Newly released data shows that nine Mexican cities rank among the 10 deadliest in the globe in 2022, according to World of Statistics.

The report listed the western Mexico municipality of Colima as the murder capital in the world with 181.9 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants.

The city is the second largest in the state of Colima and placed first in the list in 2021 with 196.6 murders per 100,000 inhabitants.

Murders are on pace to equal or slightly surpass those figures in 2023, with 512 homicides registered through the first seven months of the year, an average of 73.1 per month, after 887 people were murdered the previous year at a clip of 73.91 homicides a month.

New Orleans, the only non-Mexican city in the list, was ranked eighth with 70.6 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants

The municipality of Zamora, located in the western state of Michoacán, came in second, with 177.7 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants while Ciudad Obregón, the second largest city in the northwestern state of Sonora, recorded 138.2 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants.

Zacatecas, the capital and largest city of the north-central state of Zacatecas, came in fourth with an average of 134.6 per 100,000 inhabitants and the Pacific border city of Tijuana, across from California, ranked fifth 105.1 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants.

The cities of Celaya and Uruapan in the central state of Guanajuato placed fifth and sixth, respectively. Celaya registered 99.6 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants and Uruapan followed with 78.3 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants.

The top 10 list is rounded out by Ciudad Juárez at nine. The border town, located in the northwestern state of Chihuahua and south of El Paso, Texas, registered 67.7 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants. It was second in 2019 with 104.4 murders per 100,000 inhabitants.

Once a top destination for the Hollywood elite, the beach resort town of Acapulco placed 10th, tallying an average of 65.6 murders per 100,000 inhabitants.

The Guanajuato municipality of Irapuato ranked 13th with 61.60 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants and the city of Cuernavaca in the central state of Morelos was listed in 14th place with 60.2 murders per 100,000 inhabitants.

Each of the cities listed in the report are within the Mexican states that the U.S. Department of State has issued travel advisories due to crime and kidnapping.

María del Carmen López, 63, a Mexico-U.S. dual citizen, has been missing since February 9 when gunmen kidnapped her home in the Colima municipality of Pueblo Nuevo.

In June, one of her seven children held a press conference in Los Angeles and pleaded with President Joe Biden to help find her.

She revealed that the kidnappers had sent the family an audio in which the woman can be heard begging to be brought back home.

Her daughter, Zonia López, said her mother asked them to ‘please hurry, act quickly, my children, and give them what they want. My life depends on it.’

Reba star Melissa Peterman hosting brand new game show Person, Place Or Thing – set to debut this fall

By Christine Rendon For Dailymail.com

Updated: 13:28 EDT, 3 September 2023

Sunbed wars at Britain’s favourite holiday destinations continue unabated this summer, with swarms of families rising at the crack of dawn to bag a spot by the pool.

But a hotel in Crete has been revealed as the place where holidaymakers have the best chance of avoiding the fierce morning race to reserve a lounger.

With 3,500 sunbeds available, there is at least one sunbed available for each of the 2,150 guests staying at the Lyttos Beach Hotel on the Greek island. 

Expanding across seven pools and the hotel’s private beach, there are always loungers available, according to research by holiday experts On The Beach.

A further five hotels also have more sunbeds than guests. These include the Akti Imperial Deluxe Resort & Spa Dolce by Wyndham in Rhodes, Greece, where there are 2150 sunbeds for 1850 guests.

Also in Rhodes, the Lindos Imperial Resort & Spa offers 1800 loungers to 1600 guests.

The Rixos Premium Seagate in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, and the Titanic Palace And Aquapark Resort in Hurghada, Egypt, offer a sunbed to guest ratio of 1.03, with 1850 beds to 1800 guests and 1196 beds to 1160 guests respectively. 

Meanwhile the Leonardo Plaza Cypria Maris Beach Hotel & Spa in Paphos in Cyprus offers 800 loungers for 790 guests.

Zoe Harris, chief customer officer at On the Beach, said: ‘The issue of reserving sun loungers at hotels has been raging since the birth of package holidays! The reality is that a lot of holidaymakers – even those who say it’s wrong – have chanced their arm with a 6am towel dash for the best poolside spots.

‘We have six brilliant hotels in fantastic locations that have more sunbeds than guests, which means you can wake up without setting an alarm knowing there will always be a sunbed available for you.’

It comes as tourists staying at resorts across the Mediterranean this summer have been filmed fighting it out in hotspots like the Costa del Sol and locals in Benidorm have been caught setting up loungers in the middle of the night to beat the swarm of Brits.

Earlier this month families including young children were caught on camera racing out of the gates to grab a sunbed at a resort in Benidorm – as VIP loungers watched on in hysterics.

Tourists carrying towels and bathing gear sprinted past one another to make sure they secured the prime spot after the doors were opened to the Spanish resort’s pool first thing in the early morning.

To add insult to injury, the tourists’ mortifying attempts to secure a bed were filmed by VIP guests, who seemingly didn’t have to put themselves out to secure a lounger. 

Bizarre footage shows holidaymakers running full pelt. Others appeared to temper their pace, slowing to a power walk as they seemingly deciding not to demean themselves in the pursuit of a sunbathing spot.

This month MailOnline revealed how sunbed wars have become so intense at one hotel on the Costa del Sol that they have introduced a parking ticket style system – with towels left on beds unattended removed after a time limit.

Staff at the hotel, which has seen tourists go to extreme lengths to secure a sun lounger, have brought in new measures to curb the madness.

Guests at the Estival Torrequebrada in Malaga, who have often paid thousands to enjoy a break, have been warned they can no longer leave towels as a marker on a sunbed to claim it for a whole day.

Management instead began leaving cards on sunbeds with towels, handbags and other personal belongings on them, warning they will be removed after 45 minutes if they remain unoccupied. 

Anyone remotely aware of Winnie-the-Pooh should know that Ashdown Forest is an Enchanted Place.

It is where A. A. Milne set the stories about his son Christopher Robin and his toys, Eeyore, Piglet, Tigger and Pooh bear.

The bridge where they played Poohsticks, built in 1907, survives, at least in replica — the wood it was made with had rotted by 1999.

It’s not the only Winnie-the-Pooh site, though. Official booklets on Pooh Walks cover Roo’s Sandy Pit, the North Pole, Eeyore’s Sad And Gloomy Place, Galleon’s Lap and the Heffalump Trap.

This magical corner of East Sussex, between East Grinstead and Crowborough, is teeming with unusual wildlife. 

‘Forest’ is a misleading term since much of the landscape is heathland. It has international classification as a Special Protection Area for wild birds, such as the nightjar, which comes from Africa to breed here. There are also butterflies galore.

Although the South-East of England is one of the most densely populated areas of Europe, this remains a place of open vistas, where you can walk and wonder.

Forests were important during the Middle Ages, when wood was used to make tools, ships, furniture and houses. Ashdown Forest was given to Edward III’s son, John of Gaunt, for hunting.

It remained a royal forest into the 17th century. Due to its supply of wood combined with deposits of iron ore, Ashdown Forest supported an iron industry in Roman and Tudor times — in 1496 England’s first blast furnace was built at Newbridge.

Within walking distance of Friend’s Clump car park is Nutley Windmill, a 300-year-old open-trestle post mill, in full working order.

Pause for a moment at Airman’s Grave, a memorial to the six-man crew of a Wellington Bomber of the 142 Squadron, which crashed in the forest on July 31, 1941, as part of a 100-plane bombing raid on its way to Cologne.

And while Groombridge Place, a moated manor house built in 1662, is currently closed for refurbishment, you can still visit the nearby Spa Valley Railway to watch steam trains pass by. You could even hop on board and take a trip along the track to Eridge or Tunbridge Wells.

It’s technically outside Ashdown Forest but is close to Pooh Corner.

Since the Victorian period, the forest has attracted city dwellers in need of a spiritual lift, including A. A.Milne. His home, Cotchford Farm, is available on Airbnb, with six bedrooms; guests can sleep in Christopher Robin’s room.

Among the villages is the aptly named Forest Row, recently dubbed one of the poshest in England by a national newspaper.

It is a centre of alternative lifestyles. Delicious organic/vegan fare is served at The Seasons Kitchen.

Venture six miles west, into the High Weald, and you’ll find The Cat Inn, a 16th-century freehouse with oak beams and real ales, in the valley of West Hoathly. I think it’s the best pub in England.

At first it looks like a bizarre silver monolith poking out of the water. 

But on closer inspection, a massive humpback whale can be seen doing a rare ‘headstand’ in astonishing new footage. 

Australian YouTuber and TikTok star Brodie Moss filmed himself excitedly approaching the creature in his transparent kayak off the Australian coast. 

‘What the hell is going on?’ he says as he gets closer and closer to the tail, which is almost completely motionless as it sticks out of the water. 

At one point, Moss dips his handheld camera under the surface to reveal a breathtaking sight – the whale’s huge body with its offspring at its chest. 

One or both of the whales can be heard singing, a common behaviour used as a way of communicating. 

‘My heart is beating so fast,’ Moss says in the video as he’s merely yards away from the animal.

‘I think that’s a whale tail – it’s just come up and stuck its tail up and it’s just not going anywhere.

‘This is the craziest thing that’s ever happened.’

The smaller humpback whale, likely the offspring, is also seen encircling the gigantic creature as it’s performing its ‘headstand’. 

‘The little baby’s just swimming around it – what the hell!’ Moss adds. 

It’s unclear exactly where the encounter took place, although Moss is part of the YBS Youngbloods YouTube channel based in Exmouth, Western Australia.

Moss says in the video that the transparent kayak ‘is making the whale act so weird’, but he later clarifies that it’s an example of ‘tail sailing’. 

Rarely observed by humans, it involves whales lifting their tails above the water for long periods of time.

Why exactly they do it is unknown, although there are some leading theories, according to marine biologists. 

It could be a way for whales to rest, nurse their young or just have a rest while trying to stay cool. 

Dr Denise Risch, a marine mammal ecologist at the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) in Oban, told MailOnline: ‘Like so many other things when it comes to whale behaviour, it is currently not known why they do this.

‘It has often been observed in humpback whale populations in their winter breeding grounds and also in other species such as southern right, gray and bowhead whales. 

‘One paper describes the behaviour shown by humpback whales in Brazil. There, all social classes except for calves can be observed showing this behaviour.

‘Generally, it is thought that the whales could be resting or regulating their temperature with this behaviour, but there is no clear evidence for either hypothesis.’ 

Dr Risch also said it could help sound waves travel through water.

‘Male humpback whale singers have been observed singing upside down and to produce higher amplitude sounds when they do, so the position of the tail may be incidental,’ she said. 

On Reddit, nature fans joked that the behaviour was like putting ‘your feet out of bed when they’re a bit hot but in reverse.’ 

One said: ‘Maybe it’s just their version of sticking your hand outside a car window and feeling the wind on your fingertips.’ 

Another posted: ‘Maybe it feels good having all his blood rush to his head.’  

It’s not the first time a humpback whale has been caught ‘tail-sailing’. 

Another specimen off the coast of Maui, Hawaii was filmed in 2016 engaging in the peculiar behaviour as a calf swam around it. 

According to scientists, tail-sailing is common among southern right whales, although it’s rarer among humpbacks, which can live for 80 or 90 years. 

Adults of the species (officially known as Megaptera novaeangliae) range in length from 39 to 52 feet and weigh about 36 metric tons. 

The males produce a complex song lasting 10 to 20 minutes, which they repeat for hours at a time, although both males and females use some form of vocalizations. 

Along with the blue whale, the fin whale and others, the humpback whales is a baleen or ‘filer feeder’.

Baleen whales have a filter-feeding system inside their mouths instead of teeth, which they use to collect shrimp-like krill, plankton and small fish from the sea. 

In comparison, toothed whales, such as the beaked whale and sperm whale, bite their food or even swallow it whole. 

In 2021, researchers revealed a new species of baleen whale in the Gulf of Mexico called Rice’s whale, although they said there were fewer than 100 left. 

The daughter a French explorer on board the missing Titan submersible said she was still holding out hope they would be rescued – shortly before news broke that debris from the vessel was found on the ocean floor this morning. 

The comments from Sidonie Nargeolet, the 39-year-old daughter of oceanographer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, came before a landing frame and rear cover of the missing Titan were discovered, leading officials to believe the five-man crew, Nargeolet included, is now dead.

Experts said the debris suggests the vessel suffered a ‘catastrophic implosion’ sometime after descending into the ocean depths on Sunday, potentially claiming all five of the lives on board.   

As workers’ search entered a critical phase Thursday morning, Sidonie told Reuters she was living with ‘a lot of stress, very mixed emotions’ about the fate of the missing mariner – whose knowledge of the lost ship earned him the nickname ‘Mr Titanic’.

The 77-year-old spent more than two decades in the French Navy before leading several expeditions to the famous wreck in the Atlantic Ocean. 

‘I really hope they will find them and safe. I think we have to trust what they are doing and be confident,’ Sidonie, 39, told Reuters in the town of La Massana, Andorra, where she lives.

Sidonie said her father’s vast experience with submarines made him ‘know how to react to problems’ and she was confident he was able to manage the situation well.

‘He is very passionate about the Titanic since they found it 30 years ago and I know now he is at the place he would like to be.’

Her father’s colleagues have described him as a leading expert on the Titanic with more than 35 dives to the wreck under his belt after a two-decade career in the French navy.

His daughter said she learned about the accident on Monday, when she received a text message from her father’s spouse saying he should have been back at 6 p.m. on Sunday.

‘I cried a lot,’ she said of her reaction to the news. She had last seen her father just before Christmas last year in Andorra.

‘He sent me a message a week before (getting in the submersible) telling me the weather was bad, so they hadn’t been able to go down, but that there was a great atmosphere,’ she said. ‘I sent him a message on Sunday for Father’s Day but he didn’t reply.’

Sidonie said her father had made his first trip to the wreck in 1987. On one trip in another vessel operated by U.S.-based OceanGate Expeditions, he told her that he was not sure he would return safely, although he eventually did.

‘He knows how to handle a crisis situation. He is prepared for it. Here, I think that with the other people he would have explained to them, therefore, to breathe gently, so that we use less oxygen. 

‘And he also knows how to reassure them, that’s very important. Maybe kick the submarine, so they can hear it,’ she said.

But she was realistic about time running out.

‘What worries me is that they are not being found because there will be a moment in which they will run out of oxygen,’ Sidonie said.

Nargeolet’s friends have said he is an ‘extraordinary leader’ in crisis situations, and if anyone can keep those onboard calm in the claustrophobic conditions onboard the Titan, it’s him. 

The mariner, born in Chamonix, France, was the first person to have brought up an object – a silver plate – from the Titanic in 1987 and in 2022 he told Le Parisien that he had read ‘200 to 300 books’ on the wreckage.

Since that first dive in 1987, the esteemed mariner has led several expeditions to the sunken cruiser off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, and even supervised the recovery of thousands of artifacts – including the 20-ton section of the Titanic’s hull.

‘He is the world specialist on the Titanic, its conception, the shipwreck, he has dived in four corners of the world – he is a super-hero for us in France,’ said Mathieu Johann, his editor at Harper Collins.

But as searchers made the grim debris discovery later in the day, many are losing hope about the prospect of a safe return for the five-person crew – Sidonie included.

‘Sometimes I don’t check (the news) because I don’t want to hear them saying that they now have very low oxygen. I prefer to listen to positive things, to hope, that they will continue looking for them,’ she said shortly before the new development, struggling to hold back her tears.

‘If they are not found, it will be very sad for us because we will not see him again. What he liked the most was to be in a submarine, (near) the Titanic.’

She took solace in the fact that if he is in fact lost, her father went out doing what he loved most.  

‘He is where he really loved being. I would prefer him (dying) at a place where he is very happy,’ Nargeolet said.

‘So whether he’s in a submarine and whether he’s in the Titanic, I know he likes it. I hope there will be a good outcome, that they will find him. In any case … he is happy where he is… That’s reassuring.’

Experts, meanwhile, for days had warned of the possibility that the Titan had sprung a leak and imploded under pressure experienced during the deep dive, which is roughly 400 times that experienced at sea level. 

‘They would be dead before they knew anything had even happened,’ L. David Marquet, a retired Navy nuclear submarine commander, said earlier this week. 

If the debris does not belong to the Titan, the Coast Guard has vowed to continue its search. 

Earlier this morning, Rear Admiral John Mauger, who is coordinating the effort from Boston, said during an appearance on NBC’s Today show: ‘People’s will to live has to be accounted for.’ 

The submersible’s oxygen theoretically should have run out at 8am EST (1pm BST) Thursday, according to the 96 hours limit listed on OceanGate’s specs of the ship. 

Could this be the world’s most fashionable hotel? It’s certainly going to be a top choice for the well-heeled.

Vermelho, the first-ever hotel to be created by legendary shoe designer Christian Louboutin, has opened its doors in Portugal.

Newly built, the 13-room ‘secret getaway’ is nestled in the heart of Melides, a little coastal village in the country’s Alentejo region.

The name ‘Vermelho’ comes from the iconic shade of red that coats the sole of the designer’s shoes.

Christian Louboutin, who founded his eponymous brand in Paris in 1992, says: ‘I realised many people have the fantasy of designing or owning a hotel. I like to make my dreams a reality. That is why Vermelho is born.’

The French fashion maven continues: ‘This project allows me to empty my storage full of antiques and objects I have purchased over many years! Furthermore, it is an opportunity to show the excellence of many artists and artisans I admire.’

The designer first passed through Melides a dozen years ago, and was quickly ‘mesmerised’ by the ‘dreamy atmosphere’ of the village’s pine forest and ‘the unique beauty of the sunlight on [its] lagoon’.

Smitten, he restored a small fisherman’s shack in the village and has returned there every June since to design his winter shoe collection.

Set to bring fashion lovers around the globe to Melides, Louboutin’s new hotel – which welcomed its first guests in April – is said to offer a ‘home-like experience’ amidst décor that offers an ‘eclectic, maximalist aesthetic’.

In building Vermelho, he enlisted the help of the architect Madalena Caiado, with whom he collaborated on the design of his Lisbon home, which lies little more than an hour north of Melides.

Stroll into the lobby and you’ll spy a ‘gigantic’ green and gold gigantic glass-blown chandelier that has been crafted by artisans in India.

The Greek painter Konstantin Kakanias embellished the walls of a suite on the second floor of the hotel, with the artist noting: ‘The suite that I painted for Vermelho is basically inspired by the famous Villa Kerylos [an Ancient-Greek-Revival-style villa built in the early 1900s] in the south of France, but also pays tribute to 17th and 18th-century frescoed Italian villas and imaginary places that I would have liked to visit. 

‘Like Christian himself, it is a mosaic of memories, feelings and desires.’

There’s more ‘exuberant’ artwork from the sculptor Elisabeth Lincot – her ‘Lagrima de Loros’ installation in the hotel is composed of a hundred glazed ceramic bird heads.

Other standout decorative features in the property include the colourful tiles, which have been crafted in Portugal’s Azeitao region.

During a stay, guests can indulge in spa treatments and massages, or sip on cocktails at the Vermelho bar, home to a decadent silver-leaf-covered bar counter.

The hotel’s restaurant, Xtian, is said to plate up the ‘culinary treasures of Portugal’. It’s run by Chef David Abreu, whose signature dishes include wild boar stew followed by ‘drunk pears’ – pears cooked in a wine-based syrup – for dessert.

Summing up the ethos of the retreat, a statement says: ‘Embodying the quintessence of the audacious spirit that so defines Christian Louboutin, Vermelho Melides is an exclusive, yet friendly hotel, open to the world while celebrating Iberian Peninsula savoir-faire and traditions.’

Rooms are priced from £452. Visit vermelhohotel.com. 

Think the life of a flight attendant is one big party?

One former air hostess has set the record straight in a book that pulls together her diary entries made while working for a ‘luxury airline’ over a period of five years.

‘Diary of A Flight Attendant‘ by Marika Mikusova is a warts-and-all behind-the-scenes look at what it’s really like to work at 38,000ft. Read on for some of the revelations contained within the tome, from the best place and time to join the mile-high club to why Germans are the best at boarding and the shocking habits of cabin cleaning crews…

GERMANS – AND THEIR SEAT-SWAPPING PROWESS

Marika reveals how ‘boarding basically takes care of itself on a German flight’.

She explains: ‘Passengers know where to sit and how to arrange their luggage in the hat racks [overhead bins], which they then close themselves. And if they want to change seats with someone, they go and ask them themselves, instead of coming to us like little kids to sort it out for them.’

POSTURE IN THE CABIN

Marika was once told by a supervisor that she ‘shouldn’t lean on seats because it doesn’t look good’. Marika complained that this was difficult when standing behind a seat, explaining: ‘We absolutely must “lean”, or we would fall into the seats behind us. My blood’s boiling.’

THE CHAOS OF BUSY FLIGHTS

One flight was so busy, Marika explains, that ‘half an hour before landing, we are still running up and down the cabin, collecting dirty meal trays’. She adds: ‘Some passengers get so fed up with our snail’s pace that they bring the trays to the galley themselves. And when there’s nowhere else to put them, they leave them on the floor. We’d have picked them up quicker if it hadn’t been for a few passengers suddenly remembering they’d like a coffee.’

COMING CLEAN ABOUT THE CLEANERS

After one flight, Marika witnessed a cleaner wiping the surface of the galley ‘with the same rag he just used to wipe the toilet floor’. She adds: ‘I’ve seen it so many times, I’m not surprised at all.’

HOW ARE THE CREWS AT CLEANING THE LAVATORIES?

Marika says: ‘When the crew goes to “clean the lavatory”, what that really means for a lot of them is that they just lock themselves inside for five minutes to check their cell phones.’

THE TIME A PASSENGER LIT UP IN THE TOILETS

Marika reveals that on one flight a passenger smoked a cigarette in the business-class toilet – it wasn’t long before cabin crew were deployed with fire extinguishers…

Marika writes: ‘I peek into the cabin on the right, and see a puff of smoke coming from the lavatory. Dido [a colleague] immediately yells that she can see smoke, and lunges for the compartment with a fire extinguisher. I follow her with [colleagues] Dragana and Wilson.

‘We arrive at the lavatory with four fire extinguishers and Dido literally knocks down the door. So much smoke pours into the cabin in a second that we can’t even see each other. Inside the lavatory, there’s a guy with a cigarette looking at us in disbelief.

“‘Did you throw a cigarette in the trash?!” I yell at the guy, feeling my voice shake and adrenaline flooding me. I pour water into it to be sure.

‘My hands are shaking and tears are welling up in my eyes.’

SURPRISE ‘DIAPER PRESENTS’

Marika recalls a passenger changing her baby’s nappy on the flight at her seat – just before the meal service.

Marika writes: ‘I try to indicate to her that it may not be pleasant for other passengers, especially since we’re just starting to serve meals.

‘The lady just smiles: “It’s okay, I’m done anyway.” At the end of the flight I find used diapers under her seat. This isn’t the only flight where I’ve found these “surprises” at the end.’

THE CREW HIERARCHY

Marika reveals that the crew hierarchy even extends to checking into the hotels together after a flight, with senior staff traditionally going forward to check in first.

THE BEST PLACE – AND TIME – TO JOIN THE MILE-HIGH CLUB

Marika writes: ‘The lavatories in economy class are by far the “safest” place to join the mile-high club. Economy class is so vast that you can barely see the end of it. And it has several lavatories. It’s more practical to use a lavatory that has only one door. Not the one in which the door has to “fold” to give you enough room to even step inside. Us flight attendants, we like to sit and chat in the galleys. Plus, we dim the cabin lights after each service, so that’s the perfect time for… well, you know. You’re welcome, by the way.’

Diary of a Flight Attendant is out now. Click here to order a copy. You can find Marika tweeting at twitter.com/letuska_m and her Instagram account is here. 

Sunderland secure their place in Championship play-offs at the expense of Millwall and Blackburn with a thumping 3-0 win over Preston, as Amad Diallo, Alex Pritchard and Jack Clarke all get their names on the scoresheet at Deepdale

• Sunderland seal Championship play-off spot after 3-0 victory over Preston
• On-loan Man Utd star Amad Diallo opened the scoring for Tony Mowbray’s men
• Alex Pritchard and Jack Clarke completed win for Black Cats who finish sixth 

By Joe Bernstein for MailOnline

Published: 11:55 EDT, 8 May 2023 | Updated: 13:10 EDT, 8 May 2023