Early Bird: The Olympic Games in Italy have ended, the next will be in four years in France. The most wanted Mexican drug lord is dead.
After 16 days, the two Olympic flames have been extinguished above the main venues of this year's games, Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo. While the opening ceremony of the games on February 6th took place in four locations simultaneously, the Italians placed the closing ceremony titled Beauty in Motion in Verona. The Mexican drug cartel Jalisco, which is one of the most powerful drug cartels in Mexico, suffered a severe blow. The Mexican army killed its leader Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes.
Verona Hosted the Closing Ceremony of the Olympic Games
The Chair of the International Olympic Committee, Kirsty Coventry, concluded the XXV Winter Olympic Games at the closing ceremony in Verona. Representatives from all 92 participating delegations entered the arena of the first-century Verona amphitheater. The Czech flag was carried by speed skaters Martina Sáblíková and Metoděj Jílek. In northern Italy, Czech snowboarders won two medals—Zuzana Maděrová, winner of the parallel giant slalom, and silver medalist snowboarder cross Eva Adamczyková. Biathlete Tereza Voborníková won bronze in the mass start race. The Italian organizers passed the symbolic baton to France, which will host the largest sporting event in 2030 in the seaside resort of Nice and several alpine resorts, as reported by Ceskenoviny.cz.
Mexico's Most Wanted Drug Lord Killed in Military Operation
The Mexican army killed the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, on Sunday. The United States had placed a bounty of up to 15 million dollars on the drug lord, known as El Mencho, equivalent to more than 300 million Czech crowns. Cervantes was killed during a military operation in the state of Jalisco in western Mexico. This was preceded by several hours of roadblocks with burning vehicles in Jalisco and other Mexican states, reported CNN.
France to summon US ambassador over comments on activist's death
France will summon US Ambassador Charles Kushner to protest comments from the Trump administration regarding the death of far-right activist Quentin Deranque, who was killed by left-wing militants, reported AP. Deranque died in Lyon last week due to a brain injury. He was attacked during a brawl at a student gathering where the keynote speaker was far-left legislator Rima Hassan, wrote AP.
Brazil and India Strengthen Cooperation in Rare Earths
Brazil and India signed an agreement on Saturday focusing on mutual investments, exploration, and mining of minerals and rare earths. Brazil has the second-largest reserve of rare earths in the world. These are used in a wide range of products, including smartphones, electric vehicles, solar panels, and jet engines. Both countries also agreed to collaborate in several other areas, such as business, healthcare, scientific research, and education. Lula visited India with the aim of deepening ties. Like Brazil, India is a founding member of the BRICS+ bloc of developing countries, reported the agency AP.
NASA ruled out a March launch for its Moon mission due to technical issues
NASA chief Jared Isaacman stated that the planned first crewed mission to the Moon in more than 50 years will not launch next month due to technical issues. The reason is a problem with the helium supply to the massive Space Launch System rocket. The next opportunity to launch the rocket should be at the beginning or end of April. The American space agency still hopes to get the crew back to the Moon. It competes with China, which aims to send its first crewed mission by 2030 at the latest, reported Al Jazeera.
Sources: Ceskenoviny.cz, AP, Al Jazeera
