International
UN denounces Israeli attacks on refugee sites in southern Gaza
October 17 |
The United Nations (UN) confirmed Tuesday that the occupation army’s air force has continued to attack the south of the Gaza Strip, just where it had demanded that refugees fleeing Tel Aviv’s previous incursions move to.
The attacks, denounced by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), have taken place over the town of Khan Yunis, despite having ordered civilians to move to that part of the Palestinian enclave, where more than 600,000 people have arrived in recent days.
According to UNRWA, the most serious problem at the moment is the lack of water and warned that “people will start dying without it”.
In this regard, UNRWA points out that the last seawater desalination plant operating in Gaza has stopped operating, increasing the risk of dehydration and disease as Palestinians begin to drink water unfit for human consumption.
At the same time, the director of the World Health Organization (WHO) office for the Eastern Mediterranean, Ahmed al Mandhari, assured that UN humanitarian aid has been ready in Egypt for more than 72 hours awaiting distribution to the Gaza Strip and Israeli authorization.
According to al Mandhari, “We have repeatedly called for humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip through the Rafah border crossing from Egypt.” Gaza will become a “real catastrophe,” al Mandhari warned, as its water, electricity and fuel supplies will run out in less than 24 hours.
Meanwhile, UN World Food Program representative Abeer Etefa also called for “unimpeded access and a safe corridor for urgently needed humanitarian supplies” in Gaza.
Etefa stated that “we have heard from Egypt that the security situation does not allow convoys to move.”
International humanitarian organizations continue to stockpile essential supplies for the people of the Gaza Strip in Egypt as they wait for Egyptian authorities to authorize the opening of the Rafah crossing, the only one that allows access to the Palestinian territory and which is not controlled by Israel.
The agency’s food aid shipments are at an Egyptian location near the Gaza border and are ready to be taken there as soon as the agency receives the necessary permits, he added.
The situation in the Gaza Strip is worsening just as Israel is preparing to launch a ground offensive, for which no date has been set but which seems increasingly imminent.
In fact, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the preparation of 2,000 troops and several units with rapid deployment capability in the Middle East in case of need, the Pentagon said in a statement.
In addition, Austin approved the extension of the stay in the area of the Gerald R.Ford aircraft carrier strike group, within the sixth operations fleet of the U.S. naval forces.
International
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
The United States and Mexico have reached an agreement to comply with current water obligations affecting U.S. farmers and ranchers and for Mexico to cover its water deficit to Texas under the 1944 Water Treaty, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement.
The department уточified that the agreement applies to both the current cycle and the water deficit from the previous cycle.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump accused Mexico of failing to comply with the water-sharing treaty between the two countries, which requires the United States to deliver 1.85 billion cubic meters of water from the Colorado River, while Mexico must supply 432 million cubic meters from the Rio Grande.
Mexico is behind on its commitments. According to Washington, the country has accumulated a deficit of more than one billion cubic meters of water over the past five years.
“This violation is severely harming our beautiful crops and our livestock in Texas,” Trump wrote on Monday.
The Department of Agriculture said on Friday that Mexico had agreed to supply 250 million cubic meters of water starting next week and to work toward closing the shortfall.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, quoted in the statement, said Mexico delivered more water in a single year than it had over the previous four years combined.
Trump has said that if Mexico continues to fall short of its obligations, the United States reserves the right to impose 5% tariffs on imported Mexican products.
Mexico’s Deputy Foreign Minister for North America, Roberto Velasco, said that a severe drought in 2022 and 2023prevented the country from meeting its commitments.
International
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Several people were shot on Saturday in an attack on the campus of Brown University, in the northeastern United States, local police reported.
“Shelter in place and avoid the area until further notice,” the Providence Police Department urged in a post on X. Brown University is located in Providence, the capital of the state of Rhode Island.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that he had been briefed on the situation and that the FBI was on the scene.
At 5:52 p.m. local time (11:52 p.m. GMT), Brown University said the situation was still “ongoing” and instructed students to remain sheltered until further notice.
After initially stating that the suspect had been taken into custody, Trump later posted a second message clarifying that local police had walked back that information. “The suspect has NOT been apprehended,” the U.S. president said.
International
Colombia says it would not reject Maduro asylum request as regional tensions escalate
The Colombian government stated on Thursday that it would have no reason to reject a potential asylum request from Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro should he leave office, as regional tensions persist over the deployment of U.S. military forces in the Caribbean since August.
“In the current climate of tension, negotiations are necessary, and if the United States demands a transition or political change, that is something to be assessed. If such a transition results in him (Maduro) needing to live elsewhere or seek protection, Colombia would have no reason to deny it,” said Colombian Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio in an interview with Caracol Radio.
However, Villavicencio noted that it is unlikely Maduro would choose Colombia as a refuge. “I believe he would opt for someplace more distant and calmer,” she added.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro also commented on Venezuela’s situation on Wednesday, arguing that the country needs a “democratic revolution” rather than “inefficient repression.” His remarks followed the recent detention and passport cancellation of Cardinal Baltazar Porras at the Caracas airport.
“The Maduro government must understand that responding to external aggression requires more than military preparations; it requires a democratic revolution. A country is defended with more democracy, not more inefficient repression,” Petro wrote on X (formerly Twitter), in a rare public criticism of the Venezuelan leader.
Petro also called for a general amnesty for political opponents and reiterated his call for forming a broad transitional government to address Venezuela’s prolonged crisis.
Since September, U.S. military forces have destroyed more than 20 vessels allegedly carrying drugs in Caribbean and Pacific waters near Venezuela and Colombia, resulting in over 80 deaths.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned that attacks “inside Venezuela” will begin “soon,” while Maduro has urged Venezuelans to prepare for what he describes as an impending external aggression.
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Colombia says it would not reject Maduro asylum request as regional tensions escalate
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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