is it because of bias in favor of Israel, or an anti-Russian bias? Either way, it is hypocrisy, and it eats on the very principles that journalism is supposed to uphold. Just over a year ago, an Israeli drone strike murdered Al-Sharif's colleague, Mohamed El Ghoul, along with his coworker inside a marked press car. Israel made the same claim then: a Hamas member to kosher its murders. If Russia did this to reporters in Ukraine, the outrage would never end. But when Israel kills journalists, the story is framed, softened, or buried. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ This is how Israel's decades-long dehumanization of Palestinians works: demonize them, diminish their suffering until their deaths generate less outrage than the injury of a dog. I wrote recently about a viral story of a dog in Gaza whose plight drew more global sympathy than the Palestinian who saved it. That was not a fluke; it was the 'logical response' for people who were also victims of a propaganda that dehumanizes Palestinians. Israel could not succeed in this without help. Embedded by dual citizen Israelis and Western Zionist voices in the international media, along with those terrified by the 'antisemitism' smear, act as marketeers of Israeli hasbara. They parrot Netanyahu's denial of mass starvation, even when hundreds of U.N. and humanitarian agencies say otherwise. Western outlets would never have extended that courtesy, say, to Myanmar's generals or Sudan's warlords, denying starvation in those countries. But the lie of a European Israeli, of Polish descent, carries more weight in their newsrooms than the truth of the nonwhite victims. Arab media are hardly immune. Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya have both handed Netanyahu and Israeli spokespersons airtime to lie without challenge. In the name of 'balance,' they become conduits for a propaganda that justifies starving children. The idea of presenting 'both sides' is meaningless when one side is using the platform to propagate lies. There is no balance between lies and truths. When a journalist is killed, their archives, contacts, and testimony are buried with them. When survivors are too afraid to speak, official lies become the only record. Israel understands this perfectly. It has turned the killing of journalists into a weapon of war, knowing that without witnesses, there is no record, and without documents, justice fails. Allowing Israel to normalize the killing of journalists is not only a betrayal of the truth. It is an intellectual rape of the supposed mission of journalism. The press cannot claim to be the guardians of free expression while accepting that a state may execute reporters and normalize the silencing of Palestinian journalists. The blood of Gaza's journalists is blood on the face of journalists everywhere. Targeting journalists is not just about silencing the present; it is about rewriting the narrative of the past and monopolizing the future. If there are no witnesses, there are no crimes. That is the darkness Israel is building; a darkness that will swallow not only Gaza, but the soul of humanity. * Jamal Kanj is the author of 'Children of Catastrophe,' Journey from a Palestinian Refugee Camp to America. This article was originally published at ** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL, Independent Media or The African.
IOL News
3 days ago
- IOL News
Davos founder Schwab cleared of misconduct by WEF probe
World Economic Forum founder and chairman Klaus Schwab. Image: AFP An investigation conducted by the World Economic Forum's board on Friday cleared the body's founder Klaus Schwab and his wife of wrongdoing, after a probe into whistleblower complaints. "Following a thorough review of all facts, the Board has concluded that ... there is no evidence of material wrongdoing by Klaus Schwab," the board announced. In April, the Wall Street Journal reported that an anonymous letter sent to the prestigious institution's board of directors accused Schwab and his wife Hilde of mixing their personal affairs with Forum resources without proper oversight. A spokesperson for Schwab had immediately denied all these accusations, but the 87-year-old said he would step down as head of the WEF. The board of the WEF, best known for its annual summit for political and business elites in the luxury Swiss ski resort of Davos, asked a law firm to carry out an independent probe of the allegations. "Minor irregularities, stemming from blurred lines between personal contributions and Forum operations, reflect deep commitment rather than intent of misconduct," the statement said. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading "The Board has taken action to address all issues identified throughout the investigation, including strengthening the governance in general." Also on Friday, the WEF said it will be replacing former Nestle CEO Peter Brabeck-Letmathe as interim chairman of the board. He is being replaced by the billionaire duo of Larry Finck, the American co-founder of the investment fund Blackrock, and Andre Hoffmann, the Swiss vice-chairman of the pharmaceutical group Roche, according to a separate statement. The letter alleged Schwab had asked junior employees to withdraw "thousands of dollars" from ATMs for him and used organisation funds to pay for massages during hotel stays. But the probe found nothing improper in his conduct. Schwab was born in Ravensburg, Germany, on March 30, 1938. He was married with two children. He was a professor of business management at the University of Geneva, where he taught until 2003, when in the early 1970s he launched the "European Management Forum," the precursor to the current Forum. He expanded it by inviting American business leaders, successfully building a huge network of the world's economic and political elite, transforming the event into a major high-level international gathering dedicated to business relations and the exchange of ideas. The Forum's success has led to the satirical concept of "Davos Man", the supposed avatar of a globalised elite of the stateless ultra-rich committed to free trade and high-minded seminars on corporate social responsibility. Like other international organisations, the WEF has spurred conspiracy theories alleging that it was seeking to establish a "new world order". Elon Musk, the world's richest man and once an influential member of US President Donald Trump's inner circle, accused Schwab on his social media platform X of wanting to "be the emperor of the Earth. AFP
Daily Maverick
5 days ago
- Daily Maverick
US military deploying forces to southern Caribbean against drug groups
By Steve Holland and Idrees Ali The sources had few details of the operation, but President Donald Trump has wanted to use the military to go after Latin American drug gangs that have been designated as global terrorist organizations. The Pentagon had been directed to prepare options. Trump has made cracking down on drug cartels a central goal of his administration, part of a wider effort to limit migration and secure the U.S. southern border. The Trump administration in recent months has already deployed at least two warships to help in border security efforts and drug trafficking. The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Defense Department has begun ordering the deployment of U.S. air and naval forces to the Southern Caribbean Sea. 'This deployment is aimed at addressing threats to U.S. national security from specially designated narco-terrorist organizations in the region,' one of the sources said. The Trump administration designated Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel and other drug gangs as well as Venezuelan criminal group Tren de Aragua as global terrorist organizations in February, as Trump stepped up immigration enforcement against alleged gang members. The U.S. military has already been increasing its airborne surveillance of Mexican drug cartels to collect intelligence to determine how to best counter their activities. Trump has previously offered to send U.S. troops to Mexico to help combat drug trafficking, an offer Mexico says it has refused.
