International

The Prosecutor’s Office asks Boluarte to hand over the documents that justify the surgery he kept hidden

The Peruvian Prosecutor’s Office gave 24 hours to President Dina Boluarte, or her legal defense, to deliver the documents that motivated a surgery in 2023 that it kept hidden, as well as the rules she signed during that period, as part of the investigation into a possible abandonment of office.

Through the Area of Illicit Enrichment and Constitutional Complaints, the Prosecutor’s Office required the president “to comply with sending – within 24 hours the 91 rules in original that she assures she signed between June 28 and July 9, 2023, and the documents on her state of health that motivated the surgical intervention.”

On the social network X, the Public Ministry specified that it makes this request after the statement that the president provided on January 13, as part of the investigation opened for the alleged commission “of the crime of omission of functions and, alternatively, for the crime of abandonment of office, to the detriment of the State.”

Boluarte went this Monday to the office of the attorney general, Delia Espinoza, to testify about the nose operation that kept Congress hidden for more than a year and that has motivated the investigation of the Public Ministry.

His lawyer, Juan Carlos Portugal, said after the diligence that “there is no omission of the charge” because Boluarte “was always aware of the country.”

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He explained that the surgery lasted between 40 and 50 minutes, during which “the president was never unconscious,” because it was an “almely simple” intervention.

“At all times she was lucid” and the subsequent treatment was outpatient, despite the fact that that night (June 29, 2023) she spent the night in the clinic, Portugal said.

For that reason, the lawyer maintained that “there is no omission (of functions) because the obligation to communicate (to Congress) is not covered by a rule.”

Boluarte admitted on December 12 that she underwent “a surgical intervention, it was not aesthetic”, that “it was necessary, essential”, for her health, and that it did not generate “any kind of disability, or impediment to exercise” her functions.

“When the Public Ministry deigns to summon me, I will voluntarily renounce my right to medical confidentiality and deliver my medical record,” he said.

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After the opening of the investigation, Espinoza said in an interview that the president is not being investigated because she has undergone surgery, but because, allegedly, “she would have left office for hours or days without justification, without having communicated to Congress as appropriate.”

In this sense, he reiterated that the investigation is “about the hours that the Presidency would have stopped exercising because, perhaps, having been incapacitated or unconscious” in the period from June 29 to July 9, 2023.

International

Two killed in shooting at restaurant near Frankfurt Airport

Two people were shot dead early Tuesday at a restaurant in Raunheim, near Frankfurt Airport, according to local police.

Preliminary findings indicate that an armed individual entered the establishment at around 03:45 local time (02:45 GMT) and opened fire on the victims, who died at the scene from their injuries.

The suspect fled and remains at large, while the motive behind the shooting is still unclear, German media reported. Authorities have launched a large-scale search operation.

International

U.S. counterterrorism chief resigns over opposition to war in Iran

Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced Tuesday that he has resigned from his post, citing his opposition to the ongoing war in Iran.

In a post on X, Kent said he could not, “in good conscience,” support the conflict, arguing that Iran did not pose an imminent threat to the United States. He also claimed that the war was driven by pressure from Israel and its lobbying influence in Washington.

In a resignation letter addressed to Donald Trump, Kent alleged that at the start of the current administration, senior Israeli officials and influential figures in U.S. media carried out a disinformation campaign that undermined the “America First” platform and fostered pro-war sentiment aimed at triggering a conflict with Iran.

Kent further stated that he could not support sending a new generation of Americans to “fight and die in a war that provides no benefit to the American people and does not justify the cost in American lives.”

Since the United States and Israel launched attacks against Iran on February 28, at least 13 U.S. service members have been killed, while 10 others have been seriously wounded and around 200 have sustained minor injuries, according to a report published by The Wall Street Journal.

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International

German president warns Iran war could spread and disrupt Strait of Hormuz

The president of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, warned Monday that the war involving Iran could expand and further disrupt shipping through the strategic Strait of Hormuz. He urged a swift end to hostilities between Iran, United States and Israel.

Speaking in Panama City during a joint appearance with Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino, Steinmeier said available information suggests Iran has significant capacity to disrupt maritime traffic through the key oil route.

“Iran has considerable potential to interfere with shipping through the Strait of Hormuz,” Steinmeier said through an interpreter. “We should therefore reach an end to the hostilities as soon as possible and call on all parties involved to make that happen.”

The remarks came during Steinmeier’s visit to Panama, the first by a German president to the Central American nation.

The German leader described the possibility of the conflict spreading as “very dangerous,” saying recent developments indicate that such a scenario cannot be ruled out.

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Over the weekend, U.S. President Donald Trump urged allied nations to help ensure safe passage for ships through the Strait of Hormuz after Iran moved to block the waterway in response to U.S. strikes. However, several allies—particularly in Europe—have shown little support for the proposal.

“Some are very enthusiastic, others are not, and some are countries we have helped for many years,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “We have protected them from terrible external threats, and they’re not that enthusiastic. And the level of enthusiasm is important to me.”

Meanwhile, Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s top diplomat, said the Strait of Hormuz falls “outside NATO’s scope” and stressed that “the war involving Iran is not Europe’s war.”