International
Peru lawmakers move up general elections to April 2024
| By AFP | Moisés Ávila |
Peru’s Congress on Tuesday voted to move up general elections from 2026 to April 2024 in a bid to ease tensions and head off deadly protests sparked by the ouster and arrest of president Pedro Castillo.
The political maelstrom has also touched off a diplomatic row with Mexico, which has voiced its support for Castillo, a leftist onetime schoolteacher.
Lawmakers voted 93-30 with one abstention to approve the change in the electoral calendar. The measure also stipulated that current President Dina Boluarte hand power to the winner of those elections in July 2024.
The leader of the legislature, Jose Williams, said for the measure to take effect, it would need to be ratified in another vote in the coming months.
Castillo was removed from office and detained earlier this month after seeking to dissolve Congress to rule by decree. His ousting was criticized by his leftist Latin American allies including Mexico, and brought thousands of his supporters into the streets.
A subsequent security clampdown, including the deployment of armed soldiers during a state of emergency declared under Boluarte, followed. Officials say at least 21 people have died in the unrest. More than 650 others have been injured.
Demonstrations rattled the country, with roadblocks and airport disruptions, and thousands of tourists were left stranded, including at the famed Inca citadel of Machu Picchu.
Polls show that 83 percent of citizens are in favor of bringing elections forward to resolve the crisis roiling the South American nation.
On Tuesday, a delegation from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights arrived in Lima to meet with authorities as part of a fact-finding mission.
Instability
Castillo, a 53-year-old former union leader, unexpectedly took power from Peru’s traditional political elite in elections last year.
He immediately came under fire, surviving two early impeachment bids, and soon also found himself in the cross-hairs of prosecutors looking into numerous graft claims.
He is the subject of six separate criminal investigations.
Castillo’s brief term in power was plagued by instability, with three prime ministers and seven interior ministers coming and going in just over a year.
He has been ordered held in pre-trial detention for 18 months.
Castillo was arrested as he made his way to the Mexican embassy in Lima to request asylum — sparking a diplomatic row between the two countries.
The government in Lima, which felt slighted by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s support of Castillo, on Tuesday declared the Mexican ambassador persona non grata and gave him 72 hours to leave the country.
Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard called Peru’s decision “unfounded and reprehensible.”
“The conduct of our ambassador has been in accordance with the law and principle of non-intervention. Mexico will not change its position,” he wrote on Twitter.
Mexico City meanwhile said it was recalling the ambassador, Pablo Monroy Conesa, “in order to ensure his safety” while adding that its mission would continue to operate normally.
Peru however has granted safe passage for Castillo’s wife and two children to leave the country, in accordance with international diplomatic conventions, and they were at Mexico’s embassy in Lima, having been granted asylum.
Castillo’s wife Lilia Paredes is also under investigation for alleged involvement in a criminal organization.
International
Study finds COVID-19 vaccines prevented 2.5 million deaths worldwide
COVID-19 vaccines prevented an estimated 2,533,000 deaths worldwide between 2020 and 2024, according to an international study led by Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Italy and Stanford University in the United States, published in the journal JAMA Health Forum. Researchers calculated that one death was prevented for every 5,400 doses administered.
The analysis also found that the vaccines saved 14.8 million years of life, equivalent to one year of life gained for every 900 doses given.
The study, coordinated by Professor Stefania Boccia, revealed that 82% of the lives saved were people vaccinated before becoming infected with the virus, and 57% of deaths avoided occurred during the Omicron wave. In addition, 90% of the beneficiaries were adults over 60 years old.
“This is the most comprehensive analysis to date, based on global data and fewer assumptions about the evolution of the pandemic,” explained Boccia and researcher Angelo Maria Pezzullo.
International
Trump administration blasts judge’s ruling reinstating TPS for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump criticized a federal judge’s ruling on Friday that reinstated Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua, stressing that the immigration program was never intended to serve as a “de facto asylum system.”
On Thursday, Judge Trina Thompson extended protections for about 7,000 Nepalese immigrants, whose TPS was set to expire on August 5. The ruling also impacts roughly 51,000 Hondurans and nearly 3,000 Nicaraguans, whose TPS protections were scheduled to end on September 8.
Immigrants covered by TPS had sued the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), alleging that the program’s termination was driven by “racial animus” and stripped them of protection from deportation.
DHS Deputy Undersecretary Tricia McLaughlin issued a statement saying the decision to end TPS was part of a mandate to “restore the integrity” of the immigration system and return the program to its original purpose.
“TPS was never conceived as a de facto asylum system; however, that is how previous administrations have used it for decades,” McLaughlin emphasized.
She also criticized Judge Thompson, calling the ruling “another example” of judges “stirring up claims of racism to distract from the facts.”
McLaughlin added that DHS would appeal the decision and take the legal battle to higher courts.
The Trump administration has also terminated TPS protections for approximately 160,000 Ukrainians, 350,000 Venezuelans, and at least half a million Haitians, among other immigrant groups.
International
Trump to build $200M ballroom at the White House by 2028
The U.S. government under President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that it will begin construction in September on a new 8,000-square-meter ballroom at the White House.
The announcement was made by Karoline Leavitt, the administration’s press secretary, during a briefing in which she explained that the expansion responds to the need for a larger venue to host “major events.”
“Other presidents have long wished for a space capable of accommodating large gatherings within the White House complex… President Trump has committed to solving this issue,” Leavitt told reporters.
The project is estimated to cost $200 million, fully funded through donations from Trump himself and other “patriots,” according to a government statement. Construction is scheduled to begin in September and is expected to be completed before Trump’s term ends in 2028.
The Clark Construction Group, a Virginia-based company known for projects such as the Capital One Arena and L’Enfant Plaza in Washington, D.C., has been selected to lead the project.
The new ballroom will be built on the East Wing of the White House, expanding the iconic residence with a space designed for state dinners, official ceremonies, and large-scale events.
Study finds COVID-19 vaccines prevented 2.5 million deaths worldwide
Trump administration blasts judge’s ruling reinstating TPS for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua
Costa Rica faces historic vote on lifting presidential immunity for Rodrigo Chaves
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
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