International
Milei assures that the battle for freedom “is not won” and asks not to “go down”
Argentine President Javier Milei said this Thursday at the Davos Forum (Switzerland) that the battle of political leaders who fight for freedom “is not won” and that it will not end until most Western countries “embrace the ideas of freedom.”
“Our battle is not won,” Milei said in a speech before the plenary, in which he said that it will not come to an end until most Western countries “embrace the ideas of freedom,” and assured that until then they should not “go down”.
Milei participates for the second time in the World Economic Forum (WEF), which he attended in 2024 just a month after his inauguration, and recalled that, since then, he no longer feels alone because the world “has embraced Argentina” and his country has been “a global example of fiscal responsibility”, “of how to end the problem of inflation”, and of a new way of doing politics.
Also, he added, because throughout this year he has found “companions in this fight for the ideas of freedom in all corners of the planet,” among whom he has cited the “wonderful” Elon Musk, the “fierce Italian lady” Georgia Meloni, the Hungarian Viktor Orbán, the Salvadoran Nayib Bukele and the Israeli Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump, in the United States.
“Slowly an international alliance has been formed of all those nations that want to be free and that believe in the ideas of freedom,” he added.
In front of a practically full auditorium, in whose front row was sitting his sister and general secretary of the Argentine Presidency, Karina Milei, the president accused the Davos Forum, but also supranational organizations such as the European Union, of promoting the ‘woke’ ideology, which he described as “sinister and murderous”.
“No one can play innocent here. They have worshiped a sinister and murderous ideology for decades as if it were a golden calf and they have moved heaven and earth to impose it on humanity,” he said.
At the same time, he said that he assured that multilateral credit agencies “have been an extortionative arm” and many national states, and in particular the EU, “have been and are an armed arm.”
In his speech he addressed the leaders of the world, both business and politicians, to whom he assured that the political formulas of recent decades “have failed” and “are collapsing on themselves” and “the script of the last forty years has been exhausted”.
“It’s time to get out of that script and the time to be bold and encourage yourself to write your own verses, because when the ideas and texts of the present say all the same and say wrong things, being brave consists precisely in being extemporaneous, consists of going back, not being dailled,” he added.
After assuring that that is what Argentina is doing, “return to liberalism,” and trusting that this is what Trump will do in the United States, he invited all the great free nations of the world to do so, which he asked to “stop in time what, in all lights, is a path that leads to catastrophe.”
“What I am proposing is that we make the West great again,” he concluded, alluding to the slogan of the Republican president.
International
U.S. Senate Rejects Budget, Bringing Government Closer to Shutdown Amid DHS Dispute
The U.S. Senate voted on Thursday against a budget proposal in a move aimed at pressuring changes at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), following the killing of two civilians during a deployment of immigration agents in Minneapolis.
All Senate Democrats and seven Republican lawmakers voted against the bill, which requires 60 votes to advance, pushing the country closer to a partial government shutdown that would cut funding for several agencies, including the Pentagon and the Department of Health.
The rejection came as Senate leaders and the White House continue negotiations on a separate funding package for DHS that would allow reforms to the agency. Proposed measures include banning Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from wearing face coverings and requiring them to use body-worn cameras during operations.
The vote took place just hours after President Donald Trump said he was “close” to reaching an agreement with Democrats and did not believe the federal government would face another shutdown, following last year’s record stoppage.
“I don’t think the Democrats want a shutdown either, so we’ll work in a bipartisan way to avoid it. Hopefully, there will be no government shutdown. We’re working on that right now,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting at the White House.
International
Trump Says Putin Agreed to One-Week Halt in Attacks on Ukraine Amid Extreme Cold
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he secured a commitment from Russian President Vladimir Putinto halt attacks against Ukraine for one week, citing extreme weather conditions affecting the region.
“Because of the extreme cold (…) I personally asked Putin not to attack Kyiv or other cities and towns for a week. And he agreed. He was very pleasant,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting broadcast by the White House.
Trump acknowledged that several advisers had questioned the decision to make the call.
“A lot of people told me not to waste the call because they wouldn’t agree. And he accepted. And we’re very happy they did, because they don’t need missiles hitting their towns and cities,” the president said.
According to Trump, Ukrainian authorities reacted with surprise to the announcement but welcomed the possibility of a temporary ceasefire.
“It’s extraordinarily cold, record cold (…) They say they’ve never experienced cold like this,” he added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later commented on the announcement, expressing hope that the agreement would be honored.
International
Storm Kristin Kills Five in Portugal, Leaves Nearly 500,000 Without Power
Storm Kristin, which battered Portugal with heavy rain and strong winds early Wednesday, has left at least five people dead, while nearly half a million residents remained without electricity as of Thursday, according to updated figures from authorities.
The revised death toll was confirmed to AFP by a spokesperson for the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANPEC). On Wednesday, the agency had reported four fatalities.
Meanwhile, E-Redes, the country’s electricity distribution network operator, said that around 450,000 customers were still without power, particularly in central Portugal.
Emergency services responded to approximately 1,500 incidents between midnight and 8:00 a.m. local time on Wednesday, as the storm caused widespread disruptions.
The Portuguese government described Kristin as an “extreme weather event” that inflicted significant damage across several regions of the country. At the height of the storm, as many as 850,000 households and institutions lost electricity during the early hours of Wednesday.
Several municipalities ordered the closure of schools, many of which remained shut on Thursday due to ongoing adverse conditions.
Ricardo Costa, regional deputy commander of the Leiria Fire Brigade, said residents continue to seek assistance as rainfall persists.
“Even though the rain is not extremely intense, it is causing extensive damage to homes,” he noted.
In Figueira da Foz, a coastal city in central Portugal, strong winds toppled a giant Ferris wheel, underscoring the severity of the storm.
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