International
Zelensky believes that “success is possible” in US-led peace negotiations
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, believes that “success is possible” in the peace negotiations promoted by the United States after the meetings he has held on the margins of the Munich Security Conference with the team of US President Donald Trump.
“We have started working with President Trump’s team and we already feel that success is possible,” he wrote on his social networks from Munich, where last night he concluded two marathon days of interventions before European and American leaders and an intense agenda of meetings with different politicians and, above all, from the United States, such as the vice president, JD Vance, the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and the envoy for the war in Ukraine, Keith Kellog.
Zelenski indicated that the United States is now seen in the world as a force that can not only stop the war, but also help ensure the reliability of peace after a ceasefire.
In Munich, Zelenski and JD Vance agreed to work for a lasting peace while the European leaders watched the meeting from the margins and with some concern how the Old Continent was excluded from the US plans, both at the negotiating table and from the previous consultations.
Kellog said the day before in a parallel event to the Security Conference that Europe will not be able to participate directly in peace negotiations, but it can propose ideas and suggestions.
Of course, Zelenski stressed that Europe must clearly have a voice, writing that “real peace is possible” even if there will be different attempts by Putin to “deceive everyone and prolong the war.”
“We must achieve it (peace): Ukraine, the United States and Europe. This is our common security,” he emphasized.
He also said that he expects a soon visit from Kellogg to Ukraine to continue studying the situation and find ways for President Trump to adopt “firm and truly pacifying decisions.”
The head of state of Ukraine explained that the two teams are working “with great detail and care on a special agreement” between Kiev and Washington “that will definitively strengthen the United States and Ukraine,” although he did not reveal what agreement it is.
The US Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, delivered on the 12th in Kiev to Zelenski a draft of an agreement to guarantee the continuity of US aid to Kiev in exchange for access to critical rare earth minerals owned by Ukraine for an amount of 500 billion euros.
Zelenski, who also met with US senators and members of the North American country’s House of Representatives in Munich, explained last night that Kiev is not yet ready to sign this agreement.
“I have not allowed the ministers to sign the agreement because, in my opinion, it is not prepared to protect us, our interests,” he told the media in Munich, according to the Kyiv Independent newspaper.
International
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
The Israeli military announced on Sunday that 136 boxes of food aid were airdropped into Gaza by the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Germany, and Belgium.
“In recent hours, six countries conducted air drops of 136 aid packages containing food for residents in the southern and northern Gaza Strip,” read the statement, which added that the operation was coordinated by COGAT, the Israeli defense body overseeing civil affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Israeli military emphasized that they will “continue working to improve the humanitarian response alongside the international community” and reiterated their stance to “refute false allegations of deliberate famine in Gaza.”
The announcement comes as UN agencies warn Gaza faces an imminent risk of famine. More than one in three residents go days without eating, and other nutrition indicators have dropped to their worst levels since the conflict began.
The agencies also noted the difficulty of “collecting reliable data in current conditions, as Gaza’s health systems —already devastated by nearly three years of conflict— are collapsing.”
Meanwhile, Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry reported on Sunday that hospitals in the enclave recorded six deaths from hunger and malnutrition on Saturday, all of them adults.
International
Seven inmates dead, 11 injured after violent riot in Veracruz prison
Seven inmates were killed and eleven others injured in a violent riot and clash inside a penitentiary in the Mexican state of Veracruz, local authorities reported on Sunday.
The disturbance began on Saturday afternoon at the Social Reintegration Center in the port city of Tuxpan, in northern Veracruz, when inmates staged a protest over extortion and assaults allegedly carried out by members of the criminal group known as Grupo Sombra.
The protesting prisoners clashed with another group of inmates and set fires inside and outside the facility, seizing control of the prison for more than 12 hours.
During the takeover, the rioters released several videos, including one showing four prisoners —believed to be members of Grupo Sombra— accusing them of being behind the violence and extortion inside the prison.
It wasn’t until Sunday morning that elements of the Mexican Army, the National Guard, and local police forces managed to enter the prison and regain control. The state’s Public Security Secretariat confirmed that around 9:00 a.m. local time a coordinated operation restored full order and reestablished control of the facility.
Authorities also reported that the fires set by inmates were fully extinguished.
Official figures confirmed the “tragic” deaths of seven inmates and injuries to eleven people, who are now receiving medical treatment in various regional hospitals.
This is the second deadliest riot in Veracruz in the past eight years. In 2018, a violent uprising at the La Toma medium-security prison left seven people dead (six police officers and one unidentified man) and at least 22 injured (15 officers and seven inmates).
The riot follows the kidnapping and killing of retired teacher and taxi driver Irma Hernández, a case that shocked the entire country and was attributed to Grupo Sombra. Images of Hernández kneeling, surrounded by armed men in the municipality of Álamo, sparked nationwide outrage. She was murdered after refusing to pay extortion demands from the criminal organization.
Despite these incidents, Veracruz has not seen a spike in the daily homicide average. In fact, there has been a 1.6% decrease in homicides in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, according to the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System.
In 2023, the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) reported 3,094 incidents in Mexican prisons —an 18.5% increase from the previous year— resulting in 100 deaths and 892 injuries.
International
Study finds COVID-19 vaccines prevented 2.5 million deaths worldwide
COVID-19 vaccines prevented an estimated 2,533,000 deaths worldwide between 2020 and 2024, according to an international study led by Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Italy and Stanford University in the United States, published in the journal JAMA Health Forum. Researchers calculated that one death was prevented for every 5,400 doses administered.
The analysis also found that the vaccines saved 14.8 million years of life, equivalent to one year of life gained for every 900 doses given.
The study, coordinated by Professor Stefania Boccia, revealed that 82% of the lives saved were people vaccinated before becoming infected with the virus, and 57% of deaths avoided occurred during the Omicron wave. In addition, 90% of the beneficiaries were adults over 60 years old.
“This is the most comprehensive analysis to date, based on global data and fewer assumptions about the evolution of the pandemic,” explained Boccia and researcher Angelo Maria Pezzullo.
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
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Study finds COVID-19 vaccines prevented 2.5 million deaths worldwide
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