International
The first shipment of food by sea to Gaza is going as planned, according to NGOs
The first shipment of humanitarian aid by sea to Gaza is going as planned and the spis to disembark on the coast of the Strip will be ready when it reaches its destination, World Central Kitchen (WCK), one of the managers of the operation, said on Thursday.
“Our departure and sailing times will fit perfectly with our arrival and construction times of this port. Everything is going as planned,” Juan Camilo Jiménez, Response Manager of World Central Kitchen (WCK), the NGO founded by Spanish chef José Andrés, told EFE.
For security reasons, no details have been given about the crossing or the time of arrival at the Strip.
This organization, together with the Spanish NGO Open Arms, have been planning for months the opening of a humanitarian corridor by sea, which was inaugurated last Tuesday with the departure from Cyprus of a ship carrying 200 tons of food, equivalent to about 500,000 meals.
Jiménez also confirmed that a second shipment is already being prepared in the Cypriot port of Larnaca, of another 400 tons, which will leave in the coming days, with the aim of alleviating the famine caused by the blockade and Israel’s attacks on Gaza in its offensives to try to destroy the Islamist group Hamas after the terrorist massacre of last October 7.
As with the Open Arms, this second boat will unload the food on the 35-meter edor that WCK collaborators are building to make up for the lack of ports on the coast of Gaza.
However, Jiménez acknowledged that since this operation was planned, he was aware that these maritime shipments should not replace other entry routes, such as the Rafah land crossing, between Egypt and Gaza, having more capacity, air supplies or more corridors by sea.
“This is one more way and at the moment there are not enough ways to meet the demand for the needs that exist,” he said.
Regarding the distribution of food on the ground, Jiménez recalled that WCK has been working in Gaza for four months, where it has prepared 35 million meals in collaboration with staff and local communities.
Thus, to avoid crowds and problems with the arrival of aid by sea, the NGO will adapt the logistics and networks it has built in recent months, he said.
Regarding the announcement last Friday by the European Commission of the opening of a maritime corridor, the head of WCK said that he does not know what are the “mechanisms” that European governments or other countries have in place, but his NGO is willing to listen and see how it can join.
At the moment, the first shipment and the one being prepared have been coordinated with Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates and Israel.
Although there is a lot of hope that this maritime corridor will serve to alleviate the serious humanitarian needs of the Strip, its government, controlled by Hamas, has criticized the initiative because the 200 tons of food it loads “does not exceed that of one or two trucks” and also “it takes days to arrive.”
Hamas, like humanitarian agencies, insist on the need to open more land routes for the distribution of aid throughout the enclave, especially in the north, where more than 700,000 citizens are at risk of famine and 27 people, mostly babies, have already died from malnutrition and dehydration.
“The efforts to help our people are weak and remain below the minimum required in the face of the humanitarian catastrophe that afflicts,” the Gaza government lamented yesterday.
Meanwhile, after more than five months of war, hunger and bombs continue to kill people in the enclave, where the death toll amounts to 31,340 dead and 73,134 injured, in addition to about 7,000 bodies trapped under the rubble, according to the Ministry of Health.
International
Ecuador declares state of emergency in five provinces to combat organized crime
The Ecuadorian government has declared a state of exception in the provinces of El Oro, Guayas, Los Ríos, Manabí, and Santa Elena for 60 days to combat organized armed groups amid escalating hostilities, according to Executive Decree 250 published on Tuesday.
The Armed Forces and National Police are jointly working to “maintain sovereignty and the integrity of the state.”
With this measure, the right to inviolability of the home has been suspended, meaning security authorities are permitted to conduct inspections, raids, and searches on properties where they believe members associated with armed groups may be hiding.
Authorities will also seize “materials or instruments” that could be used to commit crimes to neutralize threats.
In response to the criminal activity in the territory, the government will also establish an Anti-Criminal Investigation Force in the coming days aimed at reducing intentional homicides.
The national director of Crimes Against Life, Violent Deaths, Disappearances, Extortion, and Kidnapping of the National Police (Dinased), Freddy Sarzosa, noted that the main cause of criminal violence is linked to drug and arms trafficking.
International
Argentine president criticizes spanish PM amidst political row
Argentine President Javier Milei sharply criticized Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, suggesting he “has more significant issues to address,” in response to comments made by Spain’s Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, on Friday.
“The government of Pedro Sánchez has more significant issues to deal with, such as the corruption allegations against his wife, a matter that even led him to consider resignation,” stated Argentine President Javier Milei.
In this regard, the Argentine leader expressed his expectation that the judiciary would act “swiftly” in this corruption case, which he mentioned “affects the stability” of Spain and relations between the two nations.
Moreover, Milei accused Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of “endangering” the unity of Spain by “negotiating with separatists,” harming women by “allowing illegal immigration of those who threaten their physical integrity,” and damaging the middle class through “socialist policies that only bring poverty and death.”
The Argentine presidency issued these statements in response to remarks from Spain’s Minister of Transport and Mobility, Óscar Puente, who accused Milei of “substance ingestion,” which the Argentine presidency labeled as “slander and libel.”
“I saw Milei on TV and, hearing him, I couldn’t tell in what state he was in, before or after the ingestion of whatever substances, and he came out to say that and I thought, it’s impossible that he wins the elections, he’s dug his own grave, but no,” Puente declared at a colloquium on communication and social media held this Friday in Salamanca.
International
The death toll of the devastating floods in Kenya amounts to 210
The death toll from the devastating floods caused by the torrential rains that hit Kenya since mid-March amounted to 210, while about 165,500 people have been displaced, the Kenyan Ministry of the Interior reported on Friday.
The total death toll increased after 22 more deaths were confirmed in the last 24 hours, the Ministry said in a statement collected by local media.
Likewise, the injured and missing remain at 125 and 90, respectively, and a total of 196,000 have been affected by the floods throughout the country, immersed in the long rainy season, which has especially hit the center, south and west of its territory.
To respond to this crisis, the Ministry said, the Kenyan authorities have created at least 115 camps distributed in 19 of the 47 counties of Kenya, where more than 27,500 people have taken refuge.
The Government published these data after the Kenyan Minister of the Interior, Kithure Kindiki, urged on Thursday to move all Kenyans who reside in areas vulnerable to landslides or near dams and rivers.
In a message published on social network X late on Thursday, Kindiki pointed out that all neighbors in those areas are “ordered” to “leave these areas immediately” in the next 24 hours, before a “mandatory evacuation” is launched.
“The Government has adopted adequate measures to provide temporary accommodation, as well as essential food and non-food supplies to all those who will be affected by the eviction,” the minister said.
The truth is, however, that, according to the Human Rights Watch (HRW) organization, the Government of Kenya did not act in time or respond adequately to the serious floods, despite the weather predictions it had.
In a statement released on Thursday, the NGO warned that the destruction caused by the rains “has exacerbated socioeconomic vulnerabilities” by more severely hitting the poor population, rural residents, the elderly and people with disabilities.
In the same vein, a report by the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) published on Tuesday pointed out that the storms have aggravated the lack of food in Kenya to the point that about two million Kenyans need food aid.
Severe storms will last at least until next week, and the rains will continue to be intense during this month, according to the prediction of the Department of Meteorology of Kenya.
In recent years, the long rainy season, which runs from March to May and also affects other countries in East Africa, has been intensified by the El Niño weather phenomenon, a change in atmospheric dynamics caused by the increase in the temperature of the Pacific Ocean.
The west, center and south of the country – including the capital, Nairobi – have so far taken the worst part, and the overflow of a river on Monday especially hit Nakuru County, where at least 71 people died as a result of the tragedy.
Ecuador declares state of emergency in five provinces to combat organized crime
Argentine president criticizes spanish PM amidst political row
The death toll of the devastating floods in Kenya amounts to 210
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Ecuador prison riot leaves at least 43 dead
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