International
Decision on future of Venezuela’s opposition ‘government’ postponed
| By AFP |
Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido on Wednesday postponed to January 3 a decision on whether his “interim government” should be dissolved over its failure to dislodge President Nicolas Maduro from power.
The decision on Guaido’s future was set for Thursday, but the 39-year-old opposition figure announced the delay on Twitter.
“I assume (as president of the ‘interim government’) the deferral of the session in pursuit of the defense of the constitution and (to get) the necessary unity in favor of an agreement,” Guaido tweeted.
Almost four years ago, Guaido won the recognition of more than 50 nations as the legitimate ruler of Venezuela, after widely disputed elections that kept Maduro in power.
But while the opposition holds the purse strings to some of Venezuela’s assets abroad, Guaido’s failure to find a strategy to oust Maduro has caused his public support to plummet.
His international backing has also weakened. The United States, the opposition’s most significant ally, has sought rapprochement with Maduro in the midst of the oil crisis caused by sanctions against Russia for invading Ukraine.
Some Latin American countries — including Brazil, Colombia and Argentina — have also recently elected leftist leaders in a pink wave.
In Venezuela, some opposition factions did not want to delay the vote on Guaido’s future but acceded to requests to debate further, even as they warned that bickering weakened them.
“Let us exhaust the path of consensus,” said Juan Pablo Guanipa, member of Justice First, one of the four opposition parties proposing to put an end to the “interim government.”
“If something favors the dictator Maduro, it is our fractures and our division,” he said.
Guanipa’s party, together with the Democratic Action, A New Time and Movement for Venezuela parties, said that they had not been consulted on postponing the session.
In order to decide the fate of the “interim government,” the 2015 parliament — currently with 104 members — must hold two votes.
Last Thursday, a first debate was held in which two proposals came up for a vote: one to end Guaido’s presidency as of January 5, which received 72 votes, and another that would extend it for another year, which had 23.
There were nine abstentions.
Guaido’s Popular Will party says ending his “interim government” would allow Maduro to regain control of Venezuelan resources blocked abroad by sanctions.
The opposition plans to hold primaries in 2023 to elect a single candidate to face Maduro in the next presidential elections, scheduled for 2024. Guaido is among the possible candidates.
International
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.
The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.
An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.
Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.
Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.
Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.
Internacionales
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.
In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.
Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
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