International
José Andrés demands from the pulpit an independent investigation of the Israeli attack
Spanish chef José Andrés claimed this Thursday from the pulpit of the National Cathedral of Washington an independent investigation into the Israeli attack that ended on April 1 with the lives of seven co-workers of his NGO, World Central Kitchen (WCK).
The chef, dressed in black, reiterated his request during an exciting speech at Washington’s National Cathedral, where hundreds of people gathered for an interreligious ceremony aimed at paying tribute to the seven aid workers killed in the Israeli attack.
“I know that we all have many unanswered questions about what happened and why. There is no excuse for these murders. The official explanation is not enough. And obviously we continue to demand an investigation into the actions of the Israeli Armed Forces against our team,” he said.
The chef had already asked after the attack for an independent investigation into the attack on the WCK convoy and has urged the United States, Australia, Canada, Poland and the United Kingdom, countries of origin of the deceased aid workers, to join this call, although Washington has already refused to do so.
“Food can never be a weapon of war, humanitarian workers can never be a target because they are the best of us,” said José Andrés, who said that “every civil life is sacred and should never be treated as collateral damage.”
Quoting the writer Elie Wiesel, José Andrés called for an end to indifference.
“The opposite of love is not hatred, it is indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it is indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it is indifference. It’s time to put an end to indifference,” he asked.
The chef began his speech by talking one to one of the seven deceased aid workers: the Palestinian Saifeddin ‘Safi’ Issam Ayad Abutaha; the British John Chapman; the American and Canadian Jacob Flickinger; the Australian Lalzawmi ‘Zomi’ Frankcom; the British James Henderson and James Kirby; and the Polish Damian Sobol.
On several occasions, but especially when he talked about Lalzawmi ‘Zomi’ Frankcom from Australia, his voice broke when he spoke and he had to hold back his tears.
He described it as “the living, throbbing and smiling heart” of everything the NGO did on the ground to distribute food in conflict zones, where no one else can reach. “She was like a sister to me,” he said moved.
José Andrés said that these losses may “seem small” compared to the almost 200 humanitarian workers who have died in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war or the more than 34,000 Palestinians who have lost their lives in the Israeli offensive and the 1,200 Israelis who died in the Hamas attack on October 7.
However, he stated that each of the seven deceased members of his team had a family, friends, a life and a story full of light.
“When a disaster happens, it’s easy to see the darkness and never the light. But the reality is this, the light will always shine. We cannot ignore the suffering after a natural disaster or in a war zone. Today we cry and suffer with the families of our seven beloved heroes and the whole family of World Central Kitchen.
Just after the words of José Andrés, the famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma played.
Among the audience was Douglas Emhoff, the husband of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, according to the White House.
The ceremony, called “Celebration of Life,” sought to mix prayers, hymns and sacred readings of the Muslim, Jewish and Christian tradition.
International
China shows at the UN its “condemnation” of Israel for the “violation of Iran’s sovereignty”
The Chinese ambassador to the United Nations, Fu Cong, showed the “condemnation” of his country against the “violation of the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of Iran” after the air attack launched by Israel against multiple targets in that country, the official newspaper Diario del Pueblo reports this Saturday.
That media echoes Fu’s speech to the UN Security Council on Friday, in which he demanded that Israel “immediately stop all its military actions.”
“China (…) opposes the expansion of conflicts, and is deeply concerned about the serious consequences that may arise from Israel’s actions. The intensification of regional tensions does not interest any of the parties involved,” said the Chinese emissary.
Beijing called on Tel Aviv and Tehran to “resolve their disputes through political and diplomatic means, and maintain peace and stability at the regional level jointly.”
In Fu’s view, the Israeli attack will have a “negative impact” on the negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program: “China has always been committed to the peaceful resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue through dialogue and consultations, and opposes the use of force, illegal unilateral sanctions and armed attacks on peaceful nuclear facilities.”
This Friday, China had already expressed its willingness to “play a constructive role” to curb the escalation of tensions and facilitate conciliation, in line with its traditional position of active neutrality in the region’s conflicts.
The Israeli attack, which according to Tehran caused dozens of deaths, including senior military commanders and at least six nuclear scientists, targeted key facilities such as the uranium enrichment plant in Natanz. Numerous civilian casualties were also reported.
Israel justified the offensive by claiming that the Iranian regime is secretly developing a program to manufacture nuclear weapons.
For his part, Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, promised a “severe response” and assured that the attack would reveal the “evil nature” of Israel.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres also expressed concern about the bombing, at a time when Iran and the US The United States is holding talks about the Iranian nuclear program.
International
Donald Trump’s government pauses its program of indiscriminate raides against migrants
The government of US President Donald Trump has decided to pause its campaign of discretionary roundings against migrants in certain areas due to its apparent concern about the growing unpopularity of these methods, according to The New York Times newspaper on Friday.
According to an email to which the newspaper has had access and the confirmation of US officials, the Executive has ordered the Immigration and Customs Control Service (ICE) to pause the beatings that affect the agricultural industry and the hospitality industry.
The spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, Tricia McLaughlin, confirmed in a statement that “the president’s instructions” will be obeyed and the portfolio will also continue to “work to get the worst illegal foreign criminals out of the streets of the United States.”
The decision points out that this campaign of discretionary arrests to try to deport large-scale immigrants is harming industries and electoral constituencies whose support Trump wants to retain for next year’s legislative elections.
The new instructions were transmitted to ICE in an email sent last Thursday asking that “all investigations/law enforcement operations be suspended in work centers in the agricultural sector (including aquaculture and meat packing plants), restaurants and hotels.”
These new guidelines come in turn after more than a week of intense protests in Los Angeles against this immigration policy and that Trump himself admitted that the raids seem to be affecting the agricultural sector, which in states like California, where beatings have intensified, depend almost exclusively on immigrant labor.
Since his return to the White House in January, Trump has implemented an aggressive policy of hard hand against immigration and as a sample of his Cabinet officials recently held a meeting with the ICE leadership to order them to carry out 3,000 arrests a day, a mandate that seems to be behind the intensification of the raids.
International
Trump says he knew “everything” about the attack on Iran and assures that the dialogue remains open
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that Washington “known everything” about the Israeli attack on Iran and that the dialogue on Tehran’s nuclear program “is not dead.”
“We knew everything and I tried to avoid Iran all this humiliation and death. I tried hard to avoid it because I would have loved to see an agreement,” Trump said in an interview with Reuters.
The US president insisted on what he wrote today about the attack on social networks, where he said he gave an ultimatum of 60 days to Tehran to reach an agreement.
“We knew practically everything. We knew enough to give Iran 60 days to reach an agreement and today it is already 61 days,” he explained in the interview, in which he said he did not know what the current situation of the Iranian nuclear program is after the attack launched by Israel, which also ended the lives of key military leaders of the Persian country.
Regarding the dialogue between the US and Iran about the nuclear program of the ayatollahs, Trump assured that “he is not dead”, that “an agreement is still possible” and also recalled that on Sunday a sixth round of dialogue is scheduled in Muscat (Oman) that they consider is now in the air.
“We have a meeting with them on Sunday. Now, I’m not sure if that meeting will take place, but we have a meeting with them on Sunday,” he said.
The United States and Iran have held five rounds of talks on the Iranian nuclear program since April, with Washington demanding that Tehran discard its capabilities both to manufacture an atomic bomb and to enrich uranium, something that the ayatollahs considered unacceptable.
Both Israel and Trump himself had warned of possible preventive attacks on the Persian country due to this refusal by Iran.
First woman elected president in the Americas, Violeta Chamorro, dead at 95
Nicaraguan exile coalition urges Costa Rica to receive U.S. deportees fleeing Ortega regime
China shows at the UN its “condemnation” of Israel for the “violation of Iran’s sovereignty”
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
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
-
International5 days agoDefense Secretary: National Guard deployment aims to preempt unrest nationwide
-
Central America5 days agoPanama begins reverse migration by sea for 109 stranded migrants
-
International4 days agoOne survivor confirmed after Air India flight crashes with 242 on board
-
International5 days agoMexico apologizes to Guatemala for police incursion after armed clash
-
International4 days agoShark attacks child in Florida
-
International5 days agoMiguel Uribe remains critical but shows progress following assassination attempt
-
International4 days agoOver 200 dead after London-Bound plane crashes in India
-
International5 days agoProposed U.S. tax threatens Mexico’s record remittance inflows
-
International4 days agoUncle Sam used in DHS poster calling for public to report immigrants
-
International3 days agoICE under fire for detaining undocumented teen from Florida foster care
-
International4 days agoAt least five others involved in attack on Miguel Uribe Turbay
-
International4 days agoHegseth dodges lawmakers’ questions on potential U.S. invasion plans for Greenland, Panama
-
International5 days agoMexico sees 13.5% increase in international tourists in April 2025
-
International2 days agoChina shows at the UN its “condemnation” of Israel for the “violation of Iran’s sovereignty”
-
International4 days agoArgentine government says Cristina Fernández sentence was fair and free of political influence
-
International5 days agoNoboa extends emergency rule—but prisons and mining hub excluded by court
-
International3 days agoIsrael warns of retaliation after iranian missiles hit civilian areas
-
International4 days agoEight Killed in Gaza as Hamas allegedly attacks Israel-Backed aid group
-
International2 days agoTrump says he knew “everything” about the attack on Iran and assures that the dialogue remains open
-
International2 days agoRight and far right leaders aspire to win the next elections in Latin America
-
International2 days agoDonald Trump’s government pauses its program of indiscriminate raides against migrants
-
International5 days agoCuban and chinese officials agree to expand cooperation amid official visit
-
International3 days agoCalifornia sues Trump over deployment of military forces in immigration arrests
-
International2 days agoMore than 2,000 protests in the US will condemn Donald Trump’s “authoritarianism” this Saturday
-
International2 days agoCriticism of ICE in Florida for arresting a minor from Honduras and taking him away from a foster family
-
Central America11 hours agoNicaraguan exile coalition urges Costa Rica to receive U.S. deportees fleeing Ortega regime
-
Central America11 hours agoFirst woman elected president in the Americas, Violeta Chamorro, dead at 95