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Dhaka — Bangladeshi Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus vowed Sunday to overcome scores of court cases that his supporters say are politically motivated to achieve his environmental and economic policies. "Our dream is to create a new world," 83-year-old Yunus told reporters outside court, after he was formally granted bail in his appeal against a six-month prison sentence in a case widely criticized by human rights groups. Yunus is credited with lifting millions out of poverty with his pioneering microfinance bank but has incurred the wrath of Bangladesh's longtime Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has accused him of "sucking blood" from the poor. Hasina, who was sworn in for a fifth term this month after a landslide victory in an election boycotted by the opposition, has made several scathing verbal attacks against the internationally respected 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner. His conviction on January 1 related to labor law violations, but lawyers said Yunus faces at least 170 other cases, including major corruption charges that could see him jailed for years if found guilty. He denies all wrongdoing. Yunus, in an emotionally charged speech, said he had dedicated his life to supporting those most in need and was "committed" to continuing his work. His "Three Zero" plan is aimed to slash carbon emissions, end unemployment and cut poverty. "We have chased a dream," Yunus said. "We have incurred the annoyance of someone because of chasing this dream," he added, without specifying names. In the most recent case, Yunus and three colleagues from Grameen Telecom, one of the firms he founded, were accused of violating labor laws when they failed to create a workers' welfare fund in the company. Yunus alleged the case was brought by a government department, but Minister of Transport Obaidul Quader said the "case was filed by the workers." Hasina has rejected calls to pardon Yunus and said instead he should seek forgiveness from his employees. 

Istanbul — Two masked assailants attacked a church in Istanbul during Sunday services, killing one person, Turkish officials said. According to a statement posted on X by Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, the armed assailants attacked the Santa Maria Church in the Sariyer district at 11:40 a.m. local time. He did not specify what kind of weapons were used or whether anyone else was wounded. Yerlikaya condemned the attack and said authorities are working on capturing the assailants. An investigation has been opened.

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Paris — Two protesters on Sunday hurled soup at the bullet-proof glass protecting Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" in Paris, demanding the right to "healthy and sustainable food", an AFP journalist saw.  The action, which comes as French farmers protest across the country, is the latest in a string of similar attacks against artworks to demand more action to protect the planet. Two women on Sunday morning flung streams of red and orange soup onto the glass protecting the smiling lady to gasps from the crowd in the French capital's Louvre museum. "What is more important? Art or the right to healthy and sustainable food," they asked, standing in front of the painting and speaking in turn. "Your agricultural system is sick. Our farmers are dying at work," they added, before security staff placed black screens in front of them and evacuated the room. A group called Riposte Alimentaire ("Food counterattack") claimed responsibility for the stunt. In a statement sent to AFP, they said the soup throwing marked the "start of a campaign of civil resistance with the clear demand... of the social security of sustainable food." The action comes as French farmers have been protesting for days to demand better pay, taxes and regulations. The government has been trying to keep discontent among the agricultural workers from spreading months ahead of European Parliament elections, which are seen as a key test for President Emmanuel Macron's government. Prime Minister Gabriel Attal on Sunday scrambled to announce new measures as some farmers threatened to block roads into the capital on Monday. Custard pie The action at the museum follows a series of such stunts by climate activists against world-famous paintings to demand more action to phase out fossil fuels and prevent global warming. In October 2022, two activists from the Just Stop Oil group grabbed headlines when they splashed tomato soup over the glass protecting Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh's "Sunflowers" at the National Gallery in London. They complained that art lovers were more concerned with paintings than the planet. The "Mona Lisa" has been attacked several times before. A man threw a custard pie at her in May 2022, also saying artists were not focusing enough on "the planet." Her thick glass casing ensured she came to no harm. She has been behind glass since a Bolivian man threw a rock at her in December 1956, damaging her left elbow. The glass was made bulletproof in 2005. In 2009, a woman threw an empty teacup at the painting, which slightly scratched the case. 

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Helsinki, Finland — Finns headed to the polls Sunday to elect a new president, an office whose importance has grown on increased tensions with neighboring Russia since the invasion of Ukraine. While the president's powers are limited, the head of state -- who also acts as supreme commander of Finland's armed forces -- helps direct foreign policy in collaboration with the government, meaning the changing geopolitical landscape in Europe will be the main concern for the winner. Two top politicians lead the pack of nine candidates: former conservative prime minister Alexander Stubb, and ex-foreign minister Pekka Haavisto of the Green Party who is running as an independent. Just behind the frontrunners are far-right Finns Party candidate Jussi Halla-aho, who experts believe could also make it to the second round. The polls opened at 9 a.m. (0700 GMT), and will close at 8 p.m. Voter Hannu Kuusitie told AFP the country needs a president with "leadership" and "humanity." "Of course, he must also be tough when necessary," he added. Relations between Moscow and Helsinki deteriorated following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, prompting Finland to drop decades of military nonalignment and join NATO in April 2023. Russia, with which Finland shares a 1,340-kilometer border, swiftly warned of "countermeasures." Independent and ally By August 2023, Finland observed an influx of migrants entering through its eastern border without visas. Helsinki claimed Moscow was pushing the migrants in a hybrid attack to destabilize it, and Finland closed the eastern border in November. "We are in a situation now where Russia and especially [Russian President] Vladimir Putin is using humans as a weapon," Stubb said Thursday evening during a final televised debate. "It's a migrant issue, it's a ruthless, cynical measure. And in that case we have to put Finland's security first," he added. Main rival Haavisto stressed that Finland had to "send Russia a very clear message that this can't go on." In the post-Cold War period, Helsinki maintained good relations with Moscow. Incumbent President Sauli Niinisto -- who is stepping down after serving two six-year terms -- once prided himself on his close ties with Putin before becoming one of his most trenchant critics. Against this backdrop, all the presidential candidates champion both Finland's independence and its new role as a NATO member, said Hanna Wass, vice dean at the Faculty of Social Science at the University of Helsinki. "They all seem to have a strong idea emphasizing self-sufficiency, in that in the future Finland should be in charge of its defense independently and also be an active contributor in building a shared European defense and Nordic cooperation," Wass told AFP. With such similar stances, the election will focus more on the candidates' personalities, according to Tuomas Forsberg, professor of foreign policy at the University of Tampere. "This will be more about electing an individual, where you look at the person's credibility and reliability and perceived qualities as a leader of foreign policy," Forsberg said. Similar views A poll published by public broadcaster Yle gave Stubb a first round lead with 27% of the vote, Haavisto in second on 23% and Halla-aho 18%. Stubb was prime minister of Finland between 2014 and 2015, while Pekka Haavisto has held several ministerial posts. "They both have broad experience in both domestic and foreign politics, which voters seem to value the most," Wass said. While sharing similar political views, Haavisto and Stubb represent different backgrounds, Forsberg noted. "Their background and values ... are seen as quite different because Alex is more a representative of the right and Haavisto of the left, even if Haavisto has tried to underline that there is nothing red about him, that he has taken the middle road as a Green," Forsberg said. In a second voting round between the two -- which will be held on February 11 unless a candidate receives more than 50% -- the election debates could be decisive, he added.

WASHINGTON — U.S. negotiators are making progress on a potential agreement under which Israel would pause military operations against Hamas in Gaza for two months in exchange for the release of more than 100 hostages who were captured in the October 7 attack on Israel, according to two senior administration officials. The officials, who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive negotiations, said Saturday that emerging terms of the yet-to-be sealed deal would play out over two phases. In the first phase, fighting would stop to allow for the remaining women, elderly and wounded hostages to be released by Hamas. Israel and Hamas would then aim to work out details during the first 30 days of the pause for a second phase in which Israeli soldiers and civilian men would be released. The emerging deal also calls for Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza. While the proposed deal would not end the war, U.S. officials are hopeful that such an agreement could lay the groundwork for a durable resolution to the conflict. The New York Times first reported on Saturday that progress has been made towards an agreement for a pause in fighting in exchange for the remaining hostages. CIA director Bill Burns is expected to discuss the contours of the emerging agreement when he meets on Sunday in France with David Barnea, the head of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel for talks centered on the hostage negotiations, according to three people familiar with the scheduled meeting who were not authorized to comment publicly. President Joe Biden on Friday spoke by phone with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Qatar's ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani. Calls with both leaders focused on the hostage situation. "Both leaders affirmed that a hostage deal is central to establishing a prolonged humanitarian pause in the fighting and ensure additional life-saving humanitarian assistance reaches civilians in need throughout Gaza," the White House said in a statement about Biden's call with the Qatari leader. "They underscored the urgency of the situation, and welcomed the close cooperation among their teams to advance recent discussions." Burns heads to France for the high-level talks after White House senior adviser Brett McGurk traveled to the Mideast this week for talks on the hostage situation. If Burns sees progress in his talks in France, Biden may dispatch McGurk back to the Mideast quickly to try to complete an agreement. McGurk during his talks this week was also laying the groundwork for another trip to the region by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who next week could make his fifth trip to the Middle East since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October. The White House and CIA have yet to publicly confirm Burns' meeting in France and administration officials have been guarded that a deal can quickly be brokered. "We should not expect any imminent developments," National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Friday. Biden and his aides are keenly aware that the mounting Palestinian death toll, and widespread suffering in Gaza, is frustrating some in his Democratic base, who want to see him put more pressure on Israel to end the war. Democrats in Michigan have warned the White House that Biden's handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict could cost him enough support within the state's sizable Arab American community to sway the outcome of the 2024 election in a state that could be key to whether he wins a second term. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly vowed to continue the offensive until complete victory over Hamas is achieved. Netanyahu has faced increasing pressure from the families of many hostages who are demanding a deal to win their loved ones' release. The October 7 attack killed some 1,200 people in Israel, and Hamas and other militants abducted around 250 people. Around 100 hostages were freed under a weeklong cease-fire deal in November in exchange for the release of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Around 130 remain captive, but a number have since been confirmed dead. Hamas has previously said it will free more captives only in exchange for an end to the war and the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners.

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COPENHAGEN, Denmark — A Danish report on Thursday said adoptions of children from South Korea to Denmark in the 1970s and 1980s was "characterized by systematic illegal behavior" in the Asian country. These violations, the report said, made it "possible to change information about a child's background and adopt a child without the knowledge of the biological parents." The report was the latest in a dark chapter of international adoptions. In 2013, the government in Seoul started requiring foreign adoptions to go through family courts. The move ended the decadeslong policy of allowing private agencies to dictate child relinquishments, transfer of custodies and emigration. The Danish Appeals Board, which supervises international adoptions, said there was "an unfortunate incentive structure where large sums of money were transferred between the Danish and South Korean organizations" over the adoptions. The 129-page report, published by an agency under Denmark's ministry of social affairs, focused on the period from January 1, 1970, to December 31, 1989. A total of 7,220 adoptions were carried out from South Korea to Denmark during the two decades. The report based its findings on 60 cases from the three privately run agencies in Denmark — DanAdopt, AC Boernehjaelp and Terres des Hommes — that handled adoptions from South Korea. The first two merged to become Danish International Adoption while the third agency closed its adoptions in 1999. The agency wrote that two of the agencies — DanAdopt and AC Boernehjaelp — "were aware of this practice" of changing information about the child's background. The report was made after a number of issues raised by the organization Danish Korean Rights Group. In 2022, Peter Møller, the head of the rights group, also submitted documents at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Seoul. "Danish organizations continuously expressed a desire to maintain a high number of adoptions of children with a specific age and health profile from South Korea," the report said. The South Korean agencies that sent kids to Denmark were Holt Children's Services and the Korea Social Service. The two South Korean agencies and that country's Ministry of Health and Welfare, the main government agency that handles adoption, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Boonyoung Han of the Danish activist group, told The Associated Press that an independent investigation was still needed because with such a probe "we expect that those responsible will finally be held accountable for their actions." In the late 1970s and mid-1980s, South Korean agencies aggressively solicited newborns or young children from hospitals and orphanages, often in exchange for payments, and operated maternity homes where single mothers were pressured to give away their babies. Adoption workers toured factory areas and low-income neighborhoods in search of struggling families who could be persuaded to give away their children. On January 16, Denmark's only overseas adoption agency DIA said that it was "winding down" its facilitation of international adoptions after a government agency raised concerns over fabricated documents and procedures that obscured children's biological origins abroad. In recent years, DIA had mediated adoptions in the Philippines, India, South Africa, Thailand, Taiwan and the Czech Republic. For years, adoptees in Europe, the United States and Australia have raised alarms about fraud, including babies who were falsely registered as abandoned orphans when they had living relatives in their native countries.

albany, new york — A performer who appeared naked in a show by world-renowned performance artist Marina Abramovic at New York City's Museum of Modern Art is suing the museum, saying it failed to take action after he was sexually assaulted multiple times by attendees during the performances nearly 14 years ago.  The suit was filed in Manhattan on Monday under the New York Adult Survivors Act, a special state law that created a yearslong suspension of the usual time limit for accusers to sue. Although the law expired last year, the suit says the parties agreed to extend the window closing.  John Bonafede alleges in the suit he was sexually assaulted by five public onlookers who attended a show he was hired by the museum to perform in as part of Abramovic's retrospective "The Artist Is Present."  Email messages sent to the museum this week were not returned. Abramovic is not named as a defendant and did not immediately return a request for comment.  The work, titled "Imponderabilia," saw Bonafede and another performer standing face-to-face with each other in a doorway about 18 inches (45.7 centimeters) apart, fully nude, silent, and still. The exhibition, which ran from March 14, 2010, through May 31, 2010, was curated by the museum in a way that encouraged visitors to pass in between the performers as they went from one gallery to the next, the suit alleges.  Mostly older men involved, says suit The people who assaulted Bonafede were mostly older men, the suit says. One of the perpetrators was a corporate member of the museum, who was ultimately kicked out and revoked of his membership, according to the suit.  During the final weeks of the exhibition, another attendee non-consensually groped Bonafede's private areas three times before they were finally stopped by security, the suit said.  Bonafede reported four of the individuals to the museum staff and security immediately, according to the suit, while the fifth was witnessed personally by the museum security staff.  Female performer also assaulted, suit says At one point, Bonafede also witnessed a public attendee sexually assault his female co-performer by kissing her on the mouth without her consent, the suit said.  Prior to the exhibition, the performers had voiced their concerns about nude performers being subject to harassment in a letter to the museum during contract negotiations, the suit said.  Once it began, several news outlets including The New York Times reported on the inappropriate behavior by visitors, and the sexual assaults on "Imponderabilia" were discussed within New York City's art and performance communities, the suit says.  Despite the museum having knowledge of the issue, it failed to take action to protect the performers and prevent further sexual assaults, such as telling visitors ahead of time that touching was not allowed, the lawsuit said.  About a month into the exhibition, the museum created a handbook outlining protocols for the performers to alert museum staff if they felt unsafe or were inappropriately touched.  Bonafede agreed to continue the performance after he was assaulted because of the "tough it out" culture of the exhibition, the suit says, but suffered for years from emotional distress, and his mental health, body image and career were damaged as a result.  The Associated Press generally does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly. Bonafede gave consent through his lawyer, Jordan Fletcher.  Fletcher declined to comment further on the suit, but said they will be seeking a jury trial and compensatory damages. 

Jakarta, Indonesia — Indonesia's election lineup next month will be dominated by men, but a number of women are trying to break into a political scene long overshadowed by patriarchal elites. More than 200 million people are eligible to vote in the February 14 election, with slightly more than half of them women, according to the country's election commission, yet only a handful of women represent them in parliament. "We have a lot of dedicated and capable female politicians, but there are still many who consider women weak and lacking leadership qualities," legislative candidate Lingga Permesti told AFP from the town of Klaten, where she is running for a seat. "That is the reality, especially in (rural) regions," the 37-year-old said. Indonesia, long known for its political nepotism, has had one woman president -- Megawati Sukarnoputri, the daughter of Indonesia's founding father and first president Sukarno. But she was not directly elected, rising to the highest office from the vice presidency after the removal of Abdurrahman Wahid in 2001. While her party retained high levels of popularity tied to her father's legacy, she lost two subsequent presidential races. In next month's vote, all 18 political parties contesting 580 lawmaker seats have collectively met a mandated nationwide quota of 30% women contenders, according to the election commission's final list. Women have held ministerial portfolios, the current house speaker is a woman and the proportion of women lawmakers rose to one in five in 2019, from less than one in 10 in 1999. That compares to a worldwide average of just over one in four, according to data from UN Women. Despite the recent strides, women's representation is still not being taken seriously in Indonesia, according to experts. Some women candidates say they are being treated like they are extraneous. "During one of my campaigns, a male district head told the people there that I was just a supplementary candidate. That I was in the contest just to help my party to meet the representation quota," Permesti told AFP. 'Patriarchal society' In the country's first two presidential debates, the three men battling for top office -- Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto and former provincial governors Ganjar Pranowo and Anies Baswedan -- did not once mention reproductive healthcare or equal opportunities. Only one party has met the quota for women candidates for the nationwide legislative elections in each of the country's 84 electoral districts, according to Koalisi Masyarakat Peduli Keterwakilan Perempuan, a civil society group focusing on women's representation. The election commission has also in some instances allowed fewer women candidates than required, reinforcing a reluctance to bring more women into politics, said election expert Titi Anggraini from the University of Indonesia. "2024 marks a decline in the affirmation of women's representation, indicating the country's regression in fulfilling political rights," she said. Indonesia's "patriarchal society" has stemmed from entrenched attitudes introduced during the decades-long Dutch colonial era and then reinforced during Suharto's autocratic rule, said Irwan Martua Hidayana, an anthropologist at the University of Indonesia. "If we take a look at the history, some studies showed that Indonesia had egalitarian relations between men and women before colonialism changed it," Hidayana said. 'More accommodating' Some women speak of positive experiences in politics but say they were not reflected across the political spectrum. Permesti said she was afforded a wide range of opportunities to polish her skills in her Prosperous Justice Party, an Islamic party, but not all were "ready to give women such spaces." Anindya Shabrina, a 28-year-old legislative candidate for the Labour Party, said she once declined to join another major party because of condescending attitudes from male politicians. "I hope all parties will be more accommodating towards women in politics," she said, calling for political education for women so their careers can begin at the grassroots level. While millions of women will head to the polls across the archipelago next month, some say their status in Indonesian politics still leaves a lot to be desired. "We have had a female president, lawmakers, but it needs to be improved," said Permesti. "I hope that in 2029, we'll have a female presidential or vice presidential candidate."

TOKYO — The women work hard, sleeping only a few hours a night, as they juggle the demands of caring for their children and doing housework — all while suffering from poverty. The award-winning independent documentary film The Ones Left Behind, released last year, tells the story of such single mothers in Japan, weaving together interviews with the women and experts, and showing the other side of a culture whose ideal is for women to get married and become stay-at-home housewives and mothers. "This is a topic that no one wants to really touch. In Japan, it's very taboo," Australian filmmaker Rionne McAvoy said this week. "I think it's a very apt title because I feel that single mothers and their children have really been left behind in society." One woman in the film says she works from 8:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m., while earning less than 200,000 yen ($1,350) a month. Tomiko Nakayama, another woman in the film, says: "I have to do everything on my own." Despite being one of the world's richest nations, Japan has one of the highest rates of child poverty among OECD countries, with one in every seven children living in poverty. About half of single-parent households live below the poverty line. Japanese society also tends to favor full-time male workers, and women often receive lower wages and fewer benefits, even when they are working full-time and overtime. Another woman in the film is near tears as she describes how her child stopped asking her about take-your-parent-to-school days. She knew her mom was too busy and couldn't attend. McAvoy's wife, Ayuri, who produced the film, was formerly a single mother. But both deny that's why Rionne McAvoy made the film. Initially, she wasn't interested in getting involved in his filmmaking. What makes the story so "Japanese," according to Rionne McAvoy, is how the country's conformist culture makes many women accept their hardships, too ashamed to ask for help, "keeping their public face and private face separate," he told The Associated Press. The Ones Left Behind was the Best Documentary Winner at the Miyakojima Charity International Film Festival last year and an official selection at the Yokohama International Film Festival. Despite repeated promises by the Japanese government to provide monetary assistance to people with children, action has been slow, said Akihiko Kato, a professor at Meiji University who appears in the film. That's partly why the birth rate is crashing in Japan from 1.2 million births in the year 2000 to below 700,000 today. Japan also lacks a system that can force fathers to pay child support, according to Kato. In the past, grandparents, neighbors and other members of the extended family helped look after children. In the modern age of the nuclear family, the single-parent household is often on its own. What this means for the children is sobering, said Yanfei Zhou, a social science professor at Japan Women's University who appears in the film. The gap between the haves and have-nots is growing, and the children are destined to inherit the cycle of poverty, she said. The story of the underclass, including those who are forgotten and don't have a voice, has long fascinated McAvoy. His next film will be about young people driven to suicide in Japan. He said that being an outsider allows him to tell stories with a fresh perspective and without bias. "It's one thing we can do more of in society: to try recognize people's cries for help," McAvoy said.

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JERUSALEM — Iran said Sunday it successfully launched three satellites into space, the latest for a program that the West says improves Tehran's ballistic missiles. The state-run IRNA news agency said the launch also saw the successful use of Iran's Simorgh rocket, which has had multiple failures in the past. The launch comes as heightened tensions grip the wider Middle East over Israel's continued war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. While Iran has not intervened militarily in the conflict, it has faced increased pressure within its theocracy for action after a deadly Islamic State suicide bombing earlier this month and as proxy groups like Yemen's Houthi rebels conduct attacks linked to the war. Footage released by Iranian state television showed a nighttime launch for the Simorgh rocket. An Associated Press analysis of the footage's details showed that it took place at the Imam Khomeini Spaceport in Iran's rural Semnan province. State TV named the launched satellites Mahda, Kayhan-2 and Hatef-1. It described the Mahda as a research satellite, while the Kayhan and the Hatef were nanosatellites focused on global positioning and communication respectively. There have been five failed launches in a row for the Simorgh program, another satellite-carrying rocket. The Simorgh, or "Phoenix," rocket failures have been part of a series of setbacks in recent years for Iran's civilian space program, including fatal fires and a launchpad rocket explosion that drew the attention of former U.S. President Donald Trump. The United States has previously said Iran's satellite launches defy a U.N. Security Council resolution and called on Tehran to undertake no activity involving ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons. U.N. sanctions related to Iran's ballistic missile program expired last October. The U.S. intelligence community's 2023 worldwide threat assessment said the development of satellite launch vehicles "shortens the timeline" for Iran to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile because it uses similar technology. The U.S. military and the State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. However, the U.S. military has quietly acknowledged a successful Iranian satellite launch from January 20 conducted by the country's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

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MEXICO CITY — Mexico's government has acknowledged that at least two well-known Mayan ruin sites are unreachable by visitors because of a toxic mix of cartel violence and land disputes. But two tourist guides in the southern state of Chiapas, near the border with Guatemala, say two other sites that the government claims are still open to visitors can only be reached by passing though drug gang checkpoints. The explosion of drug cartel violence in Chiapas since last year has left the Yaxchilán ruin site completely cut off, the government conceded Friday. The tour guides, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they must still work in the area, said that gunmen and checkpoints are often seen on the road to another site, Bonampak, famous for its murals. They say that to get to yet another archaeological site, Lagartero, travelers are forced to hand over identification and cellphones at cartel checkpoints. Meanwhile, officials concede that visitors also can't go to the imposing, towering pyramids at Tonina, because a landowner has shut off across his land while seeking payment from the government for granting the right of way. The cartel-related dangers are the most problematic. The two cartels warring over the area's lucrative drug and migrant smuggling routes set up the checkpoints to detect any movement by their rivals. Though no tourist has been harmed so far, and the government claims the sites are safe, many guides no longer take tour groups there. "It's as if you told me to go to the Gaza Strip, right?" said one of the guides. "They demand your identification, to see if you're a local resident," he said, describing an almost permanent gang checkpoint on the road to Lagartero, a Mayan pyramid complex that is surrounded by pristine, turquoise jungle lagoons. "They take your cellphone and demand your sign-in code, and then they look through your conversations to see if you belong to some other gang," he said. "At any given time, a rival group could show up and start a gunbattle." The government seems unconcerned, and there is even anger that anyone would suggest there is a problem, in line with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's policy of playing down gang violence — even as the cartels take over more territory in Mexico. "Bonampak and Lagartero are open to the public," the National Institute of Anthropology and History said in a statement Friday. "It is false, biased and irresponsible to say that these archaeological sites are in danger from drug traffickers," added the agency, known as the INAH, which claimed it "retains control of the sites." Both guides stressed that the best-known Mayan ruin site in Chiapas, the imposing temple complex at Palenque, is open and perfectly safe for visitors. But starting around December, tourists have canceled about 5% of trips booked to the area, and there are fears that could grow. Things that some tourists once enjoyed — like the more adventurous trip to ruins buried deep in the jungle, like Yaxchilán, on the banks of the Usumacinta river and reachable only by boat — are either no longer possible, or so risky that several guides have publicly announced they won't take tourists there. Residents of the town of Frontera Comalapa, where the boats once picked up tourists to take them to Yaxchilan, closed the road in October because of constant incursions by gunmen.  Even the INAH admits there is no access to Yaxchilan, noting that "the institute itself has recommended at certain points that tourists not go to the archaeological site, because they could have an unsuccessful visit." But it said that the problems there are "of a social nature" and are beyond its control. Cartel battles started to get really bad in Chiapas in 2023, which coincides with the uptick in the number of migrants — now about a half-million annually — moving through the Darien Gap jungle from South America, through Central America and Mexico to the U.S. border. Because many of the new wave of migrants are from Cuba, Asia and Africa, they can pay more than Central Americans, making the smuggling routes through Chiapas more valuable. The problem now seems to be beyond anyone's control. The National Guard — the quasi-military force that López Obrador has made the centerpiece of law enforcement in Mexico — has been pelted with stones and sticks by local residents in several towns in that region of Chiapas in recent weeks. The other tour guide said that was because the two warring drug cartels, Sinaloa and Jalisco, often recruit or force local people to act as foot soldiers and prevent National Guard troopers from entering their towns. In Chiapas, residents are often members of Indigenous groups like the Choles or Lacandones, both descendants of the ancient Maya. The potential damage of using them as foot soldiers in cartel fights is grim, given that some groups have either very few remaining members or are already locked in land disputes. The guide said the ruin sites have the added disadvantage of being in jungle areas where the cartels have carved out at least four clandestine landing strips to fly drugs in from South America. But the damages are mounting for the Indigenous residents who have come to depend on tourism. "There are communities that sell handicrafts, that provide places to stay, boat trips, craftspeople. It affects the economy a lot," said the first guide. "You have to remember that this is an agricultural state that has no industry, no factories, so tourism has become an economic lever, one of the few sources of work."

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PETALUMA, Calif. — Last month, Mike Weber got the news every poultry farmer fears: His chickens tested positive for avian flu. Following government rules, Weber's company, Sunrise Farms, had to slaughter its entire flock of egg-laying hens — 550,000 birds — to prevent the disease from infecting other farms in Sonoma County north of San Francisco. "It's a trauma. We're all going through grief as a result of it," said Weber, standing in an empty hen house. "Petaluma is known as the Egg Basket of the World. It's devastating to see that egg basket go up in flames." A year after the bird flu led to record egg prices and widespread shortages, the disease known as highly pathogenic avian influenza is wreaking havoc in California, which escaped the earlier wave of outbreaks that devastated poultry farms in the Midwest. The highly contagious virus has ravaged Sonoma County, where officials have declared a state of emergency. During the past two months, nearly a dozen commercial farms have had to destroy more than 1 million birds to control the outbreak, dealing an economic blow to farmers, workers and their customers. Merced County in Central California also has been hit hard, with outbreaks at several large commercial egg-producing farms in recent weeks. Experts say bird flu is spread by ducks, geese and other migratory birds. The waterfowl can carry the virus without getting sick and easily spread it through their droppings to chicken and turkey farms and backyard flocks through droppings and nasal discharges. California poultry farms are implementing strict biosecurity measures to curb the spread of the disease. State Veterinarian Annette Jones urged farmers to keep their flocks indoors until June, including organic chickens that are required to have outdoor access. "We still have migration going for another couple of months. So we've got to be as vigilant as possible to protect our birds," said Bill Mattos, president of the California Poultry Federation. The loss of local hens led to a spike in egg prices in the San Francisco Bay Area over the holidays before supermarkets and restaurants found suppliers from outside the region. While bird flu has been around for decades, the current outbreak of the virus that began in early 2022 has prompted officials to slaughter nearly 82 million birds, mostly egg-laying chickens, in 47 U.S. states, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Whenever the disease is found the entire flock is slaughtered to help limit the spread of the virus. The price of a dozen eggs more than doubled to $4.82 at its peak in January 2023. Egg prices returned to their normal range as egg producers built up their flocks and outbreaks were controlled. Turkey and chicken prices also spiked, partly due to the virus. "I think this is an existential issue for the commercial poultry industry. The virus is on every continent, except for Australia at this point," said Maurice Pitesky, a poultry expert at the University of California, Davis. Climate change is increasing the risk of outbreaks as changing weather patterns disrupt the migratory patterns of wild birds, Pitesky said. For example, exceptional rainfall last year created new waterfowl habitat throughout California, including areas close to poultry farms. In California, the outbreak has impacted more than 7 million chickens in about 40 commercial flocks and 24 backyard flocks, with most of the outbreaks occurring over the past two months on the North Coast and Central Valley, according to the USDA. Industry officials are worried about the growing number of backyard chickens that could become infected and spread avian flu to commercial farms. "We have wild birds that are are full of virus. And if you expose your birds to these wild birds, they might get infected and ill," said Rodrigo Gallardo, a UC Davis researcher who studies avian influenza. Gallardo advises the owners of backyard chickens to wear clean clothes and shoes to protect their flocks from getting infected. If an unusual number of chickens die, they should be tested for avian flu. Ettamarie Peterson, a retired teacher in Petaluma, has a flock of about 50 chickens that produce eggs she sells from her backyard barn for 50 cents each. "I'm very concerned because this avian flu is transmitted by wild birds, and there's no way I can stop the wild birds from coming through and leaving the disease behind," Peterson said. "If your flock has any cases of it, you have to destroy the whole flock." Sunrise Farms, which was started by Weber's great-grandparents more than a century ago, was infected despite putting in place strict biosecurity measures to protect the flock. "The virus got to the birds so bad and so quickly you walked in and the birds were just dead," Weber said. "Heartbreaking doesn't describe how you feel when you walk in and perfectly healthy young birds have been just laid out." After euthanizing more than half a million chickens at Sunrise Farms, Weber and his employees spent the Christmas holiday discarding the carcasses. Since then, they've been cleaning out and disinfecting the hen houses. Weber hopes the farm will get approval from federal regulators to bring chicks back to the farm this spring. Then it would take another five months before the hens are mature enough to lay eggs. He feels lucky that two farms his company co-owns have not been infected and are still producing eggs for his customers. But recovering from the outbreak won't be easy. "We have a long road ahead," Weber said. "We're going to make another run of it and try to keep this family of employees together because they've worked so hard to build this into the company that it is."