International
Biden to tour New Orleans hurricane damage
AFP
President Joe Biden, who has made threats from climate change a priority, flies to New Orleans on Friday to tour damage from Hurricane Ida, which pounded the Gulf Coast before bringing havoc to New York.
This will be Biden’s first trip out of the Washington area since his administration became consumed by the crisis in Afghanistan, where a sudden Taliban victory prompted the hectic evacuation of the last US troops and more than 120,000 Afghans and foreign citizens.
Biden is scheduled to meet with local and state officials, tour damage on the ground and inspect Ida’s impact from a helicopter.
Keen to return to domestic issues, Biden will likely use his trip to highlight the links between increasing episodes of extreme weather and the broader global climate crisis.
On Thursday, he said Hurricane Ida and uncontrollable wild fires in the US west are “yet another reminder” of the crisis.
“It’s a matter of life and death and we need to meet it together,” he said in a speech at the White House.
Hurricane Ida, a category four storm, delivered huge floods and wind damage in the south, hitting one of the epicenters of the US oil industry, as well as pounding historic New Orleans.
Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi took hits before remnants of the storm rolled north to New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, inundating the New York City subway and flooding streets across the US financial capital.
In the New Orleans area alone, about a million people were left without power and swaths of the city remain without electricity or running water.
On Thursday, Biden told Ida’s victims “we’re all in this together. The nation is ready to help.”
He said he’d ordered the use of drones and military satellites to help survey damage and speed up “complicated and really dangerous” repair work.
He also ordered use of the critical US petroleum reserve to smooth the supply disruption caused by the hurricane at oil refineries.
“My message to the people of the Gulf Coast… (is) we are here for you,” he said.
International
Petro expresses concern over fatal shooting during mass protests in Lima
Colombian President Gustavo Petro voiced his “concern” on Thursday over recent events in Peru, following the death of a protester reportedly shot during a massive demonstration in Lima against the government and Congress.
“I must express my concern over the events in Peru. A young artist has been killed in citizens’ protests,” Petro wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
The Colombian leader also noted that in Peru, “a popularly elected president remains imprisoned without conviction,” referring to Pedro Castillo, who led the country from July 2021 to December 2022 until he was removed by Congress following a failed attempted coup.
“This is a blatant violation of the American Convention on Human Rights,” Petro stated, adding, “I hope Peru seeks social and political dialogue to legitimize its public institutions.”
On Wednesday, Peru experienced widespread protests in several cities, with the largest demonstration in Lima in recent years, driven by citizens’ concerns over corruption and public insecurity.
During the capital’s mobilization, the Ombudsman’s Office confirmed the death of Eduardo Ruiz, 32, and reported clashes that left over 100 injured, including 78 police officers and 24 protesters, as well as ten arrests.
The Attorney General’s Office, investigating Ruiz’s death “in the context of serious human rights violations,” confirmed that the protester was shot.
International
Peru’s interim president José Jerí refuses to resign after protester’s death in Lima
Peru’s interim president, José Jerí, stated Thursday that he has no intention of resigning from the post he assumed last Friday, following the removal of former president Dina Boluarte, despite growing unrest over the death of a protester during massive demonstrations in Lima on Wednesday.
“I will not resign,” Jerí declared outside the Government Palace in Lima, where he returned on foot after making a surprise visit to Congress headquarters alongside Prime Minister Ernesto Álvarez.
Earlier, after leaving the Legislative Palace, the president acknowledged that the country is going through “difficult times” and condemned what he described as “a small group attempting to impose an agenda different from the citizens’ expression of discontent.”
Jerí expressed condolences for the death of Eduardo Ruiz, a 32-year-old man who died during Wednesday’s protest against the government and Congress, amid growing anger over corruption and insecurity.
“We stand in solidarity with his family,” he said, without offering further details about the incident, which has sparked outrage among Peruvians.
The president also described the demonstrations as “a legitimate civic expression” that later turned violent due to “certain groups seeking to provoke chaos by exploiting a peaceful citizen movement.”
“In a state governed by the rule of law, the rights of both demonstrators and security forces must be protected,” Jerí emphasized, adding that “as a result of that situation, this unfortunate death occurred outside the main area where the protest was taking place.”
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.
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