teleSUR English telesurenglish.net https://www.telesurenglish.net ES Tue, 4 Jun 2024 22:08:53 -04:00 teleSUR English https://www.telesurenglish.net/export/sites/telesur/arte/sinFoto_420x260.jpg https://www.telesurenglish.net https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Haiti-Gangs-Maintain-Almost-No-Health-Sector-Capital-20240604-0016.html <![CDATA[Haiti: Gangs Maintain Almost No Health Sector in Capital]]> Tue, 4 Jun 2024 22:08:51 -04:00 On Monday, gang violence was still keeping the health system in the Haitian capital almost non-existent, with citizens deprived of vital medical care.

Related:

Bodies of Missionaries Killed in Haiti Are Repatriated

Due to attacks and looting by armed groups, only 20 percent of health centres are able to function.

Recently, Haiti's Ministry of Public Health and Population reported that 34 public and private sector health institutions were closed due to the violence.

In the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area and the municipalities of Gonâve, Arcahaie, Cornillon, Croix-des-Bouquets, Fermathe, Léogâne and Petit-Goâve, health care facilities were operating at a slower pace due to problems with supplies and power.

The shooting has led to forced absenteeism of staff, and patients are prevented from reaching the clinics by the crossfire, she was quoted as saying by the Haiti Libre online newspaper.

Recently, the Haitian Medical Association called for respect for the right to health, which has been violated by the closure of state and private hospitals due to the growing wave of violence in the Caribbean country.

"The Haitian Medical Association, on behalf of all its members, wishes to raise its voice in this tumultuous and appalling situation that is disrupting the lives of all citizens of our nation," a statement from the organisation said. a communiqué from the organisation stresses.

The right to health, that precious commodity, derived from the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and our Constitution, responds to the greatest aspirations of mankind since its origins, the note points out.

"The peaceful search for solutions that respond to the wishes of the Haitian people and respect for the inalienable rights of all people without distinction and, in particular, of health institutions and personnel is vital," the association said.

Health is a primordial need for women, children, men, young people and the elderly in our country, for the well-being and security of all is at stake, the association said in its statement.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Health-situation-worsens-Gaza-20240604-0015.html <![CDATA[Health situation worsens in Gaza]]> Tue, 4 Jun 2024 19:46:09 -04:00 According to the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip Israel committed “massacres” in the Bureij and Al-Maghazi camps in the central Strip, resulting in 15 Palestinian martyrs and dozens of injuries.

RELATED:

Israel Has Killed 36,550 Palestinians in Gaza So Far

In a statement on its official website, the ministry added: “The Israeli occupation committed new massacres in the Bureij and Maghazi camps, where 15 martyrs and dozens of injuries were reported to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital (in the city of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip) during the past hour.”

The statement warned that “Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital is the only hospital that currently provides health services to more than a million people, and the clinical capacity cannot bear receiving more martyrs and injuries in light of this dangerous aggression against civilians, children and women.”

It stressed that “the number of wounded and patients in hospital departments exceeds the normal clinical capacity by more than three times.”

The Ministry called on “the World Health Organization and all international organizations to head immediately and urgently to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, to closely examine the serious health situation that resulted from the continued aggression of the Israeli occupation, and to address these uncontrollable conditions.”

It called on “the international community and all international organizations, all countries of the free world, to immediately and urgently, to provide the area with field hospitals and medical teams in order to save the health situation in the Gaza Strip.” The Ministry asked these organizations and countries” to control the conditions of tens of thousands of wounded and injured people who are in danger of death.”

The Ministry called for “opening the Rafah border crossing and the Kerem Shalom crossing (south), in order to transfer thousands of wounded and sick people to receive treatment abroad in light of this health crisis, as well as bring in medical supplies, devices, medicines, field hospitals, medical teams, and fuel.”

It also launched “an urgent distress call to UN and international health organizations in all countries of the world, in order to save the health system in the Gaza Strip and stop the genocidal war before it is too late.”

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Sudan-20-Tons-LifeSaving-Medicines-Airdropped-20240604-0014.html <![CDATA[Sudan: 20 Tons of Life-Saving Medicines Airdropped]]> Tue, 4 Jun 2024 19:46:07 -04:00 On Monday, Sudan's Health Ministry announced that a total of 20 tons of life-saving medicines have been air-dropped in El Fasher, the capital city of North Darfur State, amid escalating clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Related:

S.Sudan: First Batch of Malaria Vaccines Received

The shipment was delivered as part of the ministry's efforts to provide basic health services nationwide, Minister of Health Haitham Mohamed Ibrahim said in a statement.

He said the shipment, received by local health authorities, includes intravenous solutions, life-saving and anesthesia medications, and medical consumables, including surgical sutures, gauze, cannulas, antibiotics and syringes of different sizes.

He added that there were arrangements to deliver a further 30 tons of medicines and medical consumables, including medicines for malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV inflections as well as consumables for dialysis and kidney transplantation to North Darfur state.

Meanwhile, Sheikh Al-Din Abdul-Baqi, executive director of Sudan's National Medical Supplies Fund, confirmed in a statement that the airdrop in El Fasher was a success "without any significant losses."

Since May 10, fierce clashes have been raging in El Fasher, the latest escalation of the larger conflict between the SAF and the RSF across the country since April 15, 2023.

The deadly clashes have so far claimed 15,550 lives and displaced over 8.8 million people nationwide, according to recent estimates by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Somalia-Un-Funds-Response-Heavy-Rains-Ease-20240604-0013.html <![CDATA[Somalia: Un for Funds for Response as Heavy Rains Ease]]> Tue, 4 Jun 2024 19:46:05 -04:00 On Tuesday, the United Nations humanitarian agency appealed for additional funds to respond to the impact of the Gu (April-to-June) rains in Somalia as dry conditions are predicted in the coming weeks.

Related:

Somalia: Charities Launch Campaign to Protect Cheetahs

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the rains killed 10 people and affected 268,359 others, destroying crops, public infrastructure, and other livelihood assets.

"To gauge the impact of the Gu rains, rapid needs assessments have been rolled out in Hirshabelle, Jubaland and Puntland States and data has been collected in several districts," OCHA said in its update released in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.

According to OCHA, dry conditions are expected in most inland parts of the country, with chances of light rainfall over coastal parts of the southern regions.

According to the UN agency, the cessation of the Gu rains is likely to be observed, ushering in the Hagaa season, which is expected to bring above-normal rainfall conditions over Lower Juba, Middle Juba, Lower Shabelle, and Awdal regions and drier-than-normal conditions in Togdheer, Sool and Sanaag regions.

However, according to OCHA, the cases of acute watery diarrhoea (AWD) /cholera have risen across the country, which is attributed to limited access to potable water due to contamination of water sources that were submerged by flood water, a high level of malnutrition among children, lack of proper sanitation, and difficulties in accessing health centers.

Last week, OCHA allocated 2 million U.S. dollars from the Central Emergency Response Fund for an urgent response to the cholera outbreak in Somalia, supporting UN agencies and their partners to provide lifesaving assistance to 60,000 people in the country.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Africa-Rise-Conflicts-Unconstitutional-Changes-20240604-0012.html <![CDATA[Africa: Rise in Conflicts, Unconstitutional Changes]]> Tue, 4 Jun 2024 19:46:04 -04:00 On Monday, the African Union (AU) warned of the combined effects of escalating conflicts and unconstitutional government changes that threaten the democratic foundations and security of African countries.

Related:

Namibia: National Minimum Wage Introduced

The statement was made by Alhaji Sarjoh Bah, director of conflict management within the Political Affairs, Peace and Security Department of the AU Commission, while addressing a continental peace and security-themed meeting on Monday at the AU headquarters in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa.

"Africa has, unfortunately, witnessed an escalation of conflicts in regions such as the Horn of Africa, the Sahel, and the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo," Bah said.

The director stressed that such events "create vacuums that are exploited by terrorist groups and violent extremists, as external actors further destabilize our societies and hinder our progress toward sustainable peace."

According to Bah, the AU faced with the challenges, has provided essential assistance to its conflict-affected member states in mitigating the impacts of conflict and instability.

He called for concerted efforts to further strengthen continental peace and security initiatives, including the strong presence of the African Standby Force in responding to conflict and emergency situations across the continent.

Meanwhile, the director underscored the urgent need to address the negative impacts of the current geopolitical tensions, which he said have further exacerbated Africa's peace and security challenges.

"The current global landscape is fraught with geopolitical tensions, major power rivalries, and a fragmented international order. Africa is not immune to these challenges, as we witness the rise of transnational threats that test the very fabric of our security architecture," said Bah.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Argentine-Judge-Forces-Milei-to-Distribute-Stored-Food-20240604-0010.html <![CDATA[Argentine Judge Forces Milei to Distribute Stored Food]]> Tue, 4 Jun 2024 14:13:31 -04:00 By order of Judge Sebastian Casanello, President Javier Milei was forced to distribute food that was intended for social assistance programs for the poorest Argentines.

RELATED: 

Argentina: March for Gender Equality and Rights

On Tuesday, the Argentine army began distributing food valued at approximately US$4 million that had been stored unused and was about to expire. 

This situation triggered a scandal, leading to the resignation of senior officials from the Human Capital Ministry. Prosecutor Paloma Ochoa is leading an investigation into the matter.

About 5,000 tons of food, abandoned in two state warehouses, must be distributed in the next two weeks under an immediate delivery protocol due to the expiration dates of the products.

With the support of the highway police, food distribution operations are being carried out in the provinces of Buenos Aires and Tucuman.

The text reads, "The government of the banality of evil. So, how to describe the whimsical gathering of food in the midst of hunger?" The caricatures refer to far-right Latin American politicians Jair Bolsonaro and Javier Milei. The sign reads, "Milei spreads hate."

Specifically, the food will be distributed by the Foundation for Child Nutrition (CONIN) in community dining halls in Buenos Aires peripheral settlements such as Hurlingham, Merlo, Jose Paz, Escobar, and Tigre, which are areas severely affected by poverty.

CONIN Director Diego Alvarez explained that his organization operates 110 distribution centers supplying about 400 dining halls. It will also distribute over 465 tons of powdered milk to the most vulnerable sectors of society.

Previously, Pablo de la Torre, the Secretary of Childhood, Adolescence, and Family, had to resign due to the scandal caused by negligence in the timely distribution of food. In an initial reaction, Milei appointed Human Capital Minister Sandra Pettovello as the person responsible for food distribution.

"No food arrived late. The scandal arose from what was supposedly expiring at the end of the month. Pettovello is the best minister in history," the far-right Argentine president said in an attempt to justify what had happened.

The Human Capital Ministry announced that it will design a new emergency aid storage system to be overseen by presidential advisor Federico Sturzenegger, who is considered the architect of the Milei administration's anti-regulation and anti-state reforms.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Ecuador-Government-Acknowledges-Persistent-Violence-Provinces-20240604-0009.html <![CDATA[Ecuador: Government Acknowledges Persistent Violence in Provinces]]> Tue, 4 Jun 2024 13:22:47 -04:00 On Tuesday, the commander of Ecuador's National Police, General César Zapata, acknowledged that violence in the provinces of Los Ríos and Manabí remains "out of control".

Related:

Ecuadorian Legislator is Murdered During Circus Performance

Zapata's declarations took place during a press conference on Monday to announce the supposed progress of the so-called Security Bloc.

According to Zapata, from 27 May to 2 June, 127 violent deaths were recorded.

Although the figure is less than last year, when 163 cases were reported, it shows that there were an average of 18 violent deaths every day, he said.

However, he insisted that there is a reduction in violent deaths nationwide so far in 2024, 485 fewer murders compared to the same period in 2023, he mentioned.

Even districts as dangerous as Nueva Prosperina in the northwest of Guayaquil have experienced a "significant decrease in this type of crime", he said.

In the midst of this context, this Sunday, a shooting at a circus in the city of Manta, in Manabí, left three people dead so far.

Among the victims were Cristhian Nieto, alternate assemblyman for the Citizen's Revolution (RC) movement, his wife Nicole Burgos and another citizen who was shot in the stomach.

Meanwhile, a mother and daughter were killed in the city of Durán, in the province of Guayas, despite the state of emergency recently decreed by the Executive.

This Monday, President Daniel Noboa announced that the National Police Command will move from this capital to Manta temporarily to coordinate actions against organised crime from there.

The president revealed that the Joint Command of the Armed Forces will also move to Manta and announced that in the next few days it will be there and in the city of Guayaquil, to follow up on security actions.

Ecuador is in the midst of a security crisis that Noboa seeks to solve with states of exception and a decree of internal armed conflict to facilitate joint military and police operations against organised crime.

Although official sources claim that the number of violent deaths in the country has decreased, many citizens do not perceive this to be the case and are calling for urgent and comprehensive action against violence.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Afghanistan-UNICEF-Reinforces-Support-Following-Flash-Floods-20240604-0008.html <![CDATA[Afghanistan: UNICEF Reinforces Support Following Flash Floods]]> Tue, 4 Jun 2024 12:57:42 -04:00 On Tuesday, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) supported its response to the flash floods that hit northern and western Afghanistan, killing at least a dozen children.

Related:

S.Sudan: First Batch of Malaria Vaccines Received

In the aftermath, the Agency immediately trucked in clean water and distributed hygiene kits, while mobilising outreach workers to educate communities on hand washing and safe water storage.

It also sent mobile health and nutrition teams to treat the injured and sick, and brought warm clothes, blankets, household items and cooking kits to families who lost their belongings.

The Children's Fund also provided immediate cash assistance through its rapid response mechanism to help people recover and meet their basic needs.

According to reports from the ground, tens of thousands of children are still reportedly affected by the continuing flash floods, especially in Baghlan and Badakhshan and in the western province of Ghor.

The disaster left at least 350 people dead and damaged 7,800 houses while more than 5,000 families have been displaced.

According to experts, the recent extreme weather in Afghanistan has all the hallmarks of an intensifying climate crisis as some of the affected areas suffered drought last year.

According to the agency, extreme weather events in the Asian country are increasing in both frequency and intensity, resulting in loss of life and livelihoods and significant damage to infrastructure.

The nation ranks 15th out of 163 countries in Unicef's 2021 Child Climate Risk Index, which means that children are particularly vulnerable to the climate crisis and its effects compared to other parts of the world.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Venezuela-and-China-Tune-in-Their-Bilateral-Agenda-20240604-0007.html <![CDATA[Venezuela and China Tune in Their Bilateral Agenda]]> Tue, 4 Jun 2024 11:50:06 -04:00 On Tuesday, Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister Yvan Gil arrived in Beijing for a four-day official visit to China.

RELATED:

Foreign Ministers of Syria and China Hold Bilateral Meeting

“We have arrived in the People's Republic of China to continue the work undertaken by President Nicolas Maduro in the consolidation of the "all-weather" strategic alliance between China and Venezuela. We will be carrying out a broad agenda of evaluation and monitoring of the agreements that pursue the prosperity of our peoples,” he said.

The Venezuelan diplomat's visit is also related to the celebration of the 50 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Venezuela on June 28, a date on which the progress of the agreements signed in the 17th Joint High Leve Commission will be evaluated.

In recent years, the strengthening of Sino-Venezuelan relations has intensified the visits of senior officials from both countries to follow up on various signed agreements.

Vice President Delcy Rodriguez and Chinese trade representative Wang Shouwen, for example, recently signed the Reciprocal Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement.

On May 13, President Nicolas Maduro also signed the Law Approving Air Services between Venezuela and China, in order to promote tourism.

The efforts made by the Venezuelan government have generated enthusiastic responses from the business sector. In the previous week, the Venezuelan National Council of Commerce and Services (Consecomercio) approved the creation of a new services export commission.

The proposal for this commission was presented by the president of the Venezuelan Association of Exporters (AVEX), Ramon Goyo, who said his country must reform some laws on tax and customs matters, in order to adapt to global trends of export services.

"There is high potential in the tourism sector, in digital services such as distance education and health, and in air, sea, and land transportation companies," he said. 

On May 22, Venezuelan Vice President Rodriguez said that her country is laying the foundations to boost international trade.

Alliances with China will allow Venezuela to achieve substantial growth in the export of fish and seafood, President Maduro pointed out, noting that Venezuela experienced a 2 percent growth in exports from the fishing sector during the first four months of the year.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Iran-Initiates-Vetting-Process-for-Presidential-Candidates-20240604-0006.html <![CDATA[Iran Initiates Vetting Process for Presidential Candidates]]> Tue, 4 Jun 2024 11:04:27 -04:00 On Tuesday, Iran's Constitutional Council spokesman Hadi Tahan Nazif announced the start of the process to vet the registered candidates for the country's 14th presidential election, scheduled for June 28.

RELATED: 

Iran Proposes OIC Meeting for Confronting Israeli Offensive

Tahan Nazif said that the council sought to complete the assessment of candidates' qualifications within five days, while noting that the country's law permits an extension of the vetting process for an additional five days if necessary.

"The president must be elected from among religious and political personalities who are of Iranian origin, have Iranian nationality, administrative capacity, resourcefulness and a good track record, are trustworthy and pious, and have a firm belief in the fundamental principles of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the country's official religion," Nazif stressed, citing Iran's Constitution.

According to Iran's election headquarters, after the vetting process, the Interior Ministry would announce the final candidates on June 11, and the qualified candidates would have 15 days, from June 12 to June 26, to conduct their electoral campaigns.

The registration process concluded on Monday, with 80 candidates entering the race for the country's top executive position.

Among the potential presidential candidates are some Iranian political figures such as the Parliament speaker Mohamad Baqer Qalibaf, former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and former chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili.

The 14th presidential election, originally scheduled for 2025, was brought forward due to the unexpected death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash on May 19 in the northwestern province of East Azarbaijan.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Israel-Has-Killed-36550-Palestinians-in-Gaza-So-Far-20240604-0005.html <![CDATA[Israel Has Killed 36,550 Palestinians in Gaza So Far]]> Tue, 4 Jun 2024 10:50:32 -04:00 On Tuesday, the Palestinian health authorities informed that the death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 36,550.

RELATED: 

Iran Proposes OIC Meeting for Confronting Israeli Offensive

Over the past 24 hours, the Israeli occupation army killed 71 Palestinians and wounded 182 others, bringing the total injuries to 82,959 since the Israeli offensive against Gaza broke out in October 2023.

Palestinian civil defense crews recovered the bodies of 14 people after the Israeli army withdrew from the Tal al-Hawa neighborhood, south of Gaza City.

In the southernmost Gazan city of Rafah, the Israeli occupation army intensified its air and artillery raids on the eastern, central and western parts of the city.

The United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said that water desalination plants in the Gaza Strip had ceased operations due to fuel shortages. It also denounced that Palestinian families and children had to walk long distances in the heat for water.

Meanwhile, on Monday, Yemen's Houthi said they launched a ballistic missile attack on southern Israel's port city of Eilat, the group's Military Spokesman Yahya Sarea said.

The missile forces of the Houthi group targeted a military site in Eilat with a new self-made missile called "Palestine," Sarea said, pledging continued military operations "in support of the Palestinian people" until Israel stops its attacks on the Palestinian enclave.

The Houthi rebel group, which controls much of northern Yemen, began last November to launch ballistic missiles and drones targeting southern Israel and what they said were Israeli-linked ships transiting the Red Sea, to show solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. 

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Far-Right-Encourages-Violence-in-Venezuela-President-Maduro-20240604-0004.html <![CDATA[Far-Right Encourages Violence in Venezuela: President Maduro]]> Tue, 4 Jun 2024 08:26:11 -04:00 On Monday, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro warned that far-right forces seek to set violent scenarios similar to those created during the urban protests of 2014 and 2017.

RELATED: 

Venezuela Congratulates South Africa for Its Elections

During his TV program "With Maduro +," he recalled the murder of Orlando Figuera, a young Venezuelan who suffered second-degree burns inflicted by a violent mob.

"He became a symbol of fascist hate crimes. In 2017, they incited that hatred and now they want to bring it back to Venezuela so that we face off and kill each other. The far-right's main bet is this violence-generating hatred," Maduro said.

"Crimes like that of Orlando Figuera must never be repeated. Fascism with its hatred can never return," the Bolivarian leader emphasized, urging Venezuelan citizens to cultivate "love, coexistence, solidarity, tolerance, and respect."

Maduro asked King Felipe VI and Spanish President Pedro Sanchez to hand over those involved in Figuera's death to Venezuelan authorities for prosecution.

"The Attorney General's Office has requested them multiple times. I ask the head of state, the head of government, and the judicial authorities of Spain to hand over to Venezuelan justice the fascists who burned alive and murdered Figuera," he said.

The text reads, "Orlando Figuera was murdered by terrorists from the Venezuelan fascist coup plotters led by Leopoldo Lopez, Antonio Ledezma, Julio Borges, and Maria Casilda Machado (aka Sayona). Today his murderers are protected by the European Union."

The Bolivarian leader also warned that right-wing opposition candidates are disguising their true intentions to capture votes in the July 28 elections.

"During election times, they try to disguise themselves as dialogue-friendly and democratic individuals... Let's uncover who is wearing such a disguise. Who among them has the ability to take the reins of the country and propose a genuinely pro-people program?," the Venezuelan president asked.

"The far-right agitates against me because they know Maduro is not a weak man or a manipulable puppet. They know Maduro was forged in struggle and had Hugo Chavez as his mentor."

During the television program aired on Monday, the Venezuelan President also mentioned Claudia Sheinbaum's victory in the presidential elections held in Mexico.

"It was a resounding triumph. The left crushed the far-right and guaranteed peace in Mexico. Their victory points towards a progressive direction and consolidates the advance of leftist forces in Latin America and the Caribbean. It's a great victory," Maduro said.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Donald-Trump-Looks-to-Tiktok-to-Woo-Voters-20240604-0003.html <![CDATA[Donald Trump Looks to Tiktok to Woo Voters]]> Tue, 4 Jun 2024 09:38:52 -04:00 "It's my honor," said former U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday in the first video post of his account on TikTok, a social media platform he tried to ban as president on national security grounds, amassing 4.6 million followers.

RELATED:

High Tariffs on Chinese Electric Vehicles Hurt US Consumers

The post, which showed Trump, the Republican Party's presumptive presidential nominee, waving to the audience at an Ultimate Fighting Championship game in the U.S. state of New Jersey, has garnered around 73 million views and received over 4.7 million likes.

Trump has not been a fan of TikTok. When he was the president, he issued an executive order in 2020 banning U.S. transactions with TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance, citing national security concerns. The order was blocked by a federal judge.

Embroiled in a series of criminal and civil lawsuits at the federal and local levels, he has lately tried to distance himself from the ban attempt.

"There are a lot of people on TikTok that love it. There are a lot of young kids on TikTok who will go crazy without it," Trump said in an interview with CNBC, adding that without TikTok, you can make the "enemy of the people" bigger.

Trump's emergence on the platform comes as his own social media platform, Truth Social, faces new pressure after he was found guilty of falsifying business records to influence the 2016 presidential election.

He became the first former president in U.S. history convicted of a crime after a jury in New York found him guilty of all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in a bid to hide hush money payment to a porn star in 2016, shortly before the presidential election.

The move by Trump to join TikTok is an effort to reach potential voters, especially younger ones, in the run-up to the November election, reported Politico, a U.S.-based politics-focused digital newspaper.

"The campaign is playing on all fields... Being able to do outreach on multiple platforms and outlets is important and this is just one of many ways we're going to reach out to voters. TikTok skews towards a younger audience," said the report, citing an adviser to Trump's campaign.

Before Trump joined TikTok, his 2024 presidential contender, the incumbent U.S. President Joe Biden, had already opened a TikTok account in February. To date, the account has posted over 200 videos and amassed over 350,000 followers with 4.6 million likes.

While using the platform to woo voters, Biden signed a bill into law in April after it was passed by both houses of U.S. Congress. The law required TikTok to divest from Chinese tech giant ByteDance, or face a nationwide ban in the United States.

"We would be silly to write off any place where people are getting information about the president," said Rob Flaherty, director of the White House's Office of Digital Strategy and deputy manager of Biden's reelection campaign.

Biden's team forged relationships with TikTok influencers in the 2020 election, and the platform has only gotten more influential since then and has been growing as an internet search engine and driving narratives about the president, according to a report by the Associated Press (AP), citing Flaherty.

The Biden campaign says that an increasingly fragmented modern media environment requires it to meet voters where they are, and that TikTok is one of many such places where would-be supporters see its content, in addition to platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, said the AP report.

A third of U.S. adults, including over 60 percent of adults under 30, use TikTok. While news consumption on other social media sites has declined or remained stagnant in recent years, the share of U.S. TikTok users who get news on the site has doubled since 2020, when 22 percent got news there, according to Pew Research.

Both parties are loath to discount the app's influence, especially in an election that will be determined by a few hundred thousand voters in a handful of battleground states, said Tara Palmeri, partner and senior political correspondent at Puck, a U.S. digital media company.

"There's a core hypocrisy to the Biden administration supporting the TikTok ban while at the same time using TikTok for his campaign purposes," said Kahlil Greene, who has more than 650,000 followers on TikTok and is known as the "Gen Z Historian."

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Four-Dead-in-Floods-in-Germany-20240604-0002.html <![CDATA[Four Dead in Floods in Germany]]> Tue, 4 Jun 2024 09:45:48 -04:00 On Monday, authorities informed that at least four people have died in heavy flooding in southern Germany. The floods follow exceptionally heavy rainfall, causing widespread evacuations and a state of emergency in several districts.

RELATED: 

Macron Visits Germany on First French State Visit in 24 Years

A firefighter died Sunday when rescuing residents trapped by flood waters near Pfaffenhofen in Bavaria. A a boat carrying the 42-year-old man and three other emergency workers capsized.

Meanwhile, a 43-year-old woman from Schrobenhausen in Upper Bavaria who had been missing since Sunday was discovered dead in the cellar of a house on Monday. Later Monday, in Schorndorf, Baden-Wuerttemberg, emergency services recovered two bodies from a cellar.

Around 3,000 people in Bavaria had to be evacuated due to the floods. The German rail operator Deutsche Bahn advised against traveling to flood areas on Monday, since rail traffic has been severely impacted in parts of southern Germany. A high-speed train carrying 185 passengers derailed on Saturday due to a landslide, although no one was injured.

The upper part of the Rhine River, an important route for transporting goods, has been closed to inland shipping in order to prevent waves causing damage to neighboring houses. Several locations in Bavaria have reported burst dams on smaller rivers.

On Monday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser visited Reichertshofen in Bavaria, which was badly affected by the floods. Scholz promised help to those affected.

"We can see here what we as humans must never forget: the forces of nature are big, they are strong and they can cause great destruction," Scholz said, thanking the numerous people who have been working in many places in southern Germany "trying to prevent the worst."

"Emergency services, both volunteers and full-time staff, risk their lives in the flood areas to save people. We should always be grateful that these people exist," Economics Minister Robert Habeck said, calling for more efforts to be made to protect the climate.

"Curbing CO2 emissions so that we have enough time to adapt should not be trivialized or pushed aside, but is a top priority," Habeck said during a visit to Reichertshofen on Sunday. The frequency of natural disasters is a clear indicator that nature and the climate are changing, as record floods now occur "every few years," he added.

In 2021, major flooding hit parts of Europe, killing almost 200 people in Germany. Climate change is considered to play a major role in disasters of this kind.

Meanwhile, the weather situation in the affected regions remains tense. The German Meteorological Service (DWD) has warned of "lively showers and thunderstorms or heavy continuous rain in places" over the course of the day.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Italy-Experiences-Over-Decade-of-Growth-Marred-by-Growing-Inequality-20240604-0001.html <![CDATA[Italy Experiences Over Decade of Growth Marred by Growing Inequality]]> Tue, 4 Jun 2024 09:56:58 -04:00 On Monday, the Bank of Italy presented a report showing that while wealth in Italy grew over the last 15 years, the economic gap between high-income and medium-income families has also widened.

RELATED: 

The Bologna Town Hall Displays Palestinian Flag on Its Façade

Italy is the third largest economy in the European Union (EU) after Germany and France, and its total net wealth increased by about 14 percent between 2010 and 2023.

However, the distribution of wealth was increasingly uneven and mostly benefitted the wealthiest 10 percent of households, while middle-class families saw their relative share of wealth decrease.

In terms of wealth distribution, Italy's population can be divided into three groups (top, medium, and bottom group). The top 10 percent of households accounted for 60 percent of overall wealth in 2023, while the bottom 50 percent (the poorest families) accounted for 7 percent.

"Compared to 2010, the share of wealth held by the most affluent decile of households has increased by some 7 percentage points, mainly at the expense of the middle group of households," the Bank of Italy reported.

The overall 14 percent increase in net wealth at current prices between 2010 and 2023 "was driven by very strong growth (an overall 29 percent) observed in the wealthiest tenth of households," the central bank explained.

The uneven distribution of wealth observed in the period was mainly due to disparities between high and medium-income families in terms of assets they could put their money into.

Whereas wealthy households could invest in a variety of instruments, largely in financial products, medium-income families mainly invested in the domestic real estate market.

As such, the most wealthy benefitted from "the positive performance of riskier financial instruments (such as shares and other equity, investment fund shares, and life insurance products)" -- the Bank of Italy explained.

On the other hand, the economic decline suffered by the middle class (-4.8 percent) in the same period "was instead due to the fall in the value of real estate, which was only slightly offset by the developments in riskier financial instruments."

As for Italy's poorest households, their net worth remained mainly stable. "The level of inequality in Italy is currently in line with the eurozone and France, higher than in Spain and lower than in Germany," the central bank said. 

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Jamaica-Attempted-Arson-Attack-Parliament-Building-Investigated-20240603-0017.html <![CDATA[Jamaica: Attempted Arson Attack on Parliament Building Investigated]]> Mon, 3 Jun 2024 22:16:28 -04:00 On Sunday, the Jamaica Constabulary Force opened an investigation and is searching for the suspect in an attempt to set a fire at the Houses of Parliament, known as Gordon House, with a kerosene bottle engulfed in flames.

Related:

Jamaican Government Continues Its Project To Become a Republic

A senior detective from the body's criminal investigation department is leading the investigation and has also ordered increased security at these and all state facilities, including the Prime Minister's office, the King's House (the Governor General's official residence) and ministries.

According to reports, at 22:00 local time on Saturday, guards detected a strange smell of smoke at Gordon House and later found a half-burnt plastic bottle at the entrance to the premises, which left marks on the doors.

Security cameras showed that a person set fire to the bottle, threw it against the building and then fled.

For the police, this is a worrying incident and they asked for the cooperation of the public to find the person responsible.

Political figures in the country also expressed concern about the incident and the opposition demanded the full weight of justice because it represented an attack on an important symbol of Jamaica.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Namibia-National-Minimum-Wage-Introduced--20240603-0016.html <![CDATA[Namibia: National Minimum Wage Introduced]]> Mon, 3 Jun 2024 20:13:05 -04:00 Namibia's Cabinet has endorsed the Minister of Labor, Industrial Relations and Employment Creation's (MLIREC) decision to implement a national minimum wage (NMW) starting January 2025.

Related:

Namibia: State of Emergency Due to Drought Declared

The NMW will be set at 18 Namibia dollars (about 0.96 U.S. dollars) per hour, with a scheduled review after two years, according to a statement released by MLIREC Executive Director Lydia Indombo on Sunday.

In February 2021, MLIREC Minister Utoni Nujoma appointed a Wages Commission to investigate various industries nationwide, and report, and recommend a proposed NMW. This wage will apply to all employees, except for certain categories exempted by the minister in a Wage Order, and include related supplementary minimum conditions of employment.

"The introduction of the NMW does not replace bargaining power; it simply aims to set a floor wage, especially for the lowest-paid employees. Employers are prohibited from reducing current wages to meet the NMW. The NMW is a minimum, not a ceiling," Indombo emphasized.

Currently, minimum wages exist in security, agriculture, construction, and domestic sectors, leaving others without regulated minimums and vulnerable to low "offer and take" wages.

For domestic workers, the NMW will be phased in over three years: 12.02 Namibia dollars per hour in the first year, 15.01 in the second year, and 18 in the third year, compared to the current 9.03 per hour.

In the agricultural sector, the minimum wage will increase from 6 Namibia dollars per hour plus in-kind payments to 10 in the first year, 14 in the second year, and 18 in the third year, exclusive of in-kind payments.

"A Government Gazette notice in July 2024 will provide full details of the NMW. The implementation aims to improve wages for the lowest-paid workers, reduce income inequality, alleviate poverty, and improve individual and household income, achieving a decent standard of living for all," Indombo concluded.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/S-Sudan-First-Batch-Malaria-Vaccines-Received-20240603-0015.html <![CDATA[S.Sudan: First Batch of Malaria Vaccines Received]]> Mon, 3 Jun 2024 20:13:03 -04:00 On Monday, the South Sudan government received the first consignment of 645,000 doses of malaria vaccine, which will be introduced into the country's routine immunization program.

Related:

Sudan: Army Aircraft Bombed Al-Jili Refinery

Minister of Health Yolanda Awel Deng said the R21 malaria vaccines will be distributed to 28 counties.

"Malaria is a major concern for our country. We are committed to reducing the impact of malaria and improving the health outcomes for our children," Deng said in an official statement in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.

Obia Achieng, deputy representative of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in South Sudan, said the country faces one of the highest malaria burdens in the region, with an estimated 7,630 cases and 18 deaths daily.

He said that in 2022, South Sudan recorded a staggering 76 percent surge in reported malaria cases, highlighting the urgent need for effective intervention. "The availability of this new malaria vaccine, after nearly 60 years of development, represents a monumental breakthrough for science, malaria control and child health," Achieng said.

Janet Michael, director general of primary health care in the Ministry of Health, said that almost a quarter of all disease diagnoses in health facilities are malaria-related in the country, adding that this has contributed to the high infant and maternal mortality rate in the country.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Peru-Specialized-Group-Warns-Childrens-Bad-Situation-20240603-0014.html <![CDATA[Peru: Specialized Group Warns of Children’s Grave Situation]]> Mon, 3 Jun 2024 20:13:01 -04:00 On Sunday, a group of civil society organizations involved in children's issues, in a joint statement released today, expressed their concern about the precarious situation of important sectors of children in Peru.

Related:

Peru Opens Investigation Into Deaths in Anti-government Protests

The declaration of the National Initiative Group for the Rights of Children and Adolescents (GIN), made up of dozens of civil society organizations, is addressed to President Dina Boluarte and her ministers and to the Legislative and Judicial branches and demands a policy of priority for minors.

"We demand political will to take the firm decision to invest more resources in this social sector in order to reduce the current gaps that put their development at risk," says the text.

It cites statistics such as the fact that monetary poverty affects 30.1 per cent of the population and 35.4 per cent of children and adolescents.

Furthermore, 38.8 percent of children aged six to 35 months suffer from anemia and the percentage of vaccinated children is well below 95 percent of the full range of immunizations necessary to avoid the risk of epidemic outbreaks and the return of diseases that have already been eliminated.

It also mentions the problem of premature pregnancy, whereby in 2021, 21,898 babies were born to girls and adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17, including 15 children under the age of 11 who were forced to become mothers.

Ninety percent of pregnant Peruvian minors drop out of school and thus enter the cycle of poverty and violence, adds the communiqué, according to which, according to official figures, 2.13 million children between the ages of five and 17 are forced to work, or 25.6 percent of this age group.

On the other hand, in 2022, the Women's Emergency Centers (CEM) for cases of domestic violence attended to 54,144 cases of children or adolescents, and 70 percent of sexual violence had minors as victims.

The GIN adds that 360,962 children and adolescents do not receive any kind of education and the school dropout rate is 6.3 per cent, due to poverty, and it is estimated that 98,975 children have been orphaned, of whom only 16,470 receive a monthly allowance of 200 soles (54 dollars).

Faced with this situation, the group of non-governmental organizations put forward a series of recommendations, such as avoiding tax exemptions for large companies for favors and political commitments, because they reduce investment in children and adolescents.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/DR-Rain-Alert-16-Provinces-20240603-0013.html <![CDATA[DR: Rain Alert in 16 Provinces]]> Mon, 3 Jun 2024 13:20:22 -04:00 On Sunday, the Emergency Operations Centre (COE) of the Dominican Republic decreed that 16 provinces are on alert, due to the incidence of a trough over the national territory, which will increase rainfall from Monday.

Related:

Cuban Minister of University Education Begins Visit to DR

The agency advised the population of the territories under green alert to refrain from using seaside resorts and to keep informed through official channels.

It also urged residents in high-risk areas, who live near rivers, streams and creeks, to be vigilant and take the necessary precautionary measures in the event of flash floods.

The provinces that are on green alert are Santiago de los Caballeros, La Vega, Monseñor Nouel, Hato Mayor, San Pedro De Macorís, El Seibo, La Romana, Monte Plata and La Altagracia.

Likewise, Santo Domingo, María Trinidad Sánchez, Sánchez Ramírez, Duarte, Samaná, San Cristóbal and San José De Ocoa, as well as the National District.

Meanwhile, the National Meteorological Office (Onamet) indicated in its latest weather forecast that from midday on Monday the rains will increase, sometimes with thunderstorms and isolated gusts of wind.

The institution reported the approach of a tropical wave to the country, which will continue to produce rains.

Green alert means that the population should be attentive to the possible impact of an atmospheric phenomenon.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Argentina-March-Gender-Equality-Rights-20240603-0012.html <![CDATA[Argentina: March for Gender Equality and Rights]]> Mon, 3 Jun 2024 13:06:58 -04:00 On Monday, members of trade union, social, political and human rights organizations are set to march to the Argentinean Congress to commemorate nine years since the first march of the Ni Una Menos movement.

Related:

Nora Cortiñas, One of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, Dies at 94

The mobilization is scheduled for around 16:00 local time, and feminist collectives, the General Confederation of Labour, the Classist and Combative Current and the Union of Workers of the Popular Economy will be represented.

Members of the Central de Trabajadores de Argentina (CTA) and the CTA Autónoma, among other groups, will also participate.

In addition to demanding an end to gender violence and respect for equality, they will speak out against the adjustment implemented by the government of Libertad Avanza, the application of policies that attack women and mechanisms such as the decree of necessity and urgency 70/23 and the so-called Omnibus Law, which reform or eliminate more than 300 regulations and grant legislative powers to President Javier Milei.

 The text reads,
n June 3, 2015, the march called Ni Una Menos against violence against women was held for the first time and expanded to 80 cities in Argentina. This Monday, 9 years after that first mobilization, a new call is being prepared starting at 4:30 p.m. in Congress, and throughout the day in different parts of the country. This year, the group will also demonstrate against the Base Law and will ask for justice for the Barracas massacre. According to the latest report from the Femicide Observatory directed by the La Casa del Encuentro Civil Association, between January and May of this year there were already 127 victims of femicide.

They also allow the privatization of public companies, a labor and social security reform, the handing over of natural resources and the positioning of foreign capital over the development of national industry.

Through its social media profiles, the Ni Una Menos movement denounced that the executive's measures only bring "more poverty, loss of sovereignty and enrichment of corporations".

She stated that feminicides are on the rise, while Milei's administration promotes hatred and dismantles social policies, which was reflected in the closure of the Ministry of Women, Gender and Diversity, created by former president Alberto Fernández.

On the other hand, she spoke out "against the cruelty of a government that does not deliver food to soup kitchens and boasts about it, against layoffs, the dismantling of public companies and the plundering of resources, and against all the abuse and mistreatment of children, women, lesbians, transvestites and transsexuals".

Ni una Menos is a plural and heterogeneous movement that emerged to demand an end to violence against women and other groups, and since its first march on 3 June 2015, it has had great impact regionally and globall

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Caribbean-Festival-12-Countries-Confirm-Attendance-20240603-0011.html <![CDATA[Caribbean Festival: 12 Countries Confirm Attendance]]> Mon, 3 Jun 2024 12:51:53 -04:00 On Sunday, the organizers of the Caribbean Festival announced that with the confirmation of 12 nations and more than 300 participants a month away from the start of its activities, the 43rd edition of the Caribbean Festival will be a success.

Related:

Jamaican Government Continues Its Project To Become a Republic

The Brazilian state of Bahia, as guest of honor, will bring more than 100 participants to the regional event known as the "Fiesta del Fuego"; Mexico and the Dominican Republic are preparing large delegations and a revived national participation in the event, which will take place from 3 to 9 July.

On their official website they made public the organization of 13 theoretical events parallel to the artistic presentations.

Among such presentations there are: the international colloquium "The Caribbean that unites us" which aims to promote scientific exchange between social managers, academics, cultural promoters, social activists and public officials.

 The text reads, 
Preparations for the Caribbean Festival continue in this city, in order to host more than 200 friends from July 3 to 9. The Fire Festival is dedicated to the cultural traditions of the brother Brazilian state of Bahia in 2024.#ComercioDelPueblo#SantiagoDeCuba

Other highlights include the 3rd Caribbean Film Festival, the international workshops "The Music of the Caribbean" and "Directions of Caribbean Theatre", as well as the meeting of poets from the Caribbean and the world "Jesús Cos Causse"; the Festival of Fire is organised by the Casa del Caribe with the support of the Cuban Ministry of Culture and the Provincial Directorate of Culture of Santiago de Cuba.

For the fifth time the Festival of the Caribbean will be sponsored by the company Cuba Ron S.A. and the brand Ron Santiago, both as seals of national and local identity in a festival that bets on the transcendence of the community values and the groups that are bearers of the vast Cuban and Caribbean culture.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Venezuela-Congratulates-South-Africa-for-Its-Elections-20240603-0010.html <![CDATA[Venezuela Congratulates South Africa for Its Elections]]> Mon, 3 Jun 2024 12:31:25 -04:00 On Monday, the Venezuelan government congratulated South Africa on the "successful democratic exercise" carried out in the general elections on May 29.

RELATED: 

Venezuelans Use Social Networks to Support President Maduro

"Venezuela expresses its most sincere congratulations to the Republic of South Africa for the successful democratic exercise carried out in the national and provincial elections of May 29, within the framework of the 30th anniversary of the election of the great Nelson Mandela, who put an end to the opprobrious apartheid regime," the Foreign Affairs Ministry stated.

"The official results announced by the South African Electoral Commission yesterday, June 2, 2024, reflect the commitment of that sister country to its strong, consolidated and vigorous democracy, as well as to the full exercise of the popular will," it added.

"Venezuela and South Africa are sister nations that share values ​​and principles in the international arena, and that actively seek the emergence of a more equitable and supportive world. We are proud to see South Africa advance on its path of sovereignty and independence, a reference for Mother Africa and for all the countries that proclaim peace and social justice as unwavering flags."

"President Nicolas Maduro expresses his conviction that this historic moment will mark the beginning of a new stage of unity and progress for South Africa, and reiterates to President Cyril Ramaphosa Venezuela's commitment to continue strengthening the ties of friendship and cooperation between our countries," Bolivarian diplomacy pointed out.

For the first time in 30 years, Nelson Mandela's party, the African National Congress (ANC), lost its absolute majority in the Lower House of Parliament, according to results announced by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) on Sunday.

The ANC won 159 out of 400 seats in the Lower House of Parliament, IEC President Mosotho Moepya said at the ceremony announcing the election results in Johannesburg.

Although the ANC achieved 40 percent of the vote, President Cyril Ramaphosa will have to negotiate with other parties if he wants to secure a second five-year term.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/France-Attal-Avoids-No-Confidence-Motions-Before-EU-Elections-20240603-0009.html <![CDATA[France: Attal Avoids No-Confidence Motions Before EU Elections]]> Mon, 3 Jun 2024 12:09:55 -04:00 On Monday, two "Motions of No Confidence" against the French administration led by Prime Minister Gabriel Attal failed, just six days before the European elections.

RELATED:

France Prohibits Israel’s Participation in Arms Fair

The motions were presented by Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally (RN) party and the left-wing the Insoumise France (LFI) party. Unsurprisingly, neither motion secured the absolute majority of votes required in the National Assembly to overthrow the Executive.

The motion of no confidence that came closest to succeeding was the one presented by the Insoumise France, which obtained 222 out of the 289 votes needed.

The National Rally’s motion of no confidence garnered only 89 votes, as the left-wing opposition had warned that it would not support their initiative.

Previously, Prime Minister Attal tried to discredit this double attempt to remove him, using the main argument that the RN and LFI were acting in concert with the goal of creating "democratic and economic disorder."

A month ago, the two opposition groups demanded that the French government present a new budget for 2024, arguing that the budget approved in the autumn was drawn up knowing that its forecasts were completely unrealistic.

They based their request on the 2023 deficit figures, which reached 5.5 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) when the government had expected 4.9 percent.

In defending his motion of no confidence, LFI legislator Matthias Tavel attacked Prime Minister Attal's budget forecasts, considering them "fantasy."

"You are the prime minister of budgetary chaos... What is your hidden agenda after the European elections?" he asked, also criticizing Attal for not wanting to recognize the Palestinian state.

On the other hand, RN legislator Sebastien Chenu attacked the "lamentable management of public finances" by Attal's administration and claimed that the budget "was not sincere."

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Sheinbaum-is-1st-Female-Mexican-President-in-200-Years-AMLO-20240603-0008.html <![CDATA[Sheinbaum is 1st Female Mexican President in 200 Years: AMLO]]> Mon, 3 Jun 2024 11:01:15 -04:00 During Monday's morning press conference, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) highlighted the importance of the election of Claudia Sheinbaum as the first female president of Mexico.

RELATED:

Officially: Claudia Sheinbaum Wins the Presidential Race

"I already congratulated her yesterday. I am very happy because you can imagine what it means to hand over the presidency to a woman after 200 years of republican life in which only men governed Mexico since 1824," he said.

"She is the candidate with the highest vote in the history of Mexico compared to all of us who have held the office of President. That is something historic," AMLO added.

The Mexican president recalled that, in addition to being sensitive to social causes, Sheinbaum is a very intelligent woman and a scientist with a doctorate in physics.

Claudia Sheinbaum's text reads, "This is the triumph of the Mexican people and the peaceful revolution of consciences. It is our people's clear recognition that the mandate is to continue and advance with the fourth transformation of public life in Mexico."

"She is a woman with convictions who was trained in university activism and in the fight for democracy in Mexico. She is a woman with a lot of experience in the art of government since she was head of government of Mexico City," he highlighted.

"But above all, she is an honest woman, which is something very important," the outgoing Mexican President said.

AMLO also expressed his pleasure at the participation of almost 60 million citizens who decided the future of Mexico in peace.

"I am very proud of the attitude of our people and the way in which we Mexicans demonstrated and asserted our freedoms and reaffirmed our democratic vocation," he concluded.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Finland-to-Open-Shooting-Ranges-to-Strengthen-National-Defense-20240603-0007.html <![CDATA[Finland to Open Shooting Ranges to Strengthen National Defense]]> Mon, 3 Jun 2024 09:43:57 -04:00 On Monday, the Government of Finland presented a project to strengthen national defense by protecting the 670 existing civilian shooting ranges in the country and creating 330 additional ones over the next six years. 

RELATED: 

Six NATO Countries to Create 'Drone Wall' Against Russia

The Interior Ministry wants to implement the necessary legislative amendments to safeguard the activities of civilian shooting ranges and open more to ensure there is "a sufficient number" throughout the country, especially for tactical and rifle shooting. 

The project will take into account regional needs and those of various user groups, such as public authorities and national defense organizations, reservists, sports shooters, and hunters. 

The initiative aims to present proposals to streamline the granting of environmental permits and conduct a comparison of current legislation on this matter in other European Union (EU) countries. 

The number of shooting ranges not managed by the Armed Forces has decreased considerably over the last three decades, as there were between 2,000 and 2,500 shooting ranges in the country during the 1990s. 

Finland, with 5.6 million inhabitants, has over 1.5 million civilian firearms, and around 430,000 people hold gun licenses, thanks to the high popularity of hunting and target shooting. This makes Finland one of the nations with the most guns per capita in the world. 

According to national television YLE, the Ukrainian war has increased the population's interest in firearms, shooting practices, and self-defense courses for civilians and reservists.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Iran-Proposes-OIC-Meeting-for-Confronting-Israeli-Offensive-20240603-0006.html <![CDATA[Iran Proposes OIC Meeting for Confronting Israeli Offensive]]> Mon, 3 Jun 2024 10:00:07 -04:00 On Monday, Iranian Caretaker Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani called for convening an emergency ministerial meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to take collective steps against the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip.

RELATED: 

Iranians Remember the Anniversary of Imam Khomeini’s Death

"Islamic countries must adopt a joint movement to confront the Israeli aggression and protect Palestinian people," he said following a meeting in Beirut with his Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bou Habib.

This marks the first diplomatic visit by Bagheri Kani after his predecessor died in a helicopter crash last month. Bagheri Kani said the close relationship between Iran and Lebanon is a significant indicator of regional stability.

"Iran has always been a supporter of Lebanon's stability, safety, security, and progress and has spared no effort to promote the well-being of the Lebanese people," he said.

For his part, Bou Habib said the two sides reached a consensus about "the danger of the continued war in Gaza, which undermines the chances of a just and comprehensive peace in the region."

The two sides also discussed Gaza ceasefire proposals, Israel's withdrawal from the strip, and the swap of detainees between Hamas and Israel, Bou Habib added, noting that his country has been seeking to avoid a wider war and looking for "sustainable solutions that restore calm and stability to southern Lebanon."

During his visit, Bagheri Kani also met with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and House Speaker Nabih Berri. 

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Ecuadorian-Legislator-is-Murdered-During-Circus-Performance-20240603-0005.html <![CDATA[Ecuadorian Legislator is Murdered During Circus Performance]]> Mon, 3 Jun 2024 09:02:30 -04:00 On Sunday night, hitmen shot dead substitute legislator Cristhian Nieto while he was attending a circus performance in the city of Manta, in the province of Manabi.

RELATED:

Explosives Attack Investigated in Ecuador

Videos posted on social networks show that the criminals fired without hesitation while dozens of families with their children lined up to enter the circus tent.

The shooting attack also caused the death of Nieto's wife Nicole Burgos and left three people injured, one of whom is journalist Josue Suarez, who was broadcasting the entrance of spectators to the circus.

Popularly known as "Cristhian Rescues", Nieto was a social activist who focused his work on helping homeless people with drug addiction.

The text reads, "Cristhian Nieto and his wife organized the setting up of a circus for the community of Manta. They murdered them without mercy and without caring that there were entire families lining up. Daniel Noboa, there is no TikTok that gives children their parents back."

His social work led him towards political activity as part of the Citizen Revolution movement, which is led by former president Rafael Correa. In the early general elections of 2023, Nieto was elected as an alternate legislator for the province of Los Rios.

"Christian Nieto was also the CEO of Trix-Network Productions… He was the organizer and producer of the circus where the attack occurred," the local newspaper Primicias recalled.

"Manabi experiences a wave of violence caused by organized crime. In the last month, several massacres have occurred in cantons located in the center and in the south of the province, where there is an obvious fight between the Los Lobos and Los Choneros gangs," it added.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/OPEC-Extends-Oil-Output-Cuts-20240603-0004.html <![CDATA[OPEC+ Extends Oil Output Cuts]]> Mon, 3 Jun 2024 09:15:11 -04:00 On Sunday, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, decided to maintain the production quotas for its members in 2025, extending the current output cuts.

RELATED: 

OPEC Conveys Condolences to Iran on Death of President Raisi

Following a virtual meeting of OPEC+ oil ministers, OPEC said in a statement that "the level of overall crude oil production" for OPEC+ countries will be extended to the whole year of 2025.

The production quotas for OPEC+ countries next year will remain largely the same as this year except for the United Arab Emirates.

The country's production cap will be raised by 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) to reach 3.519 million bpd, with the increase "phased in gradually starting January 2025 until the end of September 2025." 

The decision, which includes an adjustment of the 300,000 barrels daily allowance of the United Arab Emirates production, sets a maximum limit of 39.72 mbd for the bombing of 19 out of 22 OPEC countries. 

This limit does not include additional and volunteer records already applied since November 2023 by Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman and Argentina.

"These countries will continue to implement their voluntary additional quotas of 2.2 Mb, announced in November 2023, until the end of September 2024. Now, the 2.2 Mb quota will be gradually eliminated in monthly format until the end of September 2025", said OPEC, an alliance which is responsible for around 40 percent of the global crude oil supply.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Venezuelans-Use-Social-Networks-to-Support-President-Maduro-20240603-0003.html <![CDATA[Venezuelans Use Social Networks to Support President Maduro]]> Mon, 3 Jun 2024 07:50:00 -04:00 On Sunday, Venezuelans continued a digital activism campaign to break the blockade against President Nicolas Maduro on social media.

RELATED: 

President Maduro Leads Voting Intention in Venezuela

The mobilization dynamic involved hashtags #LikePaNicolas and #NicoLike on Instagram and TikTok, where most of the communication battle takes place.

The digital activism campaign aims to make President Maduro's content more visible, show the reality of the Bolivarian Revolution, and build new alternative communication processes.

Through his Instagram account, the Bolivarian leader asked Venezuelans to overcome censorship and join the digital mobilization.

The text reads, "On Sunday, we are live through TikTok's #Nicolike to break the censorship and blockade against President Nicolas Maduro on social media. Connect with this link: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMreNbA8X/."

"Join #NicoLike, the new digital mobilization, in just five simple steps. Let’s all interact and share!" he said on the social network X.

"All of Venezuela supports President Nicolas Maduro with all their love and loyalty! The people will continue to accompany our leader in victories to forge the path of peace and well-being. Together we say: Let's go with Nico!" said Caracas Mayor Nahum Fernandez.

"While the oligarchy calls for more sanctions against the people, our President Nicolas Maduro creates solutions that position us as the fastest-growing economy in the region. It's a fact: Hope is in the streets #LikePaNicolas,” posted the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Officially-Claudia-Sheinbaum-Wins-the-Presidential-Race-20240603-0002.html <![CDATA[Officially: Claudia Sheinbaum Wins the Presidential Race]]> Mon, 3 Jun 2024 03:16:12 -04:00 The candidate for the Presidency of Mexico for the Morena party, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, is the winner of the elections held this Sunday with more than 57.44% of support.

RELATED:

Mexico’s New President, Claudia Sheinbaum Leads Votes Counting

According to the last information released by the Mexico's National Electoral Institute (INE) made by the president entity, Guadalupe Taddei, more than 60.1096 % of Mexicans registered in able age casted their right to vote.

In second place remains the opposition right-winger leader Xochitl Galvez, who got 7,292,561, a 29.69% to the once ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), National Action Party (PAN) and Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD).

As exit polls said, Jorge Alvarez Maynez, who represented the centre-left winger party Citizen Movement (MC) reached the third place in the ballots, with 2,583,099, some 10.51% of the Mexican's valid votes.

"For the first time in 200 years of the Republic, there will be a woman president and she will be transformative. Thanks to each and every Mexican. Today we demonstrate with our vote that we are a democratic people. I invite you to follow the transmission."
 

"We will remain a free and sovereign country. Thank you all for your confidence," says Claudia Sheinbaum in her first statements as the winner of Mexico’s presidency.

"Our government will be honest, without influence, corruption or impunity (...) with a division between economic and political power. He will defend the supreme interest of Mexico and the nation," Sheinbaum said in his speech.

Also, the winning candidate said both Xochitl Gálvez and Jorge Álvarez Máynez have made phone calls to recognize the victory of the ruling candidate in the presidential elections.

For his part, the outgoing president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador declared that "Today is a day of glory because the people of Mexico decided freely and democratically that Claudia Sheinbaum become the first woman president in 200 years of independent life of our Republic. Congratulations to all of us who have the joy of living in these stellar times of pride and transformation."

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Puebla-Group-Congratulates-Candidate-Claudia-Sheinbaum--20240603-0001.html <![CDATA[Puebla Group Congratulates Candidate Claudia Sheinbaum ]]> Mon, 3 Jun 2024 00:51:06 -04:00 On Monday, on the eve of the official results of the Presidential Elections in Mexico,  Puebla Group congratulated, through social networks, the winner for first counts, Claudia Sheinbaum.

RELATED:

Evo Morales Praises Profound Changes Promoted by AMLO in Mexico

Also members of the association, met with the candidta to express their congratulations and accompany her in the elections, such was the case of the Bolivian Former President, Evo Morales, the former Argentine president Alberto Fernández and the founder of the group of Puebla, Marco Enriquez-Ominami.

In his X account, former president Evo Morales Ayma wrote: "A nice meeting with the newly elected president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum. As always, she was very humble and committed. We share the joy of his triumph with Alberto Fernandez, Marco Enriquez-Ominami, Mario Delgado, president of Morena, Alberto Anaya, president of the PT and others. Claudia is Latin America. Thanks to Brother AMLO for being the moral reserve of humanity".

On the other hand, Enriquez-Ominami said, "In Mexico, change won over those who wanted to return to the past. Congratulations to the Mexican people and the first President of Mexico Claudia Sheinbaum".

 The text reads, 
A nice meeting with the brand new elected president of Mexico,
@Claudiashein
. As always, she is very humble and very committed. We share the joy of his victory with
@alferdez
,
@marcoporchile
, Mario Delgado, president of Morena, Alberto Anaya, president of the PT and others. Claudia is Latin America. Thanks to brother
@lopezobrador_
for being the moral reserve of humanity.

Officially, the Puebla Group expressed its best wishes saying, "A historic day for democracy in this country, with the largest electoral process of all its times and with the election, for the first time, of a woman as president".

Sheinbaum, of the MORENA party, leads the elections with 57.7% of the vote, being declared the winner of the elections at the quick count stage.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Japan-Magnitude-6-Earthquake-Hits-Ichikawa-20240602-0028.html <![CDATA[Japan: Magnitude 6 Earthquake Hits Ichikawa]]> Sun, 2 Jun 2024 23:58:12 -04:00 On Sunday, during the night hours, an earthquake struck Japan’s Ishikawa prefecture, west of the country. The telluric movement strangely did not trigger tsunami alarms in the land of the rising sun.

RELATED:

Namibia: State of Emergency Due to Drought Declared

The earthquake took place at 21:31 ( 6:31 local time) at the northeastern end of the Noto Peninsula, at a depth of 14 kilometers, and reached a level 5 high of the Japanese scale, with a maximum of 7 and focused on measuring the agitation on the surface and affected areas.

A few minutes after the earthquake, a 4.8 Degrees earthquake struck the same areas affected by the first earthmove, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).

The earthquakes continued later, registering around a dozen with magnitudes between 3.7 and 2.5 in the area of the Noto peninsula in subsequent hours, so the meteorological authorities continue to ask for caution.

Local authorities told the state-run NHK that at least five houses collapsed in the quakes in the devastated city of Wajima.

All of them were already damaged by the strong earthquake in the area of 1 January, which today is believed to be a replica, but so far no injuries have been reported, although they continue to gather information.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Morenas-Clara-Brugada-Wins-Head-of-Government-in-Mexico-City-20240602-0027.html <![CDATA[Morena’s Clara Brugada Wins Head of Government in Mexico City]]> Sun, 2 Jun 2024 21:44:47 -04:00 The candidate of the Coalition Continue Making History, led by the left-winger Morena party has declared herself the winner of the Head of Government of Mexico City, a country where the largest general elections in its history took place today.

RELATED:

Evo Morales Praises Profound Changes Promoted by AMLO in Mexico

The pollsters Enkoll and Parametría give for winner to the candidate of Morena - Workers Party (PT) - PVEM to the Head of Government, Clara Brugada, with a wide margin of advantage that could vary from 10 to 15 points compared to the other candidates.

"I am able to inform you that we have an average of the exit polls that have been carried out by recognized pollsters and give us an average of more than 15 points advantage, we win with a clear and irreversible advantage, we won the head of government, the majority of mayors and local and federal congresses, we also won the senators," said Brugada

Brugada also expressed that she will finaly start the reconciliation of Mexico City working together with all the economic and social sectors.

In turn, she called on polling representatives and militants to count the votes well and ensure that the ballots reach the district councils and the IECM.

Now the candidates have to wait for the official results of the Electoral Institute of Mexico City: "Thanks to the chilangos and chilangas of Mexico City, hearts up," she said on her victory speach.

Also, two exit polls declare the victory in Morelos and Mexico City of candidates Margarita González Saravia and Clara Brugada, says Morena national leader Mario Delgado.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Evo-Morales-Praises-Profound-Changes-Promoted-by-AMLO-in-Mexico-20240602-0026.html <![CDATA[Evo Morales Praises Profound Changes Promoted by AMLO in Mexico]]> Sun, 2 Jun 2024 20:59:16 -04:00 The former president of Bolivia Evo Morales (2006-2019) praised this Sunday the "profound change" promoted in Mexico by its current president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and considered that this strengthened regional integration.

RELATED:

UPDATE Mexico: Polling Stations Close On Schedule

Morales referred to the issue in a virtual contact with the coca grower radio station Kawsachun Coca from Mexico, where he traveled invited by Morena, the party of López Obrador, to "accompany" the electoral process in that country, according to the same former president in his social networks.

The former president, who is part of the electoral observation mission of the Puebla Group for this Sunday’s elections, said that the former Mexican presidents "always had a look to the north".

"We visited some electoral precincts very early in #Itztapalapa , #México . With a lot of democratic commitment, our Mexican sisters and brothers are going to cast their vote today. Our priority is democracy, the integration of our Latin American and Caribbean region and social justice."
 

"With Andrés (there is) a look to the south because Latin America is the family of Mexico. In that there was a profound change, we must recognize", he affirmed, and according to the leader of the Bolivian party Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS), López Obrador concludes his presidential term with an approval of "more than 60%" and attributed it to his "social policies".

For Morales, the public management of the Mexican ruler could mean that his party is "ratified in these elections" and stressed that if the ruling candidate Claudia Sheinbaum wins, "she would be the first female president, not only from Mexico, but from the north."

The Bolivian politician assured that there was "a resounding change in Mexico and that strengthens Latin American integration" and "guarantees" the continuity of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), which "is like an OAS (Organization of American States) without the United States."

Morales accused the United States of trying to "wear down" or make CELAC disappear with initiatives such as the Lima Group or the Pacific Alliance, but considered that it "continues to consolidate".

He regretted that the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) is currently "with many weaknesses" and recalled that before this, "the peoples" were organized in the so-called Runasur, an international platform of social and indigenous movements that the former Bolivian ruler promotes.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/President-Xiomara-Castro-Meets-Palestinian-Presidency-Minister-20240602-0025.html <![CDATA[President Xiomara Castro Meets Palestinian Presidency Minister]]> Sun, 2 Jun 2024 17:42:59 -04:00 The president of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, took advantage of her time in the swearing-in of Nayib Bukele in El Salvador, to hold bilateral meetings with her counterparts from Costa Rica, Rodrigo Chaves, and Paraguay, Santiago Peña and the Minister of the Presidency of Palestine, Riyad Al Malki.

RELATED:

Slovenia Announces That It Will Recognize the Palestinian State

With the President of Costa Rica she spoke about issues of mutual interest and the need to continue promoting regional integration, especially now that she is president of the Central American Integration System (SICA).

In the meeting that the president had with the president of Paraguay, Santiago Peña, they addressed "issues linked to how to promote a joint agenda". Peña is currently the president of Mercosur and Castro is from the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).

With Riyad al Malki, Castro addressed several issues. Mainly, the president expressed her personal solidarity with the Palestinian people in the face of the crisis in Gaza and other areas, urging an immediate ceasefire and respect for the rules of humanitarian law.

During the meetings, the president of Honduras was accompanied by the private secretary Héctor Zelaya and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Eduardo Enrique Reina, who are part of the high-level delegation that went to San Salvador to attend the inauguration of the Salvadoran president.

He also, the head of state had a meeting with the King of Spain, Felipe VI, where they discussed crucial issues for the region.

Among the highlights are the programs led by the president in CELAC and SICA, visualizing Spain as a gateway to the European Union, as reported by the Chancellor of the Republic, Enrique Reina.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Puerto-Rico-Votes-in-Primary-Elections-Amid-Heavy-Blackouts-20240602-0024.html <![CDATA[Puerto Rico Votes in Primary Elections Amid Heavy Blackouts]]> Sun, 2 Jun 2024 16:54:37 -04:00 The power cuts, allegedly caused by bad weather, have affected the primaries of the two main political parties in Puerto Rico this Sunday, in which the affiliates elect their candidates for the governorship for the November elections.

RELATED:

Puerto Rico Selected for Global Study on Trauma-Focused Therapy

"It is unacceptable and brings to our attention what has been a constant problem. Today is an electoral process, but there must be many people here who need electricity to live", said the pre-candidate to the governorship Jesús Manuel Ortiz to his exit from the educational center, located in the urbanization San Gerardo, in the sector of Cupey.

An example of these blackouts occurred in the schools Aurora Waldorf and Juan José Osuna, in San Juan, where they voted in the dark the pre-candidate to the governorship by the opposition Popular Democratic Party (PDP), Jesús Manuel Ortiz, and the mayor of the capital, Miguel Romero, of the ruling New Progressive Party (NPP).

Electric service in Puerto Rico has been a consistent stumbling block for years, from being administered by the state-run Electric Power Authority until 2021 when it passed into the hands of the private company Luma Energy, in charge of transmission and distribution.

In this primary elections, are faced the current pro-statehood Puerto Rico's Governor, Pedro Perluisi, who seeks the re-eelction, the resident commissioner in Washington, Jenniffer González, both from the NPP, and the opposition Popular Democratic Party (PDP) led by Jesús Manuel Ortiz.

In addition, some polling stations did not open due to lack of officials, with voters redirected to other polling stations. In the primaries, voters also elect other NPP and PDP candidates for resident commissioner, mayors, representatives, and senators.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Sudan-Army-Aircraft-Bombed-Al-Jili-Refinery-20240602-0023.html <![CDATA[Sudan: Army Aircraft Bombed Al-Jili Refinery]]> Sun, 2 Jun 2024 15:13:16 -04:00 Eyewitnesses confirmed that intense flames were seen inside the refinery after an intense Sudanese army flight, indicating that the bombing targeted Rapid Support Forces (RSF) gatherings.

RELATED:
Sudan: Hamdok Elected as President of Taqaddum

According to the source, Sudanese army warplanes bombed the Al-Jili Petroleum Refinery, north of the capital, Khartoum, on Sunday morning.

Eyewitnesses told Al-Tageer that flames of fire rose inside the Al-Jili refinery, after an intense overflight by Sudanese army aircraft, noting that the bombing targeted gatherings of the Rapid Support Forces at the refinery.

In the middle of last month, the RSF accused the Sudanese army of bombing and completely destroying the Al-Jili Petroleum Refinery and said in a statement that the bombing led to “severe damage to the lines transporting crude oil and the burning and sabotage of a number of facilities inside the refinery.”

Al-Jili refinery, north of Khartoum, is one of the most important oil facilities in Sudan, and the largest oil refinery in the country.

Under normal conditions, the refinery produces about 10,000 tons of gasoline, 4,500 tons of gasoline, and 800,000 tons of cooking gas, and it was operating at less than its maximum capacity of 100,000 barrels per day.

The capacity of the Jili refinery is one hundred thousand barrels per day, and it produces diesel and gasoline. In addition to cooking gas, it provides 45% of Sudan’s needs for petroleum products, which are considered biofuels and the main engine for the sectors of agriculture, industry, electricity generation, transportation, and bakeries.

The refinery is located in the Al-Jili area, 70 kilometers north of the capital. It was established in 1997 and began its operations in 2000. It is shared equally between the Sudanese government, represented by the Ministry of Energy, and the Chinese National Petroleum Corporation.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Jamaican-Government-Continues-Its-Project-To-Become-a-Republic-20240602-0022.html <![CDATA[Jamaican Government Continues Its Project To Become a Republic]]> Sun, 2 Jun 2024 15:57:34 -04:00 The Prime Minister of Jamaica, Andrew Holness, assured during at the Jamaica Civil Service Association's 105th annual general meeting, that he continues with the process of converting the country into a republic, breaking all ties with the British monarchy.

RELATED:

Jamaica Aims to Gain Independence From the British Monarchy

In his second reference to the issue of constitutional reform in a week, Holness said he is "optimistic" about this transition, although there have been obstacles that have delayed the process from being a constitutional monarchy to a republic.

As well, the Jamaican PM shows optimist that the parliamentary opposition will change its position on constitutional reform needed to become a Republic. But People's National Party have stated that they will not support several of the Constitutional reforms.

"We will carry it as far as we can with the great hope that we can reach to some understanding and consensus. It is truly my wish for Jamaica to become a republic," the Prime Minister said.

The Prime Minister explained that the constitutional reform is one of the main transformation projects being undertaken by the Government. A report of the Constitutional Reform Committee had recently been submitted to Parliament and Holness had addressed its goal of achieving republican status in the shortest possible time.

The Government of Jamaica, which had gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1962, had intended to hold a referendum on the establishment of a republic earlier that year, but the process had been delayed.

Several former British colonies of the Caribbean have expressed their intention to cease being constitutional monarchies to become republics, following the example of Barbados, which took the step in November 2021.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Bodies-of-120-Palestinians-Found-in-Jabalia-20240602-0021.html <![CDATA[Bodies of 120 Palestinians Found in Jabalia]]> Sun, 2 Jun 2024 14:36:50 -04:00 Gaza authorities have recovered the bodies of more than 120 Palestinians from the rubble of the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip after the Israeli army abandoned the town two days ago following a nearly three-week military siege.

RELATED:

New Israeli Massacres Against Gaza Increase Death Toll

Medical sources at Kamal Adwan hospital told the press that emergency crew and civil defence teams recovered the bodies by the roadside and beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings in the Jabalia camp, while trash and debris were still being cleared.

On Friday, the Israeli military declared the end of its offensive in the Jabalia area after 20 days.

Israel ended its operation in Jabalia on Friday, saying it had killed “hundreds” of suspected militants. The camp was one of the first areas razed by the Israeli army at the start of the war, but in early May military sources said Hamas was regrouping and Israeli troops re-invaded the town, now in ruins.

The military operation has lasted almost three weeks and ten Israeli soldiers have died, according to a count by local media The Times of Israel. 

Additionally, Israel recovered the bodies of seven hostages who remained held in the enclave despite having died during the Hamas attacks on October 7.

For his part the Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has said that they will not accept Hamas continuing to rule Gaza at any stage of the process and that they are "evaluating" alternatives to the Islamist group. 


 

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Continued-Water-Shortages-Affect-Livelihoods-in-Goma-DRC-20240602-0020.html <![CDATA[Continued Water Shortages Affect Livelihoods in Goma, DRC]]> Sun, 2 Jun 2024 14:19:41 -04:00 Goma, in the North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo, is suffering water shortages because its adduction system is reaching its limit. 

RELATED:

DRC: New Presidential Cabinet Revealed, People Expectant

The city is growing, and displaced people fleeing the war are increasing the population. Under these conditions, the population's complaints about the lack of water are growing. 

Dozens of women carry their empty jerry cans to the public fountain in Goma to fetch drinking water for their families. But the wait at the fountain can last several hours.

Angel Chibalonza, a local resident, while waiting at the fountain for water, says, “We don't know if REGIDESO (Water Distribution Company) is waiting for the new government to come out to give us water; we wonder.”

"The sun is strong, and the displaced people have become numerous. There's no water. Look, the water that is here is going to leave (be turned off) soon. We arrive here at 11 pm and leave here at 10 am (after 11 hours of waiting to fill their jerrycans with water). We don't know what we're supposed to do," she adds.

Water agency officials are well aware of the problem in this city of almost a million inhabitants, located on the north shore of Lake Kivu at an altitude of around 1,500 metres.

According to Bin Tele Muhindo Muson, an ICRC employee who inspects water supply works funded by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), “There were complaints from the population, which were registered with the Water Agency (a government agency) and even some that reached us at the ICRC, which led us to evaluate the (water supply) system itself and find a way to resolve them. That is why the ICRC has invested in finding a solution to the water supply problem.”

The ICRC has funded a $1 million construction project to increase the water supply in Goma to find a solution to the water supply problem.

Construction work on Goma's new water supply project began a few weeks ago and should be completed within a few months.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Floods-in-Eastern-Cape-South-Africa-2-Dead-4-Missing-20240602-0019.html <![CDATA[Floods in Eastern Cape, South Africa: 2 Dead, 4 Missing]]> Sun, 2 Jun 2024 13:49:29 -04:00 Two people have died, and four women are missing following Saturday's devastating floods in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, according to local authorities.

RELATED:
South African ANC Leads Vote Counting With 40% of Support

The heavy rains hit Kariega, Gqeberha and East London the hardest. Emergency personnel moved at least 70 people who were at risk to various safe locations through 55 rescue operations. 

The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI), South African Police Service and rescue services were activated at around 10 pm on Saturday night during the heavy downpours.

The heavy downpour has resulted in homes being flooded, vehicles being washed away and power outages in certain areas.

"The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality continues to experience adverse weather conditions that have resulted in floods in some parts of Gqeberha and large parts of Kariega," said the municipal government in a statement on Sunday morning.

According to the entity, “two Joint Operations Centers (JOCs) have been activated in Gqeberha and Kariega, while adverse conditions have also led to power outages across the Metro.”

"It was reported that a vehicle with 6 persons was trapped in the flooded Brak River, Rocklands," said NSIR spokesperson Craig Lambinon.

"One male was recovered safely from an island that had formed in the river, an adult female was swept away and is missing. The remaining 4 of these 6 people were recovered safe on the Southern side of the river. Multiple rescue operations have recovered persons safely from buildings, residences."

In a separate statement issued on Sunday, the Eastern Cape provincial government noted that emergency services have been working throughout the night and are still working and searching to assist people affected by the flooding.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/President-Maduro-Leads-Voting-Intention-in-Venezuela-20240602-0018.html <![CDATA[President Maduro Leads Voting Intention in Venezuela]]> Sun, 2 Jun 2024 14:47:21 -04:00 During the last fortnight, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has remained the favorite to win the presidential elections scheduled for July 28.

RELATED: 

Venezuela Rejects Caricom Communique on the Essequibo

The Bolivarian leader has captured 43 percent of the electoral preferences, followed by Edmundo Gonzalez with 32 percent and Jose Brito with 8 percent, according to the latest study by Parametrica.

The voting intentions for the other presidential candidates are distributed as follows: Antonio Ecarri (2.1 percent), Javier Bertucci (1.7 percent), Claudio Fermin (1.5 percent), Daniel Ceballos (1.2 percent), Benjamin Rausseo (1.1 percent), and Luis Martinez (0.7percent).

Parametrica also studied citizens' intentions to participate, finding that 80 percent of respondents will indeed participate in the July elections.

 

President Nicolas Maduro's text reads, "Wonderful working meeting with the political bases of the Zulia state! We are walking with our own efforts, without mortgaging our country's independence and sovereignty, without lowering our face to anyone. The worst times are behind us. Now let's move forward!

It also detected that 13.25 percent said they might vote, 3.8 percent said they might not vote, 1.6 percent emphatically stated they will not vote, and 1.0 percent are undecided or did not respond.

Regarding the issues most troubling Venezuelans, 46.5 percent expressed concern about health services; 22.3 percent about electricity, water, urban sanitation, and Internet; 13.4 percent about the economic situation; 5.1 percent about corruption and insecurity; and 4.7 percent about other issues.

Carried out from May 7 to 15, the Parametrica study involved a sample of 2,000 nationwide door-to-door interviews, and has a confidence level of 95 percent.

The opinion study was conducted in Caracas, Miranda, Falcon, Zulia, Merida, Tachira, Portuguesa, Barinas, Guarico, Anzoategui, Nueva Esparta, Sucre, Monagas, and Bolivar.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Cuban-Minister-of-University-Education-Begins-Visit-to-DR-20240602-0017.html <![CDATA[Cuban Minister of University Education Begins Visit to DR]]> Sun, 2 Jun 2024 14:21:24 -04:00 The Minister of Higher Education of Cuba, portfolio in charge of university education in the country, Walter Baluja García, began this Sunday a visit to the Dominican Republic with the aim of strengthening educational and scientific relations between both countries.

RELATED:

DR: President to Meet with Opposition Party Leaders

The Cuban official was received in the Dominican capital Santo Domingo, this Sunday by the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology of the Dominican Republic, Franklin García Fermín.

Baluja García will participate in a series of meetings and activities aimed at promoting bilateral collaboration, including a meeting next Wednesday with the president of the country, Luis Abinader.

Baluja García’s agenda also includes visits to various educational and technological institutions, and meetings with Dominican academics and students, while on Tuesday he will go to Baní to visit the home of Generalissimo Máximo Gómez (Cuban-Dominican Mambi military combatant during the Cuban War of Independence) and the polytechnic of the same name, donated by Fidel Castro.

Through a statement, the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology (MESCYT) of DR, explained that among the main topics to be addressed are the exchange of good practices in teacher training, the implementation of innovative technologies in education and the development of joint scientific research projects.

In addition, this collaboration "is seen as a fundamental step to address common challenges and promote sustainable development based on knowledge and innovation," according to official information.

In statements contained in the statement, Baluja García hoped that his visit to the Dominican Republic will allow "to share experiences and learn from each other, moving towards a more inclusive and quality education for all our students".

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Tomasdottir-Elected-President-of-Iceland-20240602-0016.html <![CDATA[Tomasdottir Elected President of Iceland]]> Sun, 2 Jun 2024 13:17:35 -04:00 Iceland's national broadcaster RUV announced Sunday that businesswoman Halla Tomasdottir will become Iceland's new president.

RELATED:

Left-Green Movement Leader to Run for Icelandic Presidency

Tomasdottir led her rivals with 34.3 percent of the vote, followed by former prime minister Katrín Jakobsdottir, who came second with 25.2 percent, according to official figures.

Jakobsdottir had reportedly congratulated Tomasdottir when she spoke to the RUV during her election party.

The president's role is largely ceremonial in Iceland, although he or she has the power to veto laws and to call a referendum in certain situations.

In Iceland's presidential elections, the candidate who wins the most votes is elected. 

The turnout at the polls in Saturday's election was among the highest since 1996 at 78.93%.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Egypt-Insists-on-Israels-Withdrawal-From-the-Rafah-Crossing-20240602-0015.html <![CDATA[Egypt Insists on Israel’s Withdrawal From the Rafah Crossing]]> Sun, 2 Jun 2024 13:33:13 -04:00 Egypt insisted on Sunday on the need for Israeli forces to withdraw from the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, which connects the Sinai peninsula with the Gaza Strip, to resume the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian enclave and blamed Israel for closing the border crossing.

RELATED:

Experts Denounce the Use of U.S. Weapons in Rafah Massacres

According to Egyptian state television Al Qahera News, which quotes a high-ranking source, Cairo launched this demand at the end of a meeting held this Sunday in the Egyptian capital with representatives of Israel and the United States.

"Egypt has maintained its consistent position towards the need for Israel to withdraw from the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing until it resumes operation again," says an Al-Qahera news published on its website in Arabic.

Egypt also insisted on the need to work "immediately" to allow the entry of at least 350 aid trucks daily into the Gaza Strip with all kinds of commodities, food and fuels, according to the source.

In addition, the Egyptian security delegation had emphasized Israel's full responsibility for the non-entry of relief and humanitarian assistance materials into the Gaza Strip.

The Egyptian press, for its part, previously reported that Egypt had made clear to Israel its "unwavering position not to open the Rafah crossing as long as Israel maintains control over the Palestinian side" of it.

The flow of aid into Gaza has been significantly limited following the start of the Israeli military operation in Rafah and the taking of the Palestinian side of the crossing, which was the only exit from the non-Israeli enclave.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Tomasdottir-Elected-President-of-Iceland-20240602-0014.html <![CDATA[Tomasdottir Elected President of Iceland]]> Sun, 2 Jun 2024 13:18:33 -04:00 Iceland's national broadcaster RUV announced Sunday that businesswoman Halla Tomasdottir will become Iceland's new president.

RELATED:

Left-Green Movement Leader to Run for Icelandic Presidency

Tomasdottir led her rivals with 34.3 percent of the vote, followed by former prime minister Katrín Jakobsdottir, who came second with 25.2 percent, according to official figures.

Jakobsdottir had reportedly congratulated Tomasdottir when she spoke to the RUV during her election party.

The president's role is largely ceremonial in Iceland, although he or she has the power to veto laws and to call a referendum in certain situations.

Tweet

In Iceland's presidential elections, the candidate who wins the most votes is elected. 

The turnout at the polls in Saturday's election was among the highest since 1996 at 78.93%.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Three-Brazilians-Injured-After-Israeli-Attack-in-South-Lebanon-20240602-0011.html <![CDATA[Three Brazilians Injured After Israeli Attack in South Lebanon]]> Sun, 2 Jun 2024 13:02:01 -04:00 The Government of Brazil reported that three Brazilian citizens were injured after a series of Israeli bombings in southern Lebanon, to which the South American Foreign Ministry reacted with "indignation and condemnation."

RELATED:

Armed Resistance Hezbollah Launches Nine Attacks on Northern Israel

According to a note issued by the Foreign Ministry on its website in Portuguese, the incident took place in Saddikine, south of Lebanon, amid a resurgence of tensions between the Israeli armed forces and the Shiite resistance group Hizbullah, operating from southern Lebanon.

"All are receiving treatment at the Italian Lebanese Hospital in Tyre. The episode took place in the context of attacks by the Israeli armed forces in southern Lebanon and Hezbollah in northern Israel," the statement said.

The note also reiterated Brazil’s rejection of the ongoing fighting around Israel since that country was attacked by the Palestinian armed resistance Hamas, which sparked conflict in the Gaza Strip and other borders of the Israeli state.

The FM's statement highlights that "Since the beginning of the conflict between Israel and Palestine, the Embassy in Beirut monitors and maintains regular contact with Brazilians residing in South Lebanon."

"Brazil calls on all parties involved in hostilities to exercise maximum restraint, as well as respect for human rights and humanitarian law, so as to prevent an expansion of the conflict in Gaza and avoid further innocent victims," it adds.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Iranians-Remember-the-Anniversary-of-Imam-Khomeinis-Death-20240602-0004.html <![CDATA[Iranians Remember the Anniversary of Imam Khomeini’s Death]]> Sun, 2 Jun 2024 12:08:45 -04:00 Every year, on the anniversary of his passing, people worldwide gather to remember and honor Imam Khomeini (RA), a prominent leader of the Islamic world.

RELATED:

Seven Presidential Candidates Registered So Far in Iran

This year, the Isna Ashari Youths Foundation (IAYF) organized a special program in Mumbai’s Kesar Baug Hall to commemorate his legacy and reflect on his significant contributions to society.

The event brought together religious scholars such as Maulana Manzar Sadiq, Maulana Hussain Mehdi Hussaini, Maulana Hasnain Kararvi, Maulana Agha Munawwar, and Maulana Jinan Asghar Maulai.

These esteemed speakers delivered powerful speeches that shed light on Imam Khomeini’s enduring ideals and the impact he had on the lives of people from all walks of life.

The program also included a documentary that chronicled Imam Khomeini’s life and his unwavering dedication to serving humanity. Additionally, a heartfelt song titled “Salam Farmande” was performed in his honor, further emphasizing the profound respect and admiration that people hold for this revered leader.

The event drew a large crowd of attendees, showcasing the widespread reverence and appreciation for Imam Khomeini’s teachings and principles. His message of unity, justice, and compassion continues to resonate with people of various faiths and backgrounds, inspiring them to strive for a more harmonious and equitable society.

As we mark the anniversary of Imam Khomeini’s passing, let us remember his profound impact on the world and strive to uphold the values of peace, tolerance, and social justice that he championed throughout his life. May his legacy continue to inspire future generations to work towards a more inclusive and compassionate world for all.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/UPDATE-Mexico-Women-Proud-of-Vote-the-First-Female-President-20240602-0003.html <![CDATA[Mexico’s New President, Claudia Sheinbaum Leads Votes Counting]]> Sun, 2 Jun 2024 13:16:09 -04:00 The candidate of the Morena's party Claudia Sheinbaum still leading the votes counting once the National Electoral Institute (INE) started to spread the official results of the through the Preliminary Electoral Results Program (PREP) which will be fed with information collcted from all polling stations around around the whole country.

RELATED:

Morena’s Clara Brugada Wins Head of Government in Mexico City

Meanwhile, citizen turnout, according to the official information have surpassed 59.42% of the electors. INE's first results says that Sheinbaum has 5,785,889 of votes, around the 57.38% of the ballots counted.

In second place runs the right-winger Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), National Action Party (PAN) and Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD)  candidate Xóchitl Gálvez, with 3,024,439 votes which represents a 29.99%  of approval.

In third, as exit polls said, is the centre-leftist Jorge Álvarez Máynez, of the Citizen Movement (Movimiento Ciudadano, MC) party with 1,033,357 of the total accounts, 10.24%.

The presidential elections official results will be published by the Mexican Electoral entity on Wednesday, June 5. Otherelected public offices this Sunday, like Senators, Governors and Lawmakers will officially know the results on Saturday, June 8.

Sheinbaum First Woman President, Say Preliminary Results

On the preliminary results of the Electoral National Institute (INE), gives winning of the Presidenntial elections carried out this Sunday in Mexico  to the centre-leftist winger Claudia Sheinbaum, candidate of the National Renewal Movement (Morena), Workers Party and Verde (Green).

At 10:00 p.m. local hour, the INE broadcasted a live transmision showing its first results through the Preliminary Electoral Results Program (PREP), that give to Sheinbaum a clear victory in the presidential race with more than 59.00% of support votes.

Meanwhile, the other candidates have have a disadvantage of up to 30 points.

The right winger Xóchitl Gálvez, candidate for the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) and the National Action Party' (PAN) have only reached a 29% of support by the voters.

On the other hand, the Citizen Movement's (Movimiento Ciudadano, MC) Jorge Álvarez Maynez remains in third place with only 9% of votes at the time that only counted 59.84 percent of the installed polling stations.

"I would like to express my deepest gratitude to each of the citizens who are actively participating in this process. Their dedication and effort are fundamental for our democracy to work," said INE President Guadalupe Taddei Zavala.

Morena’s Head: It’s Time for Women and 4th Transformation

The president of the ruling party Movimiento de Regeneración Nacional (Morena), Mario Delgado, said that his candidate, Claudia Sheinbaum, will be "the first woman president" of Mexico by winning the presidential elections held this Sunday.

RELATED:

Evo Morales Praises Profound Changes Promoted by AMLO in Mexico

"Our exit polls give us a wide advantage over the PRI-AN candidate, two to one by difference. There is no doubt of the triumph of Claudia, a woman who has conquered the people of Mexico comes from the hand of a popular movement that has touched Mexicans," he says.

Delgado affirmed that Mexico has the fortune of livin on a star moment of history, at the time he highlights that a peaceful revolution of values "that has permeated the depths of society" and this "It is the triumph of various progressive struggles and of many generations who have worked tirelessly to win rights."

"The people of Mexico have taken a leap towards complementarity and balance, closing their mouths to petty opposition morally and politically. A classist, racist and corrupt majority, whose only project was to spoil the country to keep it and deliver it to the transnational monsters," said the Morena's chief.

Delgado sentenced that "the people of Mexico have taken a leap towards complementarity and balance, closing their mouths to petty opposition morally and politically. A classist, racist and corrupt majority, whose only project was to spoil the country to keep it and deliver it to the transnational monsters

 

Polling Stations Closed as Scheduled

The polling stations closed this Sunday at 06:00 p.m. on scheduled amid a calm day of voting, and despite some acts of violence registered in Coyuca de Benitez, in Guerrero, and at least two people were killed this Sunday by shootings at polling stations in Puebla, central Mexico.

Despite the closure, people in line or inside the polls stations, still could cast their right to vote, authorities have said.

Two hours after the polls close, at 08:00 p.m., the National Electoral Institute (INE) issues its first results through the Preliminary Electoral Results Program (PREP) which will be fed with information collcted from all polling stations around all Mexico.

If at 10:00 p.m. the votes counted reaches a confidence range of 95%, the quick count will begin, which will continue until Wednesday, June 5. Once the quick count ends, the district counts will begin which will remain Saturday, June 8.

INE highlights that any of this PREP and prelimanary counts are not official until the district accounts finalize, both systems only seek to generate certainties on the day of the election. Also, the Electoral authoritie remembers that it is the only one allowed to give official information.

"The participation of our compatriots abroad has been spectacular. The influx of Mexican men and women has been enormous, not only in the 23 consular offices, but also through electronic voting over the internet and postal voting," said Arturo Castillo, INE Counselor about the first results of remote vote.

RELATED:

Mexicans Residing Abroad Began to Vote

As well, Castillo pointed out that "In a preliminary way, the sum gives us 180.676 votes received from Mexicans residing abroad for the positions of President of the Republic, Senators, seven governorships and four local councils."

"Mexican women and men abroad have more than demonstrated that they do want to participate, that they participate in public life, that they take possession of their political rights and, as an electoral authority, we will continue working to guarantee their rights," that said the INE Counselor Claudia Zavala about the voting abroad.

 

Mexican Women Proud That a Woman Can Win the Presidency 

Claudia Sheinbaum, candidate for the left-wing party National Regeneration Movement (MORENA), and the right winger Xóchitl Gálvez are the main contenders in the presidential race according to the last public polls published before the electoral ban.

RELATED:

Sheinbaum Has a 20-Point Lead in the Mexican Presidential Race

Several generations of Mexican women were "proud" before the media to participate in elections in which the first female president in the country’s history could be elected, which they consider a great advance in a country with a machista tradition.

The voter Soledad Cuautle Flores, a 72-year-old citizen, who shared with the Spanish agency EFE that women will advance more on political issues, because they will demonstrate that they are also capable of leading a country.

For her part, Karla Lopez, 36, highlighted the fact that the main candidates for the Presidency are women before the traditional male dominance in the country’s political sphere.

"We live in a macho country and right now the choice is between two women, if or not, nothing else, it is very important what will happen and what we will live in the future, well in fact in a few hours," he said.

On Sunday, over 98 million Mexicans are called to elect the president who will govern their country between 2024 and 2026. The candidates competing for the Mexican presidency are Claudia Sheinbaum (Let's Keep Making History), Xochitl Galvez (Strength and Heart for Mexico) and Jorge Alvarez (Citizen Movement).

RELATED:

Mexicans Residing Abroad Began to Vote

Citizens will also elect 500 legislators, 128 senators, nine governors, and over 20,000 subnational authorities such as mayors, councilors and legislators. The main events as they occur are presented below.

11:00 am: President Lopez Obrador casts his vote. Accompanied by his wife Beatriz Gutierrez, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) went to vote in an election to define who will succeed him in the government as of October 1.

"Cheer up!" he said after being one of the first to vote at a voting center inside the Museum of Art in downtown Mexico City.

"In true democracy it is the people who rule. Everything else is accessory. Tonight we will know what the Mexicans freely decided," he later wrote in his X account.

Lopez Obrador is betting on the victory of his party's candidate, Claudia Sheinbaum, who is the favorite to win according to the polls published so far.

The text reads, "Today there are general elections in Mexico. At a time of growth of the extreme right, the possible victory of Claudia Sheinbaum will not only make a woman president for the first time in the history of the country but will also position the left as a national project beyond the Lopez Obrador's leadership."

10:30 am: Claudia Sheinbaum votes accompanied by dozens of supporters. The presidential candidate of the coalition "Let's Keep Making History" voted in San Andres Totoltepec, a town in the Tlalpan delegation, in Mexico City. After waiting in line for an hour, the leftist politician entered the electoral precinct and came out smiling.

"You shouldn't be afraid. Go out and vote," she said amid the uproar generated by citizens who cheered her with shouts of "President, President, President!"

“Don't forget Tlalpan, your people needs you,” several neighbors shouted while Sheinbaum greeted the people of the town of San Andres Totoltepec, where she served as municipal delegate between 2015 and 2018.

Sheinbaum was the second presidential candidate to vote on Sunday morning. Previously, Jorge Alvarez, the candidate of the Citizen Movement, and Xochitl Galvez, the candidate of the far-right coalition “Strength and Heart for Mexico”, had already voted.

8:00 am: Electoral precincts open their doors. The National Electoral Institute (INE) announced that 170,000 electoral centers have been installed throughout the country to serve citizens from 8:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. Some 27,245 members of the armed forces are providing security during the electoral process.

Starting at 8:00 p.m., the INE will publish the first electoral results. Later, between 10:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m., INE President Guadalupe Taddei will announce the quick count's results.}

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Mexicans-Residing-Abroad-Began-to-Vote-20240602-0002.html <![CDATA[Mexicans Residing Abroad Began to Vote]]> Sun, 2 Jun 2024 08:55:28 -04:00 On Sunday, Mexicans living abroad began to go to the polls to elect who will replace President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

RELATED: 

Sheinbaum Has a 20-Point Lead in the Mexican Presidential Race

The National Electoral Institute (INE) reported that the voting stations installed in Madrid (Spain) and Paris (France) will remain open serving citizens from 08:00 to 18:00 local time.

Mexican authorities have set up 23 voting precincts abroad, 20 of which are in the United States and one in Canada.

Mexican citizens residing abroad may also participate in the general elections through electronic voting and postal voting.

On Sunday, over 98 million Mexicans are called to elect a president, 500 legislators, 128 senators, nine governors, and over 20,000 subnational authorities such as mayors, councilors and legislators.

The candidates competing for the Mexican presidency are Claudia Sheinbaum (Keep Making History), Xochitl Galvez (Strength and Heart for Mexico) and Jorge Alvarez (Citizen Movement).

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Venezuelan-President-Calls-to-Defeat-the-Right-in-Elections-20240602-0001.html <![CDATA[Venezuelan President Calls to Defeat the Right in Elections]]> Sun, 2 Jun 2024 08:04:13 -04:00 On Saturday, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro called on citizens to defeat the right-wing in the upcoming presidential elections on July 28.

RELATED:

Venezuela Rejects Caricom Communique on the Essequibo

The United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) held a meeting in the state of Zulia to unify criteria regarding the tasks required to win the presidential elections.

At that meeting, Maduro urged socialist militants to fine-tune "the 1x10 machinery," meaning the political work method in which each militant seeks to attract the sympathy of 10 voters toward the socialist candidates.

“We have to go house to house, community to community, parish to parish, to build the most powerful electoral machinery ever seen in the history of Venezuela. The 1x10 will guarantee a victory with peace and stability to reaffirm the country's independence and the growth of the new economic model and the recovery of social policies,” he said.

“The victory is ours because hope is in the streets… We are the way, the truth, and the life. God is with us, and we will win. Let's go for the 1x10!” Maduro emphasized.

On July 28, Maduro will compete with nine opposition candidates in the race for the presidency of the republic. During the meeting with PSUV militants, the Bolivarian leader recalled the harmful role that the right-wing opposition has played in Venezuelan development.

“They have done great harm to the country. They are the ones who have requested sanctions against Venezuela. They have asked the Americans to invade the country militarily,” he said, warning that the right-wing will be more harmful if they win the elections.

“As rulers, they will be worse because they forget the people and never see them again. They only appear in electoral campaigns to ask citizens for their votes.”

“What did the right-wing do in five years with power in the National Assembly? Did they help the people? Did they help with the economy? They requested sanctions and invasions and deceived their own followers by fostering shortages. The one who ended the shortages was Nicolas Maduro through work, production, innovation, and intelligence,” the Venezuelan President said.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/PM-Modis-Current-Alliance-to-Win-India-Election-Say-Exit-Polls-20240601-0009.html <![CDATA[PM Modi’s Current Alliance to Win India Election Say Exit Polls]]> Sat, 1 Jun 2024 18:59:07 -04:00 The alliance led by the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi would win a large majority in the general elections that ended on Saturday, according to polls at the ballot box of the television.

RELATED:

India Will Hold the World's Biggest Elections

According to most polls at the ballot box, the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) could obtain a two-thirds majority in the lower house of 543 members, of which 272 are required for the simple majority. A two-thirds majority would allow the government to make far-reaching amendments to the Constitution.

According to a summary of six exit polls, the NDA could get between 355 and 380 seats, a figure that is likely to boost financial markets when they reopen on Monday. The NDA won 353 seats in the 2019 general election, of which the BJP won 303.

The "India" opposition alliance, led by Rahul Gandhi’s Congress Party, was expected to win between 125 and 165 seats.

In his first statements after the end of the vote, Modi claimed victory without referring to exit polls. " I can say with confidence that the people of India have voted in record numbers to reelect the NDA government," he said, without providing evidence of his claim.

Nearly one billion people were eligible to vote in the elections, which were held in seven phases starting on 19 April and in scorching summer heat in many parts of the country. The electoral commission will count the votes on 4 June and the results are expected on the same day.

A 73-year-old Modi victory would make him the second prime minister, following independence leader Jawaharlal Nehru, who achieves three consecutive terms.

Modi began his re-election campaign by focusing on his achievements of the last 10 years, but soon turned mainly against Congress by accusing it of favoring India’s Muslim minority, which the opposition party denies.

The opposition has campaigned mainly around affirmative action programs and to save the Constitution from what they call the dictatorial Modi government, an accusation the BJP denies.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Cuban-Actress-Corina-Mestre-Dies-at-69-in-Havana-20240601-0006.html <![CDATA[Cuban Actress Corina Mestre Dies at 69 in Havana]]> Sat, 1 Jun 2024 17:39:54 -04:00 The Minister of Culture of Cuba, Alpidio Alonso Grau, reported through his account in X that the great Cuban radio, television, radio and pedagogue Corina Mestre died this Saturday in Havana, at the age of 69.

RELATED:

Venezuelan Filmmaker Margot Benacerraf Dies at 97

The National Council of Performing Arts (CNAE) reported through a statement that this artist was a "a woman of strong revolutionary conviction, [who] received in her home the best example of dignity and fortitude, which helped to forge an imposing character within the spectrum of Cuban culture"

Mestre was born in Havana on October 12, 1954. From a very young age she liked to recite, act; already at the age of 5 she said poetry of José Martí. Then he went into other poets: Neruda, Vallejo and other Cubans.

"I am deeply pained by the death of my faithful friend, collaborator, TEACHER AND PATRIOT. I hug her husband and son and the people of #Cuba , who have lost one of their most passionate defenders."
 

For his part, the president of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (Uneac), Luis Morlote, said that "Cuba deposes one of its beloved artists", while calling "immense and inconsolable pain" "the physical departure of "our Corina Mestre."

The House of the Americas also lamented the death of the "beloved artist of the Cuban scene. For his work and his ethical coherence he won the admiration of the people. He gave himself to the formation of the new generations."

"Corina Mestre is a complete example of an artist, defender of the Homeland and its culture and of a human being. The essential actress and pedagogue, a reference for generations, died this Saturday. Her legacy will always accompany us in #UNEAC , an organization of which she was vice president."

 

In 1981 Corina began working at the Grupo Teatro Estudio, directed by Raquel Revuelta. With this company he participated in more than 70 works, gaining great popularity in the Cuban public with performances in "Bodas de sangre", "Macbeth", "La zapatera prodigiosa", and "La Casa de Bernarda Alba."

In TV she acted in the "Pasión y prejuicio", "El eco de las piedras", "Salir de noche" y "Doble juego" soap operas. For her talent and long artistic career received the awards: (2016) National Prize for Artistic Teaching for the merits achieved in teaching, (2017) Premio Maestro de Juventude, (2021) Medalla Alejo Carpentier, (2022) Premio Nacional de Teatro.

 

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Netanyahu-To-Appear-Before-the-US-Congress-His-Main-Ally-20240601-0005.html <![CDATA[Netanyahu To Appear Before the US Congress, His Main Ally]]> Sat, 1 Jun 2024 16:57:26 -04:00 The Israeli Prime Minister, who has an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court Benjamin Netanyahu, announced on Saturday his intention to give a speech before the two houses of the United States Congress, after being invited by Democratic and Republican leaders from the Senate and House of Representatives.

RELATED:

ICC Demands Arrest Warrants Against Israeli PM Netanyahu

Netanyahu, charged with genocide, said he was thrilled by the "privilege of representing Israel in both houses of Congress and presenting the truth about our just war," at one point in the caul more than 36,300 Palestinians have been killed in 8 months.

Leaders of the US Congress. invited Netanyahu to address the two chambers on Friday to talk about "defending democracy" and "fighting terrorism". Republicans and Democrats from the Senate and the House of Representatives asked the Israeli president to intervene in the Congress to present his Government’s vision on how to "establish a just and lasting peace in the region".

For his part, the US federal Senator Bernie Sander has condemned both polical parties saying that it is a very sad day for the country  for "invite a war criminal to address a joint meeting of the United Sates Congress"and declared he will not attend to the event.

Eva Borgwardt, spokeperson of the left-wing pro-peace Jewish organization IfNotNow, said that the four lawmakers who inted Netanyahu will be forever remebered as the leaders who invited a war criminal to give a speech to the congress in the middle "of Israel’s genocidal attack on Gaza, days after crossing President Biden’s red line in an invasion of Rafah."

The announcement comes at the urging of the US Executive to reach a truce agreement between Israel and the Palestinian armed resistance in the Gaza Strip that allows end a conflict that has already claimed the lives of more 36,300 people in the devastated Palestinian territory.

Hamas has indicated that it is willing to accept an exchange of abductees for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, provided that the pact entails the end of the war in Gaza, the Israeli PM made it clear that the war will not end until Israel achieves its military objectives.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Armed-Resistance-Hezbollah-Launches-Nine-Attacks-on-Northern-Israel-20240601-0004.html <![CDATA[Armed Resistance Hezbollah Launches Nine Attacks on Northern Israel]]> Sat, 1 Jun 2024 16:57:24 -04:00 The Lebanese Shiite Islamic armed resistance Hezbollah launched nine attacks on northern Israel on Saturday, in a new day of crossfire escalation due to the intensification of Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon.

RELATED:

New Israeli Massacres Against Gaza Increase Death Toll

In a series of communiqués, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for a missile attack on the Al Baghdadi site followed by a drone attack on an Israeli position north of the Yiftah barracks, where the Shiite group claimed "confirmed casualties", although it did not provide further details.

Among the armed actions of this day in response to Israeli attacks on villages in the south of the country, Hezbollah targeted the headquarters of the 769th Brigade in Kiryat Shmona with Burkan-type missiles that allegedly "they started a fire in the vicinity and destroyed part of it."

Recently, the Israeli Channel 12 says that at least 930 buildings and settlement housing units have been damaged in 86 settlements in the occupied upper and western al-Jalil and are in an uninhabitable state due the 3000-rockets attacks carried by Hezbollah in the North of Israel.

Another operation was with "appropriate weapons" against "newly developed spy equipment at the Al Marj site" and another with missiles against Israeli artillery positions at Khirbet Ma'ar and the deployment of its soldiers in its vicinity.

In addition, Hezbollah claimed the shooting down of a "Hormuz 900 drone" which, according to the Shiite formation, targeted Lebanese territories, an action that "provoked the withdrawal of the Israeli drone 'Heron TP' which returned again to the Israeli side and which was also flying continuously over the airspace of the city of Jiyam".

Primarily used for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, reconnaissance (ISTAR), and aerial reconnaissance missions, the Hermes 900, also known as "Kochav", is designed and manufactured by the Israeli security technology company Elbit Systems.

Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbolllah's leader, stressed in a letter yesterday  that “This front is a support front that is part of the battle that will determine the fate of Palestine, Lebanon and the region strategically.”

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Chilean-President-Announces-He-Will-Introduce-Free-Abortion-Law-20240601-0003.html <![CDATA[Chilean President Announces He Will Introduce Free Abortion Law]]> Sat, 1 Jun 2024 14:38:14 -04:00 Chilean President Gabriel Boric announced on Saturday that he will propose a free abortion law during the second half of the year because, he said, "the women of Chile deserve their right to decide."

RELATED:

Chile to Judge With High Penalties Three Polices Killers

"As president, I am convinced to give a democratic debate on sexual and reproductive rights and, although some male deputies object, during the second half of this year we will present a legal abortion bill," said Boric.

Chile decriminalized abortion in 2017, during the second term of former socialist president Michelle Bachelet, and approved a law that allows the voluntary termination of pregnancy on three grounds (risk to the mother, foetal infeasibility and rape), although feminist movements denounce that many obstacles to its implementation still persist.

"Boos, applause and even the tantrum of a deputy who left the room, generated the announcement of a bill for Free Abortion in the 2024 public account of the president @GabrielBoric that he delivers to the Congress of Chile The current configuration of Congress would not gather the votes for its approval, but the mere announcement of the project generates controversy,"
 

Boric indicated that the Government entered a new regulation to "improve the application" of the law, which seeks "to ensure that people know their options, to ensure a right that is established by law, that conscientious objection does not hinder these three grounds and that the place where one lives and the capacity to pay are not a barrier."

Boric’s announcement this Saturday during his speech of accountability to the National Congress, in Valparaíso, 110 kilometers northwest of the capital, aroused strong applause among those attending the Public Account, but also boos by right-wing parliamentarians, who are currently the majority in Congress.

Since the passage of the "three-pronged law" in 2017, the debate to expand the law and approve free abortion has reopened from time to time, but the right opposes it head on and polls show that society is divided. The Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet was who criminalized abortion in 1990, shortly before leaving power.

The last attempt was made in 2022, when a proposal to change the Chilean Constitution, in force since the military dictatorship, proposed to guarantee free abortion in the constitution, but was rejected by the majority of citizens.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Bukele-Invested-for-Second-Term-Amid-Incostitutionality-Claims-20240601-0002.html <![CDATA[Bukele Invested for Second Term Amid Incostitutionality Claims]]> Sat, 1 Jun 2024 13:47:34 -04:00 Despite the constitutional ban, but with broad popular support and demands for the economic situation of the country, the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, was inaugurated this Saturday by Congress for a second consecutive term for the period 2024-2029.

RELATED:

El Salvador: Concerns About Constitutional Reform

During a private event, without access to the public, and broadcast on a national network, in which only the king of Spain, Felipe VI, the president of Argentina, Javier Milei, other leaders, the family and close friends of Bukele, were present, "Yes, I swear" Bukele responded to the swearing in by the leader of the Legislative Assembly, Ernesto Castro.

Bukele thus becomes the first president of the democratic stage of El Salvador to assume for a second consecutive period, after decades of military dictatorship and a 12-year civil war (1980-1992).

For this reason, various political and social actors in El Salvador have stated that they do not recognize the legality or legitimacy of Bukele’s second term as contrary to the Constitution.

His participation in the February elections, which obtained more than 85% of valid votes, came after the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice, elected by the 2021-2024 legislature without following the established legal process, to issue an act changing the interpretation of the Constitution.

With the problem of security solved momentarily, the main citizens' concerns shift into the economy, at a time when more than a quarter of Salvadorans live in poverty and unemployment is increasing. About it, Nayib Bukele promised this Saturday in his inauguration speech to "heal" the economy after curing the country from the "cancer" of violence, generated mainly by gang groups.

"Now that we have sorted out the most urgent thing, which was security, we are going to focus fully on the important problems, starting with the economy," Bukele said to hundreds of people, including special guests and followers, from the centennial National Palace box, in the heart of the Salvadoran capital.

She said that "Salvadoran society is still sick, but no longer has cancer" and that "it is still sick of the other things it has always had", because "the country has been cured of gangs and now wants to be cured of the bad economy."

Economists say the government faces a difficult balancing act to reduce the national debt without cutting much-needed social benefits for the country’s poorest while the president’s highly publicized plans for Bitcoin City, a tax-free crypto haven powered by geothermal energy from a volcano, have failed to gain momentum and private investment has tumbled.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/South-African-ANC-Leads-Vote-Counting-With-40-of-Support-20240601-0001.html <![CDATA[South African ANC Leads Vote Counting With 40% of Support]]> Sat, 1 Jun 2024 13:47:32 -04:00 South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) has secured nearly 40 percent of the vote, after counting 99 percent of the votes in the country’s general elections, according to the results of the Independent Electoral Commission.

RELATED:

S. Africa to Ensure Safe, Secure Elections, NATJOINTS

Despite this percent, it is an historical defeat to the compared to the parliamentary majority it had held since the famed all-races vote of 1994 that ended apartheid and brought it to power under Nelson Mandela, the first black president in that country.

Secondly, John Steenhuisen’s Democratic Alliance (AD, liberal center-right) stands with 21.72% of the vote, which would slightly improve the result of 2019, when it obtained 20.77%.

Third place is uMkhonto weSizwe (MK Party), the new party of former President Jacob Zuma (2009-2018), with 14.80%, whose appearance has significantly influenced the division of the vote to the ANC.

Nearly 28 million South Africans were called to the polls last Wednesday. The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) puts the provisional turnout rate at 58.59%, down from 66% in 2019 despite palpable enthusiasm in the population.

South Africa voted among seventy parties and eleven independent candidates to the 400-member National Assembly (Lower House of Parliament), which in turn must elect the president. It also elected the authorities of the country’s nine provinces.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Canada-Warns-Cyber-Attacks-Sports-Events--20240531-0007.html <![CDATA[Canada Warns of Cyber-Attacks on Sports Events ]]> Fri, 31 May 2024 20:29:07 -04:00 On Friday, the Canadian Intelligence Service warned that major sporting events, both at home and abroad, will be "very likely" targets of cyber-attacks.

RELATED:

Pro-Palestinian Students at University of Toronto Hold Rally

Communications Security Establishment (CSE), the federal agency charged with collecting electronic information and protecting the government against cyber-attacks, alerted in a newsletter about the possibility of global hacking.

The planned targets are likely to be events such as the Formula 1 Grand Prix, scheduled this month in Montreal, or the Paris Olympic Games.

"We think cybercriminals will most likely attack large organizations associated with large international sporting events and local companies around the events through fraudulent emails and 'ransomware' for the purpose of extorting", said the cybersecurity agency.

"The high profile and cost of large international sporting events make them a priority target for cybercriminals who want to seize opportunities to make a profit," the CSE said on Friday.

"They will also most likely target individuals associated with large international sporting events, including organizers, participants and viewers through phishing with malicious emails and websites using events as bait," he added.

Even the Canadian agency does not rule out the governmental intent of these events.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Venezuela-Rejects-Caricom-Communique-Essequibo-20240531-0006.html <![CDATA[Venezuela Rejects Caricom Communique on the Essequibo]]> Fri, 31 May 2024 20:01:03 -04:00 The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela issued a statement on Friday in which it expresses its categorical rejection of the statement issued by the Caribbean Community (Caricom), on May 29, 2024.

RELATED:
 

Venezuela Rejects US Statements on Presidential Elections

"The Communiqué issued by the Caribbean Community (Caricom) dated 29 May 2024, on the conclusion of the 27th Meeting of the Council for Foreign and Community Relations (Cofcor), in particular concerning the Guyana-Venezuela Dispute, which seeks to bolster the malicious and distorted matrix of presenting Venezuela as an aggressor nation," details the Bolivarian Government’s message.

In response to the Caricom text, Venezuela reminded the regional bloc that "the warmongering actions promoted by the Cooperative Republic of Guyana" include "establishing alliances with the United States Southern Command, the ExxonMobil oil company and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)".

These actions, according to Venezuela, not only "point to the preparation of an aggression" against the South American country, but also constitute "a flagrant violation of the agreements established in the Joint Declaration of Argyle for Dialogue and Peace between Guyana and Venezuela signed in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on 14 December 2023".

 The text reads, 
Venezuela rejects the Communique issued by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) dated May 29, 2024, on the conclusion of the 27th Meeting of the Council on Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR), in particular regarding the Guyana Controversy -Venezuela, which seeks to promote the malicious and distorted matrix of presenting Venezuela as an aggressor nation.
 

Those agreements made it clear that neither side would "threaten or use force against each other".

Venezuela also notes that visits by senior US officials to neighboring Guyana have become more common in recent months and, during these approaches, "interventionist statements" and "threats against Venezuela" have been made.

Following this line, the document ends by pointing out that the State of Guyana ceded its sovereignty to the United States and "to the voracious desire of Exxon Mobil" (US oil company).

This, the communiqué states, "unfortunately promotes regional instability" and represents a threat to the Zone of Peace declared by the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).

In concluding the communiqué, Venezuela urged Guyana not to deviate from the course of confrontation and to comply with the only possible way for the practical and satisfactory resolution of the dispute over Guyana Esequiba" as provided for in the 1966 Geneva Agreement, only binding element for both parties.

"The sun of Venezuela is born in the Essequibo", ends the text.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/New-Israeli-Massacres-Against-Gaza-Increase-Death-Toll--20240531-0005.html <![CDATA[New Israeli Massacres Against Gaza Increase Death Toll ]]> Fri, 31 May 2024 16:25:57 -04:00 On Friday, at least five massacres against the Palestinian people are recorded by Zionist soldiers. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, 60 people have been killed and 280 injured over the past 24 hours.

RELATED:

Gaza Strip: Israeli Soldiers Occupy Border with Egypt

The health authorities clarified that despite the figure a large number of civilians are under the rubble, beyond the reach of rescuers due to Israeli blockades.

In addition to the continuous and intense aggressions, the blockade of all humanitarian aid and medical resources puts the Palestinians in constant check. The Gazan population lives in fear of famine and epidemics.

Specifically, the border crossings of Rafah and Kerem Shalom prevent the delivery of any aid to the population. There is also the refusal of NGOs and global organizations to deliver aid because of the excessive violence of the occupation forces.

On the other hand, Gazan families survive in the midst of the bombings by taking refuge in rubble-made houses and in refugee camps, which are also under attack right now.

In total, some 36,284 people have been killed since 7 October, while 82,057 others have been injured.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Seven-Presidential-Candidates-Registered-So-Far-Iran-20240531-0004.html <![CDATA[Seven Presidential Candidates Registered So Far in Iran]]> Fri, 31 May 2024 13:26:24 -04:00 The spokesman of the national electoral body of Iran, Mohsen Islami, reported this Friday so far seven candidates have run to take part in the presidential elections of the Central Asian nation.

Related:

Investigation Concludes Raisi’s Accident Not Result of Sabotage

They are: Said Yalili, Ali Lariyani, Mohamad Reza Sabaqian Bafqi, Mostafa Kavakebian, Abas Moqtadai, Qodratali Heshmatian y Mahmud Ahmadi Biqash. The spokesman added that Iranian citizens living abroad can also register through a lawyer or representative.

According to local media, by the end of Thursday some 30 candidates had applied, although the majority did not meet the requirements established in the law to do so, such as having four years of experience in executive management at the national level, a master’s degree and an age of not less than 40 years (between 40 and 75 years).

The candidate registration process began on Thursday and will run for five days. After this deadline, the Guardian Council will study the profiles of the candidates and decide on their eligibility, after which they will start two weeks of electoral campaigns.

The elections will be held on 28 June. In this regard, the Minister of the Interior, Ahmed Vahidi, assured that the elections will be held with broad popular participation and in an environment of security, integrity and competition.

According to the current law, if in the first round no candidate gets 50 percent plus one of the total number of participants, a second round should be held on July 5.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/France-Prohibits-Israels-Participation-Arms-Fair--20240531-0003.html <![CDATA[France Prohibits Israel’s Participation in Arms Fair ]]> Fri, 31 May 2024 12:56:01 -04:00 On Friday, France banned the presence of Israeli companies at the annual arms exhibition, Eurosatory, which will take place in Paris next month.

Related:

Paris Protesters Call for Cessation of Arms Deals With Israel

"By decision of the government authorities, there will be no stand for the Israeli defence industry at the Eurosatory 2024 fair," organisers Coges Events said.

The French Defence Ministry suggested that the decision was linked to Paris’s opposition to the continuing Israeli assault on Rafah in southern Gaza.

"Conditions are no longer met to host Israeli companies at the show at a time when the President is calling for Israel to cease operations in Rafah," the ministry told.

In the largest defense and security event, 74 Israeli companies specialized in weapons and combat were present.

The decision is influenced by the activities of several pro-Palestinian activist groups, which condemned the deaths carried out by Zionist forces against Gazan civilians and called for Israel to be vetoed from Eurosatory.

 For its part, the Embassy of Israel in France, has not commented on it and according to AFP does not want to do them.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Venezuela-Rejects-US-Statements-on-Presidential-Elections-20240531-0002.html <![CDATA[Venezuela Rejects US Statements on Presidential Elections]]> Fri, 31 May 2024 11:54:11 -04:00 On Thursday, Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister Yvan Gil rejected the United States' attempt to issue instructions to his country regarding the presidential elections scheduled for July 28.

RELATED: 

Venezuelan President Maduro Creates Ministry for the Elderly

Previously, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller made statements criticizing the decision by Venezuelan authorities to revoke the invitation to European Union electoral observers.

"Electoral authorities have spoken firmly and will not tolerate any disrespect from any organization aligned with Washington. It is time for the U.S. to desist from its constant attempts to sabotage our country and our institutions," Gil said, emphasizing the impracticality of the oligarchies hoping for Venezuela to be overseen by foreign powers.

"Bolivarian democracy is solid and exemplary. We could teach the United States a lot about conducting truly free elections," he pointed out.

On Wednesday, Elvis Amoroso, the president of the National Electoral Council (CNE), rejected the interventionist attitude of the European Union in the ongoing electoral process, highlighting that it is an issue that concerns only Venezuelans.

"The Electoral Authority of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, a free, sovereign, and independent nation, repudiates the insolent statement by the European Union, in which considerations are made that are exclusively the competence of Venezuelans, becoming a new interventionist act that seeks to interfere in the decisions of the Venezuelan National Electoral Council," he said in a statement.

"No foreign organization has the authority to decide on Venezuela's electoral observation program. The decisions made within the Electoral Council are carried out in the exercise of sovereignty, and in the particular case of revoking the invitation to the European Union, it is due to this bloc's hostile and disrespectful attitude towards Venezuela," Amoroso added.

"The European Union has behaved as a biased and aggressive actor, infringing national dignity and additionally becoming a disruptive factor in the electoral processes, maintaining the illegal and illegitimate application of coercive, unilateral, and genocidal measures, with the sole aim of causing harm to the Venezuelan population."

On July 28, Venezuelans will go to the polls to elect their next president in a process that will be accompanied by dozens of international organizations. This democratic event will take place amid the arbitrary sanctions that the United States and the European Union maintain against the Bolivarian people, which were also harshly criticized by the CNE president.

"The National Electoral Council reaffirms that as long as the European Union does not lift the entirety of the coercive, unilateral, and genocidal sanctions imposed against the people of Venezuela, which affect children, women, the elderly, the sick, students, and businessmen, their presence will not be welcome in any electoral process held in Venezuela, a nation that has decided to be free forever by the absolute will of the people," Amoroso said. 

"We demand that their hostility, neocolonial practices, siege, and interventionism in the internal affairs of Venezuela cease," he stressed.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Venezuelan-President-Maduro-Creates-Ministry-for-the-Elderly-20240531-0001.html <![CDATA[Venezuelan President Maduro Creates Ministry for the Elderly]]> Fri, 31 May 2024 08:52:35 -04:00 On Thursday, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced the creation of the Ministry of Popular Power for Older Adults.

RELATED:

Cuban Attorney General Peña Visits Venezuela to Strengthen Ties

“Tomorrow I will sign the decree creating the Ministry for the Elderly, which will guarantee the four vertices of the Great Mission Grandfathers and Grandmothers of the Homeland,” he expressed during the first broadcast of the radio program “Suddenly with Maduro.”

The Bolivarian leader commented that the new institution emerged from the National Congress of Grandparents, which proposed ensuring comprehensive and timely access for the elderly population to dignified living conditions, including health services, recreation, and mobility.

The public policies to achieve these objectives are also present in the Plan of the Seven Transformations proposed by President Maduro for the 2025-2030 period.

During the first edition of the new radio program, the Bolivarian leader responded to the criticisms of an opposition presidential candidate by highlighting that the Venezuelan oligarchy has always been disconnected from the realities of the people.

“You come from a past to which this country will not return… None of you have been with the people. When the pandemic occurred, where were you? When we had to face the U.S. sanctions and the attempted invasion, where were you? When we had to face a brutal economic war and address the food needs of the people, where were you? I can tell you where I was. We were in the neighborhood with the people attending to their needs,” Maduro stressed.

On Thursday, the Venezuelan president allocated over US$48 million so that the Community Military Brigades for Education and Health (BRICOMILES) can make investments in 500 schools and about 200 comprehensive diagnostic centers.

He also approved resources for the Great Venezuela Bella Mission, which will carry out rehabilitation works on churches, temples, and parish houses.

Maduro also referred to the rainy season caused by the presence of a second tropical wave, which is affecting the coast, the plains, and the western area of Venezuelan territory.

In this regard, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez reported that the Risk System is deployed to address any type of difficulty that the weather conditions may generate.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Israeli-Forces-Kills-Young-Palestinian-Occupied-West-Bank-20240530-0016.html <![CDATA[Israeli Forces Kills Young Palestinian in Occupied West Bank]]> Thu, 30 May 2024 22:30:18 -04:00 Palestinian authorities confirmed the death of one Palestinian and eight others were injured by "Israeli" gunfire during a raid on the occupied West Bank city of Biren.

RELATED:

Gaza Strip: Israeli Soldiers Occupy Border with Egypt

The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that the victim was identified as Wajih Al-Ramahi.

The health portfolio also announced the arrival of four Palestinians at the Palestinian Medical Complex in Ramallah, after being wounded by Israeli occupation forces.

Likewise, he reported that one of the eight wounded is in critical condition after suffering a direct hit to the head, another was classified as moderate to serious after being shot in the abdomen, while two have minor wounds in his lower extremities.

At 237 days after the siege of Jewish forces in Gaza and the West Bank, the number of Palestinians killed exceeds 36,200 because of Israel’s continuous aggression.

The Israeli occupation forces have increased raids and arrests in cities and towns in the West Bank, resulting in the deaths of dozens of Palestinians, including children and women.

 

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/-Nora-Cortinas-One-Mothers-Plaza-Mayo-Dies-94-20240530-0015.html <![CDATA[ Nora Cortiñas, One of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, Dies at 94]]> Thu, 30 May 2024 22:15:07 -04:00 The family of Nora Irma Morales de Cortiña, announced on Thursday her death at the age of 94, and will be remembered as one of the members of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo Line Founder in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

RELATED:

Disability Activists to Rally at Argentine President's Residence

The world and regional media have echoed the news, recognizing Nora Morales de Cortiña as a mother who screamed the same thing in front of the cameras with her white scarf on her head and green on her wrist, who played ball, walked with his cane or let himself drive in a wheelchair.

Norita, as she was affectionately recognized, was operated on last May 17 of a hernia that, when combined with other pathologies, "aggravated the picture".

This Argentine social leader joined the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo after the kidnapping of her son, Gustavo Cortiñas, on April 15, 1977.

 The text reads, 
At 94, a member of Madres de Plaza de Mayo-Linea Foundadora Nora Cortiñas died this Thursday. Tireless fighter for the defense of human rights, social, feminist and worker. Rest in peace "Norita"

The Argentine feminist, Mabel Bellucci, who brought her closer to the ranks of the defense of women told the magazine defending the LatFem issue "that militancy treated Norita as a saint, who invoked her in the marches even when she was not there"

Belluci recognized that "it will be difficult not to do so from now on. Although it is known: where there is a struggle, there is Norita". 

The loss of Norita has caused a worldwide impact and several personalities and social organizations have left their condolences.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Judicial-Harassment-Against-Chilean-Mayor-Daniel-Jadue-Rejected-20240530-0014.html <![CDATA[Judicial Harassment Against Chilean Mayor Daniel Jadue Rejected]]> Thu, 30 May 2024 22:00:37 -04:00 The Forum of Sao Paulo (FSP) denounced on Wednesday the resurgence of judicial persecution against the mayor of the Chilean commune of Recoleta, Daniel Jadue, who from the previous day faces an oral trial accused of alleged corruption.

RELATED:

Brazil Surpasses Record 4 Million Cases of Dengue

The also militant and former presidential candidate for the Communist Party led the Chilean Association of Municipalities with Popular Pharmacies (Achifarp), a solidarity initiative to protect people’s health by guaranteeing fairer prices for medical services, particularly for citizens with fewer resources.

The day before, the Prosecutor’s Office filed charges for alleged fraud to the tax, bribery, unfair administration, fraud and bankruptcy. It also formalized seven other accused. Jadue, who will present his arguments this Thursday, declared after the session that the Prosecutor’s "staging" was very weak and that he has no evidence.

On the case, the FSP expressed through a statement that the communications, judicial and political persecution towards Jadue is, in fact, aimed at ending "a project of democratization and popular protagonism that substantially improved the lives of thousands of Chilean families, generating a national and international reference as far as local governments are concerned".

 The text reads, 
I support Mayor Daniel Jadue! No to lawfare in Chile! We see with concern the communication, judicial and political persecution of Daniel Jadue, Mayor of Recoleta, and above all of what he represents: a project of democratization and popular protagonism. 

The Forum made clear that the judicial war is used by the elite of power and financial capital to defend popular leaders and the social policies they implement to eradicate poverty and reduce deep social inequalities.

He assured that these sectors, which do not succeed in defeating the people at the polls, seek to impose their interests at all costs over popular sovereignty, which is why they criminalize and destroy politics, "sentencing before any impartial judge through hegemonic means, violating the principle of due process and the constitutional guarantees of the accused".

The platform denounced that for this they use the hegemonic press, impose a communication matrix and press for the opening of a judicial investigation that supports the installed matrix without being concerned with seeking the truth.

He recalled that at the end of last April Jadue "was threatened to prevent him from leaving the country without judicial resolution or any process beyond the hegemonic press". On that occasion, and despite the fact that the Prosecutor’s Office had not issued precautionary measures, he was prevented from travelling to Venezuela and participating in the Encounter for a World Social Alternative. The mayor of Recoleta described this measure as arbitrary and in violation of his constitutional rights and guarantees, as well as due process.

The Forum called on the international community to prevent the continuation of the ban on political leadership and the rule of law.

In this regard, he stated that "divert from the path popular political leaders and deeply uncomfortable for the status quo is the guarantee that those above need to guarantee the election of candidates subject to market interests, who ignore the population, especially the poorest".

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/telesuragenda/The-Grandpa-Good-Guy-That-US-Wants-Venezuela--20240530-0013.html <![CDATA[The Grandpa "Good Guy" That the US Wants for Venezuela]]> Thu, 30 May 2024 20:46:44 -04:00 Behind the calm and good-natured grandfather figure that has been fabricated for the candidate that the opposition inscribed by Machado, with that "innocent" giggle and his "conciliatory" speech, hides the plan with which the United States, hand in hand with the national extremist opposition, seeks to once again seize power in Venezuela. And it persists in that purpose, not only to try to put its hand back to Venezuelan oil but also to recover space for its geostrategic interests in the region and prevent Latin America from inserting itself in the transition to a multipolar world.

The imperial ingenuity noticeably touched after successive and notorious failures, now experiences by the electoral route, illusioning the followers of the PUD, even those who might be fed up with the confrontation, with the idea that political violence, perpetrated for 24 years against the people, the State and its institutions, will cease if the chosen septuagenary comes to power. That everything will be "peace and love", just as Ramos Allup did when they won a majority in the National Assembly.

After the burning barajitas of Leopoldo López, Juan Guaidó and María Corina Machado, protagonists of the plan of coup in slow motion but with a lot of violence, Washington removes from the shadows this opposition candidate, who lies by stammering his own biography, showing himself as a being "Unpolluted", alien to traditional politics, when it has been and is part of the Adeco-Copeyano agreement, which for 4 decades was distributed to the country and mortgaged its future to big transnational capital, under a covert and systematic violation of Human Rights.

He has tried to conceal that he maintains close relations of friendship with representatives of the old Venezuelan politics, from Manuel Rosales to Henry Ramos Allup, who have also acted in line with American objectives and today support him with their parties.

One of the irrefutable evidences of the participation of the US in the election of the candidate of the Venezuelan extremist right is the public plea made by Francisco Palmieri, head of the US Foreign Office for Venezuela and ambassador to Colombia, to the government of Nicolás Maduro to "allow Edmundo González Urrutia to be the candidate of the entire Venezuelan democratic opposition".

The Venezuelan radical right aspires to make the people forget their image of a coup leader with the "face of I was not" of a man who poses as unsuspected to ambition for power, a moderate outsider, academic and diplomatically correct, but unable to conceal that his script also comes from the North.

Thus the old man machaconamente points out that when he becomes president of Venezuela, there will be a "democratic and peaceful transition", a textual promise made by the State Department, in a myriad of public statements launched since 2016, when he asked for early elections while burning the streets of the country.

On the other hand, the internuncio grandfather of the gringos has said that, once he is seated in Miraflores, he will release all the "political prisoners" demand of the United States to leave unpunished the 43 deaths, 3 thousand wounded and 20 billion material losses by attacks on hospitals, CDI, nurseries, and other public institutions.

Its harmony with the US is confirmed by the fact that the "angelic" old man has not condemned the coercive measures exercised by the interventionist and extortionist machinery of the empire on Venezuela, with the purpose of hindering the exercise of governance and promoting its policy of regime change, causing death and pain to Venezuelans.

 The diplomatic spirit that seeks to exploit the decadent candidate of the Venezuelan empire and right, worried about "restoring" democracy in the country, collapses when in its trajectory we find that being paid by the Venezuelan state, According to diplomatic sources cited by Diosdado Cabello, the first vice-president of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, the US interventionist plans in Latin America would have provided services to the disgraceful and bloodthirsty. Despite its seriousness, this accusation has not been denied by the candidate or the parties he represents.

The same denunciation states that González Urrutia "was captured by the CIA in November 1976, being a diplomat of the Venezuelan embassy in the US, just when the Condor Plan applied its strategy of transnational state terrorism against the continental progressive movement. As a reward for his valuable contribution to gringo interests, he would have been sent to the Venezuelan embassy in El Salvador, between 1979 and 1984, as minister counselor to the then Ambassador Leopoldo Castillo, accused of participating in "Operation Centauro"led by the CIA and organized from the Venezuelan diplomatic headquarters in the Central American country, between 1981 and 1983.

Enemy of Venezuela inside and outside

Between 2013 and 2015 Edmundo González was the international representative of the Table of Democratic Unity, (MUD) platform that brings together the parties of the non-democratic opposition that today supports him, and that in that period promoted maneuvers for the ignorance of President Nicolás Maduro on an international scale.

In addition, it supported proposals by countries hostile to the Bolivarian government, such as the Canadian one, and motivated within the Organization of American States (OAS) the interference and application of the Democratic Charter in the country. Since 2015, he belongs to the international editorial board of the newspaper El Nacional, a propaganda organ of the violent opposition and in 2020 the "apolitical grandfather" assumed the presidency of the MUD.

The opposition candidate is also deputy director and coordinator of the International System Monitoring Working Group of the Fermín Toro Institute for Parliamentary Studies, pointed out by the PSUV as one of the sixty-two NGOs operating in the country for absolutely political purposes and financed by other governments, including the United States.

González participated in the 54th meeting of the Americas at the think tanks American Society - Council of The Americas (AS/COA) together with Machado, where they spoke with Chris Dodd -Joe Biden’s advisor for Latin America- and Brian A Nichols -undersecretary of the State Department-on the electoral process in Venezuela and its impact on regional geopolitics.

He does not hide his affinity with the government of Washington which he considers a "fundamental ally" and proposes as a priority in a hypothetical government, "rebuild a normal diplomatic relationship" with that nation. However, it is ambiguous with regard to Venezuela’s interests, because, although it recognizes the Geneva Agreement of 1966 as the only valid instrument for resolving the country’s territorial dispute over the Esequiba Guiana, it rejects the creation of a new state, the Essequibo state approved by the people in a consultative referendum.

He has not said anything about Machado’s proposal to privatize PDVSA. Perhaps because of the political and electoral costs involved, it prefers to keep hidden the plan of privatization of the oil industry, public services and other strategic sectors, which would imply the dismantling of the Bolivarian Revolution.

In short, the candidacy of Edmundo González represents the loss of political, economic and geographical sovereignty of Venezuela, and the strongest bet of the United States to become the largest oil reserves in the world.

On a global South scale, the triumph of the PUD candidate, the MUD, "of "the plush", would also give the empire the opportunity to avoid Venezuela’s entry into the BRICS, which would deal a severe blow to the progressive and anti-imperialist forces that are already building a multipolar world from the region.

If Edmundo González wins, the United States will govern in Venezuela and in the face of this challenge chavismo, as a sentiment embodied by the country’s great majorities, with its only candidate, Nicolás Maduro Moros, must appeal to the conscience of the people, irreducible legacy of Commander Hugo Chávez.

It will be necessary to reposition in the memory of the people who are behind the "surprise", "naive" and almost silly face of the candidate of the empire and the right extremist Creole.

It is the violent opposition, refused to accept the rules of the democratic game, which now pretends to present itself as an alternative political force, united only circumstantially, without knowing how to take center stage again, because it does not have a country project. Devoid of origin and popular support, it continues to be remotely directed by the United States that does have a clear geopolitical strategy: defend the hope of Venezuelans to continue advancing on the path of equality, development and social justice and impose their neoliberal adjustment plans that support and promote the unipolar model of absolute subordination to American interests.

Rosario Pacheco - Journalist

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Uruguay-US-Military-Aircraft-Without-Parliamentary-Approval-20240530-0012.html <![CDATA[Uruguay: US Military Aircraft Without Parliamentary Approval]]> Thu, 30 May 2024 19:32:30 -04:00 On Thursday, two US military aircraft landed at the Uruguayan airport of Punta del Este, according to information published by a local media on social networks.

Related:

Uruguay: Transport Workers Extend Strike

The news would not be transcendental, except that the entry into the country of foreign military forces and means requires a permit from the Legislative Power.

The R Multimedia group quoted the X account Carrascopotter, specialized in aeronautics, which reported the landing at the Uruguayan airport of two Sikorsky MH-60S Seahawk helicopters of the United States Navy.

"This confirms that the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington is currently near the Uruguayan coast," the account said.

 The text reads, 
Two aircraft from the US carrier USS George Washington landed at Punta del Este Airport, Uruguay. Undersecretary of Defense Rivera Elgue explained that the helicopters came to pick up people invited to visit the aircraft carrier.

The Uruguayan media outlet claims that the Undersecretary of Defense, Rivera Elgue, acknowledged that the aircraft landed to "come and pick up people who were invited to visit the aircraft carrier", since last Monday in Argentinean waters.

Reportedly, it will not dock in any port and will participate in joint exercises with the Argentine Navy, which deployed four ships to meet it.

At the end of April, the US Coast Guard vessel Cutter James had to leave Uruguayan waters after a political and legislative controversy over its entry, which violated precepts of the National Constitution.

Parliamentarians from the opposition Frente Amplio denounced the fact that the warship did not have the permission of the National Assembly, as required by the Constitution.

The Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs acknowledged that there had been what they called a procedural error.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Dr-9-Mln-Illicit-Goods-Destroyed-20240530-0010.html <![CDATA[DR: +9 Mln of Illicit Goods Destroyed]]> Thu, 30 May 2024 19:14:50 -04:00 On Thursday, for the second time this year, more than nine million illicit goods, including tobacco and medicines, were destroyed in the Dominican Republic as part of a crackdown on the irregular trade in goods.

Related:

DR: President to Meet with Opposition Party Leaders

The Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Mipymes (MICM) reported that the destruction ceremony was attended by the heads of the Ministry Víctor Bisonó and the Ministry of Defence, Lieutenant General Carlos Luciano Díaz.

The 9.5 million units incinerated were seized during operations carried out throughout the country from 14 February to 28 May this year.

He added that the Specialised Fuel and Merchandise Control Corps (Ceccom) also participated in these missions.

 The text reads, 
The Illicit Bureau incinerated 9.8 million units of illicit goods, including:
Medicines (units):853,959
Sexual stimulants (units): 6,301
Alcohol (bottles): 21,841
Clérén (litres): 1,157
Tobacco (units): 8,943,783
Total goods: 9,827,041

These included eight million 943,783 units of tobacco, 544,214 of medicines and 853,959 bottles of adulterated alcohol, among other products.

On the occasion, Bisonó said that the fight against illegal trade in goods is a priority for the government because it is aimed at preserving security and protecting the life and health of all Dominicans.

He explained that these results reflect the unity and coordination of actions of various agencies.

Ceccom's operations are carried out in coordination with the Army, the Attorney General's Office, the Specialised Corps for Land Border Security and the National Institute for the Protection of Consumer Rights.

The Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance, the Association of Industries and the Specialised Prosecutor's Office for Crimes and Crimes against Health also participate.

Last February, in the presence of the Vice-President of the Republic, Raquel Peña, 11,068,963 units of cigarettes, 13,270 bottles of alcohol unfit for human consumption and 21,347 units of illicit medicines were incinerated.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Gaza-Strip-Israeli-Soldiers-Occupy-Border-Egypt-20240530-0009.html <![CDATA[Gaza Strip: Israeli Soldiers Occupy Border with Egypt]]> Thu, 30 May 2024 18:43:06 -04:00 On Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) controlled the so-called Philadelphi Corridor and the Rafah crossing in southern Gaza, bordering Egypt, amid strong international criticism of the offensive against the area.

Related:

Slovenia Announces That It Will Recognize the Palestinian State

According to IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari, troops fully occupied the Corridor, a 100-metre-wide, 14.5-kilometre-long strip of Palestinian land that runs parallel to the demarcation line between the coastal enclave and Egypt.

The Times of Israel, however, qualified the information by stating that the westernmost area, along the coast, was not occupied, but is under fire control.

Hagari said that some 20 smuggling tunnels and 82 shafts have been detected so far, although the figure was disputed by Cairo.

A month ago, the head of Egypt's State Intelligence Service, Diaa Rashwan, assured that the country has full control over its territory and rejected Israeli accusations of alleged arms and ammunition trafficking to Gaza.

Some 1,500 tunnels connecting the coastal enclave to our country have been destroyed over the past decade and the border fence has been reinforced, he said.

Tensions between the two countries escalated a few days ago after an Egyptian soldier was killed by Israeli gunfire in an incident that is still under investigation.

In early May, Netanyahu launched his troops against the Palestinian city of Rafah and the Rafah crossing on the border with the North African nation.

The prime minister claims that control of the area allowed the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) to smuggle arms and weapons from across the demarcation line, which Cairo rejects.

Israeli media reported that in the last few hours the army advanced towards the centre and western parts of the city, where fighting with militiamen was reported in several areas, including around the municipal stadium.

Tanks were also reported near the Al-Huda mosque, in Al-Oda, Al Jamah and Al-Sharki squares, as well as in the vicinity of the cemetery and the Indonesian hospital in Tal al Sultan.

According to the UN, more than one million Palestinians have fled the city in the last three weeks.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Middle East warned that the situation there is critical because of a lack of medicine, food and other vital life-sustaining items.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/President-Trump-Became-First-Convicted-President-US-History-20240530-0008.html <![CDATA[President Trump Became First Convicted President in U.S. History]]> Thu, 30 May 2024 18:12:22 -04:00 On Thursday, Donald John Trump became the first president of the United States of America to be convicted of criminal charges in a Fiscal trial, after the Manhattan Criminal Court convicted the former president of 34 criminal charges.

RELATED:

Experts Denounce the Use of U.S. Weapons in Rafah Massacres

The tycoon was charged with forging business records, specifically relating to 11 invoices, 12 vouchers and 11 checks.

The jury, composed of 12 New Yorkers, informed the judge of the case, Juan Merchan, of their decision to unanimously declare the former president for fraud and for illegally influencing the elections.

In 2016, Trump intentionally forged documents to conceal the delivery of $130,000 to his former lawyer Michael Cohen under the guise of an advance on legal services.

Really capital was not for Cohen but for adult movie star Stormy Daniels and thus silence a sexual relationship in 2006 that the Republican denies. Payments were made in October, weeks before the elections.

The main incriminating evidence was the testimony of Michael Cohen and the public accusation made by Stormy Daniels in 2016.

The purchase of adult actress silence was part of an illegal conspiracy to undermine the integrity of the 2016 election and an illegal plan to suppress negative information about the candidate to voters.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Slovenia-Announces-That-It-Will-Recognize-Palestinian-State--20240530-0007.html <![CDATA[Slovenia Announces That It Will Recognize the Palestinian State ]]> Thu, 30 May 2024 16:33:55 -04:00 The Slovenian Government announced on Thursday the recognition of the State of Palestine through a proposal that will send the Parliament for a decision scheduled for next Tuesday.

RELATED:
 

Algeria Circulates Draft Resolution for a Ceasefire in Gaza

"Today, the government has taken the decision to recognize Palestine as an independent and sovereign state," Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob said at a press conference after the session in which the proposal was adopted.

He explained that his government recognized Palestine "with the 1967 borders or with the borders that the parties concerned agree on in a future peace agreement."

According to Golob, "today is the time for the whole world to work in one direction: it is the one that leads to lasting peace in the Middle East and is in the direction of two States", Israel and Palestine.

"The decision is a message to both parties, we want the attacks to stop as soon as possible and the hostages to be released as soon as possible," Golob said.

He assured that the recognition "is a message of peace" and seeks to exert pressure to reach a ceasefire.

The former Yugoslav republic, a member of the European Union (EU) since 2004, joins Spain, Norway and Ireland, which announced the recognition of the State of Palestine last Tuesday.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Bodies-Missionaries-Killed-Haiti-Are-Repatriated-20240530-0006.html <![CDATA[Bodies of Missionaries Killed in Haiti Are Repatriated]]> Thu, 30 May 2024 15:58:47 -04:00 On Thursday, the government and the United States repatriated the bodies of the two of the American missionary couple David and Natalie Lloyd, killed last week by gang members in Haiti.

RELATED:

Haiti: Gangs Add More Deaths and Kidnappings

The bodies were transported on a commercial flight to Miami, Florida, which was the first commercial flight from the United States to Haiti for months when the country became isolated due to the growing wave of violence.

"I can confirm that the bodies have been repatriated and that they are already in the United States," State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel said at a press conference.

The Washington spokesman did not confirm if any deal was made with the gang members, but simply offered his condolences to the families and the deceased.

David and Natalie Floyd, son-in-law and daughter of US Congressman Ben Baker, worked for the NGO Missions in Haiti, which was founded in 2000 by David’s parents.

The couple, as well as a third person, were hiding while gang members shot at the orphanage where they were taking refuge, according to the humanitarian organization last week.

They and several volunteers from the orphanage were attacked and shot dead, injuring several residents of the building.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Cuban-Attorney-General-Pena-Visits-Venezuela-to-Strengthen-Ties-20240530-0005.html <![CDATA[Cuban Attorney General Peña Visits Venezuela to Strengthen Ties]]> Thu, 30 May 2024 14:16:38 -04:00 On Thursday, the Attorneys General of Cuba and Venezuela highlighted the strong state of relations between their institutions and the programs they are implementing.

RELATED:

Cuba Condemns Massacre Against Refugees in Rafah

During her visit to the Bolivarian nation, Cuba's Attorney General Yamila Peña held a meeting with her Venezuelan counterpart, Tarek William Saab, to review the progress on the commitments made in an agreement signed in 2018.

Earlier, Peña and Saab visited the National Pantheon to pay tribute to the father of the Venezuelan nation, the liberator Simon Bolivar. The Cuban official also visited Venezuela's National School of Prosecutors.

At the meeting, Saab presented the features of the program called “The Public Ministry Goes to Your Community,” which takes place in the main squares of each Venezuelan state.

"When Saab was Ombudsman, he used to visit Havana frequently. Since then, there has been an exchange of experiences and insights about law," the Cuban Attorney General recalled.

"As leaders of processes with high responsibility and complexity, we hope this will yield results in our daily work as there are many common points," she said, emphasizing that the Socialist state is what ensures social justice.

"At the Cuban Attorney General's office, it is our duty to address problems and evaluate solutions. We are responsible for overseeing criminal investigations and the exercise of criminal prosecution. For us, interaction with citizens and the protection of all sectors of society is very important," Peña stressed.

The attorneys general of both countries agreed that justice must go hand in hand with human rights, both in punitive and preventive actions.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Madagascar-Parliamentary-Election-Took-Place-20240530-0004.html <![CDATA[Madagascar: Parliamentary Election Took Place]]> Thu, 30 May 2024 13:24:28 -04:00 On Wednesday, the parliamentary election in Madagascar took place, with citizens voting to elect 163 deputies to the National Assembly.

Related:

Somalia: Charities Launch Campaign to Protect Cheetahs

Polling stations across the country opened from 6:00 a.m. local time to 5:00 p.m., with about 11.6 million registered voters casting their ballots.

Arsene Dama, president of the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), visited several polling stations alongside international observer missions and reported that everything was proceeding as planned.

Regarding reported electoral offenses, such as suspicions of pre-ticked ballot papers, he assured that investigations would be conducted to confirm the existence or absence of such anomalies.

A total of 23 international and 82 national observation entities were accredited by CENI for the election. United Nations Resident Coordinator in Madagascar Issa Sanogo praised efforts to ensure inclusive participation, especially for young people and those with disabilities.

Malagasy civil society observatory Safidy said that the opening of polling stations was calm, with procedures generally respected and all necessary materials available, despite some minor delays.

President Andry Rajoelina urged all Malagasy citizens to participate fully in the election, emphasizing the importance of voting for deputies in every district.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Haiti-Gangs-Add-More-Deaths-Kidnappings-20240530-0003.html <![CDATA[Haiti: Gangs Add More Deaths and Kidnappings]]> Thu, 30 May 2024 13:15:21 -04:00 On Wednesday, a school principal was murdered and a dozen people were kidnapped by gang member creating an environment of insecurity, caused by violence, in Haiti.

Related:

Haiti: Death of Three Foreign Missionaries Repudiated

Armed assailants on a motorbike opened fire on the leading figure of the Sisters of St. Mary of the Angels school, named Petit Papa Garcia Dominique.

Before taking her life, the criminals beat her to force her out of her vehicle in Capois Street, an area of Port-au-Prince, the daily Le Facteur Haiti reported.

So far it is not known which group perpetrated the attack, but in the midst of the chaos in the Caribbean nation, school principals could be in the sights of the criminals, who have already burned and looted high schools, schools and even universities.

For its part, the daily Haiti Libre reported the kidnapping of a dozen workers at the Varreux terminal, on Haile Selassie Avenue, as they were returning home.

Armed assailants on a motorbike opened fire on the leading figure of the Sisters of St. Mary of the Angels school, named Petit Papa Garcia Dominique.

Before taking her life, the criminals beat her to force her out of her vehicle in Capois Street, an area of Port-au-Prince, the daily Le Facteur Haiti reported.

So far it is not known which group perpetrated the attack, but in the midst of the chaos in the Caribbean nation, school principals could be in the sights of the criminals, who have already burned and looted high schools, schools and even universities.

For its part, the daily Haiti Libre reported the kidnapping of a dozen workers at the Varreux terminal, on Haile Selassie Avenue, as they were returning home.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Somalia-Charities-Launch-Campaign-Protect-Cheetahs-20240530-0002.html <![CDATA[Somalia: Charities Launch Campaign to Protect Cheetahs]]> Thu, 30 May 2024 12:54:28 -04:00 On Thursday, two international conservation charities joined forces to launch an awareness campaign in Somaliland, northern Somalia, to educate the public about the critical issue of wildlife trafficking, with a specific focus on the cheetahs of the Horn of Africa.

Related:

Horn of Africa: +74 Mln People Are Food Insecure

The campaign, organized by the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) and the Wild Africa Fund, is aimed at combating the illegal wildlife pet trade in cheetahs from the Horn of Africa.

The charities highlighted the innovative media strategies employed by the Wild Africa Fund to reduce poaching of African elephants and rhinos, which will now be extended to address the trafficking of cheetahs in the Horn of Africa.

"The initiative underscores a significant step towards protecting Somaliland's wildlife and raising global awareness about the devastating impacts of illegal wildlife trade," the CCF said in a statement.

The campaign comes amid reports that more than 200 cheetahs have been trafficked into the Middle East annually, out of a regional population of about 400 individuals in the Horn of Africa.

The awareness program, developed in collaboration with Somaliland's two relevant ministries, included interviews with key government officials and influential social media personalities, who pledged to use their platforms to advocate for the conservation of wildlife in Somaliland.

The CCF is currently caring for 97 cheetahs rescued from the illegal wildlife pet trade at its Cheetah Rescue and Conservation Center (CRCC) in Geed-Deeble in Somaliland.

The world population of cheetah is less than 7,000 individuals, and this regional subspecies has recently been uplisted by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to "Endangered."

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Horn-Africa-74-Mln-People-Are-Food-Insecure-20240530-0001.html <![CDATA[Horn of Africa: +74 Mln People Are Food Insecure]]> Thu, 30 May 2024 12:36:57 -04:00 On Wednesday, a report released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) stated that some 74.9 million people in the Greater Horn of Africa region are highly food insecure and in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

Related:

Sudan: Hamdok Elected as President of Taqaddum

The two institutions said out of the number, 46.8 million people were from seven of the eight IGAD member states. These are Djibouti, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Sudan and Uganda. The rest are Burundi, the Central African Republic (CAR) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The report attributes the rise in the number of food-insecure people in the region from 58.1 million people in February to flooding caused by heavy rains.

"Heavy rains from late March through April have led to severe flooding, especially in Kenya, Somalia, Burundi and Tanzania, causing loss of lives and livestock, displacing hundreds of thousands of people, and destroying farmlands and critical infrastructure such as roads, bridges and dams," they said in an April report.

"Despite increased agricultural performance in some parts of the region as a result of the enhanced rains, increased levels of acute food insecurity are probable in the severely affected areas," the institutions said.

They observed that the nutrition situation across the region remained concerning, largely driven by conflict, displacement, food insecurity, infectious diseases and poor water, hygiene and sanitation conditions.

The bulk of those who are food insecure (20.4 million) are in DRC, followed by Sudan at 12.8 million and South Sudan at 4.6 million, according to FAO and IGAD. "The nutrition situation in Sudan is rapidly deteriorating, marked by an alarming increase in acute malnutrition cases, even as parts of the country face a progressively increasing risk of famine," the report said.

It added that apart from the food crisis, the Greater Horn of Africa region is also grappling with multiple disease outbreaks, including cholera, malaria, measles, dengue, yellow fever, and polio, as wetter-than-normal conditions observed over most parts of the region heightened the risk of water-borne and vector-borne diseases due to flooding.

The Horn of Africa is expected to experience more rains between June-September, according to the latest forecast by IGAD's Climate Prediction Center.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), some 473 people lost their lives in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Uganda, Burundi, and Tanzania due to flooding between March and April, with the rains affecting over 1.6 million people in the region.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Peru-Opens-Investigation-Into-Deaths-Antigovernment-Protests-20240529-0025.html <![CDATA[Peru Opens Investigation Into Deaths in Anti-government Protests]]> Wed, 29 May 2024 22:13:01 -04:00 The Prosecutor’s Office of Peru presented on Tuesday a report investigating 324 people due to the 50 deaths and injuries caused to 716 citizens during the anti-government protests from December 2022 to March 2023.

RELATED:

Peru: Prosecutor's Office Accuses President Boluarte of Bribery

"The Special Team of Prosecutors for cases involving victims during social protests has launched 62 investigations against members of the police and military forces," the Public Prosecutor’s Office said in a bulletin shared on its official website.

Of that number, 56 tax folders have been decreed as "complex", while 11 have been formalized. The rest are in pre-trial proceedings. Of the total number of persons investigated, 285 are members of the police and 39 of the military.

The charges, according to the information, include "the alleged commission of the crimes of aggravated homicide, aggravated torture, serious injuries, minor injuries and abuse of authority".

 The text reads, 
Access the newsletter on the prosecutorial actions of the Special Team of Prosecutors for cases with victims during social protests

"Of the total of 62 tax investigations, involving 766 aggrieved (50 deceased and 716 injured) and 324 investigated, 90.3 percent (56) have been declared complex, while 9.7 percent are considered simple," the report adds.

On the other hand, the Peruvian judicial body details that the dissemination of this document aims to "communicate the progress of the investigations of competence" of the Special Team of Prosecutors with regard to cases with victims during social protests.

In particular, the Prosecutor’s Office tries to demonstrate the development of the judicial process after the demonstrations that began after the failed coup during the presidency of Pedro Castillo.

Developed in the south of the South American nation, these protests demanded "the resignation of President Dina Boluarte, the dissolution of the Congress and the calling of elections, among other demands".

In the face of the sensitive judicial process, the interim prosecutor of the Nation, Juan Carlos Villena has promised that there will be "biannual periodicity" of the investigation.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Foreign-Ministers-Syria-China-Hold-Bilateral-Meeting-20240529-0024.html <![CDATA[Foreign Ministers of Syria and China Hold Bilateral Meeting]]> Wed, 29 May 2024 22:12:59 -04:00 Syrian Foreign and Expatriate Minister Faisal Al-Mekdad held talks with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, on relations between the two nations and forms of development.

RELATED:

Syria Applauds Decision to Include Palestine as an UN State

Both foreign ministers stressed the importance of making progress and intensifying practical cooperation and implementing the agreements reached during President Bashar Al-Assad’s visit to China last year.

During the meeting, they discussed the international situation, especially that of the Gaza Strip and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories, as well as the importance of ending the war and the entry of humanitarian aid and the end of the displacement of Palestinians.

Al-Mekdad underscored Syria’s support for China’s Taiwan, Hong Kong and Xining-related causes, and its responsibility for the one-China principle.

For his part, Wang Yi confirmed China’s support for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and legitimate right of Syria to recover its occupied lands in the Golan, as well as the fight against terrorism.

He also called on the United States to respect the territorial sovereignty of Syria, and demanded that it stop plundering the wealth of its people and remove illegal unilateral measures that violate the development and welfare of nations.

"The heroic Syrian firmness under the leadership of President Bashar Al-Assad and his keen vision as a great leader will lead Syria to overcome all difficulties and achieve prosperity for the Syrian people," Wang Yi said.

 He added that Syria belongs to the Middle East and there will be no comprehensive solution to the conflict in the region without Damascus.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Arab-Ministerial-Delegation-Visit-Spain-20240529-0023.html <![CDATA[Arab Ministerial Delegation Visit Spain]]> Wed, 29 May 2024 20:09:19 -04:00 After the decision of Spain today Wednesday of recognizing the Palestinian State, the President of the Government Pedro Sanchez received in Moncloa a delegation of ministers from Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan. Sanches also received the Foreign Minister of Palestine. A press conference was held with the Arabic Foreign Minister to show their gratitude.

Related:

Spain and Norway Recognize the Palestinian State

The members of the delegation met earlier today with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez at the La Moncloa Presidential Palace, where they appreciated Spain's position and reviewed the necessary steps to implement the two-state solution and the efforts made in this context.

On the other hand Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albarez met with the delegation of the ministerial committee, assigned from the joint extraordinary Arab-Islamic summit on the conflict in the Gaza Strip. Albarez confirmed that the two-state solution is the only way to achieve peace and security in the region, calling for an immediate ceasefire.

The Ministerial Committee, consisting of Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Qatar Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman, Palestinian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed Mustafa, and Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Al-Safadi. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Hussein Taha.

 The text reads, 
It has been an honor to receive the Arab-Islamic Ministerial Committee on Gaza a day after Spain recognized Palestine as a State. We share with the Arab countries the will and commitment to end violence and make the two-state solution a reality. We trust that recognition will restore hope to the Palestinian people that a future of peace, security and prosperity is possible for the region.

The Spanish officials and Arab delegation stressed their commitment to working to stop the war, release prisoners, facilitate the arrival of humanitarian aid to the people of the Gaza Strip, and continue working to crystallize the two-state solution and achieve a just and lasting peace that meets the rights of the Palestinian people. They also urged other European countries to recognize the State of Palestine, following the steps of Spain, Ireland and Norway.

Albarez stressed Spain's commitment to achieving peace and security in the Middle East, pointing out that his country took a historic step by recognizing the State of Palestine as a matter of justice for the Palestinian people and as a matter of humanity, because the two-state solution is the only solution for peace and prosperity in the region.

The visiting ministers also thanked Spain for taking the step to recognize the State of Palestine as a victory for humanity, justice and law, calling for continued work to implement the two-state solution.

The Palestinian Prime Minister thanked Spain on behalf of the National Authority and the Palestinian people, saying that "this recognition encourages the continuation of the struggle for a just future," stressing that "Rafah needs the world now, and we cannot let it down nor let Palestine down."

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Puerto-Rico-Selected-Global-Study-Trauma-Focused-Therapy-20240529-0022.html <![CDATA[Puerto Rico Selected for Global Study on Trauma-Focused Therapy]]> Wed, 29 May 2024 20:09:17 -04:00 Puerto Rico has been chosen as center for the first global study to evaluate the impact of Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) through telehealth versus an in-person modality.

Related:

South Africa: Nuclear Medicine Research Center Opens

The announcement was made by Dr. Rosaura Orengo Aguayo from the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), along with Dr. Wendy Fernández from APS Healthcare and Carmen Bonet, from the Mental Health and Addiction Services Administration (ASSMCA).

Dr, Orengo Aguayo explained that “A traumatic event is something that goes beyond the normal day-to-day human experience,”.

She highlighted the importance of the study in Puerto Rico due to the trauma generated by natural disasters such as hurricanes Irma and María, plus earthquakes and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The study will evaluate the effectiveness of TF-CBT delivered via telehealth compared to the in-person format, using a randomized controlled trial. Dr. Aguayo added “Telehealth is a possible solution to close the gaps in access to mental health services.”

The collaboration between MUSC, APS Healthcare and ASSMCA is key to this project, as it seeks to validate TF-CBT in the Puerto Rican context. APS Healthcare has previously worked with MUSC on TF-CBT studies, showing successful results in reducing post-traumatic stress symptoms in youth.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Bahamas-Minnis-willing-unify-FNM-20240529-0021.html <![CDATA[Bahamas: Minnis Willing to Unify FNM]]> Wed, 29 May 2024 19:17:55 -04:00 Few days before the Free National Movement’s (FNM) convention, former Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis said on Tuesday that he can unite the fractured party, which has witnessed fighting recently.

Related:

Bahamas Recognizes Palestine as State

Minnis declared to the press that the most important element is respect.“Not only do I believe that I can unify the party, but I know I can do it,” he said.

He added “In any entity, there are challenges and there are problems. You have dislikes, you have animosity and whatever else.”

“If you don’t like me, that’s not going to change overnight. If I don’t like you, that can’t change overnight, but what can change overnight is respect, and respect should be phase one.

“So, I would encourage the whole FNM body to start by respecting each other. You are allowed to have a difference of opinion. That’s the beauty of democracy. That’s the foundation of the FNM, freedom of speech, openness, freedom of movement, etc. So, start with respect.

Speaking about the current Prime Minister, Brave Davis, he said “That’s my prime minister. I didn’t vote for him but that’s my prime minister and I respect the prime minister. That is all we have to do. Let’s go back to basics. Respect each other and out of respect, love comes.”

Minnis and Michael Pintard, the current leader, are seeking leadership of the party. The leadership race on Saturday will be the last before the next general election, the FNM announced.

Pintard took the helm in a special convention in November 2021, two months after the FNM, led by Minnis, suffered a staggering loss at the polls in the September 2021 general election.

Minnis did not seek the leadership in that convention.

However, he said again yesterday that he should be given a chance to complete the work he began in 2017 when he became prime minister, arguing that his plans were derailed by two devastating hurricanes and the COVID-19 pandemic.

While Minnis had clearly fallen out of favor with the Bahamian public by the time of the 2021 election, he claimed yesterday that he has learned from his mistakes.

He stressed “The mistakes that you were making at that time, you would have carried those mistakes even further.

“But now, because you can look at the global picture, you realize that this is what we need to do different ...

Asked yesterday if he will come out on top on Saturday, he said, “No doubt. I don’t enter anything to lose.”

Minnis added, “I know we’re going to win, and while I’m here, I’m asking delegates to give me the opportunity again to advance this country.”

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Sudan-Hamdok-elected-president-Taqaddum-20240529-0020.html <![CDATA[Sudan: Hamdok Elected as President of Taqaddum]]> Wed, 29 May 2024 19:06:35 -04:00 The Sudanese Coordination of Civil Democratic Forces “Taqaddum” (in Arabic means Progress) agreed at a meeting of the leadership body, today, Wednesday, to choose Dr. Abdullah Hamdok as head of the body.

Related:

News Clashes in North Darfur

The founding conference of the coalition, held in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, discussed the issues of the war and the resulting critical humanitarian conditions. On the third day of the founding conference, the political vision, statute, and organizational structure were discussed to elect members of the leadership body, who in turn elect its president and the executive council.

Identical sources told the international press that the coordination components, during their meeting to approve the organizational structure, agreed to choose Dr. Abdullah Hamdok as head of the coordination, and the move is expected to be officially announced tomorrow, Thursday.

The morning session of the founding conference is scheduled to choose tomorrow, Thursday, the members of the leadership, which in turn, in its first meeting, will choose the president, his deputies, the rapporteur, and the secretary-general.

The same sources confirmed that the number of members of the leadership body was increased to 160 people, with the addition of 20 new members.

The founding conference of the Taqadum Coordination Committee began last Monday, from May 27 to June 30, with the participation of more than 600 people. It discusses the war issues, approves the political vision, statute, and organizational structure, and elects the members of the leadership body, who in turn elect their president and the executive council.

Dr. Abdullah Hamdok is a public administrator who served as the 15th Prime Minister of Sudan from 2019 to October 2021, and again from November 2021 to 2 January 2022. Prior to his appointment, Hamdok served in numerous national and international administrative positions. From November 2011 to October 2018, he was deputy executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). UNECA staff described Hamdok as "[a] diplomat, a humble man and a brilliant and disciplined mind". In 2020, Hamdok was named among Bloomberg's 50 Most Influential figures of the year.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/DRC-New-Presidential-Cabinet-Revealed-People-Expectant-20240529-0019.html <![CDATA[DRC: New Presidential Cabinet Revealed, People Expectant]]> Wed, 29 May 2024 18:56:33 -04:00 On Wednesday, via National Television, the new presidential cabinet of President Félix Tshisekedi, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was announced.

Related:

Equatorial Guinea and China to Strengthen Relations

Tshisekedi, in power since January 2019, was re-elected in the first round last December with more than 73% of the vote.

At the head of the new cabinet will be Prime Minister Judith Suminwa Tuluka.

The announcement was highly anticipated, especially in the eastern part of the country, particularly the province of North Kivu, which is dealing with a serious security crisis.

"If the government has been revealed, we in North Kivu have only one expectation: the end of the war. The camps must be prepared so that everyone can return to their homes, "says Georges Yalala, a resident of Goma".

"We will be more satisfied to see that this government does not serve their interests or those of their families. The appointed members must understand that they are there to serve the Congolese people, meet their needs, solve their problems and work for the nation. " said biker Barabara Héritier.

During his tenure, Tshisekedi has prioritized job creation, economic diversification and increased purchasing power

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Cuba-Condemns-Massacre-Against-Refugees-Rafah-20240529-0018.html <![CDATA[Cuba Condemns Massacre Against Refugees in Rafah]]> Wed, 29 May 2024 18:27:46 -04:00 Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel condemned on Tuesday the bombing by the Israeli occupier of the tents of the displaced in the city of Rafá.

RELATED:
 

U.S. Announces Measures for Cuba, but Blockade Stays Strong

Miguel Diaz-Cannel called this aggression an act of barbarism and a crime against humanity, "Israel Burned People Alive in Rafah, Gaza," the president said in X.

Also in a post on his Telegram channel, the Cuban president called on the countries of the world to stop the ongoing massacre committed by the occupier against the Palestinian people in Gaza.

In turn, the Cuban Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodriguez, wrote in his X account: We condemn the criminal attack by Israeli forces on a displaced person camp in Rafah, in an act that violates international humanitarian law.

 The text reads, 
The world must stop the massacre of the Palestinian people now! The razed camps in Rafah are a great affront to Humanity. How many more will have to die for the genocide to stop? #Cuba condemns Israel and calls for intensifying solidarity with #Palestina .

He added that this atrocious massacre of dozens of refugees shows impunity with which Israel perpetuates its genocide against the Palestinian people.

It should be remembered that after the bombing of the refugee camp this Sunday, Israel has not stopped its offensive despite international rejection.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Experts-Denounce-Use-Us-Weapons-Rafah-Massacres-20240529-0017.html <![CDATA[Experts Denounce the Use of U.S. Weapons in Rafah Massacres]]> Wed, 29 May 2024 17:50:20 -04:00 In the most recent massacre of the Israeli occupation army against a displacement camp in Rafah on Sunday night, ammunition manufactured in the United States was used, according to an analysis by American media, released on Wednesday.

RELATED:

Algeria Circulates Draft Resolution for a Ceasefire in Gaza

At least 45 people were killed and more than 200 injured following a fire following the Israeli army attack on the outskirts of the southernmost city of Gaza, most of them women and children, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health and Palestinian doctors.

Local media images showed burning areas of the camp in Rafah, with dozens of men, women and children frantically trying to find shelter from the night assault. Rescuers pulled burned bodies from the rubble, including children.

The escalation of Israeli attacks in Rafah, where some 1.3 million Palestinians were forced by Tel Aviv to move before Israel began its operation there, has provoked rapid international condemnation, and United Nations agencies, aid groups and multiple governments have called on Israel to immediately stop its offensive.

In footage taken at the scene of Sunday’s attack on Rafah, four explosive weapons experts identified the tail of an American-made GBU-39 small diameter bomb (SDB).

According to explosive weapons expert Chris Cobb-Smith, "the use of any ammunition, even this size, will always involve risks in a densely populated area".

However, US President Joe Biden said in an interview with CNN earlier this month that he would not allow certain types of US weapons to be used in a major offensive in Rafah.

 The United States has long been Israel’s largest supplier of arms, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), and that support has continued despite growing political pressure on the Biden administration over the Gaza offensive.

Last month, Biden signed a foreign aid bill that included $26 billion for the Zionist genocide, including $15 billion in Israeli military aid, $9 billion in humanitarian aid for Gaza and $2.4 billion for US regional military operations.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Investigation-Concludes-P-Raisi-Accident-Not-Result-Sabotage-20240529-0016.html <![CDATA[Investigation Concludes Raisi’s Accident Not Result of Sabotage]]> Wed, 29 May 2024 17:50:19 -04:00 On Wednesday, the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces published a second report on the accident, which led to the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. The investigation ruled out the possibility of sabotage as the cause of the accident.

RELATED:
 

First Report of President Raisi Accident Comes to Light

"According to the samples and tests carried out on the remains and parts of the helicopter, the manner of its dispersion and the distances of the components separated from the main body, an explosion during the flight caused by sabotage was discarded"said the Army, the Mehr agency reported.

The Iranian Mayo State also ruled out the hypothesis of electronic warfare" against the aircraft, which was carrying the Iranian president and foreign minister.

Nor, they found "defects in the helicopter’s maintenance or repair documents", over occupant load or communication failures between the pilots and the base.

In fact, the helicopter crew did not report anything abnormal in their communications that lasted up to 69 seconds before the accident.

The Army, however, said they are still investigating the weather situation and these data will be made public later.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces already published a preliminary report on 24 May in which it stated that no bullet holes had been found in the aircraft and it caught fire once it crashed, so they did not see any suspicious indications in the incident.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Houthi-Rebels-Attacks-Six-Ships-Allied-With-Israel-West-20240529-0015.html <![CDATA[Houthi Rebels Attacks Six Ships Allied With Israel and West]]> Wed, 29 May 2024 16:23:41 -04:00 The military spokesman of the Houthi rebels, General Yahya Sari, reported on Wednesday that they carried out 6 military operations in the Mediterranean, Red and Arabian seas.

RELATED:

People of Yemen Rally in Support of Palestine

In the Red Sea three operations were carried out, in the first the ship Laax was hit and suffered serious damage; in the second, the ship Morea was the target and in the third operation, the ship Sealady.

Sari claimed "The ship Laax was badly damaged after a direct attack on the Red Sea, as were two ships 'MOREA' and 'Sealady".

They also conducted two other military operations to attack the American ships Alba and Maersk Hartford in the Arabian Sea.

 The text reads, 
Statement by the Yemeni Armed Forces regarding the implementation of 6 military operations within the framework of the fourth phase of escalation that targeted 6 ships that violated the decision to ban access to the ports of occupied Palestine, including 3 ships in the Red Sea, 2 ships in the Arabian Sea, and a ship in the Mediterranean Sea - 5/29/2024 AD

The sixth operation targeted the warship Minerva Antonia in the Mediterranean Sea.

Through a statement, Sari highlighted the courageous resistance of the Palestinians and assured that Yemen will continue its military operations until the aggression and the siege of the Gaza Strip cease.

The Yemeni Armed Forces have carried out numerous pro-Palestinian attacks since 7 October, when the Israeli occupation started the war in Gaza, which has killed 36171 Palestinians.

Yemen announced in early May the fourth phase of its operations in support of Gaza and said it would attack all ships within its range bound for Israel.

Thus, the United States and its allies created a coalition to protect Israeli-linked vessels by bombing civilian targets in Yemen.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Venezuelan-Filmmaker-Margot-Benacerraf-Dies-at-97-20240529-0014.html <![CDATA[Venezuelan Filmmaker Margot Benacerraf Dies at 97]]> Wed, 29 May 2024 14:27:06 -04:00 On Wednesday, the Venezuelan filmmaker, screenwriter, and cultural promoter Margot Benacerraf died at the age of 97. 

RELATED: 

President Maduro Inaugurates Works in the Delta Amacuro State

Born on May 14, 1926, in Caracas, she studied Philosophy and Literature at the Venezuelan Central University. Later, Benacerraf trained in cinematography at the Institute for Advanced Cinematographic Studies in Paris.

Besides being a pioneer in the Latin American cinema, she founded the National Cinematheque of Venezuela and dedicated her life to the promotion of cinema in her country.

In 1959, Benacerraf received the Technical Commission Award and the International Critics' Award (FIPRESCI) at the 12th Cannes Film Festival for her film "Araya." Previously, in 1953, she had already participated in the Croisette with her short film "Reveron."

The text reads, "Today the legendary director Margot Benacerraf died (1926-2024). For me, the most spectacular sequence in Venezuelan cinema is in Araya (1959)."

"Jose Marti said that 'Death is not true when a life's work has been well accomplished.' This phrase from the Cuban apostle was the first thing that came to my mind when Vladimir Sosa Sarabia, the president of the National Cinematheque, informed me of the physical passing of Margot Benacerraf," Venezuelan Culture Minister Ernesto Villegas stated.

"Margot was a Venezuelan filmmaker who brilliantly executed her craft and immortalized it in the films Reveron and Araya," he pointed out. 

"She also devoted her life to the training of new generations and the preservation of Venezuela's film heritage, being the founder and emblem of our Cinematheque," Villegas added, recalling that the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro awarded Margot Benacerraf the Francisco de Miranda Order in 2018.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Brazil-Declares--Israel-Ambassador-Non-Grata--20240529-0013.html <![CDATA[Brazil Declares Israel Ambassador as a Non Grata ]]> Wed, 29 May 2024 13:50:23 -04:00 Faced with the persistent genocide of Israel in the Gaza Strip, the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, made official on Wednesday the withdrawal of his ambassador in Tel Aviv, Federico Meyer.

Related:

Brazil's Deforestation Drops 11.6 Percent in 2023

In a decree published in the Official Journal of the Union, the Head of State appointed Meyer as the representative of Brasilia to the Conference on Disarmament of the United Nations (UN), whose headquarters are in the Swiss city of Geneva.

For now, the diplomatic representation of the South American nation will be led by its chargé d'affaires, Minister Fábio Farias.

Lula has been very critical of Israeli war crimes in the Gaza Strip, particularly the deliberate and systematic killing of women and children and other violations of international law committed by the occupiers.

Meyer was called to consultations by the Foreign Ministry last February, after during an African Union summit the president of Brazil compared the genocide of the Palestinian population by the Israeli occupiers with the Nazi Holocaust against the Jews.

After these statements, Israel declared Lula persona non grata and demanded that he retract, an act that was considered humiliating by the Brazilian Foreign Ministry.

Although Brazil did not sever relations with Israel, Meyer’s withdrawal reduces the importance of the Brazilian embassy in Tel Aviv and is seen as the strongest measure adopted by Brasilia against the occupying power, whose siege of Gaza has killed more than 36,100 Palestinians.

This decision of Brazil takes place amid a growing global condemnation of the atrocities of the Israeli occupiers against Palestinian civilians and the recent ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that Israel stop its military operation in Rafah, mandate that Tel Aviv has not complied with.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/At-Least-28-Dead-Drop-Bus-Ravine-Pakistan-20240529-0012.html <![CDATA[At Least 28 Dead Drop Bus to a Ravine in Pakistan]]> Wed, 29 May 2024 13:39:30 -04:00 At least 28 people were killed and more than 20 injured this Wednesday morning in a bus accident in Washuk district, in Pakistan’s south-west province of Balochistan, local police said.

Related:

Landslide Leaves at Least 21 Dead in India

The accident occurred around dawn in the city of Basima, in the province of Baluchistan, while the bus was traveling from the city of Turbat to Quetta.

"The driver was taking a curve in a mountainous area when the vehicle lost control and fell into a ravine," said Ismail Mengal, a local government official.

Speaking to Dawn.com, Basima Deputy Commissioner (AC), Ismail Mengal, said the accident occurred when a vehicle tire exploded, causing it to crash into a hill and then sink into a ravine.

Among the dead are also three women and three children, said AC Mengal.

He noted that the bus, which carried between 45 and 50 passengers on board and was travelling from Turbat to Quetta during the night, suffered the accident around 05H00 local time.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Algeria-Circulates-Draft-Resolution-Ceasefire-Gaza-20240529-0011.html <![CDATA[Algeria Circulates Draft Resolution for a Ceasefire in Gaza]]> Wed, 29 May 2024 13:20:31 -04:00 On Wednesday, Algeria had a resolution culminating in a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The motion was proposed by the UN Security Council, which also seeks to stop the growing Zionist offensive in Rafah.

Related:

Rafah Crossing Closure Deprives Palestinians From Health Care

The draft resolution, obtained on Wednesday afternoon by The Associated Press, also demands that all parties respect the ceasefire and the surrender of hostages and prisoners by both sides.

Some diplomats said they expected a quick vote, even on Wednesday." We hope it can be done as quickly as possible because life is at stake," Chinese Ambassador Fu Cong told reporters.

For her part, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said: "We are waiting to see you and then we will react". It should be remembered that the United States has vetoed multiple resolutions demanding a ceasefire in Gaza.

The draft resolution calls for compliance with previous Security Council resolutions calling for the opening of all border crossings and humanitarian access to the 2.3 million people of Gaza who desperately need food and other assistance.

It also demands the immediate cessation of shelling in the Rafah area, which is inhabited by more than 2 million displaced Palestinians. In addition, he points out the problems facing the Gazan population, such as famine and the proliferation of diseases.

Israel, for its part, has stepped up air strikes on Rafah, sowing chaos and destruction in its wake. For example, on Sunday night, Zionist attacks caused a fire that razed tents in a camp for displaced Palestinians west of Rafah, killing 45 people and injuring more than 100.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/President-Maduro-Inaugurates-Works-in-the-Delta-Amacuro-State-20240529-0010.html <![CDATA[President Maduro Inaugurates Works in the Delta Amacuro State]]> Wed, 29 May 2024 13:49:24 -04:00 On Tuesday, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro inaugurated several projects in the state of Delta Amacuro, where he reiterated that the Bolivarian Revolution will not surrender.

RELATED:

Venezuela Cancels the Invitation to EU Observation Mission

One of the inaugurated projects was the National Experimental University of the Armed Forces (UNEFA) in the municipality of Tucupita. This institution will offer programs in areas such as gas engineering, dental mechanics, nursing, social economy, systems analysis and design, and risk and disaster management.

“I call on the youth to love their country and defend it with passion. Our homeland is Venezuela!” Maduro said, urging young people to cultivate a patriotic, humanistic, and Christian social consciousness.

The Bolivarian leader also inaugurated the rehabilitation works of the El Triunfo elementary school in the Manuel Pilar parish and the Lutecia Hernandez educational complex in the municipality of Tucupita.

President Maduro's text reads, "Boys, girls, women, men, and Waraos brothers and sisters, walking with the flags of Venezuela and the Revolution. This is unmatched. It's a moment of love and support from the people. It's the national and popular awakening. It's beautiful to see the curiaras and the people dancing happily. Hope is in the street and no one can stop it!"

“Today we are a more beautiful, conscious, and organized people. Today we are a people of entrepreneurs in all areas of life, family, and community,” Maduro said.

“We have risen from the challenges life has given us and we have grown. Without a doubt, this has been the consequence of our struggle. We have not given up and we will never give up,” he added.

In the city of Caracas, it was also inaugurated the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at the Hospital De los Rios, which will benefit 18,600 families and allow treatment for 80 children per month.

This pediatric unit underwent a complete renovation that included the provision of high-tech equipment such as special ventilators for treatment, a dialysis unit, laboratory, portable X-ray machine, echo Doppler, arterial blood gas machine, portable heaters, multiparameter monitors, oxygen pumps, crash carts, and a suction device.

“Works inaugurations hurt the oligarchs because they wanted to push us back to the cavemen's time. They wanted to destroy Venezuela and hope. But they couldn’t,” Maduro said.

President Maduro's text reads, "This is the beautiful, patriotic, noble and rebellious people of Delta Amacuro, who have shown so much support and love. I am very excited to see so much joy from our Warao people. Long live the Delta Amacuro people! We'll overcome!

The Venezuelan president emphasized that the civil-military unity allowed a successful response to every sanction and aggression from the enemies of the Bolivarian Revolution.

He also mentioned that his country is cultivating good relations with those nations that are building a new international order.

“Fortunately, Venezuela has extraordinary relations with the new scientific, economic, and financial world... I am referring to our friends: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, and Iran. In the new international order, there are no sanctions or empires. We have open doors in the new world,” he said.

Upon arriving in the state of Delta Amacuro, the Bolivarian leader was welcomed by a large crowd of citizens who wanted to reaffirm their support ahead of the presidential elections on July 28.

“The people and hope are in the streets. What more can I ask from life in these years of struggle in which I have given everything for the Venezuelan people? I will continue to dedicate my life to the service of Venezuela,” Maduro stressed.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Brazils-Deforestation-Drops-11.6-Percent-in-2023-20240529-0009.html <![CDATA[Brazil's Deforestation Drops 11.6 Percent in 2023]]> Wed, 29 May 2024 12:52:11 -04:00 On Tuesday, monitoring network MapBiomas published a report showing that Brazil lost 1,829,597 hectares of native vegetation in 2023, which means a decrease of 11.6 percent in deforestation compared to 2022.

RELATED: 

Brazil: Illegal Deforestation in the Amazon Fell by 63 Percent

Two largest biomes, the Amazon and a tropical savanna known as "Cerrado," accounted for more than 85 percent of the total deforested area in the South American country.

For the first time since MapBiomas began to issue its deforestation alerts in 2019, Cerrado surpassed the Amazon in terms of deforested area. In 2023, Cerrado accounted for 61 percent of deforestation in Brazil while the Amazon accounted for 25 percent.

In Cerrado, 1,110,326 hectares were deforested in 2023, an increase of 68 percent compared to 2022, mainly due to agricultural encroachment, while in the Amazon, deforestation fell by 63 percent in 2023, for a total loss of 454,300 hectares.

The text reads, "Attention: Deforestation in the Atlantic Forest registered a decrease of 27 percent in one year. Lula does work."

While the news of the drop in deforestation is positive, MapBiomas warned that deforestation in Brazil is now concentrated in the Matopiba region, which is located in the northeast states of Maranhao, Tocantins, Piaui, and Bahia.

In terms of conservation of natural ecosystems, however, there is still much to do in Brazil. MapBiomas detected that 3,511 out of 5,572 municipalities had at least one deforestation event in 2023.

MapBiomas is a network of non-governmental organizations, universities and technology companies that monitor changes in land use in Brazil through mapping.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Belarus-Leaves-the-Treaty-on-Conventional-Armed-Forces-20240529-0008.html <![CDATA[Belarus Leaves the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces]]> Wed, 29 May 2024 12:07:27 -04:00 On Wednesday, President Alexandr Lukashenko promulgated the law suspending Belarus' participation in the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE).

RELATED: 

Ukraine Has Lost 40 Percent of Its Power Generation Capacity

In mid-April, this law was approved by the Lower House and then by the Senate. Belarusian leaders consider that their country's participation, even if formal, in this treaty is meaningless.

The suspension of the Treaty by Belarus means that it will stop informing its signatories about conventional weapons in its territory and will not allow inspection visits.

The decision to suspend the CFE was made in the context of the collapse of the existing conventional arms control system in Europe and the continued escalation of the military and political situation in the region.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) renounced participation in the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe in 1993, the Belarusian Foreign Affairs Ministry recalled.

The CFE was signed in November 1990 in Paris by 16 NATO member states and six Warsaw Pact countries. It came into effect in November 1992. The treaty limits the number of military equipment signatory countries can possess.

In 2007, Russia suspended its participation in the Conventional Armed Forces Treaty and abandoned it definitively in 2023 due to NATO's direct involvement in the Ukrainian conflict and the entry of Finland into the U.S.-led military alliance.

]]>
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Rafah-Crossing-Closure-Deprives-Palestinians-From-Health-Care-20240529-0007.html <![CDATA[Rafah Crossing Closure Deprives Palestinians From Health Care]]> Wed, 29 May 2024 11:34:17 -04:00 On Wednesday, Palestinian Health Minister Majed Abu Ramadan denounced that there is no indication that Israel will open the Rafah crossing soon.

RELATED: 

The Bologna Town Hall Displays Palestinian Flag on Its Façade

On May 6, Israel occupation forces launched a ground assault on Rafah and took control of the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing.

Besides being the only crossing between Gaza and Egypt, the Rafah crossing is also a main conduit for humanitarian aid entering Gaza, and an exit point for medical evacuees from the enclave.

"This is totally in the hands of the Israelis," Abu Ramadan said, stressing that Israel committed a crime against humanity in Gaza, regardless of the exact death toll.

"What matters is that there is a crime against humanity. The situation does not change because it is one person or a million people dead. At the moment, people are deprived of almost all aspects of health services," he said. 

"The closure of the Rafah crossing has aggravated the humanitarian crisis. This is complicating the picture," Abu Ramadan said, explaining that the closure cut the access for patients in Gaza to get health services.

"Those who cannot be treated in Gaza are forbidden from going to Egypt and somewhere else for the treatment they need. This is only a part of the situation," he added.

Since the Zionist offensive began on October 7, 2023, Israeli occupation forces have killed 36,171 Palestinians, 75 percent of whom were women and children. Palestinian authorities estimate that at least 10,000 bodies remain under the rubble without having been recovered.

]]>