Mexico 'freak show' woman buried

13 February 2013 Last updated at 10:04 GMT Julia Pastrana's remains were returned to Mexico from Norway An indigenous woman exhibited in 19th-Century Europe as the "world's ugliest woman" has been buried in her native Mexico some 150 years after her death.

Julia Pastrana, who suffered from a genetic condition that covered her face in hair, performed in circuses as a freak of nature.

After she died in 1860, her American husband toured with her embalmed body, which ended up in Norway.

Her remains were returned this week for a proper burial, after a long campaign.

People flocked to the town of Sinaloa de Leyva on Tuesday where Julia Pastrana was laid to rest in a white coffin adorned with white roses.

"Imagine the aggression and cruelty of humankind she had to face, and how she overcame it. It's a very dignified story," said Sinaloa Governor Mario Lopez.

"A human being should not be the object of anyone," Father Jaime Reyes Retana told mourners.

'Place in history'

Julia Pastrana, who was born in 1834, suffered from hypertrichosis which covered her face in hair and had a jutting jaw.

Campaigners wanted Pastrana to have the dignity denied her in life

Because of her appearance she was called a "bear woman" or "ape woman".

In the 1850s, she met and married US impresario Theodore Lent who took her round freak shows, where she would sing and dance.

She died in 1860 in Moscow after giving birth to a son who had the same condition and lived for only a few days.

But Julia Pastrana's story did not end there as Lent continued to tour with their embalmed bodies.

The corpses finally ended up in Norway, where, in a further twist in 1976, they were stolen, dumped and recovered by the police.

The remains ended up in storage at the University of Oslo.

Mexican artist Laura Anderson Barbata began a campaign for Julia Pastrana's body to be returned home in 2005, with Mexican officials subsequently lending their weight to her request.

"I felt she deserved the right to regain her dignity and her place in history, and in the world's memory," Ms Barbata told the New York Times.

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Mexico blast bodies handed over

2 February 2013 Last updated at 22:54 GMT Rescuers rush to the point where sniffer dogs alerted their handlers as the search for survivors continues The bodies of the victims of a blast at the headquarters of Mexican oil company Pemex have been handed to their relatives.

Thirty-three people died in Thursday's explosion in Mexico City.

Hundreds of rescue workers continue to search the rubble for possible survivors.

Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam said investigations into the cause of the blast were underway and no line of enquiry had been ruled out.

Rescue workers regained hope of finding people alive on Saturday after sniffer dogs alerted their handlers in the basement of the collapsed building.

Earlier, two families who believe their relatives could still be trapped, had asked the authorities not to give up on them after the Red Cross had declared its search finished.

The last person to be rescued from the debris was found at noon on Friday (1800 GMT).

Search for truth

Firefighters and police officers using heavy machinery continued to move rubble from the site of the blast as special investigators examined the site for clues to the cause of the explosion.

According to the attorney general, the government "is determined to find out the truth, be it what it may".

"If it's an accident, if it's negligence, if it's an attack, whatever it is," Mr Murillo Karam said.

Mr Murillo Karam said investigators had established that the blast had not set off a fire, but that it was not yet clear what that meant.

More than 100 people are being treated in hospital for injuries sustained as a result of the blast, Many of them were hit by falling rubble and masonry.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto visited some of them on Friday. He has declared three days of mourning.

The BBC's Will Grant said the blast was the biggest explosion to hit Mexico City for 30 years.

Pemex said it would resume operations at its headquarters on Tuesday, moving employees who worked in the affected building to other offices.

The company has experienced a number of fatal accidents in recent years.

Last September, 30 people died in an explosion at a Pemex gas plant in northern Mexico, thought to have been caused by a build-up of gas.

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U.S., Mexico reach tomato deal to avert trade war

Tomatoes are displayed at a vegetable stall in La Merced market, downtown Mexico City January 31, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Tomas Bravo

By Doug Palmer

WASHINGTON | Sat Feb 2, 2013 11:35pm EST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government and Mexican tomato growers reached a tentative agreement on Saturday that reduces the threat of a costly trade war stemming from a U.S. decision last year to pull out of a 1996 bilateral tomato trade pact.

"I am pleased that we were able to come to an agreement on fresh tomato imports from Mexico that restores stability and confidence to the U.S. tomato market and meets the requirements of U.S. law,"? U.S. Commerce Under Secretary for International Trade Francisco Sanchez said in a statement.

The draft agreement substantially raises the minimum "reference" price at which Mexican plum, cherry and other tomatoes can be sold in the United States and accounts for changes that have occurred in the tomato market since the original agreement, Sanchez said.

For some Mexican tomatoes, the new reference price is more than double the current such price, Sanchez said. The deal is expected to take effect on March 4, after a public comment period, he said.

Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said the deal guaranteed Mexican farmers access to the U.S. market under conditions that were "fair and competitive."

"We worked hand in hand with Mexican producers on this agreement to avoid damage to the sector," he said.

The U.S. Commerce Department made a preliminary decision in September to terminate the 1996 tomato agreement after Florida growers complained that the arrangement no longer protected them against Mexican tomatoes sold below the cost of production.

That angered Mexican growers, who argued the pact had benefited U.S. consumers and brought stability to the North American market.

Mexican officials said the U.S. move appeared designed to help President Barack Obama carry Florida in his election battle against Republican Mitt Romney. Obama won the state in the November contest.

Mexico exports about $1.9 billion worth of tomatoes to the United States each year. Varieties include common round, cherry, grape, plum, greenhouse and pear tomatoes. The industry says Florida producers have not kept pace with new growing techniques that produce tastier tomatoes and have propelled Mexican sales.

FOUR CATEGORIES

The proposed agreement spares Mexican growers from having to wage a costly legal battle against a new anti-dumping case brought by Florida producers.

It also averts the possibility of a broader trade war. U.S. business groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce feared Mexico could retaliate if the United States slapped hefty duties on Mexican tomatoes.

Reggie Brown, executive vice president of the Florida Tomato Exchange, stopped short of endorsing the agreement but said it vindicated the U.S. industry's position that Mexican growers were "dumping" their tomatoes in the United States.

"Mexican growers and their government have tried to protect their interests with tremendous pressure on our government, threats to U.S. producers and a well-funded lobbying and media campaign," Brown said.

"The facts, however, were clear and could not be disputed. Mexican tomatoes were being sold in the U.S. market in rapidly increasing volumes at prices that did not reflect the cost of production," he said.

The new pact sets reference prices for four categories of tomatoes, instead of just one under the current pact. It also broadens coverage to include essentially all Mexican growers and exporters, the Commerce Department said.

The four categories, from least to most expensive, are "open field and adapted environment" tomatoes, "controlled environment" tomatoes, "specialty loose" tomatoes and "specialty packed" tomatoes.

The agreement sets winter and summer references prices for each category. The winter prices range from 31 cents per pound for open field and adapted environment tomatoes to 59 cents for specialty packed. The summer prices range from 24.6 cents to 46.8 cents per pound.

The single reference price for all Mexican tomatoes under the current agreement is 21.6 cents per pound in the winter and 17.2 cents in the summer.

(Reporting by Doug Palmer; Additional reporting by Dave Graham in Mexico City; Editing by Eric Beech)

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