International
Biden marks Pride Month with memorial, LGBTQ envoy
AFP
Joe Biden marked Pride Month with joyful optimism and somber reflection Friday as the US president named an LGBTQ rights envoy and created a national memorial marking the deadliest tragedy to hit the country’s gay community.
“Pride is back at the White House,” Biden told a group of gay rights activists, transgender military service members and youth, and officials during a commemoration of the month that celebrates gay life in America.
He appointed advocate Jessica Stern as special envoy for LGBTQI+ rights, in a move aimed at increasing global awareness and acceptance of the diversity of sexual orientations and gender identities.
Currently the executive director of OutRight Action International — a group which advocates for the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex people around the world — Stern in her new role will be attached to the State Department.
She will play a “vital” role working with like-minded governments and civil society organizations to uphold dignity and equality for everyone, the White House said in a statement.
The LGBTQ envoy position, created under president Barack Obama, was left vacant under his successor Donald Trump.
While Biden expressed his own pride in leading what he called the most pro-LGBTQ-equality administration in US history, “our work is unfinished,” he said.
“When a same-sex couple can be married in the morning, but denied a lease in the afternoon for being gay, something’s still wrong.”
Biden was joined by Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, the first openly gay member of a presidential cabinet.
“There have been great leaps forward in this country,” Buttigieg said.
Washington, United States | AFP | Friday 6/25/2021 – 16:41 UTC-6 | 443 words
UPDATES WITH PRIDE MONTH EVENTS AT WHITE HOUSE, ADDS QUOTES
Joe Biden marked Pride Month with joyful optimism and somber reflection Friday as the US president named an LGBTQ rights envoy and created a national memorial marking the deadliest tragedy to hit the country’s gay community.
“Pride is back at the White House,” Biden told a group of gay rights activists, transgender military service members and youth, and officials during a commemoration of the month that celebrates gay life in America.
He appointed advocate Jessica Stern as special envoy for LGBTQI+ rights, in a move aimed at increasing global awareness and acceptance of the diversity of sexual orientations and gender identities.
Currently the executive director of OutRight Action International — a group which advocates for the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex people around the world — Stern in her new role will be attached to the State Department.
She will play a “vital” role working with like-minded governments and civil society organizations to uphold dignity and equality for everyone, the White House said in a statement.
The LGBTQ envoy position, created under president Barack Obama, was left vacant under his successor Donald Trump.
While Biden expressed his own pride in leading what he called the most pro-LGBTQ-equality administration in US history, “our work is unfinished,” he said.
“When a same-sex couple can be married in the morning, but denied a lease in the afternoon for being gay, something’s still wrong.”
Biden was joined by Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, the first openly gay member of a presidential cabinet.
“There have been great leaps forward in this country,” Buttigieg said.
“But there are reminders everywhere about what it looks like to move backward, not just in shocking acts of violence like the Pulse shooting that this country now rightly commemorates, but in the everyday grind of politics as rights and equality come up for debate.”
Buttigieg was referring to Orlando’s Pulse gay nightclub, scene of a horrific attack in which 49 people were murdered by a gunman who swore allegiance to the Islamic State.
Biden declaring the Pulse location “hallowed ground,” earlier Friday signed into law a measure that designates the nightclub as a national memorial.
“Just over five years ago the Pulse nightclub, a place of acceptance and joy, became a place of unspeakable pain and loss,” Biden said. “We’ll never fully recover, but we’ll remember.”
The June 12, 2016 rampage shocked the nation and the LGBTQ community in the middle of pride month.
Congress unanimously passed the Pulse memorial bill, in a rare example of bipartisanship in Washington.
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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