Internacionales
Argentina enters electoral ban two days before the presidential election
October 21 |
With two days to go before the elections on Sunday, October 22, Argentina entered this Friday into an electoral ban to elect the president of the nation and legislative and provincial positions.
In this situation, campaign acts are prohibited from 08H00 (local time) (11:00 GMT) this Friday until 21H00 (local time) (00:00 GMT) on Sunday, as well as party advertising or the provision of ballots, within a radius of 80 meters around the polling stations.
The country “is very big and has, fortunately and for the joy of all Argentines, very beautiful and very hidden and difficult to access places, and we have to reach all of them”, underlined the director of Electoral Services of the Argentine Post Office, Mariana Aballay.
Argentina will elect 130 deputies, 24 national senators, in addition to 19 Mercosur parliamentarians per national district and 24 per regional district, as well as the president and vice-president of the Nation.
Likewise, general elections will be held in the provinces of Buenos Aires, Catamarca, Entre Ríos and the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, which decided not to split their elections from the national elections, as did the rest of the districts.
Polling centers will remain open between 08H00 hours (11:00 GMT) and 18H00 hours (21:00 GMT). Some 35.4 million Argentines are called to vote this Sunday for presidential candidates Sergio Massa, who represents Unión por la Patria; Javier Milei, of La Libertad Avanza and the aspirant of Juntos por el Cambio, Patricia Bullrich; Juan Schiaretti Hacemos por Nuestro País and Myriam Bregman.
Although presidential candidate Javier Milei was the only proposal of his party, he obtained 30 percent of the votes, a percentage much higher than what was estimated in the polls prior to the PASO.
Although he became the most voted individual pre-candidate and the most voted political force, the proposal of the ultra-right wing that he defends will be in charge, in case of coming to power and according to his program, of a “strong cut in public expenditure”, “lowering of taxes” and “labor flexibilization”.
Likewise, Javier Milei would accompany a financial reform with a “free and deregulated banking system together with the free competition of currencies”, while he defends the privatization of the public retirement system, of the health and education systems and of the “loss-making public companies”.
Internacionales
Juan Orlando Hernández’s family takes time to decide next steps after surprise U.S. release
Ana García, the wife of former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who was pardoned on Monday by U.S. President Donald Trump after being sentenced in 2024 to 45 years in prison on drug trafficking and firearms charges, told EFE on Wednesday that the family has not yet decided whether he will return to Honduras.
“We have not made any decision about that yet. Everything is still very recent, and as a family we are going to take the time to reflect carefully and make wise decisions thinking about the well-being of Juan Orlando, our children, and all our families,” García said at her residence in Tegucigalpa.
García wore around her neck her husband’s wedding ring, which she has kept since Hernández was held at a special police detention facility known as the ‘Cobras’ on the day of his arrest, February 15, 2022.
“We are still deciding many things. He has just been released, it has not even been 48 hours since he got out. So we are taking things calmly,” she reiterated.
She also explained that since she does not have a U.S. visa — revoked after her husband was requested for extradition following the end of his presidency in January 2022 — she has not been able to see him, but said she is “awaiting some form of communication from the United States” in order to do so.
García declined to reveal where in the United States her husband is currently located, although she stressed that she is confident she will have an opportunity to reunite with him.
Internacionales
One killed, 188 evacuated as wind-driven blaze rips through Kyushu neighborhood
One person died and 188 residents were evacuated after a massive fire swept through at least 170 buildings in a residential area on the island of Kyushu, southern Japan, authorities reported on Wednesday.
The regional government confirmed one fatality. Public broadcaster NHK reported that police, who had been searching for a missing 76-year-old man, found a body inside his home.
Footage recorded on Tuesday night showed firefighters spraying water on towering flames engulfing homes, while residents were escorted to an improvised evacuation center.
“The flames rose so high they turned the sky red. The wind was strong. I never imagined it would spread so far,” a man told NHK.
“I was shaking with fear. I had never seen a column of fire like that,” another witness said.
The fire broke out late Tuesday, with at least 170 buildings affected. According to NHK, the blaze spread rapidly, likely fueled by a lack of rainfall, dry air, and the tightly packed wooden houses characteristic of the area.
Internacionales
Indonesia’s Mount Semeru erupts, sends ash 13 km high and forces evacuations
Mount Semeru, located in eastern Java and about 310 kilometers west of the popular tourist destination of Bali, erupted at 07:13 GMT, spewing pyroclastic flows, according to Indonesia’s geological agency chief, Muhamad Wafid.
“The public is advised to refrain from any activity within an 8-kilometer radius of the crater or summit of Mount Semeru due to the risk of falling volcanic rocks,” the official said in a statement. The national disaster management agency reported that the ash column rose as high as 13 kilometers.
Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari added that at least 300 residents living near the volcano were evacuated to two temporary shelters. No casualties have been reported so far.
The geological agency also noted that seismic activity at Mount Semeru remains high.
Authorities at Bali’s Ngurah Rai Airport stated that flights are operating normally for the time being.
A previous eruption of Semeru in 2021 killed more than 50 people, damaged over 5,000 homes, and forced nearly 10,000 residents to seek refuge.
Indonesia is home to nearly 130 active volcanoes.
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