Mexico virus cases jump by 4,199 in day
MEXICO CITY -- Mexico accumulated 4,199 more confirmed coronavirus cases Tuesday and 596 new deaths.
Confirmed deaths had reached a peak of almost 1,100 per day last week, but the daily total had declined for a few days before Tuesday's rebound. As of Wednesday, Mexico has 124,301 confirmed cases and 14,649 deaths, but officials acknowledge that given Mexico's low rate of testing, the real numbers are probably many times higher.
About one-fifth of Mexico's cases -- 26,666 -- are among health care professionals, who have suffered 385 deaths.
Mexico has defended its policy of having performed only about 350,000 tests so far in a nation of 125 million. But an expert from the Pan American Health Organization said testing would have to increase once the initial peak passes and the lockdown and social-distancing measures are eased.
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"When we enter the phase of descent ... the diagnostic capacity has to be increased so that every case that is suspected according to the guidelines can get a test, because we have to immediately detect any reemergence, so that spark won't ignite a fire," said Jean-Marc Gabastou, an adviser for the Pan American Health Organization.
Gas-well blaze in India kills 2 firemen
GAUHATI, India -- A fire at a natural-gas field in remote northeastern India killed two firefighters and forced nearly 8,000 people to leave their homes, an official said Wednesday.
Workers have been trying to cap the well since gas started leaking nearly two weeks ago, said Tridiv Hazarika, a spokesman for government-owned Oil India Ltd., which operates the gas field in Baghjan, 345 miles east of Gauhati, the Assam state capital.
The well caught fire with explosions Tuesday, when the two firefighters disappeared. Their bodies were recovered Wednesday, Hazarika said.
On Wednesday, flames were leaping nearly 50 feet into the sky more than 36 hours after the inferno began.
"We started evacuating people in the vicinity of the well from May 28 onward and have flown in experts from the Singapore-based company Alert Disaster Control," Hazarika said.
The fire in the periphery of the well has been doused, but it has spread mainly because of the presence of natural-gas condensate in the region, Hazarika said.
Hundreds of villagers in the periphery turned out to watch the fire and the thick black plume of smoke, which could be seen several miles away.
Tainted wine fatal to Cambodia villagers
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -- Four people died and 10 others were hospitalized in Cambodia after drinking rice wine that police believe contained a toxic substance.
The people were stricken Tuesday and Wednesday in the northwestern province of Banteay Meanchey after drinking the bottled beverage, which consisted of wine mixed with traditional medicine, provincial police chief Gen. Ath Khem said.
Dangerous cheap but powerful alcoholic drinks are a perennial problem in Cambodia's poor rural areas, and several accidental poisonings are reported each year. Often the alcohol is not distilled properly and contains methanol, which can kill even in small amounts.
The wine was a brand from the capital, Phnom Penh, and has been sold in provincial markets for several years without incident. Ath Khem said the authorities were seeking the wine company's owner for questioning.
Ath Khem said a preliminary investigation suggested the wine was tainted with a toxic substance. Samples were collected from the victims for testing in a laboratory in the capital.
In May 2018, 14 villagers died and more than 200 others were sickened in the northeastern province of Kratie after drinking rice wine containing methanol.
Rescuers wary of new ship-safety rules
BERLIN -- The German government on Wednesday rejected claims by humanitarian groups that a change to ship safety rules will prevent the rescue of migrants at sea.
Three groups that operate migrant rescue vessels in the Mediterranean accused Germany's Transport Ministry of "insidious sabotage" by making them comply with rules designed for commercial ships rather than leisure boats, as is currently the case.
The groups Mare Liberum, Mission Lifeline and RESQSHIP said the new safety requirements "are not feasible practically" and were introduced without prior consultation.
Transport Ministry spokesman Tim Alexandrin denied the groups' claim that they were being targeted because of their work and said the changes bring Germany in line with its international obligations.
"The change was made purely out of consideration for ship safety," Alexandrin told reporters in Berlin.
He said shipping associations were consulted before the rule change.
While there was no specific incident that prompted the rule change, "with issues of safety, one shouldn't wait until something happens," Alexandrin said.
The humanitarian groups say they have saved thousands of people since 2015. Hundreds of migrants have also have drowned each year trying to reach Europe from Africa.