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WORLD NEWS Saturday 31 OctOber 2020
Mexican president taps loyalist as new security chief

By MARÍA VERZA ment secretary.
Associated Press In 2006, Mexico City's then
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexi- mayor, Marcelo Ebrard,
can President Andrés Man- named Rodríguez as co-
uel López Obrador pro- ordinator of the capital's
posed a former journalist security cabinet. Ebrard is
and long-time Mexico City now López Obrador's for-
government bureaucrat eign affairs minister and
to be the country's new one of his closest collabo-
security chief Friday at a rators.
time when the country is on Rodríguez continued to
track to set a new annual hold posts in the capital's
homicide record. government until López
It was not immediately Obrador brought her into
clear if Rosa Icela Rodrí- the federal government
guez would accept the this summer.
post. López Obrador said He called Rodríguez "a
he had not asked her in woman who came up from
advance and she was cur- below."
rently in quarantine, recov- Ana Vanessa Cárdenas
ering from COVID-19. Zanatta, a political science
Rodríguez would replace professor at Monterrey
Alfonso Durazo, who offi- Technological and Ana-
cially resigned Friday to run Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador gives his daily, morning news conference at the huac universities in Mexico
for governor of the northern presidential palace, Palacio Nacional, in Mexico City, Friday, Oct. 16, 2020. City, applauded the deci-
state of Sonora. She would Associated Press sion to name a woman to
be the first woman to take co City government, to be the corruption in the ports, central Mexico state of San the post. "I wish it was one
over coordination of the in charge of the country's the contraband, the in- Luis Potosi. She studied as a with more experience and
security cabinet. ports and merchant ma- troduction of drugs, all of journalist and worked for La capability than loyalty."
The tapping of Rodríguez rine. It was unclear at the that," López Obrador said Jornada, a national news- It appeared López Obra-
was unexpected. Hers was time how long that would Friday. He said she helped paper before embarking dor was prioritizing personal
not one of the names cir- last because the president develop a diagnosis of the on a two-decade career in loyalty over finding some-
culating in recent weeks as was pushing constitutional situation in the ports that government. one who could reliably do
leading contenders for the reforms that would allow was used in preparing the When López Obrador was the job, said Cárdenas,
post. the navy to take over the reforms approved by the Mexico City mayor from who specializes in security
In late July, López Obra- ports. senate this week giving re- 2000 to 2005, Rodríguez issues. "We continue down
dor had named Rodríguez, "I needed her to impose or- sponsibility to the navy. held posts in public security the path of improvisation,"
then secretary of the Mexi- der on the ports ... to end Rodríguez comes from the and was social develop- she said.q

Qatar: Officials behind women exams referred to prosecutors

By JON GAMBRELL as the "attempted murder" statement said. "Qatar is
Associated Press of the child. fully committed to the safe-
DUBAI, United Arab Emir- "The subsequent proce- ty and security of all travel-
ates (AP) — Qatar said Fri- dures taken by the authori- ers."
day it referred officials at its ties at the airport, including Sheikh Khalid later wrote on
international airport to pros- examining a number of fe- Twitter: "I assure you that we
ecutors for possible charg- male passengers, revealed will hold those responsible
es after women aboard that standard procedures for these acts to account."
Qatar Airways flights faced were violated," the state- The physical examinations
forced vaginal examina- ment said. "Those responsi- of passengers bound for
tions following the discov- ble for these violations and Sydney and nine other un-
ery of an abandoned new- illegal actions have been named destinations trig-
born baby. referred to the Public Pros- gered outrage in Austra-
The statement comes as ecution Office." lia. The government de-
the Australian government The statement did not elab- nounced the searches as This image made from the Oct. 2, 2020, surveillance camera
has expressed outrage and orate or identify who had inappropriate and beyond footage obtained by the website Doha News shows officials
union workers have threat- given the order to conduct circumstances in which the care for an abandoned baby at Hamad International Airport in
ened not to service Qatar the exams. It said an investi- women could give free and Doha, Qatar.
Airways aircraft in Sydney gation by Qatari authorities informed consent. Rights Associated Press
over the Oct. 2 incident. continued and that Sheikh activists say such exams peat of this disturbing epi- In Qatar, like much of the
Australia also represents Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdu- conducted under duress sode." Middle East, sex and child-
a crucial route for Qatar laziz Al Thani, the country's amount to sexual assault. "The preliminary investiga- birth outside of marriage
Airways, the state-owned prime minister and interior Australian Foreign Affairs tion of Qatar into this inci- are criminalized. Migrant
long-haul carrier based at minister, offered his coun- Minister Marise Payne on dent has shown illegal ac- workers in the past have
Hamad International Air- try's "sincerest apology" to Friday described Qatar's tions occurred," she said hidden pregnancies and
port in Doha. the women forced to un- actions after the incident in a statement. "It is an im- tried to travel abroad to
In a statement, Qatar's dergo the exams. as "consistent with our ex- portant step that these of- give birth, and others have
Government Communica- "What took place is wholly pectations for contrition, fenses have been referred abandoned their babies
tion Office described the inconsistent with Qatar's accountability and deter- to the Public Prosecution anonymously to avoid
abandoning of the baby culture and values," the mination to avoid any re- Office." imprisonment.q