WORLD BRIEFS

Pollution threatens vast underwater archeology site in Mexico, experts say

MEXICO CITY — Mexican experts say the recently mapped Sac Actun cave system “is probably the most important underwater archaeological site in the world,” but is threatened by pollution.

Subaquatic archaeologist Guillermo de Anda says researchers found a human skull that was already covered in rainwater limestone deposits before the cave system flooded around

9,000 years ago.

De Anda says over 120 sites with Maya- era pottery and bones in the caves suggest water levels may have briefly dropped in the 347- kilometrelong system about 1,000 A. D.

But de Anda said Monday the cave with the stone- encased skull has high acidity levels, suggesting acidic runoff from a nearby open- air dump could damage skeletal remains.

The world’s other great underwater site, the sunken Egyptian city of Alexandria, is also threatened by pollution.

Rio could be ‘ laboratory’ for solving Brazil’s crime crisis

SAO PAULO — A Brazilian leader says that use of the military to combat rising violence in Rio de Janeiro could be a test case for other violent areas of Brazil.

The military took over Rio’s police on Friday under a decree from President Michel Temer. That measure needs congressional approval, and the lower house is scheduled to debate it Monday.

Institutional Security Minister Sergio Etchegoyen says the actions in Rio could be a “laboratory” for solving Brazil’s broader security crisis.

The move came after Rio’s governor asked for federal help following an exceptionally violent Carnival.

Prolific British pedophile sentenced to 38 years

LONDON — A judge in Britain has sentenced a prolific pedophile to 38 years in prison in what is being described as a watershed moment for authorities coming to grips with technology’s ability to spread depravity.

Geophysicist Matthew Falder admitted 137 offences, including blackmail and encouraging the rape of a child.

Falder posed as a female artist to lure victims into sending him humiliating images, many of which were then distributed on the dark web. He approached 300 people worldwide.

Judge Philip Parker branded Falder an “internet highwayman,” whose behaviour was “cunning, persistent, manipulative and cruel.”

Will Kerr of the National Crime Agency said Monday such crimes require “unprecedented” levels of resources to stop. The agency worked with U. S. Homeland Security, the Australian Federal Police and Europol to crack the case.

17 killed in garbage dump collapse in Mozambique

JOHANNESBURG — Heavy rains triggered the partial collapse of a huge mound of garbage in Mozambique’s capital on Monday, killing as many as 17 people who were buried by debris.

Authorities believe more bodies could be buried at the Hulene garbage dump on the outskirts of Maputo, and a search was underway. The garbage in the poor, densely populated area where the disaster happened rose to the height of a three- story building, according to the Portuguese news agency Lusa.

Twelve people died, Lusa reported. Radio Mocambique put the death toll at 17. Half a dozen homes were destroyed and some residents in the area fled for fear of another collapse.

“The mountains of garbage collapsed on the houses and many families were still inside these residences,” Fatima Belchoir, a national disaster official, told Lusa. Authorities are trying to help people who lost their homes, she said.

The Hulene garbage dump is the largest such facility in Maputo. People often comb through the garbage, searching for food and items to sell.

Health workers have long raised concerns about the impact of the fumes, flies and other hazards of the dump on the surrounding community. Municipal officials have previously discussed the closure of the dump.