International
Funeral ceremonies begin in Iran for the death of President Raisí

Iran began on Tuesday the funeral ceremonies by President Ebrahim Raisí and Foreign Minister Hosein Amir Abdolahian, who died on Sunday in a helicopter accident along with seven other people, which will last for several days.
The events began in Tabriz, capital of the northwestern province of Eastern Azerbaijan, the largest city closest to the site of the accident, which occurred in the mountainous area of Varzeqan.
According to Iranian televisions, thousands of people took to the streets of Tabriz to watch the convoy that carries the coffins of eight of the nine who died in the accident pass by, in a procession that left Shohada Square (martyrs) and which was destined for the great Mosala mosque.
The streets of Tabriz were a tide of turbans, the garment worn by the clerics in the Islamic Republic, and photos of Raisí, carried by the attendees at the events.
Shops, schools and government offices in the city are closed, something that has not happened throughout the country, in the second of the five days of mourning decreed by the supreme leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei.
After the acts of Tabriz, the coffins will be transported this afternoon to the sacred city of Qom, one of the main centers of the predominant Shii Islam in the country, and tomorrow Wednesday it will arrive in Tehran.
In the Iranian capital, foreign authorities are expected to participate in what will be a non-working day throughout the country.
After the capital, an event will be held on Thursday in the city of Birjand, where Raisí was a representative in the Assembly of Experts, the body in charge of electing the supreme leader in case of a vacancy.
Finally, the deceased will be buried on the same day in the sacred city of Mashad (northwest).
The helicopter in which Raisí and his companions were traveling disappeared on Sunday when he was returning from Tabriz along with two other aircraft – which arrived at their destination without problems – in what the official IRNA agency has described as a “technical failure.”
The American ‘Bell 212’ device acquired in the 1970s was found a day later with the lifeless bodies of its occupants.
The governor of East Azerbaijan, Malik Rahmati, the leader of the Friday prayers of the city of Tabriz, Mohammad-Ali Al-Hashem, also died in the accident, in addition to two pilots of the aircraft, a flight attendant, the presidential security chief and a guard.
Khamenei approved on Monday that the first vice president, Mohamad Mojber, be appointed interim president of the country.
Iran will hold presidential elections on June 28.
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.
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