03/11/2025

MONDAY | NOV 3, 2025

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Mexico supermarket blast kills 23

MEXICO CITY: A supermarket explosion killed at least 23 people in northern Mexico on Saturday, according to local officials, with investigators saying the blast was an accident possibly caused by a faulty electric transformer. “Sadly a number of the victims we’ve found were minors,” Sonora state governor Alfonso Durazo said in a video message as he announced the toll of 23 dead and another 11 injured. Durazo said the survivors were being treated at hospitals in the city of Hermosillo, where the explosion took place. “I have ordered an extensive and transparent investigation to determine the causes of the incident and figure out those responsible,” he said. The prosecutor’s office said in a statement that “the working assumption is that the incident was accidental and the investigation is looking into a transformer located inside the store”. “Once the firefighters allow access into the building ... it will be possible to precisely determine the cause of the incident,” it said. The explosion happened at a Waldo’s store in the city centre. o Faulty transformer likely cause

Rescue teams at the scene of the blast in Hermosillo on Saturday. – REUTERSPIC

afternoon nearby businesses opted to close their doors to prevent the fire. Local authorities urged members of the public to avoid the area near the explosion and cancelled celebrations scheduled to be held that day in honour of the Day of the Dead holiday. – AFP and that

Mexican media reports said customers sought refuge inside the store after the explosion, only to become trapped by the flames. Images in local media showed the building’s facade blackened from the fire with windows shattered. El Universal newspaper said the explosion occurred in the

the families and loved ones of those who died”. “I have been in contact with Sonora governor Alfonso Durazo to provide support where needed. I’ve instructed Interior Secretary Rosa Icela Rodriguez to send a support team to assist the families and the injured,” she said.

“Nobody will face this pain alone. From the very first moments, emergency, security and health services responded with great professionalism and commitment, controlling the situation and saving lives,” the governor said. President Claudia Sheinbaum expressed her condolences on X “to

Gaza schools reopen NUSEIRAT: The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA)

SIX KILLED IN RUSSIAN BLITZ

KYIV: A wave of Russian drone and missile attacks on Ukraine on Saturday night killed six people and cut power to tens of thousands. The strikes targeted Ukraine’s southern and central regions. Russia has rejected calls to halt its nearly four-year invasion of Ukraine. It has instead pushed forward with its ground assault while renewing strikes against Ukraine’s energy grid. Russia denies targeting civilians, saying it hits energy infrastructure that powers Ukraine’s defence industry. Kyiv says the strikes are aimed at wearing down its civilian population. A Ukrainian drone attack on the Black Sea port of Tuapse early yesterday set an oil tanker ablaze and damaged port infrastructure. – AFP FIVE KILLED IN ALPS AVALANCHE ROME: Five German climbers have died after being caught in an avalanche in the Italian Alps. The climbers had set out on Saturday to scale Cima Vertana in the Ortler mountain range near the village of Solda. The avalanche struck as they headed for the summit. The cascade of snow and ice swept away members of two rope teams. The bodies of two men and a woman were recovered on Saturday while the two other victims, a father and his 17-year-old daughter, were found yesterday. Two other climbers escaped unharmed. The Ortler massif, part of the Italian Alps, is close to the Swiss border. – Reuters

Their presence was still visible in the lines of laundry strung across the building’s three floors. Radwan explained that classes “are restarting classes slowly” as the school is emptied of the families living there. Then, she said, she and her classmates “can continue learning like we did before”. In the school’s courtyard on Saturday, young girls lined up for the morning assembly, performing stretching exercises under their teachers’ supervision and chanting: “Long live Palestine!” As classes began, about 50 girls crammed into a single classroom, sitting on the floor with no desks or chairs. They responded enthusiastically to the teacher’s questions and eagerly copied the lesson from the blackboard into their notebooks, happy to be back in school after two years. Another classroom hosted a similar number of older girls in their teens. The conditions were identical – all sitting on the floor with notebooks Rimal neighbourhood in Gaza City, the house was heavily damaged by Israeli strikes during the two years of war. Ashraf Nafeth Abu Salem, a university professor who found shelter in the residence with his own and other families, said he had decided to clean up the rubble inside the courtyard. A metal door that opens from the villa onto the street is adorned with a

announced last week that following the start of the ceasefire Gaza, it was reopening some schools in the territory, with children gradually returning to classes. UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said on X that more than 25,000 schoolchildren had already joined the agency’s “temporary learning spaces”, while some 300,000 would follow online classes. At Al Hassaina school in western Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip on Saturday, classes had just resumed despite the shortage of available classrooms. Warda Radwan, an 11-year-old student, said she was looking forward to returning to her learning routine. “I am in sixth grade now, but I lost two years of schooling because of displacement and the war,” she said. During the two-year war between Israel and Hamas, Al Hassaina, like many other UN facilities throughout the territory, became a shelter for dozens of displaced families.

BR I E F S

Pupils listen to their teacher at a school in the Nuseirat refugee camp. – AFPPIC

“During this time, all they could do was fetch water, get food, or play in the streets. “But thankfully, about a week to 10 days ago, schools began reopening gradually.” – AFP

resting on their laps. Jenin Abu Jarad, a relative of one of the students, said she was thankful to see the children back in classes. “Since Oct 7, there hasn’t been any school for our children,” she said.

Arafat’s dilapidated villa shelters displaced Palestinians GAZA CITY: The Gazan residence of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat stands in ruins, like most other buildings in the devastated territory, but the remains of the once-lavish villa now also host several displaced families. Located in the poster of Arafat, wearing his trademark keffiyeh and sunglasses. Behind him in the image is a smaller picture of the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmud Abbas.

“For us, President Abu Ammar was a model and a symbol of the Palestinian national struggle,” the professor said, referring to Arafat by the affectionate name used by supporters. Three-quarters of the buildings in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed in the two-year war, producing over 61 million tonnes of debris, according to UN data analysed by AFP.

Abu Salem leafed through an old, yellowed book bearing Arafat’s portrait. “We belong to the generation of the first intifada (in 1987). We grew up throwing stones,” he said.

AFPTV footage shows the house, converted into a museum after the Palestinian leader’s death in 2004 and bearing murals in his honour, surrounded by rubble.