International
New Advisor to the Commissioner for Peace takes office in Colombia

December 7 |
The Presidency of Colombia and the High Commissioner for Peace informed on Wednesday that political scientist José Otty Patiño took office as Advisor to the Commissioner in the Casa Nariño.
“This is not a phase of rectification, but of development of what has been done. Let’s not think that we are going to wipe the slate clean, but rather we are going to work on what has already been built and above all with the accumulated knowledge, with the commitments and expectations that have been generated,” said Otty Patiño, High Commissioner for Peace.
José Otty Patiño Hormaza was appointed as Peace Commissioner Advisor by the President of the Republic, Gustavo Petro, through Decree 2095 of 2023.
This announcement, which ratified Patiño, head of the Government’s negotiating team, as replacement for Danilo Rueda, was made last November 22 from the Colombian dignitary’s X account.
In 1974 he founded, together with other guerrilla commanders, the April 19 Movement (M-19).
Otty Patiño assumes in the context in which the Commissioner for Peace informed that, in the most recent report of the Investigation and Accusation Unit of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), highlights that between January and October 2023 there was a reduction of the armed conflict, in addition to other important advances in the construction of Total Peace in Colombia.
However, Indepaz reports confirm that in 2023, more than 150 social leaders, 40 peace signatories and 90 massacres have been assassinated in Colombia.
Likewise, the Colombian Government and the National Liberation Army (ELN) began the fifth round of Peace Dialogues in Mexico on Monday, amid tensions.
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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