International
Queen Elizabeth II resumes public duties after hospital stay
AFP
Queen Elizabeth II resumed public duties on Tuesday for the first time since spending a night in hospital last week, holding video calls with incoming ambassadors.
The 95-year-old monarch’s overnight hospital stay, which royal officials said was for practical reasons following “some preliminary investigations”, has raised fears over her health, given her age.
She has also been seen using a walking stick for the first time at a major public event this month.
The Queen, who is currently living at Windsor Castle, held video calls to receive new ambassadors from South Korea and Switzerland, Buckingham Palace said in a statement Tuesday.
She was shown smiling as she spoke on a screen, wearing a yellow dress and pearls.
Her last public event was a busy Windsor Castle reception for attendees of the government’s global investment summit on October 19.
Doctors subsequently ordered her to rest and she cancelled a visit to Northern Ireland later in the week.
She then went to King Edward VII’s Hospital in London for tests Wednesday and stayed overnight.
It was her first hospital stay since 2013.
The Sunday Times quoted a source close to the Queen as saying “she is knackered” after attempting to keep busy following the death of her husband Prince Philip in April.
Sources told the paper the Queen has a “constant flow of lunches and dinners with family and friends” because she does not want to eat alone.
The Sunday Telegraph reported this month that the monarch is determined to stay well for her Platinum Jubilee next year.
The paper said she had recently been advised by doctors to give up drinking her regular tipples — gin and Dubonnet before lunch, and gin and vermouth before dinner.
The head of state, who has been on the throne since 1952 and is Britain’s longest-serving monarch, is due to attend the UN climate summit next week in Glasgow.
The Sunday Times reported that she is “saving her energy” for the event. Prince Charles, Prince William and other senior royals are all due to attend as well.
International
Erin brings strong winds and storm surge despite weakening offshore
Hurricane Erin weakened to a Category 2 storm on Tuesday but continues to pose a threat to parts of the U.S. East Coast with potentially dangerous flooding, according to meteorologists.
Although the hurricane’s eye is expected to remain offshore, experts are concerned about Erin’s size, as strong winds extend hundreds of kilometers beyond the storm’s center.
In its 18:00 GMT bulletin, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) lifted tropical storm warnings for the Bahamasand Turks and Caicos Islands, but kept them in effect for parts of North Carolina.
Erin was located several hundred kilometers southeast of North Carolina and was moving northwestward.
“This means there is a risk of potentially life-threatening flooding of 60 to 120 centimeters above ground level,” said NHC Director Michael Brennan.
He also warned of the possibility of destructive waves, combined with storm surge, that could cause severe damage to beaches and coastal areas, making roads impassable.
International
Three U.S. Warships deploy near Venezuela to combat drug trafficking
Three U.S. naval vessels are moving toward the coasts of Venezuela, according to international media reports on Tuesday, after White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt confirmed that President Donald Trump is ready to combat and curb international drug trafficking.
Reports indicate that the ships will reach Venezuelan waters within the next 36 hours as part of a recent U.S. deployment aimed at countering international narcotics operations.
The announcement coincides with Leavitt’s statement that Trump is prepared to “use the full extent of his power” to halt drug flows into the United States. The naval deployment involves approximately 4,000 military personnel.
“The President has been clear and consistent. He is ready to use every element of U.S. power to prevent drugs from flooding our country and to bring those responsible to justice. The Maduro regime is not the legitimate government of Venezuela—it is a narco-terror cartel,” the spokesperson said during a press conference.
International
Cuban authorities free salvadoran convicted in 1997 hotel bombing
Salvadoran national Otto René Rodríguez Llerena was released after serving a 30-year prison sentence for his involvement in a terrorist attack at a hotel in Cuba in 1997, the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported.
During his trial, Rodríguez Llerena admitted to placing an explosive device at the Meliá Cohiba Hotel under the orders of anti-Castro exile leaders. He was arrested the following year when he returned to Havana with another load of explosives that failed to detonate.
“The Cuban government reiterates its commitment to combating terrorism, respecting human rights, and the need for the international community to hold accountable those who promote such acts,” the statement read.
He was released on August 15 and is the second Salvadoran to complete his sentence. In December of last year, another Salvadoran, Ernesto Cruz León, was released after planting bombs at tourist centers, one of which killed an Italian tourist identified as Fabio Di Celmo.
A third Salvadoran, Francisco Chávez Abarca, also received a 30-year sentence from Cuban courts in 2010 after being extradited from Venezuela through Interpol for actions against Cuba.
Rodríguez Llerena had requested conditional release in 2016, arguing that his actions had not caused any direct fatalities, but no further information was released about his situation until now.
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