International
Brazil’s Bolsonaro backtracks on ‘menstrual poverty’ row
AFP
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro signed a decree Tuesday providing for free menstrual supplies for low-income women and girls, five months after drawing criticism for vetoing a similar measure.
The far-right leader signed the executive order at a ceremony on International Women’s Day, two days before Congress was due to vote on overriding his veto.
Bolsonaro blocked the earlier legislation in October, arguing there was no funding to provide free menstrual supplies for more than five million low-income women and girls.
The new decree will be funded by a budget of 130 million reais ($26 million), according to the health ministry, but will reach fewer people — an estimated 3.6 million.
“Menstrual poverty” is a major issue in Brazil, where women unable to afford tampons and pads often resort to scraps of cloth, diapers, bread or whatever else they can find when they get their periods.
A lack of menstrual supplies keeps one in four girls home from school each month, according to a 2021 report by a United Nations Foundation program called Girl Up.
Bolsonaro has been criticized for a history of remarks condemned as anti-women, including telling a congresswoman in 2014 she was “not worth raping” because she was “too ugly.”
“When we speak of women, we must also speak of the family…. Respect above all, and the preservation of family values,” he said at Tuesday’s signing ceremony.
“You are beyond essential, you are indispensable for the future of this great nation. May you continue participating more and more with us in building it.”
He added that if women decided, “we would have no wars in the world.”
Bolsonaro is also due to speak Thursday at a privately organized event on promoting women’s participation in politics.
However, it has been hit by backlash, as well, over the fact that all five speakers invited are men, including two of the president’s ministers.
International
El Chapo’s son Joaquín Guzmán López pleads guilty to U.S. drug trafficking charges
Joaquín Guzmán López, one of the sons of notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, pleaded guilty on Monday to drug trafficking charges in a U.S. court, months after his brother Ovidio reached a similar plea agreement, according to local media reports.
The defendant appeared before a federal court in Chicago early Monday afternoon and changed his previous plea in the case, the Chicago Tribune reported. U.S. authorities accuse him of forming, together with his three brothers, the cartel faction known as “Los Chapitos.”
The group is believed to have continued the operations of El Chapo, who has been serving a life sentence in the United States since 2019.
Guzmán López, 39, was arrested after landing in Texas in a small aircraft alongside cartel co-founder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada.
International
Venezuela authorizes return flights as U.S. continues deportations amid rising tensions
The arrival of U.S. aircraft carrying undocumented Venezuelan migrants continued regularly despite rising tensions between Washington and Caracas over President Donald Trump’s military deployment in the Caribbean.
Trump maintains that the deployment is part of an anti-narcotics operation, while Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro insists the true objective is to remove him from power and seize the nation’s oil resources.
Venezuela’s aviation authority has “received a request from the United States government to resume repatriation flights for Venezuelan migrants from that country to Venezuela,” the Ministry of Transportation said in a statement .
“Under the instructions of President Nicolás Maduro, authorization has been granted for these aircraft to enter our airspace,” it added.
Caracas will permit two Eastern Airlines flights to land on Wednesday and Friday.
Migration remains one of the Trump administration’s flagship issues. On Monday, the U.S. president held a meeting with his National Security Council to discuss the situation in Venezuela, a day after confirming he had spoken with Maduro by phone, without offering further details.
According to the Venezuelan government, roughly 75 deportation flights have been carried out this year, returning at least 13,956 Venezuelans from the United States.
International
20,000 rounds stolen from german army after driver leaves cargo unattended
The German army confirmed the theft of a shipment of ammunition that occurred a week ago while it was being transported by a civilian delivery driver, a military spokesperson told AFP, confirming earlier media reports.
According to Der Spiegel and the regional broadcaster MDR, around 20,000 rounds of ammunition were stolen from an unguarded parking lot near Magdeburg, in eastern Germany, while the driver was asleep in a nearby hotel. No information has been released regarding the identity of the suspects, and the military declined to specify the exact type or amount of ammunition taken.
Authorities have also not indicated how the perpetrators knew the cargo would be left unattended.
“The theft was discovered upon delivery at the barracks,” the German army spokesperson said.
A police spokeswoman confirmed to AFP that an investigation has been opened but refused to provide further details “for tactical reasons.”
Sources close to the German military, cited by Der Spiegel, believe it is unlikely the theft was a coincidence. They suspect the thieves waited for the driver to stop for the night before striking.
Der Spiegel also reported that the Defense Ministry normally requires two drivers for this type of transport to ensure the cargo is constantly monitored. However, in this case only one driver was assigned, meaning the civilian transport company failed to comply with the security protocols.
El Chapo’s son Joaquín Guzmán López pleads guilty to U.S. drug trafficking charges
Venezuela authorizes return flights as U.S. continues deportations amid rising tensions
20,000 rounds stolen from german army after driver leaves cargo unattended
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
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