International

Citizen Revolution leader shot to death in Ecuador

Photo: @PaolaCabezasC

August 15|

Leaders and defenders of the Citizen Revolution denounced Monday the murder in the Ecuadorian province of Esmeraldas of the political leader belonging to that group, Pedro Briones, a few days after the murder of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio.

According to information shared from social networks by his fellow militants, Pedro Briones was a leader of the party of former president Rafael Correa in Esmeraldas, in the northern coast of the country, and was shot to death.

For his part, Rafael Correa also confirmed the news from his Twitter account. “Another of our comrades was murdered in Esmeraldas, enough is enough,” he said, while sharing the message of the former candidate for the Esmeraldas prefecture, Janeth Bustos.

Regarding the political situation in the country, the presidential candidate, Luisa Gonzalez said that “Ecuador is living its bloodiest period. This is due to the total abandonment of an inept government and a State taken over by the mafias. My solidarity embrace to the family of comrade Pedro Briones, fallen in the hands of violence. Change is urgent!”.

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Likewise Rafael Correa in an interview to an Ecuadorian media this August 14 indicated that the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio responds to a plot in which the National Police is involved.

“In the specific case of Villavicencio’s assassination, I have no doubt that it is a plot in which the Police is involved. I know about this, I have had security. It is not possible that they embark a person in a car without a driver. The person, the VIP (Very Important Person), the protected person, boards last, maybe second to last. The person who accompanies him or her as co-pilot boards last. And always the protected person behind the co-pilot. Here he is embarked alone and without a driver. It means that the assassination was prepared and the security knew it, the police knew it”, said Rafael Correa.

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.