Farmers Siriporn and Amnat Taidee, who have previously treated their rice fields with microbial solution Soil Digest, in Chiang Rai province

The gunman who killed a Canadian tourist and wounded 13 others at Mexico's famed Teotihuacan pyramids had planned the attack days in advance, officials said Tuesday, as evidence pointed to him being inspired by a US massacre.

President Claudia Sheinbuam called for tighter gun controls at tourist areas after Monday's attack -- which comes just weeks before her country hosts several World Cup football matches.

Mexico State Prosecutor Jose Luis Cervantes, speaking at a press conference alongside Sheinbaum on Tuesday, said the gunman had made multiple visits to the pyramids, "stayed in hotels near the site ahead of time, and from there planned his violent acts."

The gunman, who shot and killed himself as military personnel moved in, was identified as 27-year-old Mexico City resident Julio Cesar Jasso Ramirez.

The Canadian woman who died was in her early 20s.

Cervantes said that a backpack had been found at the scene with a gun, knife and 52 rounds of ammunition.

The bag contained literature and images linked "to violent events that are known to have occurred in the United States in April 1999," Cervantes said, in an apparent reference to the infamous Columbine High School shooting.

Two students, aged 17 and 18, attacked the Colorado high school on April 20, 1999, killing 12 classmates and a teacher in a matter of minutes, before taking their own lives.

Several other mass shooters in the United States have subsequently cited the high-profile Columbine tragedy as inspiration for their attacks.

An American who survived Monday's attack, Jacqueline Gutierrez, told the Mexican newspaper Milenio that the shooter had mentioned Monday being the anniversary of the Columbine massacre.

He also mentioned the pyramid being a place for ritual sacrifices in pre-colonial times, she said.

Designated as a World Heritage site of "outstanding universal value" by the United Nations, the structures at Teotihuacan were built between the first and seventh centuries AD.

The shooting occurred on the Pyramid of the Moon, a 45-meter (nearly 150-foot) high monument that visitors are allowed to climb using steep steps carved of volcanic rock. 

Sheinbaum said the shooter had "psychological problems" and "was influenced by events that had occurred abroad."

She said there were no suspected links to organized crime in the attack, which left at least 13 people injured, including some who suffered gunshot wounds.

Among the wounded, who were taken to different hospitals, were a six-year-old boy and a woman from Colombia, another Canadian woman, a Brazilian man and two Americans.

The president said it was the first time something like this had happened at an archaeological site in Mexico and called for increased security at tourist sites around the country.

"We need to have better security to make sure someone can't enter an archaeological site, a tourist site, with a firearm," she said.

According to official tourism figures, Teotihuacan was Mexico's second most-visited archaeological site last year, trailing only Chichen Itza.

Authorities announced that the site will reopen on Wednesday with increased security protocols.

Juan Carlos Mejia, executive director of the Estur tourism agency, welcomed the announced reinforcement, telling AFP that previously "they never check you" before entering the site, he told AFP.

Mexico City hosts the World Cup's opening match on June 11.

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The United States is looking to give former Afghan allies stuck in Qatar a choice between emigrating to the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo or returning to their Taliban-ruled homeland, an activist said Tuesday.

President Donald Trump's administration, which has made a sweeping crackdown on immigration a signature policy, had given a March 31 deadline to close a camp where more than 1,100 Afghans were staying at a former US base in Qatar.

Afghans have been going through the base for processing while seeking to move to the United States, fearing persecution by the Taliban for having worked with US forces before they withdrew and the Western-backed government collapsed in 2021.

Shawn VanDiver, a US veteran who heads AfghanEvac, a group seeking to help former Afghan allies, said he was briefed that the Trump administration was looking to offer the Afghans a choice to go to DR Congo or otherwise return to Afghanistan.

He said he expected the Afghans to decline to go to the African country, which has its own refugee crisis after years of war, including ongoing hostilities linked to Rwanda.

"You do not relocate vetted wartime allies, more than 400 of them children, from American custody into a country in the middle of its own collapse," he said in a statement. 

"The administration knows this. It is the point," he said alleging a way to force the people back to Afghanistan.

The State Department declined to confirm that DR Congo was being eyed as a destination but said the United States was looking at "voluntary resettlement" from the as-Sayliyah camp in Qatar.

"Moving the (camp) population to a third country is a positive resolution that provides safety for these remaining people to start a new life outside of Afghanistan while upholding the safety and security of the American people," a State Department spokesperson said.

Senator Tim Kaine, a Democrat, said that sending Afghan allies of the United States to DR Congo would be "insane."

"We told these Afghans that we would help ensure their safety after they helped us," he said.

"We have an obligation to follow through on our promise because it's the right thing to do, and because going back on our word will only make it harder for us to build the kinds of partnerships we may need to advance our national security in the future."

More than 190,000 Afghans have found new homes in the United States, with the vast majority living without incident, after the Taliban stormed back to power.

The program was initiated by former president Joe Biden but initially backed by many Republicans, who had largely supported the 20-year Afghan war at its onset.

Trump has dismantled the broader US refugee resettlement program and ordered a halt to processing for Afghans after one Afghan, who had worked with US intelligence and suffered post-traumatic stress disorder, shot two National Guard troops in Washington last year, one fatally.

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The Center Square) – Members of Congress debated a bill on Tuesday that would change how the federal government handles air quality monitoring influenced by wildfire mitigation.

House Resolution 6387, known as the FIRE Act, is sponsored by U.S. Reps. Gabe Evans, R-Colorado, and Adam Gray, D-California. The legislation would revise regulations under the Clean Air Act “governing the review and handling of air quality monitoring data influenced by exceptional events or actions to mitigate wildfire risk.”

The House's vote on the bill was postponed to Wednesday following Tuesday's discussion on the floor.

Rep. Gary Palmer, R-Ala., said the bill would mean states wouldn’t be penalized for wildfire mitigation efforts such as prescribed or controlled burns. 

“States currently limit these practices for fear of falling out of attainment with national air quality standards,” he said on the floor. “Unlike wildfires, prescribed burns do not automatically qualify as an exceptional event under the current provisions of the Clean Air Act.”

According to Palmer, only one prescribed burn has qualified as an exceptional event in the last decade.

Despite the bipartisan support for H.R. 6387, several Democrats spoke against it.

Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., called the FIRE Act “yet another dishonest attempt, in my opinion, by Republicans to weaken the Clean Air Act, which would make Americans sicker while health care costs skyrocket.” 

"Republicans are peddling this dangerous bill as an attempt to promote prescribed burns and combat wildfires,” he said. “But as has been true, like for the other dirty bills that we’ve considered over the last week or so, this bill fails to address the stated goal and instead provides overly broad exemptions that will harm American families and children.”

Rep. Maxine Dexter, D-Ore., cited public health concerns for her opposition.

“The FIRE Act undermines a centerpiece of the Clean Air Act: the National Ambient Air Quality Standards program,” she said. “Right now, there are narrow exceptions to the rules that set limits on how polluted our air can be. Republicans want to blow those exceptions wide open.”

Evans, the bill’s primary sponsor, said states like his home of Colorado should not be penalized for smoke and emissions that are outside of their control.

The bill removes those penalties "while still maintaining strong environmental protections and incentivizing good forest management practices to prevent wildfires," he said on the House floor.

“The Front Range of Colorado has consistently struggled to meet ozone attainment levels set by the federal Clean Air Act, despite the fact that data and science show that more that 70% of emissions originate from sources outside of Colorado,” Evans said.

(The Center Square) – A federal grand jury on Tuesday indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center on 11 counts of wire and bank fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering,

FBI Director Kash Patel and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the indictment Tuesday from a grand jury in the middle district of Alabama.

"The SPLC is a nonprofit entity that purports to fight white supremacy and racial hatred by reporting on extremist groups and conducting research to inform law enforcement groups with the goal of dismantling these groups," Blanche said at a news conference. "The SPLC was not dismantling these groups. It was instead manufacturing the extremism it purports to oppose by paying sources to stoke racial hatred."

The Southern Poverty Law Center came to prominence during the civil rights movement in the U.S. for reporting on white supremacist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, but it's been criticized in recent years for identifying a number of Christian organizations as hate groups.

The Tuesday indictment alleges SPLC "secretly funneled more than $3 million in funds to members of white supremacist and extremist groups" to fan the flames.

"It was doing the exact opposite of what its told its donors it was doing, not dismantling extremism, but funding it to carry out this scheme," Blanche said. "SPLC created bank accounts in the name of at least five completely fictitious organizations that had no bona fide employees or legitimate business purpose. The money was passed from SPLC to one sham account, to a second sham account, and then loaded onto prepaid cards to give to the members of the extremist groups. This was designed to shield the source of those funds, and because of this, SPLC is also charged with one count, as I said earlier, of conspiracy to commit money laundering."

Kevin Warsh, Donald Trump's choice to lead the US central bank, was once an inflation foe but has since made the case that interest rates could be lower -- an outcome the president has pushed for.

Trump announced in January that Warsh, 56, was his choice to succeed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

But his pick came after months of personal attacks on Powell, whom he repeatedly slammed as a "moron" for not slashing rates more quickly. 

This fueled widespread fears among investors that the Fed's cherished policy independence is under threat, potentially posing an inflation risk to the world's biggest economy.

At his confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday, Warsh repeatedly vowed to act independently if confirmed to the job.

Nonetheless, Democratic lawmakers questioned his changing views on inflation.

Warsh edged out three other contenders for the Fed job: Fed Governor Christopher Waller, Rick Rieder of the investment behemoth BlackRock, and Trump's top economic adviser Kevin Hassett.

A Fed governor between 2006 and 2011, Warsh was previously a mergers and acquisitions banker at Morgan Stanley.

He later joined former president George W. Bush's administration, serving as a White House economic policy adviser from 2002 to 2006 before being nominated to the Fed's Board of Governors.

During his first term, Trump also considered Warsh for the Fed chair position, but eventually chose Powell instead.

Powell's fall from grace was capped when US prosecutors issued subpoenas against him threatening a criminal indictment, an unprecedented move widely seen as an escalation of Trump's campaign against the central bank.

Trump has also sought to oust Fed governor Lisa Cook over allegations of mortgage fraud, a move viewed as another attack on the bank.

- No longer a 'hawk' –

Warsh's term as a Fed governor saw him work closely with its chief Ben Bernanke on the central bank's policy responses during the financial crisis that rocked the global economy in 2008.

He emerged as a key communications conduit between policymakers and financial markets, even as he became increasingly skeptical of some of the Fed's actions -- including interest rate cuts to help contain the damage.

He resigned as a Fed governor in 2011, several years before his term was set to expire in 2018.

Back then, he was seen as an inflation "hawk," a term describing policymakers more inclined to prioritize stable prices and low inflation.

This is usually done by favoring tighter monetary policy and higher interest rates.

Since then, Warsh has stepped up criticism of the Fed, endorsing policy positions more aligned with Trump and his administration.

He argued in a speech last year that the Fed had strayed from its monetary policy mission into political areas where it lacked expertise.

Warsh also claimed that poor policy choices by the Fed were holding back the US economy from growing further.

In an interview with Fox Business at the time, he backed interest rate cuts to boost growth, even as Fed officials said they needed to evaluate the potential impact of Trump's tariffs barrage on inflation.

Warsh, a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Law School, is married to Jane Lauder, of the family known for the Estee Lauder cosmetics group.

Her billionaire father Ronald Lauder is a longtime associate of Trump's.

Warsh's appointment to the Fed will have to be confirmed by the US Senate, where he will face scrutiny from lawmakers across the political spectrum.

Republican Thom Tillis, who sits on the Senate Banking Committee, has vowed to oppose the confirmation of any Fed nominee until the probe against Powell is resolved.

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(The Center Square) – With hours left before the two-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran was set to expire, President Donald Trump has extended it, citing a “seriously fractured” Iranian government.

Trump did not indicate a timeline for the latest ceasefire. Prior to the Tuesday afternoon announcement, Vice President JD Vance, Middle East Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner were tentatively scheduled to attend a second round of talks in Pakistan.

"Based on the fact that the Government of Iran is seriously fractured, not unexpectedly so and, upon the request of Field Marshal Asim Munir, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, of Pakistan, we have been asked to hold our attack on the country of Iran until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal,” the president said in a statement.

Despite the extended ceasefire, the president remains committed to continuing the naval blockade on Iranian ports, put in place over two weeks ago.

Trump indicated that the U.S. stands “ready and able” during the ceasefire, waiting for a unified proposal that can be submitted and “discussions are concluded, one way or the other.”

In the lead-up to the extended ceasefire, the president accused Iran of violating the ceasefire “numerous times” on a Truth Social post Tuesday morning.

The president told CNBC that the U.S. was prepared to carry out further strikes if a deal wasn’t struck, while acknowledging the Iranians could be using the ceasefire to restock their arsenal.

“They probably have done a little bit of restocking. We caught a ship yesterday that had some things on it, which wasn’t very nice. A gift from China, perhaps, I don’t know. But I was a little surprised, because I have a very good relationship, and I thought I had an understanding with President Xi,” the president said during his phone interview with the network.

The ship named Touska was intercepted Sunday in the Gulf of Oman after the U.S. Navy “gave them fair warning to stop,” according to the president. Trump claims the “nearly 900 feet long” ship attempted to get through the naval blockade put in place over a week ago at the direction of Trump.

A U.S. Navy destroyer intercepted and seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship en route to an Iranian port originating from China, raising concerns that China could be resupplying the Islamic Republic with weapons.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Navy intercepted and boarded a “stateless” sanctioned boat in the Indo-Pacific region, according to the Department of War.

“As we have made clear, we will pursue global maritime enforcement efforts to disrupt illicit networks and interdict sanctioned vessels providing material support to Iran,” the DOW wrote in a social media post.

U.S. Central Command has said since the start of the Naval blockade on Iranian ports, the U.S. has intercepted 28 vessels to “turn around or return to port.”

(The Center Square) — Lawmakers and industry leaders proposed implementing artificial intelligence to address gaps in financial literacy across the country.

The lawmakers spoke at Axios’ Financial Confidence event in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. Reps. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., and Young Kim, R-Calif., said artificial intelligence would be essential to educating the public about financial responsibility.

“I think a lot of Americans have no access to financial assistance and it’s a huge issue because you leave some out and they don’t get the right advice or any advice whatsoever,” Gottheimer said.

Both lawmakers said artificial intelligence chatbots can act as personal financial advisors for people who would otherwise be unable to pay for the assistance. Kim cited ChatGPT as a source to obtain more information on tax refunds secured through the One Big Beautiful Bill.

“It will tell you how to invest,” Kim said. “It’s a free advisor!”

However, both lawmakers also warned against giving artificial intelligence models too much knowledge about personal financial information.

Gottheimer called for greater transparency and disclosure requirements from banks that use artificial intelligence, and when the tools are used to give financial advice.

“The key is being transparent, knowing there’s not some sort of big company getting some of a product that you’re not aware of,” Gottheimer said.

He pointed to artificial intelligence being used in the workforce as well. Gottheimer said AI will both create new jobs and allow for greater workforce training.

“Making sure that more people are able to have tools for the future so that they’re ready for whatever’s coming at you,” Gottheimer said.

Kim also warned of AI’s increased use to commit fraud and scamming schemes. She pointed to the PACE Act, legislation she introduced on Tuesday to allow payment companies to get approved for federal registration, cutting out other companies that handle payment processes in between.

“This means we're going to build a faster, more efficient, more secure payment system that works better for everyday Americans,” Kim said.

She also called for greater rewards for people who make timely payments for goods and services. She said individuals who pay off credit card balances on time should be rewarded, rather than rewarded for going into greater debt.

John Hope Bryant, founder of Operation HOPE, spoke about the Trump administration’s recently unveiled Trump accounts.

The "Trump account" initiative was included in the "Big Beautiful Bill" signed into law in July 2025. It provides a $1,000 contribution from the U.S. Treasury Department to a tax-free account for babies born between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2028. The program is set to launch on July 4.

Bryant said the administration’s idea is helpful for building financial literacy, but said it should be more politically neutral.

“The best way for the administration to get credit for it is not to try to get credit for it,” Bryant said. “If it has no edge attached to it and it just is something for everybody.”

Kim celebrated the Trump accounts and called for Congress to codify the program into law. She said the accounts can help educate students about financial literacy and help families manage their investments.

“We encourage students to be better incentivized to learn about how can I maximize those funds when I turn 18 and be able to invest those funds directly,” Kim said. “If something like this Trump account is working really well, why not make it into a permanent program?”

Former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet, a candidate for UN secretary-general, said Tuesday she hoped the world is finally "ready" for a woman in the position.

Since the United Nations was founded after World War II, all nine UN chiefs have been men, although many countries have advocated for the appointment of a woman.

In 2016, despite several female candidates, Antonio Guterres of Portugal won the race.

"If I am polite, I would say the world was not prepared for it. Is it prepared now? I hope so," Bachelet, 74, told reporters after a three-hour hearing before member states.

"It will be a very good signal," she said. "It could get hope for many people."

In a world ravaged by wars, the candidate pleaded with member states to rebuild trust in the UN, particularly by continuing the organization's reform amid a political and financial crisis. 

She also advocated for a secretary-general who would be "present in the field," somebody "who has the moral voice" and a "diplomatic stature that can be heard" by powerful states.

While distrust of the UN is often illustrated by the Security Council's paralysis on many pressing issues, she acknowledged that she had no "magic formula" to change things. 

"I don't have a magic potion that I can give to member states" -- especially, she said, the five permanent, veto-wielding members of the Security Council -- so that "everybody's friends." 

Three other candidates -- Argentina's Rafael Grossi, Costa Rica's Rebeca Grynspan and Senegal's Macky Sall — will be interviewed by member states on Tuesday and Wednesday, hoping to secure what General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock described as "one of the toughest jobs in the world."

When asked what makes her the best candidate to succeed Guterres on January 1, 2027, Bachelet emphasized her "extensive experience." As for questions about her age, she said, "I have accumulative youth."

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The war in the Middle East has boosted demand to move vital cargo through the Panama Canal to such an extent that one vessel carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) paid $4 million to skip the line and avoid a wait that can take up to five days, according to an official report.

A surge in such payments has been recorded since the US-Israeli attacks on Iran began February 28, which led to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for one-fifth of the world's oil and natural gas exports from Gulf countries.

To meet fuel demand, Asia's refineries are choosing to buy oil or gas from the United States and ship it through the transoceanic waterway instead of purchasing from Gulf countries who rely on the Strait of Hormuz, according to reports from the Panama Canal Authority. 

The average number of ships passing through the canal on a daily basis has "remained strong," the authority told AFP in a statement Tuesday, with 34 ships in January and 37 ships in March. Some days exceeded 40 transits.

"The increase reflects changes in global trade patterns and market conditions, including geopolitical factors affecting key routes," the authority said.

Ships transiting the canal book their passage well in advance, and ships without bookings wait an average of five days to get through, but there is an auction where last-minute transits can be purchased.

The most recent auction included a $4 million bid for an LNG vessel, and in recent weeks two oil tankers exceeded bids of $3 million, the authority said. 

Past average auction prices between October and February stood at around $130,000, and rose to $385,000 in March and April.

Five percent of global maritime trade passes through the Panama Canal, and its main users are the US and China. The route primarily connects the US East Coast with China, South Korea and Japan.

In the first half of the 2026 fiscal year, which runs October to September, the Panamanian waterway recorded passage of 6,288 ships, a year-on-year increase of 3.7 percent, according to official figures.

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Dirk Nowitzki and Sue Bird were among eight new inductees into the FIBA Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Berlin on Tuesday, which also featured the draw for the 2026 Women's World Cup.

Alongside Nowitzki and Bird, Celine Dumerc, Hedo Turkoglu, Clarisse Machanguana, Wang Zhizhi, Ismenia Pauchard and coach Ludwik Mietta-Mikolajewicz were also inducted.

Nowitzki, the 2007 NBA MVP and 2011 NBA champion with the Dallas Mavericks, thanked "special human being" Holger Geschwindner, his long-time coach and mentor. 

"Harry Potter had Dumbledore, Alexander the Great had Aristotle, and I had Holger."

In a career played in the United States and Russia at club level, Bird won five Olympic gold medals and four World Championships with the US women's team. 

Bird, who retired in 2022 aged 41, told reporters: "When you start playing as a kid, you're not thinking about fame, that's not the destination. 

"But when you get here and you look back on your career, you can see what a ride it's been."

A rematch between 2022 champions the United States and runners-up China headlined the group-stage draw for the 2026 Women's World Cup, to be held in Berlin in September. 

Italy and Czech Republic join the USA and China in Group D. In Group A, hosts Germany take on Euros runners-up Spain, Japan and Mali. 

European champions Belgium face Asian champions Australia, Puerto Rico and Turkey. 

France face African champions Nigeria, South Korea and Hungary. 

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