International
Sheinbaum appoints Lázaro Cárdenas Batel as head of the Presidency’s Office

Lázaro Cárdenas Batel, former coordinator of advisers of the current president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, will be the head of the Office of the Government of Claudia Sheinbaum, the future president of Mexico reported on Thursday.
Cárdenas, who was governor of the western state of Michoacán (2002-2008), is the son of the historic Mexican leftist leader Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas and grandson of former President Lázaro Cárdenas (1934-1940).
The last to occupy the position of head of office of the presidency was Alfonso Romo, whom Andrés Manuel López Obrador assigned in 2018 and resigned in 2020, leading to the temporary disappearance of this office.
“I deeply appreciate the confidence with which it distinguishes me by inviting me to occupy the position of head of the Office of the Presidency, it will be an honor to closely accompany the first head of state in the history of Mexico,” Cárdenas Batel said during the press conference in which the announcement was made.
He recalled that he has known Sheinbaum for more than three decades, because they coincided in the political struggle as part of the student movement of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in 1986.
“I am honored to participate in Dr. Sheinbaum’s team. Surely he will live up to the great responsibility that belongs to him, I have no doubt that the next Government will be consistent with Claudia Sheinbaum’s trajectory and with the causes that she has promoted and defended throughout her life,” he emphasized.
For her part, Claudia Sheinbaum, who will take office on October 1, highlighted her confidence in Cárdenas Batel.
“He held the position of governor, deputy, senator and has been in different spaces in international politics, so he will help me to follow up on strategic projects and, at the same time,
talking to many sectors in Mexico and in other parts of the world that may not be able to attend directly as president, but that Lázaro can attend with all the confidence,” he said.
According to the portal of the Government of Mexico, the Office of the Presidency was an administrative area that provided advice, technical support and dispatch of matters to the head of the Executive, “in order to provide elements for decision-making, without prejudice to the powers exercised by the dependencies and entities of the Federal Public Administration within the scope of their respective competences.”
When López Obrador came to power, in December 2018, he appointed Alfonso Romo Garza as head of the Office of the Presidency; however, two years later the official expressed his desire to leave office and the president said that he would dispense with the instance.
Despite the fact that this Thursday Sheinbaum was expected to announce the heads of the secretariats of Culture, Tourism and Labor, he only made the announcement of Cárdenas Batel, and commented that it will be until next Thursday that he will give the remaining appointments.
International
Trump signs order to end federal funding for NPR and PBS

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to halt federal funding for two public media outlets, PBS television and NPR radio, accusing them of being biased.
NPR and PBS are partially funded by American taxpayers but rely heavily on private donations.
Trump has long maintained a hostile relationship with most media outlets, which he has referred to as the “enemy of the people.”
An exception is the conservative Fox News channel, some of whose hosts have played important roles in the administration of the Republican magnate.
“National Public Radio (NPR) and Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) receive taxpayer funding through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB),” Trump said.
“Therefore, I direct the CPB board and all executive departments and agencies to cease federal funding for NPR and PBS,” he added.
The Republican leader argued that “neither of these entities provides a fair, accurate, or impartial portrayal of current events to the taxpayer citizens.”
At the end of March, Donald Trump called on Congress to end public funding for these two “horrible and completely biased networks.”
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.
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.
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