International

More than forty dead in Gaza after another night of Israeli bombings

– More than forty people died in the Gaza Strip, 16 of them in the city of Rafah, after another night of intense Israeli bombings, some of which reached several tents for displaced people near the centers of the UN Palestinian Refugee Agency (UNRWA).

The Gazati Ministry of Health, controlled by Hamas, reported the death in the last hour of 46 people and more than a hundred injured.

According to sources from Rafah, at least seven people died in the Al Hashash area, while another seven perished in attacks against the displaced person camp in Al Baraksat, in the northwest of the town and near UNRWA shelters.

Two other Gazats, specifically an old man and a ten-year-old boy, died in artillery attacks, also in Rafah.

The boy’s family told the Qatari channel Al Jazeera today that his home was the target of a bombing when they were preparing to leave the Zourob neighborhood, in search of a safe place, in the face of the intensity of the Israeli attacks.

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In that same neighborhood, this morning there were movements of Israeli military vehicles and excavators “under intense fire of smoke bombs and flares,” in addition to the flight of helicopters and drones, according to the information provided to EFE by local sources.

There were also intense bombings in the Tal al Sultan neighborhood, an alleged “safe zone” in the northwest of Rafah that hosts hundreds of displaced people and in which at least 45 Gazans perished yesterday as a result of an Israeli attack that triggered a fire.

The more than 100 people who were injured in that attack have flooded the few medical services in operation.

As denounced today by the oenegé Doctors Without Borders (MSF), some of the attacks recorded in recent days took place near its stabilization center (where the most serious cases are treated), which prevented medical personnel from both entering and leaving the enclosure where they treated patients.

According to UNRWA, about one million Gazans have fled Rafah, since the Israeli ground offensive began in the area.

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Now they are also being forced to leave the western area of Rafah, heading for Jan Yunis, as the bombings grow and the troops approach.

The Israeli Army said today in a statement that it has dismantled tunnels and observation posts of Palestinian militias in the vicinity of the Yabalia refugee camp, in northern Gaza, where the armed forces returned to operation after leaving the area practically devastated at the beginning of the war, under the premise that Hamas was regrouping.

In addition, Israeli soldiers located several tunnels and weapons in Rafah, where they hold “close-range combats” with Palestinian militiamen.

“The activity is carried out while efforts are being made to prevent damage to civilians not involved in the area,” the Army said.

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International

Peruvian presidential candidate Napoleón Becerra dies in campaign road accident

Presidential candidate Napoleón Becerra, representing the Partido de los Trabajadores y Emprendedores (PTE) in Peru, died in a traffic accident while traveling to a campaign event, local authorities confirmed Sunday.

Becerra, who also served as president of the centrist political party, ranked among the lowest in opinion polls in a crowded field of more than 30 candidates competing in the presidential election scheduled for April 12.

Recent surveys place Rafael López Aliaga at the top of voter preferences.

The accident occurred near the town of Ayacucho, in southern Peru, when the vehicle carrying the candidate overturned for reasons that remain under investigation.

“The candidate Becerra has died,” Balvin Huamani, mayor of the district of Pilpichaca, told RPP radio.

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According to Huamani, he personally transported the 61-year-old candidate to a local health center, where doctors confirmed his death.

The Jurado Nacional de Elecciones (JNE) expressed condolences over Becerra’s passing and wished a speedy recovery to the three people who were traveling with him and were injured in the crash.

International

Noboa intensifies anti-cartel crackdown as violence persists in Ecuador

A close ally of Washington, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has pursued a hardline security strategy against cocaine cartels for more than two years, yet homicide, disappearance and extortion rates remain high across the country.

Between Sunday night and the morning of March 31, Ecuador’s armed forces will launch a “very strong offensive” with “advisory support” from the United States, Interior Minister John Reimberg announced Tuesday.

The government has kept details of the operation confidential and has not confirmed whether U.S. troops will be deployed on Ecuadorian soil, as has occurred at times during Noboa’s administration.

As part of the security measures, residents in the coastal provinces of Guayas, Los Ríos, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, and El Oro will be subject to a nightly curfew from 11:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. local time for the next two weeks.

“We are in a war,” Reimberg said, urging citizens to remain indoors. “Do not take risks. Stay home and allow the security forces and our allies to do the work that must be done.”

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Although Ecuador does not produce cocaine, it has become a major departure point for drugs heading to the United States. Meanwhile, the violence associated with trafficking has increasingly affected the local population.

Bordering the world’s largest cocaine producers, Colombia and Peru, Ecuador has gone from being considered a relatively peaceful country to recording one of the highest homicide rates in Latin America—52 killings per 100,000 inhabitants—according to the **Observatory of Organized Crime.

International

Peruvian presidential candidate proposes death penalty amid crime surge

Peru is facing an unprecedented surge in crime ahead of its presidential election scheduled for April 12, with violence fueled by extortion networks and a wave of contract killings linked to organized crime.

Police data show that 2,200 homicides tied to organized crime were recorded in 2025, while extortion complaints increased by 19%, underscoring the growing security crisis in the South American nation.

Amid this backdrop, presidential candidate Álvarez has proposed reinstating the death penalty if elected, arguing that extreme measures are needed to curb the violence.

To implement the proposal, Álvarez said Peru would withdraw from the American Convention on Human Rights—also known as the Pact of San José—which the country signed in 1978. The agreement prevents member states that have abolished capital punishment from reinstating it.

Currently, Peruvian law only allows the death penalty in cases of treason during wartime.

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“We have to leave the Pact of San José and apply the death penalty in Peru because those miserable criminals don’t deserve to live,” Álvarez told AFP during a campaign stop at a market in Callao, the port city neighboring Lima.

“An iron fist against those criminals,” he added, proposing to declare hitmen as military targets.

During the campaign event, Álvarez walked through stalls selling vegetables, groceries, and fish, greeting vendors while musicians played cumbia music nearby.

The 62-year-old candidate, who spent more than four decades working in television as a comedian, is a newcomer to politics and is running for president under the País para Todos party.

Polls place him fifth in voter preference with nearly 4% support in a fragmented race featuring 36 candidates.