International
Netflix co-founder donates seven million dollars to Kamala Harris’ campaign
Reed Hastings, co-founder of Netflix, donated seven million dollars to the presidential campaign of Kamala Harris, the current vice president of the United States, according to the American media The Information.
“After a depressing debate, we are in the game again,” the also executive chairman of the board of the streaming platform told the media, who also specified that this is the largest political donation that Hastings has made to a single candidate.
Hastings is one of the most powerful Democratic Party donors who pressured President Joe Biden to give up his candidacy for the next elections to be held in November.
“Biden must be set aside to allow a vigorous Democratic leader to defeat Trump and keep us safe and prosperous,” The New York Times told the American media earlier this month.
Biden withdrew from his candidacy for the White House on Sunday and supported Harris, after facing pressure from members of Congress and donors after the criticism aroused by his weak performance in the first debate against Donald Trump (2017-2021) that took place on June 27.
The latest polls on the United States elections show slightly better numbers for the vice president, although she would also, like Biden, lose the election to Trump.
These surveys were carried out before President Biden’s announcement this Sunday to resign from re-election, so asked by Harris, respondents responded to a hypothetical situation.
The most recent, YouGov’s poll for CBS News, gave Trump five points of advantage over Biden (52% to 47%) by only three over Harris (51% to 48%).
Another from NBC News gave the same two-point advantage for Trump (45% to 43% with Biden and 47% to 45% with Harris), while one from Fox News gave the same result of 49% to 48% in favor of the former president regardless of the rival.
The Marist poll for NPR and PBS was the only one that gave a majority to the Democratic ticket and, in this case, gave Biden a better advantage over Trump (50% to 48%), than Harris over Trump (50% to 49%).
Although the overall result is relevant, what is really important in the American elections are the key states, such as Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada, Georgia or Arizona.
A Siena survey for The New York Times, Harris got a better result than Biden in Pennsylvania and Virginia.
In Pennsylvania, Trump took three points to Biden (48% to 45%) and only one to Harris (48% to 47%), while in Virginia the vice president beat the Republican by five points (49% to 44%), two more than Biden (48% to 45%).
International
Mexican government prioritizes 191 communities after deadly floods
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed on Wednesday that the death toll from recent rains and floods across several central states has risen to 66, while the federal government has activated air bridges and prioritized assistance in 191 isolated communities.
“Unfortunately, 66 people have died, and 75 remain missing,” the president said during her morning press conference. She added that the official death toll will be updated later in a new report.
As of Tuesday, authorities had reported 64 fatalities. Sheinbaum also announced the creation of a public information center to centralize official data on the deceased, missing persons, damaged homes, and cut-off communities.
According to the president, the number of missing persons has decreased thanks to coordination with state authorities.
“Through calls to phone line 079, 103 people who had been reported missing have now been located,” she explained.
Priority Municipalities
The president noted that the federal government has classified 191 communities as ‘priority’, a designation based mainly on the percentage of homes affected.
International
New road and bridge explosions raise alarm amid indigenous protests in Ecuador
Ecuadorian authorities are investigating two explosions that occurred early Wednesday, one on a road in the southern part of the country and another under a bridge in Guayas province. These incidents follow the car bomb explosion in the coastal city of Guayaquil, also in Guayas, which occurred the day before and left one person dead and 30 injured.
Press reports indicate that one person was injured and several vehicles were damaged in the explosion on the Cuenca-Girón-Pasaje road in the south.
“Besides yesterday’s explosion in Guayaquil, we have received reports of explosives placed on bridges along the Guayaquil-Machala and Machala-Cuenca routes to disrupt traffic,” said Roberto Luque, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport (MIT).
On his X social media account, Luque reported that authorities have been deployed to the sites to assess the damage and determine the current condition of the structures.
“What they haven’t achieved with their call for a strike, some are trying to achieve through terrorism,” he stated, referring to the 24 days of protests organized by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (Conaie) against rising diesel prices and other demands.
The protests, called at a national level, have Imbabura province as their epicenter. Roadblocks have also been reported in the northern part of Pichincha province, whose capital is Quito, while activities in the rest of the country continue normally.
International
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Ecuador’s Armed Forces carried out an operation on Monday — including airstrikes — against illegal mining in the town of Buenos Aires, in the country’s north, Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo reported.
The mountainous, gold-rich area has been a hotspot for illegal mining since 2017, located in the Andean province of Imbabura.
In 2019, former president Lenín Moreno deployed around 2,400 soldiers to the region in an attempt to curb the illegal activity. “The operation began with mortar fire, followed by gunfire and bombing runs by Supertucano aircraft,” Loffredo said in a video released by the Defense Ministry.
He added that the operation would continue on Tuesday with patrols across the area to locate possible members of “irregular armed groups that may have crossed from the Colombian border.”
The Armed Forces stated on X that the intervention focused on the “complete elimination of multiple illegal mining tunnels” in the areas known as Mina Nueva and Mina Vieja.
The operation coincided with the deployment of a military and police convoy into Imbabura, which has been the epicenter of protests against President Daniel Noboa since September 22, following his decision to scrap the diesel subsidy.
Mexican government prioritizes 191 communities after deadly floods
New road and bridge explosions raise alarm amid indigenous protests in Ecuador
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
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
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