International
Ecuador’s President absent from impeachment trial hearing

April 26 |
The president of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, will not appear before the Oversight Committee of the National Assembly (Parliament) as part of the impeachment process against him for the crime of embezzlement.
According to the schedule, this Wednesday, the president himself was supposed to present his defense. However, the legal secretary of the Ecuadorian Presidency, Juan Pablo Ortiz, said that, in principle, the president’s presence in the process will only be given if it reaches the second and final stage, when he has to make his argument before the full House.
Meanwhile, his lawyer, Édgar Neira, will intervene to try to demonstrate that there is no political responsibility in the irregularities detected in a contract between the state-owned Flota Petrolera Ecuatoriana (Flopec) and the company Amazonas Tanker.
For the questioning legislators, this agreement is the basis for the prosecution of the president for apparently knowing about the anomalies and not doing anything to stop them despite the fact that they were harmful to the country.
With the presentation of the president’s defense, the court will conclude the phase dedicated to hearing witnesses and analyzing documents and, from that moment on, the Commission will have 10 days to conclude a report on whether or not to recommend impeachment.
The legislators requesting the trial will also present their arguments this Wednesday, something that was scheduled for the day before, but the session was postponed so that the prosecution and defense could appear on the same day.
In order to censure the head of state, the support of two thirds of the plenary of the Assembly is required, that is, 92 out of 137 parliamentarians.
International
Trump signs order to end federal funding for NPR and PBS

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to halt federal funding for two public media outlets, PBS television and NPR radio, accusing them of being biased.
NPR and PBS are partially funded by American taxpayers but rely heavily on private donations.
Trump has long maintained a hostile relationship with most media outlets, which he has referred to as the “enemy of the people.”
An exception is the conservative Fox News channel, some of whose hosts have played important roles in the administration of the Republican magnate.
“National Public Radio (NPR) and Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) receive taxpayer funding through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB),” Trump said.
“Therefore, I direct the CPB board and all executive departments and agencies to cease federal funding for NPR and PBS,” he added.
The Republican leader argued that “neither of these entities provides a fair, accurate, or impartial portrayal of current events to the taxpayer citizens.”
At the end of March, Donald Trump called on Congress to end public funding for these two “horrible and completely biased networks.”
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.
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