International

Palestinian killed by Israeli troops in West Bank: ministry

AFP

A Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli troops Friday when clashes broke out on the sidelines of a demonstration in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said.

The victim was hit in the head by live fire, the ministry said, in the flashpoint town of Beita, scene of regular demonstrations against Israeli settlement expansion, which often degenerate into clashes.

A family member identified the dead man as Mohammed Ali Khabisa, 27.

He was taken to hospital in the northern West Bank city of Nablus where he died shortly afterwards, the ministry said.

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Another eight Palestinians were wounded by rubber-coated bullets, the Palestinians’ official Wafa news agency reported.

The Israeli military said it launched an investigation into “reports that a Palestinian was killed”.

A statement said a “violent riot” had erupted during which “hundreds of Palestinians burned tyres and hurled rocks at IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) troops”.

Beita residents have been demonstrating since May against the wildcat Jewish settlement outpost of Eviatar set up nearby without Israeli permission.

The outpost was evacuated in early July but Israeli army troops remain stationed there while authorities deliberate on its fate.

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If the settlement is approved, its founders will be allowed to take up residence more permanently.

Beita’s residents have vowed to continue their campaign until the army too leaves the outpost.

Several protesters have been killed and hundreds wounded in clashes with the Israeli security forces since May.

Israel occupied the West Bank in the Six-Day War of 1967 and all Jewish settlements in the territory are considered illegal by most of the international community.

Almost half a million people live in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, alongside 2.8 million Palestinians.

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International

Winter Storm Fern Leaves 30 Dead and Over One Million Without Power Across the U.S.

The massive winter storm Fern, bringing polar temperatures, battered large portions of the United States for a third consecutive day on Monday, leaving at least 30 people dead, more than one million households without electricity, and thousands of flights grounded.

In the Great Lakes region, residents awoke to extreme cold, with temperatures dropping below -20°C. Forecasts indicate that conditions are expected to worsen in the coming days as an Arctic air mass moves south, particularly across the northern Great Plains and other central regions, where wind chills could plunge to -45°C, temperatures capable of causing frostbite within minutes.

Across the country, heavy snowfall exceeding 30 centimeters in roughly 20 states triggered widespread power outages. According to PowerOutage.com, nearly 800,000 customers remained without electricity on Monday morning, most of them in the southern United States.

In Tennessee, where ice brought down power lines, approximately 250,000 customers were still without power. Outages also affected more than 150,000 customers in Mississippi and over 100,000 in Louisiana, as utility crews struggled to restore service amid dangerous conditions.

International

Spain approves plan to regularize up to 500,000 migrants in Historic Shift

In November 2024, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced a reform of the country’s immigration regulations aimed at regularizing 300,000 migrants per year over a three-year period, in an effort to counter population aging in a country where births have fallen by 25.6% since 2014, according to official data.

Going against the trend in much of Europe, Spain’s left-wing government has now approved an exceptional migrant regularization plan that could benefit up to 500,000 people, most of them from Latin America.

The measure will allow the regularization of around “half a million people” who have been living in Spain for at least five months, arrived before December 31, 2025, and have no criminal record, Migration Minister Elma Saiz explained on public television.

The plan, approved on Tuesday by the Council of Ministers, establishes that applications will be processed between April and June 30, enabling beneficiaries to work in any sector and anywhere in the country, Saiz said.

“Today is a historic day for our country. We are strengthening a migration model based on human rights, integration, and one that is compatible with economic growth and social cohesion,” the minister later stated at a press conference.

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The socialist government of Pedro Sánchez stands out within the European Union for its migration policy, contrasting with the tightening of immigration measures across much of the bloc amid pressure from far-right movements.

Central America

Honduras swears in conservative president Asfura after disputed election

Conservative politician Nasry Asfura assumed the presidency of Honduras on Tuesday with an agenda closely aligned with the United States, a shift that could strain the country’s relationship with China as he seeks to confront the economic and security challenges facing the poorest and most violent nation in Central America.

Asfura’s rise to power, backed by U.S. President Donald Trump, marks the end of four years of left-wing rule and secures Trump another regional ally amid the advance of conservative governments in Chile, Bolivia, Peru, and Argentina.

The 67-year-old former mayor and construction businessman was sworn in during an austere ceremony at the National Congress, following a tightly contested election marred by opposition allegations of fraud and Trump’s threat to cut U.S. aid if his preferred candidate did not prevail.

Grateful for Washington’s support, Asfura—who is of Palestinian descent—traveled to the United States to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, before visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“We need to strengthen relations with our most important trading partner,” Asfura said after being declared the winner of the November 30 election by a narrow margin, following a tense vote count that lasted just over three weeks.