Mexico City, A major earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale jolted offshore Mexican state of Chiapas, Tuesday, according to a local radio station. There was no immediate report of any casualty or damage to property. According to Chiapas Civil Protection Direction sources, the temblor occurred at 5.43 p.m., reported Xinhua citing the local radio station. According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the quake's epicentre, with a depth of 44 km, was initially determined to be at 14.42 degrees north latitude and 92.96 degrees west ...
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Mexico City, A total of 58 people have died of flu in Mexico so far this year. The deaths were caused by different strains of flu virus, the predominant one being swine flu. As many as 2,815 alive patients have been confirmed to have the infection, the health secretariat said. From Jan 1 to Feb 2, 93 percent of the deaths were caused by the AH1N1 swine flu, it said. Of the current cases of infection, 90 percent have been due to the AH1N1 virus. Two other flu viruses are currently active in Mexico -- AH3N2 and influenza B. Swine flu broke out in Mexico in March-April 2009. Till June 2010, there had been around 1,300 deaths and more than 70,000 cases of the ...
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Mexico City, A fight involving several groups of inmates at a prison in Mexico has left at least 31 dead, officials said. The incident took place in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas. Officials said inmates from one wing of the prison entered another section, sparking the brawl in which 22 inmates serving sentences for state crimes and nine for federal offences were killed Wednesday. Another 13 people were wounded in the fight, in which the inmates wielded knives and other tools as weapons. A special police unit was dispatched to the prison to help restore order. The prison, located near Altamira city, is being guarded by marines and federal police. The prison fight was the deadliest since a brawl at a penitentiary in Tamaulipas city in October led to the death of 20 inmates and wounded 12. Tamaulipas, which borders Texas, has long been the scene of a brutal turf war between drug ...
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Abu Dhabi, Britain's famed Manchester City football club launched a coaching academy here Monday. Aspirants can sign up for a 10-week course, starting Jan 15 at the Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi. The fee is 1,750 dirhams (about USD 200). Those who join the School of Football before Jan 7 will have a chance to watch a live football match of the club at the Etihad Stadium. They will also meet star players before the big match and even get some tips at the club's training ground. Manchester City coaches will be flown into Abu Dhabi to teach the young players on how to improve their skills in a fun and challenging way. "We held some sessions with local young players and I have been very impressed with not only the standard but also with the huge enthusiasm and love for the game," School of Football coach Gavin Makel ...
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Mexico City, Mexican authorities recorded a total of 42.2 million Olive Ridley, Leatherback and Kemp's Ridley sea turtle births during the 2010-11 nesting season, authorities said. Efforts to secure the protection of female turtles and their nests and safeguard hatchlings' journey to the ocean are led by the National Commission on Natural Protected Areas, or Conanp, at 33 nesting beaches, the Environment and Natural Resources Secretariat said in a statement Tuesday. Ten of those beaches are natural protected areas, three are located inside biosphere reserves, 15 are internationally designated wetlands sites and the remainder are located in areas without special protection mechanisms, the secretariat said. Approximately 1.2 million Olive Ridley turtle nests were laid and 23.3 million offspring made their way to the ocean at the Playa de Escobilla sanctuary and Morro Ayuta beach, both located in the southern state of Oaxaca. A total of 20,574 Kemp's Ridley turtle nests were laid in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas and 534 in the eastern state of Veracruz and an estimated 18.9 million hatchlings reached the sea in those two regions. "The nesting figure for the ...
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Mexico City, Mexico's Coca-Cola Femsa, the world's largest bottler of Coca-Cola Co. products, said it broke ground on a USD 140 million plant in Brazil's Minas Gerais state. The company, a unit of conglomerate Fomento Economico Mexicano, or FEMSA, said in a filing with securities regulators that 800 direct and indirect jobs would be created during the 18-month construction phase. The 300,000 sq. meter bottling plant will have the capacity to produce 2.1 million liters annually of soft drinks. The plant will incorporate "the highest environmental standards" both in construction and operations, Coca-Cola Femsa said. All production will be concentrated at the new bottling plant, with the existing facility in Belo Horizonte being converted into the company's biggest distribution facility in Minas Gerais, Coca-Cola Femsa Brasil chief Ricardo Botelho said. Coca-Cola Femsa has 34 bottling plants across Latin America and provides its products to 1.6 million retailers in the ...
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MEXICO CITY : The leaders of Mexico and five Central American governments signed a free trade agreement on Monday to boost the regional economy, officials said. Mexican President Felipe Calderon met with Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom Caballeros and Honduran President Porfirio Lobo to sign the Mexico and Central America Free Trade Agreement, which also involves the countries of Costa Rica, El Salvador and Nicaragua. The agreement is still awaiting final approval from the Mexican Senate. The agreement is expected to push Mexico's economy to expand into the Central American region, which has a population of approximately 150 million people. Calderon described the agreement as a 'good decision' which marks an 'essential step to strengthen the region.' He also said the commercial benefits of the pact represents a door to prosperity. "It's a powerful region," President Colom stated. "It is a vigorous region and what we need is to join them and our differences will be placed aside," he continued, adding that the factors that bring together the region are more than those that separate them. Over the past 10 years, bilateral commerce between Mexico and the five Central ...
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London, Manchester City have given Italian club A C Milan permission to speak with striker Carlos Tevez. The Sun quoted A C Milan chief Adriano Galliani, as saying: "Tevez is a City player. The English club has authorized us to speak to his agent but we haven''t spoken directly to City yet. Galliani added: "We don''t know what City want. I prefer not to speak too much about Tevez, otherwise his price will go up and this is not good." Tevez''s advisor Kia Joorabchian reportedly held talks with AC Milan last week in Italy. The former West Ham and Manchester United forward looks set to leave the Blues in the new year after his latest fallout with the ...
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London, Defender Kolo Toure has warned Manchester City that he could quit the club next month to join French side Paris St Germain if he is not played regularly. Toure struggled to make the first team this season and was handed a six-week fine by the Premier League leaders last month. Toure said he was surprised City hit him with a 720,000 pounds fine for his six-month drugs ban, The Sun reports. "It''s hard to foresee oneself leaving during the January window when you''re at City. But everything can happen very quickly in football. It''ll depend on how much playing time I get," he said. "Could I be interested in Paris St Germain? Again, it''ll all be down to game time I get with City. I want to play matches and if things don''t progress I''ll ask myself questions. "PSG are a big club these days, like City, Arsenal or AC Milan. They want to become one of the world''s best clubs and are investing money in great players. They''re not to be sneezed at. I can''t think of a single player who would refuse to join PSG," Toure ...
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Mexico City, US pop star Britney Spears will perform in a free concert Sunday here, an official said. The concert, which will start at 7 p.m., will mark the start of the Christmas celebrations in Mexico City, Federal District Mayor Marcelo Ebrard said on social-networking sites. Talks with Spears's representatives were given a push a few days ago by the Federal District's coordinator of Christmas events, Mario Carrillo, to get the pop star to perform in the capital. Spears will perform Dec 1 in Guadalajara, the capital of the western state of Jalisco, Dec 3 in Mexico City and Dec 6 in Monterrey, the capital of the northern state of Nuevo Leon, on her "Femme Fatale" world tour. Spears's seventh album, "Femme Fatale", has sold more than 40,000 copies in Mexico, pushing it beyond Gold Record status. Officials are looking to draw about 3 million domestic and foreign tourists to Mexico City this Christmas season. Mexico City is offering visitors a wide range of events and activities, including a parade featuring different kinds of floats, ice skating on the Zocalo, the city's main plaza, and a 50-meter Christmas ...
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Mexico City, The bodies of 26 men were found inside two SUVs and an automobile abandoned on a busy avenue in Guadalajara, one of Mexico's largest cities, prosecutors said Thursday. The vehicles, which had Mexico City tags, were left at an intersection in the Vallarta San Jorge section of Guadalajara, the capital of the western Mexican state of Jalisco, the state Attorney General's office said. Investigators initially said 23 bodies were at the crime scene, but they later found three more inside the vehicles, Jalisco Attorney General Tomas Coronado said. The crime scene is near a supermarket and the convention center where the Guadalajara International Book Fair is scheduled to begin Saturday. Police received a call in the early morning hours about the bodies, all of which were "bound and gagged", Jalisco Public Safety Secretary Luis Carlos Najera told Televisa. The killers left a message inside one of the vehicles, the public safety secretary said, without revealing the contents. Municipal security cameras are scattered around the area where the bodies were dumped and it is presumed that they captured images of the killers. Guadalajara hosted the 16th Pan ...
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Rome, Edinson Cavani scored a brace as Napoli won 2-1 to leave Manchester City's hopes to progress in Champions League hang in balance. The Italian side moved back into the second spot of Group A after the Uruguayan striker netted goals on either side of a Mario Balotelli equaliser. The English Premiership leaders had several chances in an eventful game but Marek Hamsik also hit the post for the hosts, who dominated for long spells, Xinhua reported. The victory meant Napoli's qualification for the Champions League knockouts depends on their final game with Villarreal. The Manchester City will now have to win their final game against group winners Bayern Munich and rely on a favour from winless Villarreal against Napoli to progress. Roberto Mancini, Manchester City manager, insisted that his side "should believe" they can qualify despite the defeat to Napoli. "We have another game and I think we should believe. I don't think Villarreal will finish with 0 points and we have one more chance, though it's clear it depends on the other team," the manager told Sky Sports. "I don't think that we deserved to lose this game, but at the same time we have to think we ...
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London, Ace footballer David Silva has said that Premier League leaders Manchester City are going to get better with each match. The 25-year-old World Cup winner believes he could add to his impressive medal haul with a Champions League title this season, The Sun reports. Silva said: “We should aim to win the Champions League. Why not? I don''''t think that is out of the question. “We''''re up there with the elite now. You can see it when we''''re out on the pitch. These players know how to win and cannot accept defeat. Winners don''''t believe in ...
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Chandigarh, January 29 (Doaba News Service)- Farmers in Punjab are in danger of being charged full tariff for running their tubewells from March. The Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) has informed the state government that it will invoke Section 65 of the Electricity Act, 2003, in case the government does not pay the entire subsidy due to the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) by the first week of March. The government owes the PSEB Rs 1,038 crore as of January 1 this year. Besides this the government has not paid Rs 386 crore due to the PSEB on account of excess interest paid by the board on government loans as well as interest levied on the delayed amount of subsidy for the previous years. The PSERC in a letter to the government recently has made it clear that it will invoke Section 65 of the Electricity Act, 2003, as well as charge penal interest on the delayed amount of subsidy in case the government does not liquidate its entire liability towards subsidy payment to the board by the first week of March. Section 65 of the Electricity Act states that in case subsidy is not paid as directed by the commission, the order of the government for giving ...
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Jalandhar, January 22 (Doaba News Service)- Hold your breath for a while. The Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB), which is in dire fiscal straits, wants a whooping increase of about 51 per cent in the existing tariff across the board for all consumers to meet its aggregate revenue requirement (ARR) for the next fiscal year (2010-11). For the current fiscal year, the increase in the tariff, ordered by the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) was in the range of 10-12 per cent for various categories of consumers to generate a revenue of Rs 759 crore to meet its ARR. The PSEB has pegged a cumulative revenue gap of Rs 6,575 crore in the petition submitted to the PSERC for the next fiscal year and has prayed to the commission to raise the tariff accordingly to realise the amount from the power consumers. The commission has sought objections from the public on the petition. How the commission would deal with such a huge increase in the tariff, it remains to be seen. Already, there is a difference of opinion in the PSEB and the commission over the consumption of power in the farm sector. The commission had last year reduced the projected consumption in the farm ...
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