- Masood hits first ton for four years to power Pakistan to 233-1
- Fritz wins delayed match to reach Shanghai Masters third round
- Naomi Osaka pulls out of Japan Open with back injury
- Weather may delay launch of mission to study deflected asteroid
- China to flesh out economic stimulus plans after bumper rally
- Artist Marina Abramovic hopes first China show offers tech respite
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on US jobs data
- Pakistan 122-1 at lunch in first England Test
- Kazakhs approve plan for first nuclear power plant
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- 'Second family': tennis stars hunt winning formula with new coaches
- Philippines, South Korea agree to deepen maritime cooperation
- Mexico mayor murdered days after taking office
- Sardinia's sheep farmers battle bluetongue as climate warms
- Japan govt admits doctoring 'untidy' cabinet photo
- Israel marks first anniversary of Hamas's October 7 attack
- Darvish tames Ohtani as Padres thrash Dodgers
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Family affair as LeBron, Bronny James make Lakers bow
- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
- As Great Salt Lake dries, Utah Republicans pardon Trump climate skepticism
- Amazon activist warns of 'critical situation' ahead of UN forum
- Mourners pay tribute to latest victims of deadly Channel crossing
- Tunisia incumbent Saied set to win presidential vote: exit polls
- Phillies win thriller to level Mets series
- Yu bags first PGA Tour win with playoff win
- PSG held by Nice to leave Monaco clear at top of Ligue 1
- AC Milan fall at Fiorentina after De Gea's penalty heroics
- Lewandowski treble for leaders Barca as Atletico held
- Fresh Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Sucic stunner earns Real Sociedad draw against Atletico
- PSG draw with Nice, fail to reclaim top spot in Ligue 1
- Gudmundsson downs AC Milan after De Gea's penalty heroics for Fiorentina
- 'Yes' vote prevails in Kazakhstan nuclear plant vote: TV
- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- Lewandowski hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- 'Nothing gets in way of team,' says Celtics' MVP hopeful Tatum
- India maintain Pakistan stranglehold as Windies cruise at Women's T20 World Cup
- 'We will win!': Mozambique's ruling party confident at final vote rally
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Florida braces for Milton, FEMA head slams 'dangerous' Helene misinformation
- Postecoglou slams 'unacceptable' Spurs after 'terrible' loss at Brighton
- Marmoush double denies Bayern outright Bundesliga top spot
- Rallies worldwide call for Gaza, Lebanon ceasefire
- Maresca hails Chelsea's 'fighting' spirit after draw with 10-man Forest
- New 'Joker' film, a dark musical, tops N.America box office
- Man Utd stalemate keeps Ten Hag in danger, Spurs rocked by Brighton
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Vikings hold off Jets in London to stay unbeaten
Little oxygen and low pay: Venezuela's risky world of small-scale mining
Henry Alviarez says he began small-scale coal mining in Venezuela's western Tachira state out of "necessity" due to the country's ongoing economic crisis which has deepened during the coronavirus pandemic.
He leaves home early in the morning on motorbike for the 45-minute journey to the Los Parra mine in Lobatera, near the border with Colombia.
The Andean town has 50 small-scale mines run by 22 cooperatives, each made up of eight to 10 workers who earn no more than $120 a month.
From Lobatera, the mined coal is moved via clandestine routes over the border to Colombia or the neighboring Merida state to be used primarily for generating electricity.
The lack of oxygen deep inside the mines and little emergency equipment, makes for precarious and "exhausting" work conditions, says Alviarez.
"There are many blacksmiths and mechanics here but we cannot work in those" professions, he adds, citing the unprecedented economic crisis that has plunged Venezuela into an eight-year recession and four years of hyperinflation.
Bare-chested, pickaxe in hand, and helmet with a torch on his head, Alviarez quickly becomes covered in a mixture of sweat and black streaks.
He tries in vain to wipe off the coal marks with a green cloth.
All three of his children have left the country, one each to Chile, Colombia and Ecuador.
"Thank goodness they've left," he said, adding that their only options in Lobatera would have been to join him in the mines.
"Who would want to work here?"
Around 500 families rely on the Lobatera mines, which are located in a mountainous area only accessible by dirt roads.
Temperatures in the area can soar, with the mining pit often the only shelter from the sun.
"It's a pretty risky job because we have to use a lot of wood" to hold up the tunnels "and pray to God," said Jose Alberto Trejo, 38, who used to work in construction before subsequently finding employment in Colombian mines due to the lack of job opportunities.
- Fears of being 'left out' -
On average, each miner in Los Parra can extract one ton a day, although there is no reliable data on the total production from the 50 mines in Lobatera.
"The price of coal is low and has fallen over the years, which makes it tougher to work these days," said Pablo Jose Vivas, 61.
The miners take their hauls to the mine director who sells it on for $50 a ton.
The profits are shared out between the members of the cooperative.
Vivas, who has worked in mining for more than 20 years, picks up a piece of mined rock and holds it between his blackened fingers.
The rock shines in the torchlight that gives it a purple hue, like a precious stone.
The miners work in teams. One smashes the rocks with a pickaxe, another fills the wheelbarrow and a third carts it out of the mine.
Outside, several small piles of coal await the arrival of a truck.
Tachira governor Freddy Bernal, a loyalist of President Nicolas Maduro, is hoping to encourage foreign investment in Lobatera from Venezuela's allies Russia, China or even India.
"That would generate many jobs and a significant economic impact," he said, adding that it would ensure families who have subsisted on mining for more than 40 years would not be left destitute.
But the miners are far from convinced.
"That would end the basic job because they would arrive with new technologies that we don't know how to use," said Vivas.
"Many of us would be left out."
Y.Nakamura--AMWN