AFP

At least 37 undocumented migrants traveling through Mexico have died so far this year, most of whom drowned attempting to cross the Rio Grande into the United States, Mexico’s government reported Sunday.

In addition to four migrants who died due to various causes in the states of Veracruz and Baja, “33 drowned due to the force of the current, the depth and the low temperatures of the Rio Bravo (Grande)” delineating the Mexico-US border, said the National Institute of Migration (INM) in a press statement.

It added that 22 of the migrants “were not carrying identification,” while the others were from Mexico, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Cuba, Peru and Venezuela.

When contacted by AFP, the INM said it had repatriated the bodies of the 11 identified immigrants, but would not say where the remains of the other 22 are located, or provide details about their ages and gender.

The report on migrant deaths from January to May comes a few days after the closing of the Ninth Summit of the Americas, hosted by the United States in Los Angeles, where immigration was a key topic.

On the gathering’s final day, US President Joe Biden led a pledge by 20 nations to support the “safety and dignity of all migrants” as well as greater cooperation by law enforcement.

It also comes as a new caravan of thousands of migrants fleeing poverty, violence and political oppression makes its way from southern Mexico towards the US border.

Each year, hundreds of thousands of migrants seeking to enter the United States travel from South and Central America up through Mexico, but in recent years the country has stepped up its border controls and in 2021 detained more than 300,000 undocumented migrants.

Two small NASA satellites that were meant to study hurricane development failed to enter orbit Sunday when their Astra rocket shut off before reaching the necessary altitude, the US space agency said.

“After a nominal first stage flight, the upper stage of the rocket shut down early and failed to deliver the TROPICS CubeSats to orbit,” NASA’s Launch Services Program said on Twitter.

In a post to its website before the launch, NASA described the TROPICS CubeSats as a constellation of six “shoe-box sized” satellites that will “study the formation and development of tropical cyclones, making observations more often than what is possible with current weather satellites.”

Astra received a $7.95 million contract from NASA in February 2021 for three launches, each with a pair of TROPICS devices on board.

Hoping to become a key player in the market for launching small satellites, Astra promises more frequent launches with more flexibility than companies using bigger rockets, such as SpaceX and Arianespace.

But the start-up has faced recurring issues with its signature two-stage rocket failing to reach orbit.

In February, during another NASA CubeSat mission, Astra’s second stage failed to reach orbit due to an issue releasing the shells that cover the satellites during launch.

“We regret not being able to deliver the first two TROPICS satellites,” Astra’s chief executive Chris Kemp said Sunday in a tweet.

“Nothing is more important to our team than the trust of our customers and the successful delivery of the remaining TROPICS satellites.”

A bipartisan group of US senators on Sunday proposed steps to curb gun violence following devastating mass shootings in Texas and New York, but the limited measures fall far short of the president’s calls for change.

The shootings in May — one at a Texas elementary school that killed 19 young children and two teachers, and another at a New York supermarket that left 10 Black people dead — have piled pressure on politicians to take action.

Republicans lawmakers, who have repeatedly blocked tougher measures, are still resisting major changes to gun regulations, instead pointing to mental health issues as the root of the problem.

But the new framework notably has backing from at least 10 Republicans, meaning it has a strong chance of earning the supermajority of 60 votes needed to advance in the 100-seat US Senate.

The reforms include tougher background checks for gun buyers under 21, increasing resources for states to keep weapons out of the hands of people deemed a risk, and adding domestic violence convictions and restraining orders to the national background check database.

“Today, we are announcing a commonsense, bipartisan proposal to protect America’s children, keep our schools safe, and reduce the threat of violence across our country,” the group of 20 lawmakers said in a statement.

“Our plan increases needed mental health resources, improves school safety and support for students, and helps ensure dangerous criminals and those who are adjudicated as mentally ill can’t purchase weapons.”

President Joe Biden praised the proposals and urged lawmakers to quickly turn them into legislation, while saying the measures do not go far enough.

“Obviously, it does not do everything that I think is needed, but it reflects important steps in the right direction, and would be the most significant gun safety legislation to pass Congress in decades,” he said in a statement.

“With bipartisan support, there are no excuses for delay, and no reason why it should not quickly move through the Senate and the House.”

Both Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell — the top Democrat and Republican in the Senate — expressed support for the bipartisan effort, signaling that legislation based on the proposals could make it through the upper house.

– Frequent mass shootings –

Biden had pushed for more substantive reforms, including a ban on assault rifles — which were used in both the Texas and New York shootings — or at least an increase in the age at which they can be purchased.

He had also urged lawmakers to ban high-capacity magazines, mandate safe storage of firearms, and allow gun manufacturers to be held liable for crimes committed with their products.

The Democrat-controlled House of Representatives passed a broad package of proposals this month that included raising the purchasing age for most semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21.

But the party does not have the requisite 60 votes to advance it in the Senate, leaving the bipartisan deal as the only hope for federal legislation to address firearms violence.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi welcomed the Senate agreement, saying that while more is needed, including universal background checks and bans on high-capacity magazines, “this package will take steps to save lives.”

Frequent mass shootings have led to widespread outrage in the United States, where a majority of people support tighter gun laws, but opposition from many Republican lawmakers and voters has long been a hurdle to major changes.

A strong opponent of tougher measures is the National Rifle Association, which has been weakened by scandals and was hit by a lawsuit from New York state’s attorney general, but still wields considerable influence.

“The media, leftist politicians, and gun-hating activists are bullying NRA members and gun owners because they want us to give up. We won’t bend a knee,” the lobby tweeted on Saturday.

That day, thousands of people took to the streets across America to push for action on gun violence, which has killed more than 19,400 people in the country so far this year, more than half of them suicides, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

“The will of the American people is being subverted by a minority,” 63-year-old protester Cynthia Martins said during a demonstration Saturday in Washington.

“Hand wringing is not going to do anything — you have to make your voice heard.”

A bipartisan group of US senators on Sunday proposed steps to curb gun violence following devastating mass shootings in Texas and New York, but the limited measures fall far short of the president’s calls for change.

The shootings in May — one at a Texas elementary school that killed 19 young children and two teachers, and another at a New York supermarket that left 10 Black people dead — have piled pressure on politicians to take action.

But Republicans lawmakers, who have repeatedly blocked tougher measures, are still resisting major changes to gun regulations, instead pointing to mental health issues as the root of the problem.

The new proposals include tougher background checks for gun buyers under 21, increasing resources for states to keep weapons out of the hands of people deemed a risk, and adding domestic violence convictions and restraining orders to the national background check database.

“Today, we are announcing a commonsense, bipartisan proposal to protect America’s children, keep our schools safe, and reduce the threat of violence across our country,” the group of 20 lawmakers said in a statement.

“Our plan increases needed mental health resources, improves school safety and support for students, and helps ensure dangerous criminals and those who are adjudicated as mentally ill can’t purchase weapons.”

President Joe Biden praised the proposals and urged lawmakers to quickly turn them into legislation, while saying the measures do not go far enough.

“Obviously, it does not do everything that I think is needed, but it reflects important steps in the right direction, and would be the most significant gun safety legislation to pass Congress in decades,” he said in a statement.

“With bipartisan support, there are no excuses for delay, and no reason why it should not quickly move through the Senate and the House.”

Both Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell — the top Democrat and Republican in the US Senate — expressed support for the bipartisan effort, signaling that legislation based on the proposals could make it through the upper house.

– Frequent mass shootings –

Biden had pushed for more substantive reforms, including a ban on assault rifles — which were used in both the Texas and New York shootings — or at least an increase in the age at which they can be purchased.

He had also urged lawmakers to ban high-capacity magazines, mandate safe storage of firearms, and allow gun manufacturers to be held liable for crimes committed with their products.

The Democrat-controlled House of Representatives passed a broad package of proposals this month that included raising the purchasing age for most semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21.

But the party does not have the requisite 60 votes to advance it in the Senate, leaving the bipartisan deal as the only hope for federal legislation to address firearms violence.

Frequent mass shootings have led to widespread outrage in the United States, where a majority of people support tighter gun laws, but opposition from many Republican lawmakers and voters has long been a hurdle to major changes.

A strong opponent of tougher measures is the National Rifle Association, which has been weakened by scandals and was hit by a lawsuit from New York State’s attorney general, but still wields considerable influence.

“The media, leftist politicians, and gun-hating activists are bullying NRA members and gun owners because they want us to give up. We won’t bend a knee,” the lobby tweeted on Saturday.

That day, thousands of people took to the streets across the United States to push for action on gun violence, which has killed more than 19,400 people in the country so far this year, more than half of them suicides, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

“The will of the American people is being subverted by a minority,” 63-year-old protester Cynthia Martins said during a demonstration in the US capital on Saturday. “Hand wringing is not going to do anything — you have to make your voice heard.”

Russian forces said Sunday they had struck a site in western Ukraine storing US and EU-supplied weapons, as the battle intensified for the key eastern city of Severodonetsk.

The strike on the town of Chortkiv, a rare attack by Russia in the relatively calm west of Ukraine, left 22 people injured, the regional governor said.

Meanwhile the situation in Severodonetsk was “extremely difficult”, after the Russian army destroyed a second bridge into the city and was heavily bombarding the last one, regional governor Sergiy Gaiday said.

Away from the battlefield, the head of the European Commission on Saturday promised it would provide a clear signal by the end of next week on Ukraine’s bid to become a candidate to join the European Union.

“Ukraine has achieved a lot in the past ten years and much still needs to be done. Our opinion will reflect this carefully,” Ursula von der Leyen said after a surprise trip to the capital Kyiv.

Despite reservations among some member states, EU leaders are expected to approve the bid at a summit later this month, although with strict conditions attached.

“The challenge will be to come out of the (EU) council with a united position, which reflects the enormity of these historic decisions,” von der Leyen said as she travelled back to Poland. 

Ukraine’s geopolitical vulnerability has been laid bare by Russia’s February 24 invasion, which has killed thousands, sent millions fleeing and reduced swathes of the country to rubble.

In Brussels on Sunday, demonstrators brandishing blue and yellow Ukraine flags circled the European Commission headquarters in a show of support.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said late Saturday his country’s bid would strengthen the EU.

“There will be many more equally important and, I hope, fruitful talks with European leaders next week,” he added.

The war meanwhile has prompted Finland and Sweden to give up decades of military non-alignment and bid to join the NATO alliance, as a deterrent against Russian aggression.

However, Turkey is blocking their bids and NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Sunday the issue may not be resolved by an alliance summit later this month.

– Extremely difficult –

The United States and EU have sent weapons and cash to help Ukraine fend off the Russian advance, alongside punishing Moscow with unprecedented economic sanctions.

Russia’s defence ministry said the strike on Chortkiv destroyed a “large depot of anti-tank missile systems, portable air defence systems and shells provided to the Kyiv regime by the US and European countries”.

Regional governor Volodymyr Trush said that four missiles fired from the Black Sea had partially destroyed a military installation in the town, about 140 kilometres (85 miles) from the border with Romania, on Saturday evening.

Residential buildings were also damaged and 22 people were hurt. All of them — including seven women and a 12-year-old — were taken to hospital, he said in a Facebook post.

It was a rare attack in western Ukraine, with the east and south of the country having borne the brunt of Russian firepower.

The cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, which are separated by a river, have been targeted for weeks as the last areas still under Ukrainian control in the region of Lugansk.

“The situation in Severodonetsk is extremely difficult,” said Lugansk governor Gaiday on Sunday, adding that by attacking the bridges, Russian forces wanted to cut off the city completely.

“Most likely, today or tomorrow, they will throw all reserves to capture the city and also possibly in other directions to cut and fully control the road” southwest to Bakhmut.

He said the Russians were shelling the Azot chemical plant, where about 800 civilians have taken refuge in bunkers, according to the tycoon whose company owns the facility. 

However Leonid Pasechnik, leader of pro-Russian separatists in the Lugansk region, accused Ukrainian battalions of shelling Severodonetsk from the plant.

He told reporters pro-Russian forces were not pressing aggressively “because it is a chemical industry facility”, warning of the risk of “an environmental catastrophe”.

“We will achieve our goal in any case, we will liberate the industrial zone, Severodonetsk, any way. And in any case, Lysychansk will be ours.”

Moscow claims it invaded Ukraine to protect residents of eastern breakaway regions and to “demilitarise and de-Nazify” the country, a stance flatly rejected by Kyiv.

– Perfectly fair –

Alongside the physical fighting, the war is being played out through the courts.

Pro-Moscow separatist authorities in the Donetsk region this week sentenced to death two Britons and a Moroccan for fighting with Kyiv.

The sentences sparked outrage in Western countries, but separatist Donetsk leader Denis Pushilin said Sunday he would not alter them.

“They came to Ukraine to kill civilians for money,” he told reporters in the Russian-controlled port of Mariupol, calling the punishment “perfectly fair”.

The families of Britons Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner say they have been living in Ukraine since 2018.

For their part, Ukrainian courts have handed three Russian soldiers long prison sentences at war crimes trials since the invasion.

In an escalating diplomatic and economic battle, the West has sought to punish Moscow with sanctions, causing major brands to leave the country, among them US fast-food chain McDonald.

The restaurant that launched Mcdonald’s in Russia in 1990, heralding Moscow’s opening up after decades of Soviet rule, reopened Sunday with a new name and logo.

In Moscow’s Pushkin Square, dozens of people gathered outside the revamped venue, named “Vkusno i tochka” (“Delicious. Full Stop”), before it even opened.

“My whole family went… three times to McDonald’s for a farewell meal,” Elena, a programmer and mother-of-two, told AFP.

“Now we’re going for a reunion lunch,” she smiled.

burs-ar/har

A bipartisan group of US senators on Sunday proposed steps to curb gun violence following devastating mass shootings in Texas and New York, but the limited measures fall far short of the president’s calls for change.

The shootings in May — one at a Texas elementary school that killed 19 young children and two teachers, and another at a New York supermarket that left 10 Black people dead — have piled pressure on politicians to take action.

But Republicans lawmakers, who have repeatedly blocked tougher measures, are still resisting major changes to gun regulations, instead pointing to mental health issues as the root of the problem.

The new proposals include tougher background checks for gun buyers under 21, increasing resources for states to keep weapons out of the hands of people deemed a risk, and cracking down on illegal gun purchases.

“Today, we are announcing a commonsense, bipartisan proposal to protect America’s children, keep our schools safe, and reduce the threat of violence across our country,” the group of 20 Democratic and Republican lawmakers said in a statement.

“Our plan increases needed mental health resources, improves school safety and support for students, and helps ensure dangerous criminals and those who are adjudicated as mentally ill can’t purchase weapons.”

The senators also called for increased investment in mental health services and school safety resources, as well as including domestic violence convictions and restraining orders in the national background check database.

President Joe Biden praised the announcement and urged lawmakers to pass it quickly, while making clear that the proposals do not go far enough.

“Obviously, it does not do everything that I think is needed, but it reflects important steps in the right direction, and would be the most significant gun safety legislation to pass Congress in decades,” he said in a statement.

“With bipartisan support, there are no excuses for delay, and no reason why it should not quickly move through the Senate and the House.”

– Frequent mass shootings –

The president had pushed for more substantive reforms, including a ban on assault rifles — which were used in both the Texas and New York shootings — or at least an increase in the age at which they can be purchased.

He had also urged lawmakers to ban high-capacity magazines, mandate safe storage of firearms, and allow gun manufacturers to be held liable for crimes committed with their products.

The Democrat-controlled House of Representatives passed a broad package of proposals that included raising the purchasing age for most semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21.

But the party does not have the requisite 60 votes to advance it in the Senate, leaving the bipartisan deal as the only hope for federal measures to address firearms violence.

Frequent mass shootings have led to widespread outrage in the United States, where a majority of people support tighter gun laws, but opposition from many Republican lawmakers and voters has long been a hurdle to major changes.

A strong supporter of gun rights is the National Rifle Association, which has been weakened by scandals and was hit by a lawsuit from New York State’s attorney general, but it still wields considerable influence.

“The media, leftist politicians, and gun-hating activists are bullying NRA members and gun owners because they want us to give up. We won’t bend a knee,” the lobby tweeted on Saturday.

That day, thousands of people took to the streets in the United States to push for action on gun violence, protesting in Washington, New York and locations across the country.

“The will of the American people is being subverted by a minority,” said protestor Cynthia Martins, a 63-year-old resident of the US capital. “Hand wringing is not going to do anything — you have to make your voice heard.”