MEXICO ( Mexico Slaughters another 55,000 Chickens to Contain Bird Flu )

Mexico Slaughters 55,000 Chickens to Contain Bird Flu

MEXICO CITY – Authorities slaughtered 55,000 chickens at a farm in the central state of Puebla where avian flu was detected, Mexico’s agriculture department said.

The Senasica food-safety agency ordered the birds sacrificed after laboratory tests confirmed the presence of the H7 virus at the farm in Palmar de Bravo.

Senasica suspects the virus was spread to Puebla by chickens from other Mexican states affected by the avian-flu outbreak that began in 2012, the department said.

Once the 55,000 birds were slaughtered, authorities set about cleaning and disinfecting the farm.

Senasica inspectors found no sign of avian flu at 271 other chicken farms in Puebla, the agriculture department said.

Besides distributing millions of doses of vaccine, authorities have imposed controls on movements of chickens and boosting precautions at commercial farms, the department said.

Nearly 1,000 chickens were slaughtered at the end of last month in Tlaxcala state, bordering Puebla, to contain the bird-flu virus, following the sacrifice in February of 4 million birds in the central state of Guanajuato.

The outbreak was first detected last year in the western state of Jalisco, where more than 22 million chickens were ultimately slaughtered. EFE

TUCSON Az ( Tucson man dies from Bee Attack- Found hanging from cliff with his Gear ) Sad story

UPDATE: An autopsy on the climber who died over the weekend has shown the man died from a massive bee attack, according to the county medical examiner.
MOUNT HOPKINS - A Tucson man was found dead in the Santa Rita Mountains hanging off a cliff from his climbing gear on Monday. He had been missing since Friday.
Santa Cruz County Sheriff's deputies responded to the call just after 5pm Monday when Steven Johnson, 55, who is an experienced climber, did not show up to work.
Johnson was working an area of Mount Hopkins to prepare it for future climbers. He had his dog with him.

A spokesman with the sheriff's office told News 4 Tucson that a friend saw a posting on Facebook asking about Johnson's whereabouts, which ultimately led them to Johnson. However both Johnson and his dog were dead by the time search and rescue teams reached them.
While the cause of death has not been determined just yet, sheriff's deputies told News 4 Tucson that Johnson was covered with bee stings when he was found.
Johnson is described as a father, climber and friend, who was well-liked throughout the climbing community in Southern Arizona.
"It's devastating news for the Tucson community, for sure, he was a very prolific climber in Tucson," said John Mavko, who works at Rocks & Ropes, a climbing facility frequented by Johnson.

PHOENIX ( Drill- F-16s from the Tucson-based 162nd Fighter Wing plan to fly over Downtown Phoenix )

PHOENIX - Arizona Air National Guard F-16 fighters will be flying over downtown Phoenix Thursday as they practice intercepting hostile aircraft intent on a terrorist attack.
The F-16s from the Tucson-based 162nd Fighter Wing plan to run a series of interceptions from different approaches between 11:30 and 1 p.m.


Capt. Jason Gutierrez of the Air Guard says the fighters are from squadron's alert detachment, which provides a rapid reaction force over the region in case of an attack.
The Western Air Defense Sector exercises also involve a Lear Jet 35A business jet and Civil Air Patrol planes.
Similar exercises have been conducted since the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.

RIO DE JANEIRO ( Woman shot in mouth with harpoon by Husband - Police are looking into case )

RIO DE JANEIRO—A 28-year-old woman miraculously survived after her husband accidentally shot her in the mouth with a harpoon, Brazilian officials said Wednesday.
The Rio de Janeiro State Health Department said in a statement that the woman's husband was cleaning his spear gun when it went off, firing a harpoon that hit her cervical spine. Elisangela Borborema Rosa was rushed to the hospital and underwent emergency surgery after Monday's incident in the coastal city of Arraial do Cabo. The statement quotes neurosurgeon Allan da Costa as saying that the harpoon came within 1 centimeter (less than half an inch) of killing the woman. He said he expects a full recovery. A police officer in Arrial do Cabo said by telephone that officials are looking into the case. "Everything indicates it was an accident, but we are investigating. We don't think the husband tried to kill her," said the officer, who cited department policy in declining to let her name be used. "But once she fully recovers we will be able to question her and get a clearer picture of what happened."

MEXICO ( A woman was arrested while trying to smuggle eight undocumented minors into U.S )

Mexican Authorities Arrest Migrant-Trafficker

MEXICO CITY – A woman was arrested while trying to smuggle eight undocumented Honduran minors into the United States, Mexico’s INM immigration agency said Wednesday.

The suspect, Cristela Angelina Garcia Murillo, 45, was detained by INM agents as a result of spot-checks on buses in the northern border state of Chihuahua, the agency said in a statement.

Agents detected the minors as they traveled on two different buses headed toward the U.S. border.

The minors, ranging in age from 8 to 17, initially claimed to be traveling alone, but later identified Garcia Murillo as their guide and said relatives in Honduras had commissioned her to take them to the United States, the INM said.

Garcia Murillo took away their Honduran identifications and provided them with Mexican IDs, the minors told the agents.

The children said their parents were waiting for them in the United States.

Testimony from Honduran minors intercepted in previous operations indicates Garcia Murillo has been in the migrant-trafficking business since at least 2011, the INM said.

Steps are being taken to safely return the eight minors to Honduras, the agency said.

Every year, tens of thousands of Central Americans undertake the journey across Mexico to reach the United States. The trek is a dangerous one, with criminals and corrupt Mexican officials preying on the migrants.

Gangs kidnap, exploit and murder migrants, who are often targeted in extortion schemes, Mexican officials say. EFE

Shark Attack ( Honeymooner killed by shark with wife on beach )

Close EncountersAn Outdoor // Nature Blog

Honeymooner killed by shark with wife on beach

Victim is third surfer fatally attacked in past two years at Reunion Island

May 08, 2013 by Pete Thomas

 

A French surfer on his honeymoon was fatally attacked by a shark Wednesday at Reunion Island, while his wife was nearby on the beach.

Generic image shows surfer riding a wave at Reunion Island. Tiger shark image below, courtesy of Wikipedia, also is generic

The attack occurred at Brisants de Saint-Gilles, a popular surf spot on the west shore of the French-owned island. This marks the first fatal shark attack of the year on Reunion Island, but the third during the past two years.
Lifeguards pulled the 36-year-old surfer to shore after he was charged at least twice by the shark, but he had lost lots of blood and had gone into cardiac and respiratory arrest. He could not be revived.
Agence France-Presse is reporting that the unidentified surfer was bitten on the arm and thigh, and that his wife was being treated for shock.
Last summer two shark attacks, one of them resulting in a fatality, occurred just days apart at Reunion Island, which is located in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar.
Sky News reports that after those attacks, surfers called for the closure of a vast marine reserve, which they blamed for an increase in shark encounters. Surfers were critical of the local government for not doing enough to protect swimmers and surfers.
Several studies are underway involving sharks in the area.
The honeymooning couple is from Morteau in eastern France. The species of shark implicated in Wednesday’s attack is not known

COLOMBIA News ( Fake Nuns arrested with- 35 thousand in cocaine- See photos ) Nuns taken to jail

 

San Andres police arrest fake nuns smuggling cocaine

posted by Adriaan Alsema

 

The arrested drug traffickers dressed as nuns (L) and as non-religious narcos

Police on the Colombian Caribbean island of San Andres arrested three fake nuns carrying $35 thousand worth of cocaine under their clothes.
The three suspects, Colombians aged 20, 32 and 37 were arrested at the airport of San Andres as they were trying to enter the island.
All three had hidden two kilos of cocaine under their religious habit.
“They weren’t really religious, they weren’t nuns. On the contrary, they were taking advantage of this situation,” San Andres police commissioner Jorge Gomez told RCN TV.
According to the police official, the drugs — 60,000 doses — had a street value of $35,470 and was likely to be distributed locally.
The fake nuns were taken to the local prison to await trial.