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Gunmen open fire at soccer field in central Mexico, killing 11 and wounding 12

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Gunmen opened fire at a soccer field in central Mexico on Sunday, killing at least 11 people and wounding 12, authorities said.

Salamanca Mayor Cesar Prieto said in a statement posted to social platforms that the gunmen arrived at the end of a soccer match.

Ten people died at the scene and one died later at a hospital. The mayor said a woman and a minor were among the wounded.

Prieto said the attack was part of a “crime wave” in the city and appealed to President Claudia Sheinbaum for help to control the violence.

The Guanajuato state prosecutor’s office said it was investigating and coordinating with federal authorities to reinforce security in the area.

Guanajuato had Mexico’s highest homicide total last year. A local gang, Santa Rosa de Lima, has been battling the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

“Unfortunately, there are criminal groups trying to subjugate authorities, something they are not going to achieve,” the mayor said.

Overall, Mexico’s government says the country’s 2025 murder rate was the lowest since 2016 at 17.5 murders per 100,000 inhabitants, although analysts cautioned that the numbers may not fully reflect the country’s violence.

Beijing bans 4 New Zealand lawmakers from entering China because they visited Taiwan

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Beijing banned four New Zealand lawmakers from traveling to China for a year and demanded they apologize because they visited Taiwan on a parliamentary trip, according to a message from the Chinese embassy conveyed via parliamentary officials and shown to The Associated Press on Thursday. China has hit lawmakers from other countries with sanctions related to contact with Taiwan before, but it's the first time for New Zealand parliamentarians, the government in Wellington said. Beijing has been increasing pressure in recent years on the democratically governed island that it claims as its own territory. Two lawmakers reached by the AP on Thursday rejected the demand for an apology, while the other two could not be immediately reached. New Zealand's government said it would express concern about the travel bans to Beijing. The elected officials visited Taipei in May, as New Zealand parliamentarians have done “for decades,” a spokesperson for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.
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