Sin categoría
Belarusian opposition journalist Igor Lednik dies in prison
Belarusian journalist and political prisoner Igor Lednik died in prison in the Mogilev region, as reported today by the Social Democratic Party of the former Soviet republic.
Lednik, whose health had deteriorated since his arrest in April 2022 according to his lawyers, had been sentenced to three years in prison for slandering the country’s president, Alexander Lukashenko.
The 64-year-old opposition figure had undergone digestive system surgery while serving his sentence in Penitentiary Number 15 and had been suffering from heart problems.
Initially, he was sentenced to just fifteen days of house arrest, but later he was sentenced to three years in prison for an article published in 2020 in which he attacked the honor and dignity of the head of state.
Lednik, whose Facebook was declared extremist, advocated for the dissolution of the Russia-Belarus Union and accused Lukashenko of turning the country into a dictatorship.
According to the human rights organization Viasna, Lednik is the fifth Belarusian political prisoner to die in custody since May 2022.
Belarusian writer Svetlana Alexievich, Nobel Prize in Literature in 2015, warned this week in an interview about the danger faced by political prisoners in Belarus following the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in an Arctic prison.
“We have no information about Maria Kolesnikova, Viktor Babariko. We know nothing about Nikolai Statkevich. And it seems that we could find out the worst at any moment,” Alexievich told the newspaper ‘Nasha Niva.’
The author of “Voices from Chernobyl” and “War’s Unwomanly Face” recalled that the number of political prisoners in Belarus exceeds 2,000, and all of its leaders are also behind bars.
According to Alexievich, “dictators learn from each other, and Navalny’s death opened an abyss of permissiveness” for authoritarian leaders worldwide.
“Now anything can be expected,” she opined.
Meanwhile, Lukashenko warned today in a meeting with the top brass of the Belarusian army that the opposition in exile, along with “its sponsors from foreign intelligence services,” is preparing an action plan to overthrow the government in Minsk.
“The first point of this plan (…) is to prepare a coup d’état or a violent seizure of power directly in the midst of an electoral campaign,” he said.
However, he clarified that the opposition themselves “consider this unlikely” as they “do not see real prerequisites similar to those of 2020 to destabilize the situation,” when the country was rocked by massive protests following the results of the presidential elections, deemed fraudulent by the opposition and the international community.
According to Lukashenko, the opposition will still try to “take advantage of the electoral campaign (of the upcoming parliamentary elections) as a trial and initial stage to prepare for a coup d’état during the upcoming presidential elections in 2025.”
Sin categoría
Trump files $15 billion defamation suit against The New York Times
U.S. President Donald Trump has filed a $15 billion defamation and libel lawsuit against The New York Times, which denounced the legal move on Tuesday as an attempt to silence the press.
In this new stage of his presidency, the 79-year-old Republican leader has escalated his long-standing hostility toward traditional media, repeatedly attacking critical journalists, limiting their access, or taking them to court.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in Florida, seeks $15 billion in damages, along with additional punitive compensation “in an amount to be determined at trial.”
The New York Times had reported last week that Trump threatened legal action over articles concerning a birthday letter allegedly sent by him to financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The letter featured a typed message inside the outline of a nude woman. Trump denies that the accompanying signature is his.
“For too long, The New York Times has been allowed to lie, defame, and slander me freely — and that ends NOW!” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.
Sin categoría
Maduro warns Venezuela would enter armed struggle if attacked by foreign forces
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro stated on Friday that if his country were attacked, it would enter a phase of armed struggle, amid his claims of “threats” from the United States, which is conducting a military deployment in Caribbean waters near Venezuela’s coast under the pretext of combating drug trafficking.
Maduro emphasized that Venezuela is currently in the non-armed phase, which he described as political, communicational, and institutional, but added that if the country were somehow aggressed, it would move to a planned, organized armed struggle involving the entire population, whether the threat is local, regional, or national.
“We would enter a stage of armed struggle, in defense of peace, territorial integrity, sovereignty, and our people,” Maduro said during an event activating citizen militias, broadcast on state channel Venezolana de Televisión (VTV).
He also noted that Venezuela is currently in a phase of readiness and preparation to defend the country and will proceed to the deployment of defensive capacities, including training and retraining of the entire Venezuelan population.
Maduro described the Venezuelan people as pacifist yet warrior-like, asserting that “no one will enslave us, neither today nor ever.”
Sin categoría
USCIS gains law enforcement powers: Agents now authorized to investigate and arrest immigration violators
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), traditionally responsible for handling naturalizations, visas, residence permits, and work authorizations, is now expanding its role to include law enforcement powers, according to a statement released by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Under the new directive, specially designated USCIS agents are now authorized to investigate, arrest, and bring to justice individuals who violate U.S. immigration laws. Previously, USCIS primarily managed administrative and bureaucratic processes, while enforcement responsibilities were handled by agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Illegal immigration has been a central issue under President Donald Trump’s administration, with DHS reporting that over 300,000 migrants have been arrested in the first six months of his presidency. However, the number of people who have crossed U.S. borders illegally in recent years remains controversial, with experts estimating between 8 to 10 million individuals.
The policy shift also comes amid heightened legal battles over immigration enforcement. Recently, a federal judge blocked the deportation of minors to Guatemala, who were moments away from boarding a flight. Trump’s aggressive measures, including large-scale raids in cities like Los Angeles, have faced multiple judicial challenges, some upheld and others overturned at various federal levels, including the Supreme Court.
According to the DHS statement, the expanded authority allows USCIS to “manage investigations from start to finish rather than referring cases to ICE,” aiming to reduce backlogs and combat fraud within the immigration system.
USCIS Director Joseph B. Edlow will have the power to appoint and train special agents under the order signed by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, ensuring that the agency can effectively execute its newly granted enforcement responsibilities.
María Corina Machado: “Venezuela is closer than ever to regaining freedom”
Millions to join “No Kings” march in U.S. amid Trump’s growing authoritarian backlash
Environmental groups denounce Nicaragua’s mining deals as ‘ecocide’ in protected areas
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
-
International4 days agoMexican government prioritizes 191 communities after deadly floods
-
International4 days agoNew road and bridge explosions raise alarm amid indigenous protests in Ecuador
-
International1 day agoMillions to join “No Kings” march in U.S. amid Trump’s growing authoritarian backlash
-
International1 day agoMaría Corina Machado: “Venezuela is closer than ever to regaining freedom”
-
Central America2 days agoEnvironmental groups denounce Nicaragua’s mining deals as ‘ecocide’ in protected areas
-
Central America3 days agoNicaragua grants 2,500-hectare mining concession to chinese firm in protected region
-
International3 days agoPetro expresses concern over fatal shooting during mass protests in Lima
-
International3 days agoPeru’s interim president José Jerí refuses to resign after protester’s death in Lima
-
Central America3 days agoPanama’s president accuses U.S. Embassy official of visa threats amid China tensions