International

Trial against Guillermo Lasso to begin this week in Ecuador

Photo: Agencies

May 15 |

The head of Ecuador’s National Assembly, Virgilio Saquicela, announced on Sunday that the impeachment trial against President Guillermo Lasso for alleged corruption will begin next Tuesday, according to government media.

The official highlighted that the legislative body approved the judicial process with the support of 88 deputies, although 92 votes are required to remove the president from office, the main objective of the opposition political forces.

After the call for legislative elections, the opposition showed its muscles by electing the president and the two vice presidents of the Congress with 96 and 100 votes, respectively.

Saquicela, reelected with 96 votes, ordered the general secretariat of Congress to summon the parliamentarians for the trial which will begin at 10:00 local time on Tuesday, May 16. If dismissed, Lasso would be replaced by Vice-President Alfredo Borrero.

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However, the Magna Carta empowers the ruler to dissolve the Congress, only once and in the first three years of his term, as well as to call for early general elections to complete his four-year constitutional term.

This option, called “cross death”, which President Lasso has to avoid being removed from office, for several specialists would be a boomerang for the ruler due to the disadvantageous situation in which he finds himself.

Lasso, a former right-wing banker, has been charged for alleged embezzlement in the management of the state-owned shipping company Flota Petrolera Ecuatoriana (Flopec) in relation to the international group Amazonas Tanker, which left losses of more than six million dollars.

Ecuador has been plunged into a political crisis since March, when the opposition brought the impeachment trial against the head of state, endorsed by the Constitutional Court, while Lasso accuses the opposition, including the powerful indigenous movement, which has already tried to remove him from office, for the instability.

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International

Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka

Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.

The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.

An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.

The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.

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Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.

Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.

Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.

Internacionales

Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages

May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.

In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.

While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.

Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.

International

Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.

During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.

“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.

“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”

Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.

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On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.