International

Arce and Putin agree that joint lithium and nuclear projects in Bolivia will operate in 2025

The president of Bolivia, Luis Arce, said that he agreed with his Russian peer, Vladimir Putin, that the joint projects undertaken by both nations in Bolivia for the exploitation of lithium and the development of nuclear technology will be fully underway in 2025.

The ruler explained to the media in La Paz the agreements reached with Putin during his recent visit to Russia, where he also participated in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

According to Arce, it was agreed that the project applied by the Russian firm Uranium One, one of the three that signed an agreement with Bolivia to apply its direct lithium extraction (EDL) technology in Bolivian salt salts, “has to go into operation in the 2025 management.”

The president assured that the state-owned Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos (YLB) and Uranium One “are going to take all the precautions so that this decision can be reached” adopted “between both presidents.”

The same will happen in the case of the Center for Research and Development in Nuclear Technology (Cidtn) set up in El Alto, a neighbor of La Paz. Its operation includes three phases, the president recalled.

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The first phase was the nuclear medicine and radiotherapy center inaugurated in 2022 and the second, the irradiation center for seed improvement and pest control launched last year, he said.

“They are the two stages that are complete and we have the third stage, which is the temperature of the nuclear reactor. Undoubtedly, this is the most delicate and longest. And we have also agreed with President Vladimir Putin that this project will be completed by June 2025,” Arce said.

With this, it is expected that the entire nuclear complex will be “in full operation by the middle of next year,” he added.

Other agreements reached between Arce and Putin include Russian support for Bolivia to buy liquid hydrocarbons to ensure its domestic supply. In turn, the expansion of the South American nation’s export “commercial base” to the Russian market will be promoted with products such as coffee, pineapple, quinoa, palm heart and chocolate, among others.

Arce also pointed out that Russia showed its “total predisposition” to provide medicines to Bolivia and offered half scholarships for Bolivians who want to study in that country, with one year included so that they can learn the language.

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In addition, it was agreed with the University of St. Petersburg to send professors to teach Russian at the state language institute of Bolivia, and the recognition of the degrees achieved by Bolivian professionals in Russia will be facilitated, he said.

There is also an agreement for cooperation in sports, to improve the performance of Bolivian athletes, he added.

Arce highlighted his participation in the St. Petersburg forum, in which he presented about the so-called ‘productive community social economic model’ that he conceived together with other left-wing economists and that was launched in Bolivia in the governments of the ruling Movement to Socialism (MAS).

He assured that with his model, Bolivia is “showing the world” that it is possible to have economic development and “reduction of poverty and inequalities” in an adverse global context.

Bolivia and Russia have a marked political affinity that has even led the South American country to refrain from voting in United Nations resolutions regarding the condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

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International

Football Fan Killed in Clashes After Colombian League Match

Fans of Cúcuta Deportivo and their traditional rivals Atlético Bucaramanga clashed outside the stadium following their local league match on Tuesday, leaving one supporter dead and several others injured.

The deceased fan was stabbed, according to a senior police official in Cúcuta who confirmed the cause of death in a video statement. Local media reported that the victim was a supporter of the visiting team, Atlético Bucaramanga.

The match ended in a 2-2 draw. Authorities had banned the entry of Atlético Bucaramanga’s organized supporters into the stadium in an effort to prevent disturbances.

Despite the restrictions, violence broke out in the surrounding areas after the game. Among the injured were three police officers, an institutional source told AFP.

The incident adds to a series of recent violent episodes linked to Colombian football. The most recent occurred in December, when supporters of Atlético Nacional and Independiente Medellín clashed in the stands and on the pitch, leaving 59 people injured.

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International

Missing Spanish Sailor Rescued After 11 Days Adrift in Mediterranean

The man had departed from the port of Gandía, on Spain’s eastern coast, with the intention of reaching the southern Spanish town of Guardamar del Segura, a journey of about 150 kilometers, a spokesperson for Spain’s maritime rescue service told AFP.

Search boats and aircraft were deployed on January 17, but the operation was called off on January 22 after efforts proved unsuccessful. Alerts were then issued to vessels navigating the area in case they spotted any signs of the missing sailor.

As hopes were fading, a surveillance aircraft from the European Union’s border agency Frontex spotted the sailboat on Tuesday, along with a person signaling for help, approximately 53 nautical miles northeast of Bejaia, Algeria.

A nearby vessel, the Singapore-flagged bulk carrier Thor Confidence, carried out the rescue and is expected to bring the man to an end to his ordeal when it arrives on Thursday in the southern Spanish port city of Algeciras.

Maritime rescue services shared images on social media showing a small white sailboat drifting at sea and secured alongside the much larger ship.

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It remains unclear how the sailboat ended up hundreds of kilometers off its intended route or how the man managed to survive for so long alone in open waters.

International

Rubio Says U.S. Could Participate in Follow-Up Russia-Ukraine Talks

The United States could join a new round of talks this week aimed at ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday.

Teams from Kyiv and Moscow met last Friday and Saturday in Abu Dhabi in their first publicly acknowledged direct negotiations to discuss the peace initiative promoted by former U.S. President Donald Trump.

“They are going to hold follow-up talks again this week,” Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “There could be U.S. participation.”

However, Rubio suggested that Washington’s role may be more limited than during last week’s discussions, which included Steve Witkoff, the president’s special envoy, and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.

The secretary of state indicated that progress may have already been made on security guarantees for Ukraine, one of Kyiv’s key demands in any agreement with Moscow after nearly four years of Russian invasion.

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“There is one remaining issue that everyone is familiar with, and that is the territorial claim over Donetsk,” Rubio said, referring to the eastern Ukrainian region that Russia wants Ukraine to cede.

“I know that active efforts are underway to see whether the positions of both sides on this issue can be reconciled. It remains a bridge we have not yet crossed,” he added during the hearing.

Rubio acknowledged that the territorial question would be particularly difficult for Ukraine to resolve.