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.
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.
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.
International
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
The United States and Mexico have reached an agreement to comply with current water obligations affecting U.S. farmers and ranchers and for Mexico to cover its water deficit to Texas under the 1944 Water Treaty, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement.
The department уточified that the agreement applies to both the current cycle and the water deficit from the previous cycle.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump accused Mexico of failing to comply with the water-sharing treaty between the two countries, which requires the United States to deliver 1.85 billion cubic meters of water from the Colorado River, while Mexico must supply 432 million cubic meters from the Rio Grande.
Mexico is behind on its commitments. According to Washington, the country has accumulated a deficit of more than one billion cubic meters of water over the past five years.
“This violation is severely harming our beautiful crops and our livestock in Texas,” Trump wrote on Monday.
The Department of Agriculture said on Friday that Mexico had agreed to supply 250 million cubic meters of water starting next week and to work toward closing the shortfall.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, quoted in the statement, said Mexico delivered more water in a single year than it had over the previous four years combined.
Trump has said that if Mexico continues to fall short of its obligations, the United States reserves the right to impose 5% tariffs on imported Mexican products.
Mexico’s Deputy Foreign Minister for North America, Roberto Velasco, said that a severe drought in 2022 and 2023prevented the country from meeting its commitments.
International
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Several people were shot on Saturday in an attack on the campus of Brown University, in the northeastern United States, local police reported.
“Shelter in place and avoid the area until further notice,” the Providence Police Department urged in a post on X. Brown University is located in Providence, the capital of the state of Rhode Island.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that he had been briefed on the situation and that the FBI was on the scene.
At 5:52 p.m. local time (11:52 p.m. GMT), Brown University said the situation was still “ongoing” and instructed students to remain sheltered until further notice.
After initially stating that the suspect had been taken into custody, Trump later posted a second message clarifying that local police had walked back that information. “The suspect has NOT been apprehended,” the U.S. president said.
International
Colombia says it would not reject Maduro asylum request as regional tensions escalate
The Colombian government stated on Thursday that it would have no reason to reject a potential asylum request from Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro should he leave office, as regional tensions persist over the deployment of U.S. military forces in the Caribbean since August.
“In the current climate of tension, negotiations are necessary, and if the United States demands a transition or political change, that is something to be assessed. If such a transition results in him (Maduro) needing to live elsewhere or seek protection, Colombia would have no reason to deny it,” said Colombian Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio in an interview with Caracol Radio.
However, Villavicencio noted that it is unlikely Maduro would choose Colombia as a refuge. “I believe he would opt for someplace more distant and calmer,” she added.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro also commented on Venezuela’s situation on Wednesday, arguing that the country needs a “democratic revolution” rather than “inefficient repression.” His remarks followed the recent detention and passport cancellation of Cardinal Baltazar Porras at the Caracas airport.
“The Maduro government must understand that responding to external aggression requires more than military preparations; it requires a democratic revolution. A country is defended with more democracy, not more inefficient repression,” Petro wrote on X (formerly Twitter), in a rare public criticism of the Venezuelan leader.
Petro also called for a general amnesty for political opponents and reiterated his call for forming a broad transitional government to address Venezuela’s prolonged crisis.
Since September, U.S. military forces have destroyed more than 20 vessels allegedly carrying drugs in Caribbean and Pacific waters near Venezuela and Colombia, resulting in over 80 deaths.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned that attacks “inside Venezuela” will begin “soon,” while Maduro has urged Venezuelans to prepare for what he describes as an impending external aggression.
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Colombia says it would not reject Maduro asylum request as regional tensions escalate
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
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