Mexican President Tests COVID Positive for 3rd Time

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. EPA
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. EPA
TT
20

Mexican President Tests COVID Positive for 3rd Time

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. EPA
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. EPA

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Sunday that he had tested positive for COVID-19, the third known infection, adding that while he was not seriously ill he would take a few days off.

Lopez Obrador, 69, who had a serious heart attack in 2013, reported mild symptoms from both of his previous bouts of COVID-19 at the height of the pandemic.

"It's not serious," he wrote on his official Twitter account. "My heart is at 100%."

According to Reuters, Lopez Obrador said Interior Minister Adan Augusto Lopez would host his regular morning news conference.

In January 2022, Lopez Obrador underwent cardiac catheterization and was found to be in good health.

Back then, the government said the president has regular checkups that include lab tests, electrocardiograms, stress tests and CT scans.



Iran Says 5 Inmates at Evin Prison Were Killed in Israel's Airstrike on Tehran

Evin Prison (File photo: Reuters)
Evin Prison (File photo: Reuters)
TT
20

Iran Says 5 Inmates at Evin Prison Were Killed in Israel's Airstrike on Tehran

Evin Prison (File photo: Reuters)
Evin Prison (File photo: Reuters)

An Israeli airstrike on Iran's capital last month killed five inmates at Evin prison and resulted in the escape of several others, Iranian media reported Saturday.

The semi-official ILNA news agency and other Iranian media quoted a spokesman for Iran’s judiciary that the five inmates killed in the June 23 strike had been convicted on financial offences. The spokesman didn't name the victims or give any further details.

The judiciary’s own news website, Mizanonline quoted spokesman Asghar Jahangir as saying only that “small number" of inmates were killed. He added that an “insignificant number of inmates” had also escaped and that authorities would soon bring them back into custody, AFP reported.

Jahangir said no one serving time at Evin prison for working with Israel's spy agency Mossad was injured in the attack.

Iranian authorities last month put the death toll from the airstrike at 71. But Iranian media later raised that number to 80 including staff, soldiers, inmates and visiting family members.

It's unclear why Israel targeted the prison. The Israeli Defense Ministry had said on the day of the airstrikes that 50 aircraft dropped 100 munitions on military targets “based on high-quality and accurate intelligence from the Intelligence Branch.”

The New York-based Center for Human Rights had criticized Israel for striking the prison - seen as a symbol of repression of any opposition - saying it violated the principle of distinction between civilian and military targets.

The 12-day air war left more than 1,060 dead in Iran and 28 dead in Israel.