International
Thousands of Israelis protest in Jerusalem against Netanyahu and demand an agreement in Gaza
Thousands of people demonstrated in Jerusalem and other cities in Israel this Thursday against the Government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is accused of “sabotaging the hostage agreement, leaving the north and making Israel fall into the abyss,” according to the call released this afternoon by the anti-government movement Banderas Negras.
After a black, red and white banner that reads “Netanyahu endangers Israel’s security,” thousands of people crossed the streets of the city on the way to Netanyahu’s residence on Azza Street, where the protest will conclude.
“We are running out of time: there is an agreement on the table!”, says one of the slogans disseminated by the Black Flags on their digital channels during the march, which demands that Netanyahu reach a pact with Hamas that guarantees the safe return of the 120 hostages that remain in Gaza (116 of them, kidnapped in the Islamist attacks of October 7, in which about 1,200 people died).
Also in Tel Aviv, the Israeli pro-democracy movement called a demonstration in which hundreds of people went to the headquarters of the Ministry of Defense.
Tonight, the Prime Minister will meet with his Cabinet to evaluate the proposal launched last night by Hamas in view of the ceasefire and exchange of hostages agreement, in which the organization claims to have taken a more “flexible” position in order to talk with Israel about the points of the agreement in which both parties clash.
“Today, and I say it cautiously, we are closer than ever” to the agreement, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told the families of the hostages, according to information from Channel 12, the most popular Israeli television network.
Along with the protests in Jerusalem, the Black Flags called for another march in the coastal town of Caesarea (north), where the other private residence of the Likud leader is located.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz also picked up a protest against the war in Haifa, also on the northern coast, where four people were arrested after the police declared the meeting illegal.
The protesters also called for the call of early elections in the country, an option increasingly demanded among Israelis, as revealed in mid-June by a survey by the newspaper Maariv, which placed 57% of the population who want to go to the polls.
Along with the call for elections, the protesters call for the return of the thousands of Israeli evacuees to their homes, both in the south (near the border with Gaza) and in the north (next to the divide with Lebanon), where more than 60,000 people continue to live in hotels and other state-funded accommodation following the peak of hostilities with the Shiite militia Hizbulah.
The center of the protests today is the demand for a ceasefire agreement in Gaza that allows the return of the hostages who remain in the enclave. Of the 251 kidnapped on October 7, 116 captives remain there, at least 40 of them dead according to Israel – more than 70 according to Hamas – while there have been four other hostages for years, of them two dead.
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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