International
Bolivia rejects “interfering” US statements

March 13 |
Representatives of Bolivian social movements support today on Twitter the public rejection by the Minister of Hydrocarbons and Energy, Franklin Molina, of the interfering statements made by the head of the U.S. Southern Command, Laura Richardson.
“We do not admit any interference, from any State in the world. Bolivia has a definition regarding the industrialization of natural resources, something we started to do since 2006”, assured Molina in an interview to the state channel Bolivia Tv.
Referring to four-star general Richardson’s statements before U.S. congressmen that “we have ignored our backyard”, Molina was categorical.
“There is no consultation here, neither to the IMF (International Monetary Fund), nor to the World Bank, nor to any northern country to develop our own destiny. Therefore, as a sovereign country, we have decided and we are sovereign to choose and work with the one that brings us the best conditions for the country”, he reaffirmed.
He considered that the assertions of the military hierarch show little capacity for analysis and at the same time little respect for the countries of the lithium triangle (Argentina, Bolivia and Chile).
The minister added that these expressions denote not only desperation, but also a lack of global vision of what is happening in the world.
Last Wednesday Richardson said that China “expands its influence” in Latin America and the Caribbean and “manipulates” its governments through “predatory investment practices”.
He added that “this region is full of (natural) resources and I am concerned about the malign activity of our adversaries, who are taking advantage of it, pretending they are investing, when in reality (they) are extracting them.”
The representative in the region of the Pentagon high command highlighted that the so-called triangle accumulates 60 percent of the world’s lithium and negotiates with China, Russia and Iran, nations she described as adversaries that “are taking resources from these countries and their people.”
Internet users from the Comité Impulsor de la Justicia en Bolivia praised the direct criticism expressed in a thread of three tweets by former President Evo Morales to those interfering views. “Latin America is not a colony of the United States,” wrote the former president and leader of the Movement Towards Socialism-Political Instrument for the Sovereignty of the Peoples.
Morales repudiated the threats of the general “who repeats his country’s predatory interest in the lithium triangle in Bolivia, Argentina and Chile, the water and oxygen of the Amazon and the gold of Venezuela”.
Warning that China is a strategic ally that offers cooperation without conditions, Morales pointed out that “Latin America will never again be the backyard of interventionism”.
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.
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