International
At least 157 dead, including children, in landslides in southern Ethiopia
At least 157 people, including children, died from landslides that occurred on Monday in southern Ethiopia, local authorities confirmed on Tuesday.
“We continue to look for the disappeared,” Habtamu Fetena, head of the Emergency Response Committee of the Gofa area, in the South Ethiopian State, where the events took place, told local media.
According to Habtamu Fetena, 157 bodies have been recovered under the mud so far, among which there are 105 men and 52 women, including an indeterminate number of minors.
The landslides occurred this Monday around 10:00 local time (07.00 GMT) after the heavy rains that occurred the night before and while members of the community were looking for possible victims of heavy rainfall.
According to the Ethiopian newspaper Addis Standard Kasahun Abayneh, a volunteer involved in the rescue work, ten living survivors who are receiving medical care have been found so far.
Families are recognizing the bodies of the disappeared, while the unclaimed bodies are being buried in the same place, Kasahun explained.
In a message disseminated on social network X, Moussa Faki Mahamat, president of the African Union Commission (AU), based precisely in Addis Ababa, lamented the accident and offered his condolences to the country.
“Our hearts and prayers are with the families of the more than 157 neighbors who tragically lost their lives in devastating landslides after the heavy rains,” in Gofa, Mahamat said.
Ethiopia and the other countries of the Horn of Africa have been severely affected in recent years by extreme weather phenomena aggravated by climate change, such as floods or droughts, which have left thousands of deaths in the region.
International
U.S. to Limit Visa Duration for Foreign Students and Journalists
The United States has announced new limits on the legal length of stay for foreign students and journalists, marking the latest tightening of immigration policies under President Donald Trump.
The changes, outlined in an administrative rule published on Thursday, are expected to take effect in September, unless Congress blocks the measure.
Under the new policy, holders of student visas will be allowed to remain in the United States for no more than four years.
Foreign journalists will be limited to 240-day stays—approximately eight months—with the possibility of applying for extensions of the same duration.
The policy imposes even stricter rules on Chinese journalists, whose visas will be capped at 90 days.
More than 100 international news organizations and press freedom groups, including Agence France-Presse (AFP), criticized the measure in an open letter, arguing that it would reduce both the quantity and quality of international coverage of events in the United States.
The Republican Party, led by President Trump, currently holds a majority in Congress and has pledged to curb both illegal immigration and certain forms of legal immigration.
Previously, the United States generally issued student visas for the full duration of an academic program, while foreign journalists could receive visas valid for up to five years.
Central America
Nicaragua Cuts Diplomatic Ties With Italy Over Red Brigades Dispute
The Nicaraguan government announced on Thursday that it is severing diplomatic relations with Italy following criticism from the Italian government over Nicaragua’s long-standing decision to shelter Alessio Casimirri, a former member of the Red Brigades convicted in Italy for the 1978 kidnapping and murder of former Prime Minister Aldo Moro.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani criticized the administration of co-presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo on Wednesday for continuing to provide refuge to Casimirri, who was sentenced in Italy to six life terms for his role in Moro’s abduction and killing.
In a statement issued Thursday, Nicaragua’s Foreign Ministry said it was ending all diplomatic relations with Italy, describing Tajani’s remarks as “unjustified, aggressive, and irresponsible.”
Tajani made the comments during a gathering of conservative leaders from Europe and Latin America held in Madrid.
“We have absolutely nothing in common with the positions of extremist governments such as Nicaragua, a country that continues to harbor dangerous Red Brigades terrorists like Alessio Casimirri,” Tajani said, according to Italian media.
The diplomatic break marks a new escalation in tensions between the two countries over the decades-old case involving Casimirri, who has lived in Nicaragua for many years despite repeated calls from Italy for his extradition.
International
U.S. Strikes Hit Areas Near Strait of Hormuz as Tensions With Iran Escalate
Several U.S. strikes targeted areas near the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, according to Iranian state media citing local authorities, as hostilities between the United States and Iran intensified.
Officials in Iran’s Hormozgan Province said the island of Qeshm was struck multiple times by what they described as U.S. missiles during the evening. The reports were carried by the Iranian news agencies Fars and Tasnim.
Iranian state television also reported that the Bandar Abbas region, located on the Iranian coast overlooking the Strait of Hormuz, was the target of what authorities described as an “enemy U.S. air attack.”
According to local officials quoted by state television, no casualties have been reported following the strikes.
The reported attacks come amid renewed military tensions between Washington and Tehran, although U.S. authorities had not immediately commented on the reported operations.
U.S. to Limit Visa Duration for Foreign Students and Journalists
Nicaragua Cuts Diplomatic Ties With Italy Over Red Brigades Dispute
U.S. Strikes Hit Areas Near Strait of Hormuz as Tensions With Iran 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
-
International3 days agoICE reverses course and moves forward with New Jersey migrant detention facility project
-
International3 days agoJudge rules Trump’s IRS lawsuit was a “bad faith” attempt to manipulate the judicial process
-
International2 days agoFrance Holds Largest Bastille Day Military Parade as Europe Highlights Strategic Defense
-
International2 days agoPresident Noboa Declares New Security Strategy as Ecuador Faces Record Violence Levels
-
International3 days agoMarco Rubio launches U.S. campaign to “dismantle” the International Criminal Court
-
International4 days agoVenezuela Earthquake Death Toll Rises to 4,490 as Rescue Efforts Continue
-
International2 days agoForeign Medical Teams Race to Prevent Health Crisis in Venezuela Earthquake Camps
-
International1 day agoLatin Music Stars Unite in Miami to Raise Aid for Victims of Venezuela’s Devastating Earthquake
-
International1 day agoTrump Administration Seeks Global Action Against “Resurgent” Left-Wing Terrorism
-
International4 hours agoU.S. Strikes Hit Areas Near Strait of Hormuz as Tensions With Iran Escalate
-
International4 hours agoEl Salvador Sends Eighth Humanitarian Flight to Earthquake-Hit Venezuela
-
International4 hours agoU.S. to Limit Visa Duration for Foreign Students and Journalists
-
Central America4 hours agoNicaragua Cuts Diplomatic Ties With Italy Over Red Brigades Dispute