International
Incidents in Argentina between police and state workers protesting 2,300 layoffs
A protest by Argentine state workers who were demonstrating for the dismissal of 2,305 state employees by the Government of Javier Milei ended on Monday with riots and two people arrested.
Representatives of the Association of State Workers (ATE) gathered in front of the headquarters of the National Institute of Industrial Technology, at the intersection of General Paz Avenue (the border between the capital and the province of Buenos Aires) and Constituyentes Avenue, with high circulation.
The Police of the city of Buenos Aires armed a cordon of troops with shields and helmets, which threw pepper spray at the demonstrators, many of them, with green breastplates with the ATE logo, and “liberated” the cutting of the streets, according to official sources.
“We arrested one person for assaulting police personnel and another for wielding a knife,” the Minister of Security of the government of the city of Buenos Aires, Waldo Wolff, reported in his X account.
One of the demonstrators who ended up on the floor, detained by the police, is the secretary general of ATE, Rodolfo Aguiar, who on Monday compared the dismissals of employees with the military dictatorship that the country suffered between 1976 and 1983.
“We face a systematic plan for the destruction of the State in which the newly disappeared are fired,” Aguiar told El Destape radio, where he also said that “Milei’s dismissals translate into a phenomenal loss of rights for the population.”
ATE counted about 2,305 layoffs until this Monday, but he believes that there will be many more when the casualties are counted in the interior provinces, which are in addition to the run of layoffs already made by the Executive last March.
The union leader said that it is a “shame” that this Monday the Executive has called for equal negotiations for state workers and added that for tomorrow a plenary of delegates from all over the country is convened to “define the deepening of the struggle plan.”
The Government of Milei applies a strong adjustment to public spending, which allowed it in the first five months of the year a fiscal surplus of 0.4% of GDP – from 6% of 2023 that it had inherited, in order to lower inflation that is still 276.4% per year last May -, while maintaining a security policy that imposes order on the streets.
According to the official data published by the Indec, until last May the casualties in the State were 25,218 workers compared to December 2023, when contemplating the National Public Administration and state companies and companies.
International
Study finds COVID-19 vaccines prevented 2.5 million deaths worldwide
COVID-19 vaccines prevented an estimated 2,533,000 deaths worldwide between 2020 and 2024, according to an international study led by Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Italy and Stanford University in the United States, published in the journal JAMA Health Forum. Researchers calculated that one death was prevented for every 5,400 doses administered.
The analysis also found that the vaccines saved 14.8 million years of life, equivalent to one year of life gained for every 900 doses given.
The study, coordinated by Professor Stefania Boccia, revealed that 82% of the lives saved were people vaccinated before becoming infected with the virus, and 57% of deaths avoided occurred during the Omicron wave. In addition, 90% of the beneficiaries were adults over 60 years old.
“This is the most comprehensive analysis to date, based on global data and fewer assumptions about the evolution of the pandemic,” explained Boccia and researcher Angelo Maria Pezzullo.
International
Trump administration blasts judge’s ruling reinstating TPS for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump criticized a federal judge’s ruling on Friday that reinstated Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua, stressing that the immigration program was never intended to serve as a “de facto asylum system.”
On Thursday, Judge Trina Thompson extended protections for about 7,000 Nepalese immigrants, whose TPS was set to expire on August 5. The ruling also impacts roughly 51,000 Hondurans and nearly 3,000 Nicaraguans, whose TPS protections were scheduled to end on September 8.
Immigrants covered by TPS had sued the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), alleging that the program’s termination was driven by “racial animus” and stripped them of protection from deportation.
DHS Deputy Undersecretary Tricia McLaughlin issued a statement saying the decision to end TPS was part of a mandate to “restore the integrity” of the immigration system and return the program to its original purpose.
“TPS was never conceived as a de facto asylum system; however, that is how previous administrations have used it for decades,” McLaughlin emphasized.
She also criticized Judge Thompson, calling the ruling “another example” of judges “stirring up claims of racism to distract from the facts.”
McLaughlin added that DHS would appeal the decision and take the legal battle to higher courts.
The Trump administration has also terminated TPS protections for approximately 160,000 Ukrainians, 350,000 Venezuelans, and at least half a million Haitians, among other immigrant groups.
International
Trump to build $200M ballroom at the White House by 2028
The U.S. government under President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that it will begin construction in September on a new 8,000-square-meter ballroom at the White House.
The announcement was made by Karoline Leavitt, the administration’s press secretary, during a briefing in which she explained that the expansion responds to the need for a larger venue to host “major events.”
“Other presidents have long wished for a space capable of accommodating large gatherings within the White House complex… President Trump has committed to solving this issue,” Leavitt told reporters.
The project is estimated to cost $200 million, fully funded through donations from Trump himself and other “patriots,” according to a government statement. Construction is scheduled to begin in September and is expected to be completed before Trump’s term ends in 2028.
The Clark Construction Group, a Virginia-based company known for projects such as the Capital One Arena and L’Enfant Plaza in Washington, D.C., has been selected to lead the project.
The new ballroom will be built on the East Wing of the White House, expanding the iconic residence with a space designed for state dinners, official ceremonies, and large-scale events.
Study finds COVID-19 vaccines prevented 2.5 million deaths worldwide
Trump administration blasts judge’s ruling reinstating TPS for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua
Costa Rica faces historic vote on lifting presidential immunity for Rodrigo Chaves
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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