Clandestine burial pits, bones and children's notebooks found in Mexico City, searchers say
CBSN
Volunteer searchers said they have found a clandestine crematorium on the edge of Mexico City, the latest grim discovery in a nation where more than 100,000 people are listed as officially missing.
It's the first time in recent memory that anyone claimed to have found such a body disposal site in the capital. Collectives searching for missing persons say that drug cartels and other organized crime gangs often use drums filled with diesel or caustic substances to burn or dissolve bodies to leave no trace — but up to now, there has been little evidence of that in Mexico City.
Ceci Flores, a leader of one of the groups of so-called "searching mothers" from northern Mexico, announced on social media late Tuesday her team had found bones around a charred pit on the outskirts of the city.
Kyiv, Ukraine — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that American military aid on its way to Ukraine will make a "real difference" on the battlefield, as the top diplomat made an unannounced visit to reassure an ally facing a fierce new Russian offensive. In increasingly intense attacks along Ukraine's northeast border in recent days, Moscow's troops have captured around 40 to 50 square miles of territory, including at least seven villages, according to open source monitoring analysts.
A trove of gold and silver coins that experts believe were swindled out of an ailing population by an 18th-century conman has been discovered in central Poland, officials said. Volunteer metal detectorists found the treasure hidden underground in multiple locations while exploring the Jeleniowskie mountain range with permission from the local government, and the fact that it exists seems to validate a centuries-old legend.
Tel Aviv — Nearly 360,000 people had fled the Gaza Strip's southernmost city of Rafah by Monday, according to the United Nations, in an exodus that tripled in size over just a few days. The Israel Defense Forces sparked the upheaval late last week, issuing evacuation orders by text messages and fliers dropped from the sky to people in the city's eastern half.
Russia's renewed ground offensive in Ukraine's northeast targeted towns and villages with a barrage of artillery and mortar fire, officials said Sunday. Thousands of civilians fled the Kharkiv region as the intense battle capitulated more land to Russian forces across less defended settlements in the so-called contested "gray zone" along the Russian border.
Israel ordered new evacuations in Gaza's southern city of Rafah on Saturday, forcing tens of thousands more people to move as it prepares to expand its operation and adding that it is also moving into an area in northern Gaza where Hamas has regrouped. More than 110,000 people have evacuated Rafah, the United Nations says, more than doubling in the past few days.