- French champagne makers bid to protect seasonal workers from abuse
- Atletico Madrid president splits time between football and film
- Japan ruling party to hold 'toss-up' vote for next PM
- Alcaraz says 'a lot of players' agree after schedule 'kill us' comments
- Outdated rules, limited metro collide for 'unbearable' Athens gridlock
- Ninth body recovered in flood-hit Japan region
- Sirens sound in Tel Aviv after fresh air strikes reported in Lebanon
- China launches intercontinental missile into Pacific in rare test
- The EU vs X: How big could the fines be for Musk?
- Hefty Australian penguin chick 'Pesto' becomes star
- Fashion's fun 'Frankenstein' flies after Olympic triumph
- Volkswagen crisis pits homegrown leaders against each other
- Princess Zelda takes the lead in 'Echoes of Wisdom'
- Astros clinch division title, Yankees kept waiting
- Asian markets boosted again after another Chinese rate cut
- The struggle to keep track of Gaza war deaths
- China cuts another key interest rate to boost economy
- Restarting nuclear power plants: the unprecedented gamble in the US
- US state executes man despite conviction doubts
- Asylum seeker lifts South Korea hopes at Homeless World Cup
- Hostages freed in Gaza truce pine for those left behind
- Pope offers refuge to Myanmar's jailed Suu Kyi: report
- Tragic tale of two West Bank teenagers freed in Gaza truce
- US intel warns of Iran threats to assassinate Trump: campaign
- In election, Hollywood is about cash not endorsements
- UK foreign minister Lammy seeks 'strongest position' for Ukraine
- Macron presses Iran president for Lebanon de-escalation
- UNRWA fears new 'tragedy' as Lebanon violence adds strain: chief to AFP
- Russia mulls ban on 'childless propaganda'
- Blackwater founder probed by Venezuela over anti-Maduro campaign
- Crypto CEO and Bankman-Fried ex Caroline Ellison gets two-year sentence
- Hezbollah announces death of commander after strike on south Beirut
- Tatum hungry for more after breakthrough Celtics success
- Sean 'Diddy' Combs sued for alleged 2001 rape
- Biden pleads for democracy in emotional UN farewell
- New York area port prepares for possible US strike disruption
- Rodri 'irreplaceable' but Guardiola confident Man City will still compete
- Brook 'relieved' as maiden ODI hundred sets up first win as England captain
- Dior's arrows and Amazons as Saint Laurent revives its master
- Mbappe strikes again as Madrid hold off Alaves
- Nkunku hits Chelsea hat-trick, Man City edge into League Cup last 16
- Amnesty calls for commission to probe Kenya protest deaths
- Bolivian government rejects Morales ultimatum for cabinet reshuffle
- US Congress calls on Novo Nordisk to lower drug prices
- Stock markets advance on China stimulus
- Russia 'can only be forced into peace," Zelensky tells UN
- Hundred hero Brook keeps England alive in Australia ODI series
- Biden pleads for democracy in final UN address
- Brook's hundred sees England beat Australia in 3rd ODI
- Alarm grows as Israel and Hezbollah exchange intense fire
Journalist murdered in Mexico, ninth this year
A journalist has been murdered in northwestern Mexico, authorities and activists said Thursday -- the ninth such killing so far in a particularly violent year for the country's press.
The body of Luis Enrique Ramirez was found on a dirt road in Sinaloa, the state's attorney general Sara Quinonez said on Twitter.
Sinaloa is the stronghold of notorious narco kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's cartel, and one of the Mexican states most affected by drug-related violence.
The body of Ramirez, a columnist for the local newspaper El Debate and founder of the news site Fuentes Fidedignas, was found on the outskirts of the state capital Culiacan, a day after he went missing.
"It was definitely a murder," said Balbina Flores, representative of media rights group Reporters Without Borders (RSF), adding that the corpse was found wrapped in plastic.
Ramirez is the ninth journalist killed so far this year in Mexico, according to RSF.
The Latin American nation is on course for one of its deadliest years yet for the press, prompting calls from rights groups for authorities to end a culture of impunity.
More than 150 journalists have been murdered since 2000 in Mexico, one of the world's most dangerous countries for the media.
The United States and the European Parliament have urged Mexico to ensure adequate protection for journalists following the recent string of killings.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has vowed "zero impunity" for the crimes.
Last week the government blamed drug traffickers for the January murders of journalists Lourdes Maldonado and Margarito Martinez in the northwestern border city of Tijuana that triggered international condemnation.
K.Thomson--BTB