International
China to appoint special envoy to Horn of Africa: FM
AFP
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi announced Thursday that Beijing would appoint a special envoy to the Horn of Africa, signalling his country’s intention to play a greater role in the conflict-torn region.
The announcement came as a US envoy was due to arrive in Ethiopia to encourage talks to end more than a year of war in the country’s north.
Wang, on a three-nation tour of Africa, said China wanted to encourage dialogue to overcome peace and security challenges plaguing the Horn.
“China will appoint a special envoy of the Chinese foreign ministry,” he told reporters in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa.
“We will continue to play even a bigger role for peace and stability in the region,” he said, speaking through an interpreter.
Wang’s visit to Eritrea, Kenya and the Comoros comes on the heels of a trip to Africa by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in November that was in part aimed at countering China’s growing influence on the continent.
It also coincides with a return visit to Ethiopia by Jeffrey Feltman, the US special envoy for the Horn, who is expected to arrive in Addis Ababa on Thursday.
The State Department says Feltman, who is soon expected to stand down from the role, will try again to nudge the warring parties to the negotiation table amid a lull in fighting.
Rebels who were feared to be planning a march on Addis Ababa have withdrawn to their stronghold in Tigray, and the government says the military will not pursue them.
Feltman’s trip comes after the United States angered Ethiopia by removing trading privileges for the longtime ally due to human rights concerns during the war.
Washington also slapped sanctions on Eritrea last year over its involvement in the Ethiopia conflict, which has killed thousands of people and created a deep humanitarian crisis.
Washington has demanded Asmara withdraw its troops from Ethiopia’s war-hit Tigray, where soldiers from both sides have been accused of raping and massacring civilians.
During his visit to Eritrea on Wednesday, Wang voiced China’s opposition to unilateral sanctions on the secretive state and foreign interference in the “affairs of other countries under the pretext of democracy and human rights”.
International
Authorities Say Teotihuacán Gunman Was Obsessed With Mass Shootings and Extremist Symbolism
Julio César Jasso Ramírez, identified by authorities as the gunman behind the armed attack at the archaeological site of Teotihuacán, had allegedly spent years building a personal narrative shaped by an obsession with historical mass shootings, extremist symbolism, and an increasing detachment from reality.
According to preliminary findings from the Fiscalía General de Justicia del Estado de México, the 27-year-old suspect, originally from the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, acted alone and appeared to have carefully planned the attack.
Investigators also pointed to signs of a severe psychological or psychiatric disorder. One official involved in the case stated that the suspect seemed to live in “his own reality,” disconnected from the world around him.
“I would not speak of a motive; I would speak of psychopathy, a condition, an illness,” the official said while discussing the ongoing investigation.
Authorities reported that Jasso Ramírez was allegedly fixated on mass violence incidents that occurred outside Mexico, particularly in the United States.
Among the items found in his possession were writings, images, and materials reportedly linked to the Columbine High School massacre, the school shooting that took place on April 20, 1999.
The investigation remains ongoing as authorities continue analyzing evidence connected to the suspect’s background and mental state.
International
Iran refuses to reopen strait of Hormuz amid ongoing U.S. Naval blockade
Iran reaffirmed on Wednesday that it will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz while the United States maintains its naval blockade against Iranian ports and vessels, amid rising geopolitical tensions in the region.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohamad Baqer Qalibaf warned that reopening the crucial maritime route depends on Washington honoring the ceasefire agreement. According to Qalibaf, Iran considers the deal to be violated due to ongoing U.S. actions.
The Iranian official accused the United States of carrying out a “naval blockade and the hijacking of the global economy,” while also pointing to Israeli military operations in Lebanon as part of the broader conflict affecting the region.
Qalibaf stated that military and economic pressure would not force Iran to change its position. “The United States and Israel failed to achieve their goals through military aggression, and they will not succeed through intimidation. The only path forward is to recognize the rights of the Iranian nation,” he said.
His remarks come amid stalled negotiations between Iran and the United States following direct talks held on April 11 and 12 in Islamabad.
The discussions, led by U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Iranian representatives, have shown little progress in recent days, increasing uncertainty over whether dialogue between the two sides will resume.
U.S. President Donald Trump recently announced an extension of the ceasefire but decided to keep the naval blockade in place, a move Tehran considers incompatible with ongoing negotiations.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intensified operations in the area by seizing two vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, accusing them of operating without the required permits and escorting them into Iranian territory.
The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the world’s most critical oil trade routes, and any prolonged disruption could have significant consequences for global energy markets.
International
Maradona’s daughter accuses medical team of “horrible manipulation” in court
One of the daughters of Diego Maradona testified in court this Tuesday, breaking down in tears as she denounced what she described as “absolute and horrible manipulation” by her father’s medical team, during an emotional hearing in Argentina.
Gianinna Maradona stated that she and her siblings agreed to home hospitalization after doctors presented it as the best option following the neurosurgery Maradona underwent on November 3, 2020.
The football icon died on November 25 of that year, and the ongoing trial seeks to determine whether the conditions of his home care were appropriate.
According to Gianinna, what the family found at the residence where Maradona was recovering did not match what had been promised. She testified that there was no adequate medical equipment, constant monitoring, or even an ambulance available, despite assurances of continuous care.
“The manipulation was absolute and horrible,” she said during the hearing in San Isidro, near Buenos Aires.
She accused members of the medical team, including neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, and psychologist Carlos Díaz, of misleading the family.
“I trusted these people, and all they did was manipulate us and leave my son without a grandfather,” she added.
Later in her testimony, recalling that six years have passed since her father’s death, she became emotional and said she struggled deeply with grief in the aftermath.
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