International

Mexican President confirms regional summit on inflation

Photo: EFE

March 17 |

The President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, confirmed Thursday that the announced regional summit on inflation, in virtual format, will take place next April 5.

According to the Mexican president, the meeting will be attended by presidents and heads of state of Latin America and the Caribbean. Among them will be the presidents of Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Honduras, Belize, Bolivia and St. Vincent.

In this sense, he said: “We are going to have a conference on April 5, ten presidents and a prime minister of Latin America and the Caribbean (…) It is a virtual meeting, it is a plan for economic exchange, importation, exportation of food to face together the inflationary phenomenon”.

This is what López Obrador said when assessing the current conditions of the Mexican economy and their relationship. “So we are doing well in the economy and the peso is resisting, because there were bankruptcies of two banks in the United States and it did have an effect on the entire world market, but the peso is I would say stable, we continue without devaluation of the peso, this has not happened in 50 years and we are doing very well”, he commented.

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Due to the effects of the conflict in Ukrainian territory, inflation in all the countries of the region suffered a significant increase. Argentina, another of the large economies, was one of the most affected with an index of 94.8 percent last year, the highest since 1991, with a strong increase in the food and clothing sectors, all of which was boosted by energy imports.

In Mexico, 2022 ended with an index of 7.82 percent, which was also the highest in the last two decades. In Brazil, there was a slowdown with respect to 2021 (from 10 percent to 5.79 percent), but it exceeded the target set by the Brazilian government. Colombia had 13.1 percent, which was also one of the highest in more than 20 years. Cubans faced 39 percent.

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.

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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.

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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.