International

Peru Congress to resume debate on bringing elections forward

Photo: MercoPress

January 31 | By AFP | Carlos Mandujano |

Peru’s Congress will resume debate Tuesday on a bill to bring forward elections, a move aimed at ending weeks of protests that have left dozens dead and brought parts of the country to a standstill.

On Monday, lawmakers failed to reach an agreement on the bill after seven hours of discussions, and proceedings will resume at 11:00 am on Tuesday (1600 GMT), according to the legislature.

“We are sure that there will be a way out. All the democratic blocs are going to debate it taking into account the high sense of urgency,” said Prime Minister Alberto Otarola on Monday.

The South American country has been embroiled in a political crisis with near-daily street protests since December 7, when then-president Pedro Castillo was arrested after attempting to dissolve Congress and rule by decree.

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In seven weeks of demonstrations, 48 people — including one police officer — have been killed in clashes between security forces and protesters, according to the Ombudsman’s Office.

The unrest is being propelled mainly by poor, rural Indigenous people from southern Peru who had identified Castillo as one of their own who would fight to end poverty, racism and inequality.

Dozens of roadblocks have been set up by protesters, causing a shortage of food and fuel in some southern areas as they demand that Castillo’s replacement, President Dina Boluarte, step down.

Trade unions and other bodies have called for another major demonstration against Boluarte in Lima on Tuesday.

Bringing elections forward

Last month, lawmakers moved elections due in 2026 to April 2024, but as protests showed no sign of abating, Boluarte has called to hold them this year, which Congress rejected late Friday.

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“Vote for Peru, for the country, by moving the elections up to 2023,” the president said in an address to the nation on Sunday.

Lawmakers “have a chance to win the country’s trust,” she said.

In last week’s vote on moving elections to October, there were 65 votes against and just 45 in favor, with two abstentions.

If reconvened lawmakers again refuse to advance elections, Boluarte has said she will propose a constitutional reform allowing a first voting round to be held in October and a runoff in December.

Protesters are demanding immediate elections, the dissolution of Congress and a new constitution.

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In the Lima suburb of Huaycan, hundreds of people marched on Monday chanting: “No more deaths, Dina quit now.”

Dozens of soldiers headed to Ica, about 250 kilometers (155 miles) south of the capital, to support police in clearing roadblocks on the vital Panamericana Sur highway that connects major cities.

Weeks of roadblocks have caused shortages of food, fuel and other basic supplies countrywide.

First death in Lima

According to a survey by the Institute of Peruvian Studies, 73 percent of citizens want elections this year.

Monday’s congressional sitting coincided with a wake for Victor Santisteban, 55, a demonstrator who died Saturday after receiving blunt force trauma to the head, according to a medical report.

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Santisteban’s death was the first recorded in Lima since the protests started.

According to the human rights ombudsman’s office, Saturday’s protest in the capital saw at least seven people hospitalized after police used tear gas on demonstrators hurling stones and cement pieces.

Geronimo Lopez, leader of the General Confederation of Peruvian Workers, said protesters would “not cease their struggle” until Boluarte steps down, and called for a national march Tuesday.

Boluarte, who as Castillo’s vice president was constitutionally mandated to replace him, has insisted that “nobody has any interest in clinging to power.”

Apart from those who have died in protests, 10 civilians — including two babies — died when they were unable to get medical treatment or medicine due to roadblocks, according to the ombudsman’s office.

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The protest movement has affected Peru’s vital tourism industry, forcing the closure of the world-renowned Machu Picchu Inca citadel ruins.

In the district of Poroy, about 15 kilometers from Cusco, about 300 people queued Monday to buy a gas bottle for domestic use.

“There are people here queuing since 3.00 am… I have not had any gas for two weeks,” 33-year-old housewife Gabriela Alvarez told AFP.

“We have had to go back in time to cook with firewood and charcoal which hurts the lungs,” she said.

Peru’s Las Bambas copper mine — responsible for about two percent of global metal supply — said Monday it would have to halt production starting Wednesday unless the roadblocks were lifted.

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Chinese owner MMG said in a statement that “after transportation interruptions that affected both entry and exit traffic, (the company) has been forced to start a progressive slowdown of its Las Bambas operation due to a shortage of critical supplies.”

International

Epstein Denies Being ‘the Devil’ in Newly Released Video Interview

Jeffrey Epstein claims he was the least dangerous type of sex offender and denied being “the devil” in a video interview included in the latest batch of documents released over the weekend by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The roughly two-hour interview was conducted by Steve Bannon, a former adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, and appears to have been recorded at the late financier’s New York residence on an unknown date.

Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while in jail awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges involving minors. Since December, the U.S. government has released millions of documents related to the case under transparency laws.

“Do you think you’re the devil incarnate?” Bannon asks Epstein in the video interview revealed in the latest release.

“No, but I do have a good mirror,” Epstein replies with a smile, wearing a black shirt and glasses. When pressed again, he adds, “I don’t know. Why would you say that?”

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Epstein, who pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting a minor for prostitution, also appears to downplay the seriousness of his conviction.

He objects when Bannon refers to him as a “Level Three sexual predator,” a classification in the United States indicating a very serious threat to public safety.

“No, I’m the lowest,” Epstein says.

“But still an offender,” Bannon responds.

“Yes,” Epstein replies.

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The exchange comes after Bannon asks Epstein whether he considers his wealth to be “dirty,” suggesting it was earned by advising “the worst people in the world.”

Epstein insists that he made his money legally, while acknowledging that “ethics is always a complicated issue.”

He claims he donated money to help eradicate polio in Pakistan and India, apparently in an attempt to justify the origins of his fortune.

The documents also show that Bannon maintained regular correspondence with Epstein, who offered to help the far-right political figure spread his conservative ideology in Europe.

Since Trump took office in January 2025, U.S. authorities have released millions of pages related to Epstein, along with photos and videos.

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These materials have shed new light on Epstein’s ties to high-profile business executives such as Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, celebrities including filmmaker Woody Allen, and academics and political figures, among them Trump and former President Bill Clinton.

International

Hypothermia Linked to Most Deaths During New York’s Recent Cold Spell

Hypothermia “played a role” in 13 of the 16 deaths recorded in New York City during the recent period of extreme cold, Mayor Mandami said at a press conference. Three of the deaths were classified as drug overdoses.

None of the individuals were sleeping on the streets at the time of their deaths, the mayor added, noting that some had previously been in contact with emergency shelter services.

Mandami said the city has activated emergency warming centers and deployed a fleet of 20 vehicles staffed with medical personnel to respond to the cold weather crisis.

“As of this morning, we have made more than 930 referrals to shelters and safe facilities. We have also involuntarily transported 18 New Yorkers who were deemed a danger to themselves or others,” he said.

According to official statistics, New York City recorded between nine and 27 cold-related deaths per year from 2005 to 2021. That number rose to 34 in 2021 and climbed further to 54 in 2022.

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City Comptroller Mark Levine estimated that there are “tens of thousands” of homeless New Yorkers, “most of them families with children.”

He said that “nearly 95%” of the city’s homeless population lives in municipal shelters.

In August 2021, those shelters housed 44,586 people, the “lowest daily population in nearly a decade,” according to official data.

However, the shelter population increased from 22,955 to 62,679 people between January 2000 and January 2020, highlighting the long-term growth of homelessness in the city.

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International

NFL Investigating Emails Linking Giants Executive to Jeffrey Epstein

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said on Monday that the league will “examine all the facts” regarding contacts between New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch and Jeffrey Epstein, revealed in documents recently released about the late convicted sex offender.

The batch of files, made public on Friday by the U.S. Department of Justice, includes emails suggesting that Epstein introduced several women to Tisch.

Tisch, a film producer who has never been charged in connection with Epstein, issued a statement last week denying any wrongdoing.

“I had a brief relationship in which we exchanged emails about adult women, and we also discussed film, philanthropy, and investments,” Tisch said of his correspondence with Epstein, which dates back to 2013.

“I did not accept any of his invitations and never went to his island. As we all now know, he was a terrible person and someone I deeply regret having associated with,” he added.

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Speaking at a press conference in San Jose, California, on Monday, Goodell said the NFL would carefully review the details of the ties between Tisch and Epstein.

“We’re going to examine all the facts,” the commissioner said. “We’re going to look at the context of those exchanges, try to understand them, and see how that fits within the league’s policies.”

Tisch, 76, could face disciplinary action under the NFL’s strict personal conduct policy, even if he is not found guilty of a crime.

“We’re going to take this step by step. First, let’s gather all the facts,” Goodell said at the press conference, which was part of the events leading up to Sunday’s Super Bowl between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots.