QUITO, Ecuador: A 76-year-old woman who was declared dead at a hospital in Ecuador astonished her relatives by knocking on her coffin during her wake, and the incident has prompted a government investigation into the hospital.
Relatives left the coffin behind and rushed retired nurse Bella Montoya back to the hospital after the wake Friday in the central city of Babahoyo, son Gilberto Barbera told The Associated Press.
“It gave us all a fright,” Barbera said, adding that doctors have said his mother’s situation remains dire.
Ecuador’s Health Ministry said that Montoya was in intensive care Monday at the Martín Icaza Hospital in Babahoyo while the ministry investigates doctors involved in her case. A technical committee has been formed to review how the hospital issues death certificates, the ministry said in a statement.
Montoya initially had been admitted Friday at the hospital with a possible stroke and cardiopulmonary arrest, and when she did not respond to resuscitation a doctor on duty declared her dead, the ministry said.
Barbera said his mother was unconscious when she was brought to the emergency room and that a few hours later a doctor informed him she was dead and handed over identity documents and a death certificate.
The family then brought her to a funeral home and were holding a wake later Friday when they started to hear strange sounds.
“There were about 20 of us there,” Barbera said. “After about five hours of the wake, the coffin started to make sounds. My mom was wrapped in sheets and hitting the coffin, and when we approached we could see that she was breathing heavily.”
Though he and relatives rushed her back to the hospital Friday, she was still in serious condition Monday. She was under intubation, and doctors weren’t giving relatives much hope about her prognosis, Barbera said.
No details have been released about the doctor who had prematurely declared the woman dead.
Woman declared dead in Ecuador revives during her wake; health authorities investigate
https://arab.news/bueks
Woman declared dead in Ecuador revives during her wake; health authorities investigate
- The 76-year-old was declared dead after being admitted at the hospital with a possible stroke and cardiopulmonary arrest
From the longest conclave to anti-popes: 10 fun facts about the secret voting to elect a pope
- The periodic voting to elect a new pope has been going on for centuries and created a whole genre of historical trivia
- The last time a pope was elected who was not a cardinal was Urban VI in 1378
Here are some fun facts about conclaves past, derived from historical studies including Miles Pattenden’s “Electing the Pope in Early Modern Italy, 1450–1700” and interviews with experts including Elena Cangiano, an archaeologist at Viterbo’s Palazzo dei Papi (Palace of the Popes).
The longest conclave in history
In the 13th century, it took almost three years – 1,006 days to be exact – to choose Pope Clement IV’s successor, making it the longest conclave in the Catholic Church’s history. It’s also where the term conclave comes from – “under lock and key,” because the cardinals who were meeting in Viterbo, north of Rome, took so long the town’s frustrated citizens locked them in the room.
The secret vote that elected Pope Gregory X lasted from November 1268 to September 1271. It was the first example of a papal election by “compromise,” after a long struggle between supporters of two main geopolitical medieval factions – those faithful to the papacy and those supporting the Holy Roman Empire.
‘One meal a day’ rule
Gregory X was elected only after Viterbo residents tore the roof off the building where the prelates were staying and restricted their meals to bread and water to pressure them to come to a conclusion. Hoping to avoid a repeat, Gregory X decreed in 1274 that cardinals would only get “one meal a day” if the conclave stretched beyond three days, and only “bread, water and wine” if it went beyond eight. That restriction has been dropped.
The shortest conclave ever
Before 1274, there were times when a pope was elected the same day as the death of his predecessor. After that, however, the church decided to wait at least 10 days before the first vote. Later that was extended to 15 days to give all cardinals time to get to Rome. The quickest conclave observing the 10-day wait rule appears to have been the 1503 election of Pope Julius II, who was elected in just a few hours, according to Vatican historian Ambrogio Piazzoni. In more recent times, Pope Francis was elected in 2013 on the fifth ballot, Benedict XVI won in 2005 on the fourth and Pope Pius XII won on the third in 1939.
The first conclave in the Sistine Chapel
The first conclave held under Michelangelo’s frescoed ceiling in the Sistine Chapel was in 1492. Since 1878, the world-renowned chapel has become the venue of all conclaves. “Everything is conducive to an awareness of the presence of God, in whose sight each person will one day be judged,” St. John Paul II wrote in his 1996 document regulating the conclave, “Universi Dominici Gregis.” The cardinals sleep a short distance away in the nearby Domus Santa Marta hotel or a nearby residence.
The alternative locations
Most conclaves were held in Rome, with some taking place outside the Vatican walls. Four were held in the Pauline Chapel of the papal residence at the Quirinale Palace, while some 30 others were held in St. John Lateran Basilica, Santa Maria Sopra Minerva or other places in Rome. On 15 occasions they took place outside Rome and the Vatican altogether, including in Viterbo, Perugia, Arezzo and Venice in Italy, and Konstanz, Germany and Lyon, France.
The alternative popes, or anti-popes
Between 1378-1417, referred by historians to as the Western Schism, there were rival claimants to the title of pope. The schism produced multiple papal contenders, the so-called anti-popes, splitting the Catholic Church for nearly 40 years. The most prominent anti-popes during the Western Schism were Clement VII, Benedict XIII, Alexander V, and John XXIII. The schism was ultimately resolved by the Council of Constance in 1417, which led to the election of Martin V, a universally accepted pontiff.
A challenge to personal hygiene
The cloistered nature of the conclave posed another challenge for cardinals: staying healthy. Before the Domus Santa Marta guest-house was built in 1996, cardinal electors slept on cots in rooms connected to the Sistine Chapel. Conclaves in the 16th and 17th centuries were described as “disgusting” and “badly smelling,” with concern about disease outbreaks, particularly in summer, according to historian Miles Pattenden. “The cardinals simply had to have a more regular and comfortable way of living because they were old men, many of them with quite advanced disease,” Pattenden wrote. The enclosed space and lack of ventilation further aggravated these issues. Some of the electors left the conclave sick, often seriously.
Vow of secrecy
Initially, papal elections weren’t as secretive but concerns about political interference soared during the longest conclave in Viterbo. Gregory X decreed that cardinal electors should be locked in seclusion, “cum clave” (with a key), until a new pope was chosen. The purpose was to create a totally secluded environment where the cardinals could focus on their task, guided by God’s will, without any political interference or distractions. Over the centuries, various popes have modified and reinforced the rules surrounding the conclave, emphasizing the importance of secrecy.
Youngest pope, oldest pope
Pope John XII was just 18 when he was elected in 955. The oldest popes were Pope Celestine III (elected in 1191) and Celestine V (elected in 1294) who were both nearly 85. Benedict XVI was 78 when he was elected in 2005.
A non-cardinal pope and non-Italian pope
There is no requirement that a pope be a cardinal, but that has been the case for centuries. The last time a pope was elected who wasn’t a cardinal was Urban VI in 1378. He was a monk and archbishop of Bari. While the Italians have had a stranglehold on the papacy over centuries, there have been many exceptions aside from John Paul II (Polish in 1978) and Benedict XVI (German in 2005) and Francis (Argentine in 2013). Alexander VI, elected in 1492, was Spanish; Gregory III, elected in 731, was Syrian; Adrian VI, elected in 1522, was from the Netherlands.
Cha-ching! Millions of dimes spill onto Texas highway after truck rolls
- Tractor-trailer involved in the accident was loaded with 8 million ten-cent coins
ALVORD, Texas: Talk about some serious coin.
Millions of coins spilled onto a Texas highway this week after a tractor-trailer hauling $800,000 in dimes rolled over in an accident, authorities said.
The spillage led to the closure of a portion of the southbound lanes of US 287 in Alvord for about half a day as workers got on their hands and knees to pick up the coins in addition to using brooms and shovels and large industrial vacuums.
The tractor-trailer rolled onto its side at about 5:30 a.m. Tuesday after veering off the road and overcorrecting, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. The highway reopened at about 7 p.m. that day, DPS said.
The driver and a passenger were transported to a hospital with injuries that were not life threatening, DPS said.
Alvord is located about 80 miles (130 kilometers) northwest of Dallas.
The tractor-trailer appears to be part of the fleet of trucks operated by Western Distributing Transportation Corporation, which has a division that moves cargo for the government in armored vehicles with armed personnel. A person answering the phone at the company Thursday said they had no comment.
The US Mint says on its website that it’s the nation’s sole manufacturer of legal tender coins. A message left with the agency on Thursday was not immediately returned.
India probes snake in school lunch after 100 children fall sick
- The meal was served last week in a government-run school in the city of Mokama in Bihar
- The incident sparked angry demonstrations from the children’s families
NEW DELHI: India’s human rights body said Thursday it was investigating reports more than 100 children fell sick after eating a school lunch served after a dead snake was found in the food.
“Reportedly, the cook served the food to the children after removing a dead snake from it,” the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said in a statement.
The meal was served last week in a government-run school in the city of Mokama in Bihar, one of India’s poorest states, it said.
The commission demanded local government officials and police investigate media reports that “more than 100 children fell ill” after eating the school lunch.
The incident sparked angry demonstrations from the children’s families.
“The news about the children falling ill, due to the consumption of the midday meal, led to the blocking of the road by the protesting villagers,” it said.
Free lunches are offered to millions of children in government schools throughout India, seen by authorities as a way to encourage children to continue their education.
The commission said it demanded a “detailed report” from senior state officials and the police, to include “the health status of the children.”
It said the report, if confirmed, poses the “serious issue of violation of the human rights of the students,” the statement added.
In 2013, 23 schoolchildren died after being served a meal laced with pesticides in Saran district of Bihar. The disaster prompted the government to improve food safety in schools.
Hawaii plans to increase hotel tax to help it cope with climate change
- State leaders say they will use the funds for projects to cope with a warming planet
- Officials estimate the increase would generate $100 million in new revenue annually
HONOLULU: In a first-of-its kind move, Hawaii lawmakers are ready to hike a tax imposed on travelers staying in hotels, vacation rentals and other short-term accommodations and earmark the new money for programs to cope with a warming planet.
State leaders say they’ll use the funds for projects like replenishing sand on eroding beaches, helping homeowners install hurricane clips on their roofs and removing invasive grasses like those that fueled the deadly wildfire that destroyed Lahaina two years ago.
A bill scheduled for House and Senate votes on Wednesday would add an additional 0.75 percent to the daily room rate tax starting Jan. 1. It’s all but certain to pass given Democrats hold supermajorities in both chambers and party leaders have agreed on the measure. Gov. Josh Green has said he would sign it into law.
Officials estimate the increase would generate $100 million in new revenue annually.
“We had a $13 billion tragedy in Maui and we lost 102 people. These kinds of dollars will help us prevent that next disaster,” Green said in an interview.
Green said Hawaii was the first state in the nation to do something along these lines. Andrey Yushkov, a senior policy analyst at the Tax Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization, said he was unaware of any other state that has set aside lodging tax revenue for the purposes of environmental protection or climate change.
Adding to an already hefty tax
The increase will add to what is already a relatively large duty on short-term stays. The state’s existing 10.25 percent tax on daily room rates would climb to 11 percent. In addition, Hawaii’s counties each add their own 3 percent surcharge and the state and counties impose a combined 4.712 percent general excise tax on goods and services including hotel rooms. Together, that will make for a tax rate of nearly 19 percent.
The only large US cities that have higher cumulative state and local lodging tax rates are Omaha, Nebraska, at 20.5 percent, and Cincinnati, at 19.3 percent, according to a 2024 report by HVS, a global hospitality consulting firm.
The governor has long said the 10 million visitors who come to Hawaii each year should help the state’s 1.4 million residents protect the environment.
Green believes travelers will be willing to pay the increased tax because doing so will enable Hawaii to “keep the beaches perfect” and preserve favorite spots like Maui’s road to Hana and the coastline along Oahu’s North Shore. After the Maui wildfire, Green said he heard from thousands of people across the country asking how they could help. This is a significant way they can, he said.
Hotel industry has mixed feelings
Jerry Gibson, president of the Hawaii Hotel Alliance, which represents the state’s hotel operators, said the industry was pleased lawmakers didn’t adopt a higher increase that was initially proposed.
“I don’t think that there’s anybody in the tourism industry that says, ‘Well, let’s go out and tax more.’ No one wants to see that,” Gibson said. “But our state, at the same time, needs money.”
The silver lining, Gibson said, is that the money is supposed to beautify Hawaii’s environment. It will be worth it if that’s the case, he said.
Hawaii has long struggled to pay for the vast environmental and conservation needs of the islands, ranging from protecting coral reefs to weeding invasive plants to making sure tourists don’t harass wildlife, such as Hawaiian monk seals. The state must also maintain a large network of trails, many of which have heavier foot traffic as more travelers choose to hike on vacation.
Two years ago, lawmakers considered requiring tourists to pay for a yearlong license or pass to visit state parks and trails. Green wanted to have all visitors pay a $50 fee to enter the state, an idea lawmakers said would violate US constitutional protections for free travel.
Boosting the lodging tax is their compromise solution, one made more urgent by the Maui wildfires.
A large funding gap
An advocacy group, Care for Aina Now, calculated a $561 million gap between Hawaii’s conservation funding needs and money spent each year.
Green acknowledged the revenue from the tax increase falls short of this, but said the state would issue bonds to leverage the money it raises. Most of the $100 million would go toward measures that can be handled in a one-to-two year time frame, while $10 to $15 million of it would pay for bonds supporting long-term infrastructure projects.
Kāwika Riley, a member of the governor’s Climate Advisory Team, pointed to the Hawaiian saying, “A stranger only for a day,” to explain the new tax. The adage means that a visitor should help with the work after the first day of being a guest.
“Nobody is saying that literally our visitors have to come here and start working for us. But what we are saying is that it’s important to be part of the solution,” Riley said. “It’s important to be part of caring for the things you love.”
Starbucks earnings disappoint as CEO Niccol’s strategy faces US hurdles
- Starbucks is paring down promotions and discounts, and relying less on its loyalty program as it invests in broader marketing
Starbucks faces challenges in reviving its business, CEO Brian Niccol said on Tuesday, after the coffee giant posted disappointing global comparable sales and profit with inflation and economic uncertainty driving up costs and dampening US demand.
Investors have placed their bets on Niccol’s turnaround strategy for the brand, whose sales have fallen for four straight quarters, by reducing production and service times and investing in stores to improve customer experience.
“Our financial results don’t yet reflect our progress, but we have real momentum with our ‘Back to Starbucks’ plan,” Niccol said in a statement.
Starbucks paused rolling out its Siren System store revamp program, launched under former CEO Laxman Narasimhan, because it was capital heavy, said Niccol, who had helped revive Chipotle Mexican Grill as CEO of the burrito chain.
The company will focus on investing in improving front-end delivery instead of kitchen equipment, Niccol said on a post-earnings call. “The equipment doesn’t solve the customer experience that we need to provide.”
Niccol said Starbucks was improving service speed with the right staffing and deployment, and that its refreshed marketing was resonating with customers.
Starbucks will also review its US store portfolio as it rolls out labor-focused technological changes including a pilot program that allows customers to schedule their mobile orders, he said.
However, consumers are growing more cautious as US President Donald Trump’s erratic trade tariffs have created economic uncertainty and threaten to fuel inflation. US restaurant visits and spending weakened in February and March.
Starbucks’ shares fell 6.5 percent in extended trading. The stock, which had surged in the months following Niccol’s appointment as CEO, is down about 7 percent so far this year.
North American same-store sales fell 1 percent for the fiscal second quarter ended March 30, worse than the 0.24 percent drop estimated by analysts in an LSEG poll. The company said sales in Canada returned to growth in the quarter.
TURNAROUND TIMELINE
It may take time for traffic to reaccelerate because changes in stores and reinstating its coffee house roots could take at least another three to six months, said Bernstein analyst Danilo Gargiulo.
Starbucks is paring down promotions and discounts, and relying less on its loyalty program as it invests in broader marketing.
The average ticket, or amount spent by customers per visit, was up 3 percent in the second quarter.
The company said it will localize and move production as needed to mitigate the impact of US tariffs on imports from China.
The company’s international business improved slightly, with sales unchanged in China, its second-largest market, after four straight quarters of decline. Starbucks said it was committed to growing business in China long-term.
International comparable sales rose 2 percent, compared with estimates of a 1.13 percent drop.
Gross margin fell 590 basis points in the quarter and the company reported adjusted earnings per share of 41 cents, missing estimates of 49 cents.
Total same-store sales declined 1 percent in the second quarter, compared with analysts’ average estimate of a 0.26 percent fall. Comparable sales had declined 4 percent in the preceding three-month period.
