Cholera Still a Threat in Caribbean Areas

Cholera a waterborne disease can kill victims through dehydration,
however is treatable if found early.

Cholera has killed one person and sickened nine in central Mexico per the Mexican Health Ministry.

Mexico's Health Department says two cases were detected in Southern Mexico at Mexico City and nearby state of Hidalgo, where one person died.    
The department on Friday declared a health emergency for Hidalgo. Authorities said it's the same cholera strain that is sickening hundreds of people in Caribbean countries, including Cuba and the Dominican Republic.
Mexico City health authorities say they have intensified their surveillance of water treatment plants and water tanks and have launched a campaign to educate people about preventing getting infected.
  

Mexico City Famous Smells

For many, the first experience of Mexico City is a sprawling airport and an appalling stink.

It wafts from the manholes and leaves the morning air smelling fresh as a septic tank.
On bad days, it hits travelers as they step off airplanes and follows them through the terminal. It can overpower a pleasant bike ride along the cobblestone streets of the capital's downtown, or interrupt an alfresco meal in the trendy Condesa neighborhood.
Anna Sloan, a 68-year-old tourist from California who arrived at the Mexico City airport one recent afternoon, noticed a foul odor while waiting to pick up her luggage.
"What's that smell? That's horrible!" she told a group of friends traveling with her. "That's no way to welcome visitors."
The odor problems are a result of poorly managed wastewater and trash in a sprawling metropolis whose population - 20 million by official count - outgrew its infrastructure decades ago. Authorities have sought for years to find a solution.
Now, it's new Mayor Miguel Mancera's turn to try to deodorize the city's B.O. This month he announced plans to control the foul odors that waft from the city's only compost plant at a landfill near the airport and to more aggressively recycle trash citywide. The ambitious $135 million plan calls for construction of three bio-gas plants to produce electricity from compost. It will include more recycling programs so that by the time it's completed in 2018 all 12,500 tons of trash produced daily is recycled, Mancera said.
Experts agree the main source of the fetid air that blows into some areas of Mexico City intermittently is from an overwhelmed sewage system.
The city's sewage pipes and an underground drainage tunnel, which has to accommodate sewage and storm water, were built more than 50 years ago, and the population in the metropolitan area has doubled since then and the system can't keep up.
To make matters worse, the city pumps so much water from underground aquifers that some neighborhoods sink by up to a foot a year, which further disrupts the draining of sewage, said Sergio Palacios Mayorga, a professor at Mexico's National Autonomous University, who studies solid-waste management.
"What's happening is that the sewage system has less pressure because the city is sinking, and that makes wastewater move slowly or completely get stuck in some places," he said.
Mexico City advocates note the odor problems come and go and do not affect all areas of the city equally. And for such a huge metropolis in a developing country where boiling grease from thousands of food stalls crackle along many streets, things could be worse.
"There are smells in the city, definitely, but they are in certain areas where the sewage system doesn't work very well," said Ricardo Estrada, deputy director for recycling at the city's Development Services Department.
Sewage pumps have been built throughout the city and work constantly to suck sewage-laced water out of the rapidly sinking, mountain-ringed lakebed on which the city was built more than 600 years ago. The pumps have venting stacks that spew foul-smelling gas into the sky, including from a large yellow horse figure that doubles as a piece of public art.
The huge sculpture known as "El Caballito," or "The Little Horse," sits on the leafy, elegant Reforma Avenue and is a venting stack for the city's underground drainage tunnel.
The sewage system in the metropolitan area currently processes more than 13,000 gallons (50,000 liters) of sewage water every second, enough to fill an Olympic-size swimming pool every minute.
City officials are also looking for help with bad odors and, more importantly, the risk of major flooding from a 39-mile (62-kilometer) long and 7-meter (7.5-yard) wide sewage tunnel that is being built by the federal government. So far, 6 miles (10-kilometers) of the underground project, which will cost at least $15 billion, have been completed.
Mexico City residents have learned to live with the smells.
Some joggers and bike riders wear surgical masks that protect them against pollution and rancid air. Restaurant owners, food vendors, shoe shiners and anyone else who works on sidewalks cover manholes with pieces of tarp, carpet or trash bags. Patrons at sidewalk cafes wrinkle their noses at the fetid fumes and simply change tables indoors.
Jose Garcia, a 48-year-old shoe shiner with a prime spot on Reforma Avenue, uses a plastic bag and a piece of carpet to try to conceal the smell emanating from a manhole near his work station, but his clients still notice.
"They tell me they can smell feces," Garcia said. "I can smell it, too, from time to time, but what else can I do? There are other corners where the smell is worse."
Garcia said he has worked on the same corner for 33 years and the whole time he has caught whiffs of rancid air.
"We are thousands and thousands of people with a bad drainage system. Imagine!" he said. "I have already gotten used to it."

Gun Buy Back SAN LUIS, Rio Colorado, Sonora, Mexico

City of San Luis Rio Colorado in Mexico (Across from San Luis, Az.)  is offering food vouchers for residents who turn in guns in a form of Gun Buy Back Program.

 

Would be interesting to see just how many have been Stolen from the U.S. Is that like being rewarded for theft and Crime?

 

No questions asked. People who turn in guns, receive food vouchers worth between 100 and 1,000 (about $ 75. U.S) pesos, depending on the Value, Worthiness, Condition and Killing power or type of weapon.

 

They did not say, what they will do with the Weapons.

 

To Date 31 handguns and 47 long Guns have been turned in.

 

The program will end on September.30, 2013.

 

 

 

 

Deportations of Parents to Continue

Obama: Suspending Deportations Of Parents 'Not An Option'

With immigration legislation held up in Congress, advocates have called for President Barack Obama to expand the suspension of deportations he offered to undocumented children last year.

On Tuesday, the president said he would back a more piecemeal approach toward swiftly passing immigration reform. But, he added, offering deportation protection to undocumented parents of immigrants brought here illegally as children was “not an option.”

The president told tells Spanish-language TV network Telemundo that broadening the policy would essentially be ignoring the law. And he says he would have a tough time defending it legally.

Immigration advocates have lauded the Obama's administration's Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals or DACA, which in a little more than a year has granted permission to nearly 300,000 young adults, previously living illegally in the United States, to stay and work through the program. Some 200,000 more undocumented youth have submitted applications. (half a Million).

However, advocates point out that DACA does not protect those who arrived to the U.S. after their 16th birthday or those who are 31-years-old or older – leading to the deportation of about 200,000 parents of children who are U.S. citizens between 2010 and 2012, according to immigration experts. Advocates say the continued deportation of parents leaves thousands of children in foster care.

A study by the Applied Research Center estimated that 15,000 more children would end up in foster care by 2016 if high numbers of detention and deportation continued under the Obama administration.

A new little-noticed directive by the Obama administration in August does call on immigration authorities to exercise discretion when dealing with undocumented immigrants who have minor children.

A record 1.5 million people were deported under Obama's first term in office from 2008 to 2012 - including an unprecedented 409,849 last year.

Obama said in the Telemundo interview that he backed a piecemeal approach to immigration reform. But he said reform legislation had not passed because of House Speaker John Boehner's refusal to put a Senate-passed overhaul to a vote.

"The only thing that's preventing it is – you know, Speaker Boehner's decided that – he doesn't wanna call it right now," he said. "I'm happy to let the House work its will as long as the bill that ends up on my desk speaks to the central issues that have to be resolved."

Obama said he is less concerned about process, and more concerned about getting it done – as long as the bill "speaks to the central issues that have to be resolved" including stronger border security, pathway to citizenship for immigrants who live in the country illegally, and penalties for employers who hire and take advantage of undocumented workers.

Boehner’s spokesman said he welcomes a piecemeal approach to immigration reform.

"If immigration reform is going to work, it is essential that we have the confidence of the American people that it's done the right way," Brendan Buck told Reuters. "That means a deliberate, step-by-step approach, not another massive Obamacare-style bill that people don't understand."

 

Mexico 2013 Fall Storm Flour

 worst storm seen in years if not ever.

47 Dead tropical storm and a hurricane hitting Mexico at nearly the same time. stranded tourists cutoff in resort city of Acapulco.

roads blocked by landslides, rockslides, floods and collapsed bridges.
Acapulco cut off from road after Tropical Manuel made landfall. The terminal at airport closed.

Emergency evacuations of 40,000 mainly Mexican tourists stranded, the streets were raging rivers. .

most Acapulco hotels operating close to normal. Rest of area neighborhoods had no water, electricity, with floodwaters two and a half foot deep inside the airport lobby.

Government says two or more days get the highway back open. So food, water and supplies can be brought into more than 800,000 people.

Aeromexico and Inter-jet, are operating limited flights in and out of swamped international airport.
ticketed passengers first priority, then travelers with small children and the elderly and disabled.

40,000 tourists stuck in the city, but the local chamber of commerce and business owners said reports from hotels indicated the number could be as high as 60,000.

Thousands of stranded tourists lined up outside an air force base north of Acapulco to try to get a seat on one of a handful of planes flying to Mexico City. Many said they've been waiting at the base for hours after they were unable to return to Mexico City by road.

The main boulevard is open most hotels have power, water and food. But being stuck with the problems in Acapulco is not a picnic.

probably a bad holiday. like being an inmate and  being incarcerated.

As in most cases, the poor suffer the most. being away from the better built areas.
The shill people have a bad time with the running water into the Casa's and earth be washed away or into the residence.funneled rainwater into neighborhoods of  adobe or cinderblock homes damaging and killing.  Landslides and flooding damaged an unknown number of homes.

the run on Stores was  fast and furious,  nearly emptied by the people who could afford to  stock up on basic goods..
                 
Coyuca de Benitez on the Coast,  and beach resorts further west of Acapulco, including Ixtapa and Zihuatenejo, were cut off after a river washed out a bridge on the main coastal highway.

A number of people have no clean, dry clothes or bedding, as everything is wet or muddy.                 

some are lucky to be in shelters and they're begging for aid, food, water, shelter.
reported in the Gulf Coast state of Veracruz, where 12 people died when a landslide smashed into a bus traveling through the town of Altotonga, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) northwest of the state capital, Was one of the biggest single death tolls.

Over 23,000 people fled their homes in Veracruz state due to heavy rains spawned by Ingrid, and 9,000 went to emergency shelters. 20 highways, 12 bridges damaged.

Storm warnings for Mexico

Hurricane Ingrid to Hit Tampico Mexico on Monday September 16, 2013
and it will bring up to 50+ mm or rain and the winds will be very strong and it will cause flooding Conditions and the Hurricane Ingrid is going to turn to the West Direction then it is on its way for Tampico Mexico on Monday September 16 , 2013 and People in Tampico Mexico Be Prepared have your Rubber Boots and your Rain Coats and your Rain Suits Ready and it is going to be stormy Conditions and it will have Big Waves at the Beach and Stay Away from the beaches and Shores of Tampico Mexico and When the Hurricane Gets Real Bad Get inside of your House so you can be Safe and Don't Drive your Car Through the Flood or your Car will get Stalled and when you go for a walk Don't Walk through the Puddles and Have your iPads Charged, iPhones Charged, iPods Charged, Cell Phones Charged and Tablets Charged and Have your Extra Batteries, Candles, Flashlights and Crank up Radio Ready and also Have your Board Games Ready so you can be safe inside of your House during the Hurricane Ingrid and the winds will be damaging and it will have flooding rains as well and the Gulf of Mexico is Very Warm and the Wind Shear is Very Low too. Don’t forget  water, food and Medical supply for a week. Canned soups Beans and the like.

Pot legal vs. Medical in Mexico

Mexico Backs Medical Marijuana, But Not Recreational

 

Politicians who want to change Mexico’s marijuana policies must face an uncomfortable reality: An overwhelming majority of the country’s population opposes the legalization of weed.

A poll published this week, however, does offer some good news to those who would prefer a less prohibitionist stance towards the herb.

It suggests that 65 percent of Mexicans favor the legalization of marijuana for medical use. Only 29 percent of the country’s residents oppose medical marijuana, according to the poll, which was conducted in August by the Parametria research group.

The findings come as Mexican politicians discuss new approaches to marijuana policy. Current laws strictly prohibit the sale and production of the plant.

In Mexico City, the local legislature has held several hearings on marijuana policy this summer, with some officials backing plans to legalize cannabis clubs, where the herb could be grown and smoked, for recreational purposes.

Meanwhile in the Mexican Congress, a group of legislators has drafted a bill that would regulate the production and sale of marijuana. The bill would also allow Mexicans to buy weed at state-sanctioned distributors, or grow up to four plants at home.

Congressman Fernando Belaunzaran, who is leading efforts to get this bill approved, says that legalizing marijuana would reduce the incomes of violent drug cartels who currently traffic the drug, and are responsible for thousands of murders in Mexico.

“To take that market away from them, would be a big hit on their finances. They are only as strong as their resources,” Belaunzaran told local news site Animal Politico.

But Belaunzaran’s argument does not seem to fly well with most Mexicans.

In polls conducted over recent years by different firms, at least 75 percent of Mexicans have said they oppose the legalization of weed, while support for legalization hovers between 10 to 20 percent of the population.

The poll that was published this week seems to confirm these findings. It asked people if they would support the legalization of marijuana for recreational use, and only 10 percent of respondents agreed.

Polls suggest that Mexicans oppose legalization because they think it will lead to greater consumption of the drug. In a poll conducted by Parametria last year, 64 percent of respondents said that legalization would lead to greater consumption of marijuana amongst kids.

Still, such opposition might not necessarily block efforts to legalize weed. In Uruguay, legislators recently approved a bill that regulates the sale, consumption and production of marijuana, even though polls showed that only 25 percent of the country’s population was in favor of the law.

In that country though, marijuana legalization was strongly backed by the country’s president, José Mujica.

In Mexico, President Peña Nieto has said that he is against the legalization of weed, although he also believes that the subject should be up for debate.

Don't think you can take everything through Customs's!

It happens all the time: Folks return from a great overseas getaway loaded down with waaaay more stuff than they left home with. The only problem? Some items are not allowed through U.S. customs. Here, some surprising souvenirs that you should definitely pass up.
We love souvenirs as much as you do, and we'd never suggest that you skimp on keepsakes that you'll always treasure (though we'll try to find you bargains whenever we can!). But there are a few no-no's that U.S. customs will confiscate if you try to get them past the border—some for health reasons, others for complex economic and cultural reasons. In the interest of saving you time, money—and embarrassment!—here are a list you should be wary of. And more not listed here.
Absinthe
Try as you might, seeing the green fairy probably isn't going to happen these days: Modern absinthe is different from the low-quality, toxic sort made with poisonous metal salts associated with hallucinogenic properties back in Vincent van Gogh's day; however, it's still illegal to bring certain kinds of absinthe in from other countries due to lack of regulation. In particular, bottles that claim to contain 10 parts per million or more of the chemical thujone are Food & Drug Administration no-nos. (Trivia: If a bottle says it has a lot of thujone, it probably doesn't—absinthe makers who emphasize the alcohol's supposed "mind-altering" properties have their eye on taking tourists' money.)

Travel Tip: If you're thirsty for your very own bottle regardless, in addition to double-checking that the booze is "thujone-free," ensure that the stand-alone word "absinthe" or any "psychotropic" image isn't on the bottle. (Rule of thumb: If the label looks like it could double as a Grateful Dead album cover, don't try to bring it on the plane.) To ensure you're getting a quality brand, and not just green food coloring, visit wormwoodsociety.org.

Certain plants (and crafts made from plants)
Gardening enthusiasts, prepare to present any plant item that you want to bring into the States—even crafts made with straw—to a customs officer for inspection. You'll need a permit even for innocuous-sounding items like cut flowers with berries attached, nursery stock, and seeds. Other fauna, like "noxious weeds," aren't allowed, period. (Even if some do sound quite pleasant, like apricot cape tulip.)
Travel Tip: To be safe rather than kiss your prized plant goodbye at check-in, apply for a USDA Plant Protection and Quarantine permit online (aphis.usda.gov) to bring acceptable plants into the states—or check if they're prohibited. Permits take 30 days or more to process and are good for up to three years.

3Ivory (including jewelry made from ivory
It's safe to assume that you'll need a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (fws.gov/permits) to bring any ivory into the country, due to the Endangered Species Act. (Unless the item in question is from a warthog, but, really, who wants that?) You can import an antique ivory item if you have special documentation showing it's more than 100 years old, but thanks to rampant poaching, any object that's younger is generally not allowed.
Travel Tip: If you want to make a jewelry or a trinket haul, but the stuff you want appears to be made from tortoiseshell, ivory, whalebone, or skins, give the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service a buzz at 800/358-2104 to be sure they're okay to purchase and bring home.

Ancient artifacts
So many items have been stolen from museums and churches that any ancient artifact (like pre-Columbian objects, Native American artifacts, Byzantine items, culturally significant Iraqi property, etc.) requires an export permit—and a real one at that: There are many fake certificates floating around. The U.S. National Stolen Property Act prevents individuals from legally owning a swiped item, regardless of how many people have since possessed it.
Travel Tip: If you want to bring back a ruin or antique to keep—not to, for example, exhibit in a museum—you'll need an export permit from the country you're taking it out of. And even then, you could face U.S. import restrictions, depending on the item and the country. (Your historical find might be considered a "pillage.") Peruse the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs's website for information on what's not allowed (exchanges.state.gov/heritage/culprop.html).

Meat-based products (even soup mix)
Bush meat made from African wildlife and anything imbued with meat products—like bouillon, soup mixes, etc.—from most countries could introduce serious pathogens into the U.S. and spread unpleasant conditions like foot-and-mouth disease, African swine fever, mad cow disease, and the avian flu. That goes for canned and dried meats too.
Travel Tip: There are a few countries deemed acceptable to export certain meats from—scan the USDA's website to make sure: aphis.usda.gov.

Big souvenirs from Cuba, Iran, Burma, or much of Sudan
Don't blow this one off. Even in Mexico you might run into something from Cuba. But think twice before trying to take that Item into the U.S.A.
Economic sanctions prevent visitors from bringing items back from these countries (Cuban cigars, for example). You can apply for a license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control if you wish to import something, but it's rare that you'll actually get one.
Travel Tip: A few exceptions to this rule exist: Books, magazines, films, photographs, posters, art, and music are okay, as are small gifts worth less than $100.
Most fruits and vegetables
One teensy piece of fruit carried onto an airplane caused the great California Mediterranean fruit fly outbreak of the early 1980s. The pestilence threatened the state's agriculture—and set the federal government back $100 million to eliminate. (Think about how bad that person must have felt.) If you're determined to bring fruit back, the USDA has a long list of what's permissible (aphis.usda.gov/favir)—nearly every fruit and veggie (possibly with the exception of an apple you bought in an airport, for example) requires a permit.
Travel Tip: Be aware that you'll have to show your fruit to a customs officer for inspection, especially if it's something exotic, like pomegranate. Fail to report your produce, and you could be hit with a $300 fine.

Designer knockoffs and cartoon-character paraphernalia.
Tempting as it might be to stock up on faux labels when you're out of the country, goods like fake Chanel bags and nearly real Mickey Mouse knickknacks are subject to U.S. copyright and trademark protections. The government is so serious about enforcing this that your haul of "confusingly similar" trademarked merchandise could be seized.
Travel Tip: If you just want one fake bag to use for yourself (and not sell on Canal Street), that's okay: You can be granted an exemption by the government. But know that you can only bring one item of its kind into the country—so a pair of sunglasses, a purse, and a pair of jeans are okay, but three purses are not, regardless of whether they have three different labels. Another note: You can only get this exemption once every 30 days.

More than $10,000 cash without declaring it.
To make it rain on the plane, you'll have to report the cash first. Smuggling "bulk currency" (an offense under the Bank Secrecy Act) is the kind of thing drug traffickers are known to do, therefore U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement doesn't take kindly to it. Money orders, travelers' checks, and foreign coins—not just paper bills—count too.
Travel Tip: To bring your money in legally, obtain the exhaustively named "Report of International Transportation of Currency of Monetary Instruments" from a customs officer. If you don't, you could face up to five years in jail.

Some Haitian Goat Hide Drums
Hauling an animal-skin drum through an airport seems ripe for a comedy of misunderstanding anyway (the ceremonial snake bowl that Renée Zellweger brought back from Thailand in the second Bridget Jones movie didn't do her any favors), but some goat-skin drums aren't treated properly, and have been tied to a cutaneous anthrax case, putting them on the Centers for Disease Control's restricted list. Same goes for some African drums.
Travel Tip: If getting your mitts on your own personal drum is in your plans, ensure it's been tanned, as that means it's non-infectious.

General rule, Check before you buy. Other rule. The Rules Change often.

New clues to King Solomon's mines found

New evidence that links the vast copper mines in southern tip of Israel to the reign of King Solomon has been discovered, archaeologists report.

During the Iron Age, humans took advantage of the copper deposits lurking in Israel's Timna Valley, as evidenced by the thousands of ancient mines and dozens of smelting sites in the district. But archaeologists have debated who controlled the mines, and when.

After American archaeologist Nelson Glueck explored the region in the 1930s, he announced he had found the real-life "King Solomon's Mines" in the biblical kingdom of Edom. ("King Solomon's Mines" was a popular Victorian adventure novel, published by the English author H. Rider Haggard.)

'The mines are definitely from the period of King Solomon.'

- Archaeologist Erez Ben-Yosef of Tel Aviv

Later research and the 1969 discovery of an Egyptian temple in the center of the valley cast doubt on Glueck's claims. Some archaeologists have since favored an interpretation suggesting the ancient Egyptians first built the mines in the 13th century B.C.

But recent excavations at Timna Valley turned up artifacts that have been radiocarbon dated to the 10th century B.C., when the Bible says King Solomon ruled.

The mines, however, were likely operated by the Edomites, a semi-nomadic tribe that battled constantly with Israel, the researchers say.

"The mines are definitely from the period of King Solomon," archaeologist Erez Ben-Yosef of Tel Aviv University, said in a statement this week. "They may help us understand the local society, which would have been invisible to us otherwise."

This past winter, Ben-Yosef and a team of researchers investigated an area known as Slaves' Hill, a previously untouched smelting camp that holds traces of hundreds of furnaces and layers of copper slag, the grit that's left over after the metal is extracted from its ore.

The site lacks significant architectural ruins, but the researchers found more ephemeral traces of ancient life: bits of clothing, woven ropes, dates, grapes, pistachios and ceramics.

Eleven samples of material from Slaves' Hill were submitted for testing at the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit at the University of Oxford in England. The results showed that the ancient items dated to Solomon's reign, the researchers said.

"In Timna Valley, we unearthed a society with undoubtedly significant development, organization, and power," Ben-Yosef said in a statement. "And yet because the people were living in tents, they would have been transparent to us as archaeologists if they had been engaged in an industry other than mining and smelting, which is very visible archaeologically."

Despite debate about how much archaeologists can trust the Bible as a historical source, Ben-Yosef added that it's very possible David and Solomon existed and at times, may have even exerted some control over the Timna Valley mines.

Ben-Yosef told LiveScience in an email that the team plans to submit their findings to a peer-reviewed academic journal. The new radiocarbon dates are in line with the chronology Ben-Yosef and other researchers put forth last year in the journal American Schools of Oriental Research. That 2012 study was based on findings from a nearby mining site.

Mexican Police Stampede

Stampede! Police horses escape in Mexico City - and trample a dozen cars

 

Thirty escaped police horses injured one person and damaged 11 cars as they rampaged down one of Mexico City's busiest roads.
Video shot by a motorist and posted here shows the saddled horses galloping through traffic on the Circuito Bicentenario.
The first animals set off down down the street and the rest followed.

Police say the animals became frightened by the sound of car engines as they were being taken out of their trailers near Congress, where they were being used to control protesters.
Local television showed pictures of a wrecked taxi, which was trampled by the horses in the stampede.

Some of the horses were injured and treated by the side of a road by a vet.
A police department spokesperson said one person suffered minor injuries, and added that the city's government will pay for any damage caused by the stampede.
One eyewitness said:  'I had stopped at the traffic light when I heard the horses coming.
'A horse hit the car. The horse fell, got up and continued.'
He added: 'There were at least 25 horses stampeding.'

Mexican Mystery Rocks

Mystery of the Mexican rocks that shine, give off a strange vapour and have locals fearing for their health

Mysterious rocks that shine and emit a strange vapour have been discovered in Mexico.
The rock fragments, which were found in the state of Sonora, emit vapours that are said to have a chlorine-like odour.
The emanating gas has also been reported to produce a colour change in materials including paper and cardboard.

Brazil Weird News has reported the discovery of unusual shining vapourous rocks in Mexico. The rocks, which were found in the state of Sonora, emit vapours that are said to have a chlorine odour

A metallurgical laboratory in Copper del Mayo, Mexico, is currently testing samples of the material.

 ‘We don't know what these rocks are but mining companies operating in the region are interested in analysing them in their laboratories,’ said technical secretary of Novojoa's Civil Defence, Juan Manuel Ramirez Sandoval, according to the Brazil Weird News report.

According to the commander of the region’s Fire Department, the public are concerned about the damaging effects that these rocks may pose.

The vapours have also been reported to produce a colour change in materials including paper and cardboard. A metallurgical laboratory in Copper del Mayo, Mexico, is currently testing samples of the material

‘We do not know where they came from these stones,’ he told Brazil Weird News.
‘They can have fallen from some truck, perhaps. We also don't know if the gas is something like a toxic substance or if the stones are radioactive.
‘Only a careful study can determine their origin, if these rocks are of the Earth... or not.’
THE IGNITING STONES THAT CAME FROM THE SEALast year, an unamed woman had to undergo surgery on her leg after rocks spontaneously combusted in her pocket.

The 43-year-old woman had enjoyed a day with her family at Trestles Beach, San Diego.
During the visit, her children had collected seven unusual-looking rocks - orange and green in colour - and the woman had put them in the right pocket of her cargo shorts to carry home.
Captain Marc Stone, a spokesman for Orange County Fire Authority, explained that the woman began to feel intense heat emanating from her pocket as she was standing in the kitchen of her San Clemente home.
Her clothing and skin began to burn as the heat intensified, and she also suffered second-degree burns to her hand as she tried to remove the rocks from her pocket.
It has been suggested that the rocks contained phosphorite. A chemical chain reaction could have ignited them as they were been subjected to friction in the woman's pocket as she walked.
Phosphorus in rocks, or phosphorite, is usually deposited by sediment - dissolved phosphorus from continental weathering that is brought to the oceans by rivers and streams.