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Kamala Harris, after meeting with Netanyahu: it’s time to end the war in Gaza

The vice president of the United States and future Democratic candidate, Kamala Harris, claimed after meeting with the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, that it was time to end the Gaza war with a ceasefire and hostage release agreement.

“I just told Prime Minister Netanyahu that it’s time for the agreement to be closed. So to all those who have been asking for a ceasefire and long for peace, I see and hear them. Let’s make the agreement to get a ceasefire and end the war,” Harris told the press at the end of the meeting.

Harris had previously photographed herself with Netanyahu, but appeared alone, with a message that departed slightly from the line of the president, Joe Biden, with greater empathy for the suffering of the Palestinians.

“I explained it to the prime minister, my great concern about the scale of human suffering in Gaza, including the death of too many innocent civilians,” the vice president said.

“What has happened in Gaza in the last nine months, those images of dead children and desperate people fleeing, some for the second, third or fourth time… We can’t look the other way in the face of these tragedies, we can’t afford to be insensitive to the suffering, Harris said.

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Of course, he also had words of solidarity with the Israeli hostages in the hands of Hamas, and in particular those who also have American nationality, whom he cited one by one by name.

In what seemed like an appeal to American voters, he asked to make an effort to understand that the Gaza conflict is not binary (good and bad) and that we must “understand the complexity and nuances of the history of the region,” and therefore called for “condemning anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and all kinds of hate crime.”

Harris has been openly critical of the way Israel conducts the offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has already left more than 39,000 dead, and was the first voice of the US Administration to call for an immediate ceasefire.

The meeting with Netanyahu generated high expectations because Harris has practically assured the nomination of the Democratic Party after the president, Joe Biden, resigned from running for re-election, and could give clues about the relationship he would have with Israel if he won the November elections.

Harris, who within her functions has that of presiding over the Senate, was the great absentee in the speech that Netanyahu gave on Wednesday before the United States Congress, where he defended to maintain his war against Hamas until the “final victory.”

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The vice president issued a statement to condemn the burning of an American flag and the slogans in favor of Hamas that occurred yesterday during a pro-Palestinian demonstration against Netanyahu’s presence in Washington.

Before meeting with Harris, the Israeli Prime Minister met with Biden in the Oval Office of the White House and then both leaders met with relatives of hostages who remain kidnapped by Hamas in Gaza.

Biden’s main objective is to pressure Netanyahu to close within the next few weeks an agreement with Hamas that allows a truce in Gaza and the release of the hostages.

Biden and Netanyahu have not seen each other since the US president traveled to Israel as a show of solidarity after the attack perpetrated by the Palestinian Islamist group on October 7 that left 1,200 dead and triggered the Israeli offensive on the enclave.

Despite being Israel’s largest supplier of weapons, the United States Government has been critical of Israeli bombings on densely populated areas, attacks on hospitals and restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid.

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Eight Killed in Series of Armed Attacks in Ecuador’s Manabí Province

At least eight people were killed in four separate armed attacks reported Sunday night in the cities of Manta and Montecristi, in Ecuador’s coastal province of Manabí, one of the areas hardest hit by the country’s escalating wave of criminal violence, local media reported on Monday.

The shootings occurred between 7:50 p.m. and 10:50 p.m. local time and affected several neighborhoods, as well as a family gathering, according to press reports. Police are investigating the incidents.

The first attack took place in the Los Artesanos sector of Montecristi, where a couple was shot dead in a public street.

Minutes later, in Manta’s 12 de Octubre neighborhood, a man was killed while sitting down. Police arrested a suspect at the scene and seized a 9mm magazine, authorities said.

A third incident occurred in the Bellavista area of Manta, when an armed assailant entered a home and shot a man during a family celebration. The attacker was captured by neighbors and sustained injuries.

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The deadliest attack was reported at 10:50 p.m. in the Leonidas Proaño parish of Montecristi, where gunmen opened fire from two vehicles on a group of people, leaving four dead and five wounded.

According to Jaime Salgado, acting chief of the Manta Police District, officers recovered seven 7.62mm shell casings, consistent with rifle ammunition, and 14 .40-caliber casings at the scene.

With these killings, the Manta police district, a port and tourist area on Ecuador’s Pacific coast, has recorded 51 violent deaths so far in January 2026, according to official figures.

The attacks occurred amid a state of emergency declared by the government in December due to serious internal unrest in Manabí, where military operations have been intensified this month, particularly in high-conflict zones.

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El Salvador Launches Fourth Year of Ocean Mission to Protect Marine Ecosystems

El Salvador’s Ministry of Environment has launched the fourth consecutive year of “Ocean Mission,” a permanent strategy focused on the protection, restoration, and responsible management of marine ecosystems, linking conservation efforts from inland mountain ranges to the coastline.

During an event held at the Los Cóbanos Protected Natural Area, Environment Minister Fernando López highlighted the ecological, social, and economic value of the site, which is recognized as the country’s eighth wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.

“We are in one of the most valuable natural treasures of our country, not only because of its beauty, but also due to the enormous ecological, social, and economic importance that Los Cóbanos holds for El Salvador,” López said.

The minister emphasized that this volcanic-origin ecosystem is home to coral reefs and key coastal-marine systems that serve as refuge, breeding, and feeding grounds for emblematic species such as sea turtles, cetaceans, and a wide diversity of fish.

“Protecting Los Cóbanos means protecting biodiversity, community livelihoods, the local economy, and our natural heritage,” López stated.

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He also stressed that Ocean Mission goes beyond rhetoric, focusing instead on direct action framed within the National Environmental Education Policy. “We are not here to talk about environmental education; we are here to practice it,” he said, underscoring the guiding principle of moving from paper to action.

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Convicted gang member challenges Guatemala’s anti-gang law, citing Human Rights Violations

A member of a criminal gang currently facing sentencing for the crime of extortion has filed a constitutional appeal before Guatemala’s Constitutional Court against the recently approved and enacted Anti-Gang Law.

The appeal, submitted by Dylan Smaily Archila García, argues that the new legislation violates his fundamental human rights and claims there were procedural irregularities during its approval process, according to local Guatemalan media.

Archila García filed the motion just hours after the law took effect. The new legislation, passed by Guatemala’s Congress, increases penalties for crimes linked to gang activity and authorizes the construction of a mega-prison, modeled after El Salvador’s Center for the Confinement of Terrorism (CECOT).

Local outlets reported that in his petition, Archila García contends that the approval of the law did not comply with constitutional requirements and requests that the Court issue a ruling to annul the legislation, effectively halting its enforcement.

The appeal further claims that the Anti-Gang Law infringes on due process rights, as it allegedly fails to guarantee a fair criminal trial in which defendants can prove their innocence, undermining legal certainty and judicial security.

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Through this legal action, the petitioner seeks to have the law suspended and ultimately struck down by the Constitutional Court, preventing it from being debated again in Congress.