- Grammy-winning Cissy Houston, mother of Whitney, dies at 91
- UN biodiversity summit in Colombia aims to turn words into action
- Georgia Supreme Court reinstates six-week abortion ban
- 'Dark day': Victims mourned around the globe on Oct. 7 anniversary
- On attacks anniversary, Israel fights multi-front war
- Mexican mayor murdered days after taking office
- Intensifying to Category 5, Hurricane Milton targets Florida
- Mission to probe smashed asteroid launches despite hurricane
- Biden, Harris mark Oct. 7 with call for Mideast peace
- Dupont set for Toulouse return after post-Olympic holiday
- French rugby bosses tighten discipline after nightmare Argentina tour
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street slips
- Visitors to get rare view of Rome's Trevi Fountain
- Europe's asteroid mission Hera launches despite hurricane
- Man City and Premier League both claim victory in legal case
- Deschamps delight as 'light back on' for Pogba after doping ban
- Biden, Harris urge Mideast peace on Oct. 7 anniversary
- Neeskens, tough midfielder in Cruyff's Ajax and Dutch teams
- UN warns world's water cycle becoming ever more erratic
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street retreats
- Ex-Dutch football star Johan Neeskens dies
- Man Utd battling to improve fortunes, says Evans
- What is microRNA? Nobel-winning discovery explained
- Masood, Abdullah centuries lift Pakistan to 328-4 in first England Test
- Hurricane Milton strengthens fast, threatens Mexico, Florida
- Tunisia's President Saied set for landslide election win
- Barca hoping to return to Camp Nou 'by end of year'
- Trump to open second golf course at Scotland resort in summer 2025
- Super-sub Jhon Duran rewarded with new Aston Villa deal
- US duo win Nobel for gene regulation breakthrough
- 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
RBGPF | -1.97% | 58.94 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.53% | 24.57 | $ | |
SCS | -0.15% | 12.95 | $ | |
GSK | -0.49% | 38.63 | $ | |
NGG | -1.56% | 65.48 | $ | |
RELX | -0.54% | 46.04 | $ | |
RYCEF | -1.45% | 6.88 | $ | |
VOD | 0.31% | 9.69 | $ | |
RIO | -0.11% | 69.62 | $ | |
BTI | -0.26% | 35.2 | $ | |
AZN | -0.78% | 76.87 | $ | |
BCC | 1.68% | 141.27 | $ | |
JRI | -0.76% | 13.18 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.09% | 24.79 | $ | |
BCE | -0.54% | 33.53 | $ | |
BP | 0.78% | 33.14 | $ |
Mexico's lower chamber passes controversial judicial reforms
Mexico's lower chamber approved a controversial judicial reform plan early Wednesday, passing the measure after a marathon session in a sports gym as protesters blocked access to Congress.
The most contentious of the reforms proposed by outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador would have judges selected by popular vote, prompting outcry from Mexico's opposition while alarming the United States and international investors.
A landslide win in June elections gave Lopez Obrador's Morena party and its allies the two-thirds majority in the lower house needed to approve constitutional reforms, and nearly the same proportion in the Senate.
The measure was approved by a sufficient supermajority early Wednesday morning, after which several of its articles must be further debated before it moves to the Senate.
Ahead of the debate on Tuesday, hundreds of judicial employees blocked streets leading to the Chamber of Deputies with cars, and placed tape across roads to prevent pedestrians from passing.
The protests forced lawmakers to meet in a sports center in the east of Mexico City instead.
Lopez Obrador, whose six-year term began in 2018, argues that the judiciary serves the interests of the political and economic elite.
The popular leader has often criticized the Supreme Court, which impeded some of his proposed reforms in areas such as energy and security.
The plan is supported by president-elect Claudia Sheinbaum, a Morena party member who takes office on October 1.
It has sparked diplomatic tensions with the United States and upset financial markets, causing a sharp fall in the peso.
US Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar has warned that the changes would "threaten" a trade relationship between the neighboring countries that "relies on investors' confidence in Mexico's legal framework".
Canada, also a member of the major free trade partnership with the United States and Mexico, has said investors are worried.
In response, Lopez Obrador has announced a "pause" in relations with the US and Canadian embassies, criticizing the ambassadors' statements as "interventionist".
D.Kaufman--AMWN