International
MIT students protest again despite reprisals from the center and Biden’s accusation
Students of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) occupied the stairs of the main building of that university this Friday and marched around the campus to reaffirm that they will continue with their protests against the war in Gaza.
The students said that “neither the reprisals of the university administration nor the reprimands” this week of President Joe Biden, who accused them of anti-Semitism, will prevent them from continuing with their demonstrations in favor of Palestine.
The MIT administration ordered the dispersion of a protest of these students on Thursday that ended in 9 detainees and this morning allowed the riot police to enter the campus to dismantle the camp that the students had established.
One of those arrested yesterday, Ruth Hanna, told Efe that they will not give in in their claims either because of Biden’s comments – in the demonstration many students wore kipá – or because of the fact that MIT is suspending and expelling students involved in the protests from their university residences.
“The students are fighting and we are not going to stop until justice is done to Palestine. We have power and we are going to continue using it,” said the student and also leader.
Hanna lamented the “police brutality” during the arrests and the eviction of the camp: “We are not afraid. This repression makes our movement bigger and stronger,” he said.
“MIT works because we make it work,” “we have the power to close it” and “if we don’t get justice, they won’t have peace,” were some of the slogans that the students shouted.
Another young trade unionist, Cecil Carey, addressed the crowd, sentenced: “We are not going to move from here. They can suspend us and make us dizzy with meetings, but it won’t work for them. You can arrest students, but you can’t stop a move.”
One of the students who is suspended, Hannah Didehbani, criticized that after “seven months of genocide,” MIT “ignores” her demands and accused the university of “collaboratating” in investigations commissioned by the Ministry of Defense of Israel.
MIT has recently received 4 million dollars from Israel due to these joint works, which really for this macro-center of education, with about 3.5 billion annual budget, is nothing more than a few “penices,” according to Didehbani.
But MIT “cares more about having freedom in academic terms” than being complicit in a genocide, Didehbani suggested, and he ended by saying: “We are not going to stop until all MIT’s relations with the Ministry of Defense of Israel are over.”
International
Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction
Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe on Monday requested that the Supreme Court restore his freedom while he appeals the historic 12-year house arrest sentence he received for bribery and procedural fraud.
Uribe, the most prominent figure of Colombia’s right wing, was convicted last week by a lower court for attempting to bribe paramilitary members into denying his ties to the violent anti-guerrilla squads.
Since Friday, the 73-year-old has been under house arrest at his residence in Rionegro, about 30 km from Medellín. The judge justified the measure by citing a risk of flight.
However, Uribe’s defense team rejected that argument and formally petitioned the court to immediately lift the detention order, claiming it lacks legal basis.
Uribe, a dominant force in Colombian politics for decades, is now the first former president in the country’s history to be convicted and placed under arrest, found guilty of witness tampering and obstruction of justice to prevent links to paramilitary groups.
He has repeatedly denounced the trial as politically motivated, blaming pressure from the leftist government currently in power.
His political party, Centro Democrático, has called for nationwide protests on August 7 in support of Uribe, who remains popular for his hardline stance against guerrilla groups.
Uribe has until August 13 to submit his written appeal. The case will then move to the Bogotá High Court, which has until October 16 to uphold, overturn, or dismiss the sentence. If the deadline passes without a decision, the case will be archived.
International
U.S. Embassy staff restricted as gunfire erupts near compound in Port-au-Prince
The poorest country in Latin America and the Caribbean is currently engulfed in a deep political crisis and a wave of violence driven by armed groups — a situation that an international security mission led by Kenya is attempting to stabilize.
Due to the worsening security conditions, the U.S. government has suspended all official movements of embassy personnel outside the compound in Port-au-Prince, the U.S. State Department announced Monday in a security alert posted on social media platform X.
“There are intense gunfights in the Tabarre neighborhood, near the U.S. Embassy,” the alert reads, urging the public to avoid the area.
Tabarre is a municipality located near Port-au-Prince International Airport, northeast of the Haitian capital.
According to a July report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, at least 3,141 people were killed in Haitibetween January 1 and June 30 of this year.
International
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
The Israeli military announced on Sunday that 136 boxes of food aid were airdropped into Gaza by the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Germany, and Belgium.
“In recent hours, six countries conducted air drops of 136 aid packages containing food for residents in the southern and northern Gaza Strip,” read the statement, which added that the operation was coordinated by COGAT, the Israeli defense body overseeing civil affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Israeli military emphasized that they will “continue working to improve the humanitarian response alongside the international community” and reiterated their stance to “refute false allegations of deliberate famine in Gaza.”
The announcement comes as UN agencies warn Gaza faces an imminent risk of famine. More than one in three residents go days without eating, and other nutrition indicators have dropped to their worst levels since the conflict began.
The agencies also noted the difficulty of “collecting reliable data in current conditions, as Gaza’s health systems —already devastated by nearly three years of conflict— are collapsing.”
Meanwhile, Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry reported on Sunday that hospitals in the enclave recorded six deaths from hunger and malnutrition on Saturday, all of them adults.
Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction
U.S. Embassy staff restricted as gunfire erupts near compound in Port-au-Prince
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
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
-
Central America5 days agoDaniel Ortega’s last historic sandinista ally detained in Managua
-
Central America5 days agoHonduras sees ongoing killings of land defenders and attacks on press, warns NGO
-
Central America5 days agoGuatemala transfers top gang leaders to maximum security prison after funeral home massacre
-
International5 days agoTrump to build $200M ballroom at the White House by 2028
-
Central America3 days agoCosta Rica faces historic vote on lifting presidential immunity for Rodrigo Chaves
-
International2 days agoIsrael says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
-
International3 days agoTrump administration blasts judge’s ruling reinstating TPS for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua
-
International3 days agoStudy finds COVID-19 vaccines prevented 2.5 million deaths worldwide
-
International2 days agoSeven inmates dead, 11 injured after violent riot in Veracruz prison
-
International22 hours agoU.S. Embassy staff restricted as gunfire erupts near compound in Port-au-Prince
-
International22 hours ago
Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction