International
Russia assures that Ukraine will lose the war despite the new US military aid package
Russia assured today that Ukraine will lose the war despite the new military aid package of $61 billion approved on Saturday by the US House of Representatives.
“But this will not alter the situation on the battlefield. The criminal regime of Kiev will be defeated,” wrote Viacheslav Volodin, president of the Duma or chamber of deputies of Russia, on his Telegram channel.
Russia warned the United States, which on Saturday approved a new $61 billion military aid package for Ukraine, that its current support for Kiev will end in a “fiasco” as well-nound as in the Vietnam and Afghanistan wars.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg celebrated last night that the United States House of Representatives has approved “a new and important” aid package to Ukraine and assured that this will contribute to “making us all safer, both in Europe and in North America.”
“I am pleased that the United States House of Representatives has approved a new and important aid package for Ukraine. Ukraine is using the weapons provided by NATO allies to destroy Russian combat capabilities. This makes us all safer, in Europe and North America,” Stoltenberg said on social network X.
The leaders of the main institutions of the European Union (EU) also welcomed the fact that the United States House of Representatives has approved a new aid package for Ukraine and called for the preservation of unity between Europeans and Americans to continue supporting Kiev.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that Ukraine “deserves all possible support against Russia” and, after the affirmative vote of the House of Representatives, urged the US Senate to ratify this package “as soon as possible”, because “there are lives at stake.”
The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, stressed that the approval of this aid package “sends a clear message to the Kremlin,” and that is that “those who believe in freedom and the Charter of the United Nations will continue to support Ukraine and its people.”
The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, added that, with the package approved this Saturday by the US House of Representatives, Ukraine “will have the transatlantic support it needs to face Russian aggression.”
The president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, pointed out that “the only way to peace is to help the Ukrainian people defend themselves” and stressed the value of the EU and the United States remaining “united for freedom and against aggression.”
The US House of Representatives approved on Saturday a package of 95 billion dollars (about 89 billion euros) of foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, after the bill has remained stagnant for months due to the blocking of a group of Republican legislators opposed to continuing to finance Kiev.
Each item has been voted independently and the 61 billion (about 57 billion euros) for Ukraine have received the green light with 311 votes in favor, among which there were both Democratic and Republican congressmen, compared to 112 against, in a session in which the Democrats cheered and waved Ukrainian flags.
In recent months, both Stoltenberg and other European NATO leaders had been pressing the United States to unblock this aid package as soon as possible, at one point in the Ukrainian Army it has been in trouble to defend itself against Russia’s offensive due to the shortage of weapons and ammunition.
The president of Ukraine himself, Volodymyr Zelensky, had previously stated that it would depend on this package of US aid that the Kiev forces could maintain their positions or be forced to withdraw gradually.
Now, the bill endorsed this Saturday by the House of Representatives will have to be validated by the Senate, where the Democratic Party has a tight majority.
After the approval, President Joe Biden celebrated in a statement that legislators have voted to promote “the national security interests” of the country and to “send a clear message about the power of American leadership on the global stage.”
International
Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction
Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe on Monday requested that the Supreme Court restore his freedom while he appeals the historic 12-year house arrest sentence he received for bribery and procedural fraud.
Uribe, the most prominent figure of Colombia’s right wing, was convicted last week by a lower court for attempting to bribe paramilitary members into denying his ties to the violent anti-guerrilla squads.
Since Friday, the 73-year-old has been under house arrest at his residence in Rionegro, about 30 km from Medellín. The judge justified the measure by citing a risk of flight.
However, Uribe’s defense team rejected that argument and formally petitioned the court to immediately lift the detention order, claiming it lacks legal basis.
Uribe, a dominant force in Colombian politics for decades, is now the first former president in the country’s history to be convicted and placed under arrest, found guilty of witness tampering and obstruction of justice to prevent links to paramilitary groups.
He has repeatedly denounced the trial as politically motivated, blaming pressure from the leftist government currently in power.
His political party, Centro Democrático, has called for nationwide protests on August 7 in support of Uribe, who remains popular for his hardline stance against guerrilla groups.
Uribe has until August 13 to submit his written appeal. The case will then move to the Bogotá High Court, which has until October 16 to uphold, overturn, or dismiss the sentence. If the deadline passes without a decision, the case will be archived.
International
U.S. Embassy staff restricted as gunfire erupts near compound in Port-au-Prince
The poorest country in Latin America and the Caribbean is currently engulfed in a deep political crisis and a wave of violence driven by armed groups — a situation that an international security mission led by Kenya is attempting to stabilize.
Due to the worsening security conditions, the U.S. government has suspended all official movements of embassy personnel outside the compound in Port-au-Prince, the U.S. State Department announced Monday in a security alert posted on social media platform X.
“There are intense gunfights in the Tabarre neighborhood, near the U.S. Embassy,” the alert reads, urging the public to avoid the area.
Tabarre is a municipality located near Port-au-Prince International Airport, northeast of the Haitian capital.
According to a July report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, at least 3,141 people were killed in Haitibetween January 1 and June 30 of this year.
International
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
The Israeli military announced on Sunday that 136 boxes of food aid were airdropped into Gaza by the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Germany, and Belgium.
“In recent hours, six countries conducted air drops of 136 aid packages containing food for residents in the southern and northern Gaza Strip,” read the statement, which added that the operation was coordinated by COGAT, the Israeli defense body overseeing civil affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Israeli military emphasized that they will “continue working to improve the humanitarian response alongside the international community” and reiterated their stance to “refute false allegations of deliberate famine in Gaza.”
The announcement comes as UN agencies warn Gaza faces an imminent risk of famine. More than one in three residents go days without eating, and other nutrition indicators have dropped to their worst levels since the conflict began.
The agencies also noted the difficulty of “collecting reliable data in current conditions, as Gaza’s health systems —already devastated by nearly three years of conflict— are collapsing.”
Meanwhile, Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry reported on Sunday that hospitals in the enclave recorded six deaths from hunger and malnutrition on Saturday, all of them adults.
Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction
U.S. Embassy staff restricted as gunfire erupts near compound in Port-au-Prince
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
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
-
Central America4 days agoCosta Rica faces historic vote on lifting presidential immunity for Rodrigo Chaves
-
International2 days agoIsrael says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
-
International4 days agoTrump administration blasts judge’s ruling reinstating TPS for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua
-
International4 days agoStudy finds COVID-19 vaccines prevented 2.5 million deaths worldwide
-
International1 day agoU.S. Embassy staff restricted as gunfire erupts near compound in Port-au-Prince
-
International2 days agoSeven inmates dead, 11 injured after violent riot in Veracruz prison
-
International1 day ago
Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction