Internacionales
Petro denounces missing more than one million projectiles and ammunition from military bases
The Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, denounced on Tuesday that two inspections made at two military bases in the country found that more than one million projectiles and ammunition are missing, including missiles, and assured that these materials may be in the hands of international arms trafficking networks or illegal armed groups.
“The only way to explain this type of missing is that there have been for a long time networks made up of people from the Military and Civil Forces dedicated to a mass trade in weapons using the legal weapons of the Colombian State,” the president said in a statement at the Casa de Nariño.
Petro explained that the inspections carried out in the Fort of Tolemaida, located in the central department of Tolima, and at the base of the 10th Brigade of the Army, in the north of the country.
In Tolemaida, according to the president, “746 calibre 81-millimeter grenades are needed; 3,712 M-26 hand grenades; 2,880 40-millimeter grenades; 1,590 60-millimeter grenades; 797 40-millimeter grenades slaboned; 8,203 7.62 caliber ammunition; 41,745 5.56 caliber ammunition; 131,577 7.62-mped-caliber ammunition and 626,614 5.56-caliber ammunition”.
While at the base of Brigade 10 they did not find “two Spike missiles; 37 Nimrod missiles (both Israeli-made); 550 RPG rockets; 22 155-millimeter grenades; 621 106-millimeter grenades; 1,077 105-millimeter grenades for howitzer grenades; 1,077 90-millimeter caliber grenades; 960 81-millimeter-caliber grenades,” and “1,218 60-millimeter grenades.”
Also missing in the tanks are “4,171 40-millimeter caliber grenades; 24 40-millimeter L70HE caliber cartridges; 1,494 40-millimeter sloon grenades; 3,694 M-26 hand grenades; 17,456 anti-tank charges; 22,293 anti-tank loads .50 TAP; 330,419 7.62 Slap caliber ammunition; 9,829 162 caliber ammunition; 761,551 5.56 ammunition; 5,992 caliber 5.56 Slap and 1,262 special caliber .38 ammunition.
“As you can see, only among 5.56 ammunition there are more than a million lost ammunition,” added the president, who was accompanied in the statement by the Minister of Defense, Iván Velásquez, and by the commander of the military forces, General Helder Giraldo Bonilla.
The president explained that the networks that allegedly stole their weapons were sold “to armed groups in Colombia” or possibly provide “foreign conflicts, the closest to Haiti.”
This is because that country is “hours away by speedboat” from the base of Brigade 10, located in the Colombian Caribbean region.
Petro also lamented that “with these same ammunition they end up injuring and killing the same members of the Military Forces” and warned that they will continue to carry out this type of inspections in other bases in the country.
“This type of gang must be dismantled,” concluded the head of state.
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.
Internacionales
U.S. to restore ambassador-level relations with Bolivia after 17 years
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau announced on Saturday that the United States will restore ambassador-level diplomatic relations with Bolivia after 17 years. The statement came during his visit to La Paz to attend the inauguration of Bolivia’s new president, Rodrigo Paz Pereira.
In a brief appearance before the media, Landau noted that in recent weeks Washington had maintained “very close relations with the president-elect.”
“And now that he is officially president, we will restore relations at the ambassador level, as it should have always been,” he said, speaking alongside President Paz.
Landau described it as “highly unusual” and “very unfortunate” that the two nations have spent years without ambassadors in each other’s capitals — Washington, D.C., and La Paz.
“Diplomacy is ultimately about communication. Without an ambassador in the other country’s capital, that becomes more difficult,” the U.S. official emphasized, expressing hopes that the appointment of new ambassadors will be announced “very soon.”
He also recalled that President Paz has expressed his interest in maintaining a strong bilateral relationship, adding that the United States “reciprocally wants to establish a good relationship with this new Bolivian government.”
For his part, President Paz thanked the U.S. delegation led by Landau for attending his inauguration and asked him to “convey a message of cordiality and friendship” to President Donald Trump and all levels of the U.S. government.
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