International

López Obrador promises not to act against the person who threw a bottle of water at him

The president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, promised on Monday not to act against the person who threw him a bottle of water and whom he dodged during a demonstration against judicial reform while he visited Veracruz, state of the Gulf of Mexico, on Sunday.

“Another thing that bothers them a lot is that there is no repression, for example, the one who threw the bottle yesterday, he can be calm, nothing happens, it doesn’t happen to the elderly and I also ask that we act with great respect,” said the president in his morning conference.

The ruler of Mexico referred to the incident on Sunday, when a person threw the plastic bottle at him while he inaugurated the Benito Juárez House Museum in the Port of Veracruz in the middle of a clash between workers of the Judiciary and supporters of the National Regeneration Movement (Morena).

Judicial employees, who have been unemployed since August 21 for opposing the reform of the Judiciary promulgated on September 15 to elect judges and the Supreme Court by popular vote, shouted “dictator, dictator!” To the president.

Both the demonstrators and the defenders of Morena threw plastic bottles and eggs at each other, so it is not yet clear who is responsible for throwing the object that almost hit López Obrador and the governor of Veracruz, Cuitláhuac García.

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“It doesn’t go beyond that, yesterday they threw a bottle of water at me, and I started playing baseball, it was ‘fielder’, imagine if I don’t know (dodge), if I could even have grabbed it, but it didn’t happen to adults,” the president now commented.

López Obrador asked officials to “act very prudently and not fall into any provocation” in the face of the demonstrations, which could be sharpened before the inauguration ceremony of the elected president, Claudia Sheinbaum, on October 1.

“There they are, these days more, provoking both the extremes of conservatism and the supposed radical left, but no, no, no. We have to end without massacres, without disappearing anyone, without torture, without persecuting any journalist, without censorship,” he said.

The National Association of Circuit Magistrates and District Judges (Jufed) is against the reform, which from 2025 will establish popular elections of all judges and the Supreme Court, because they argue that it would affect the judicial career and allow the intrusion of the Executive and interest groups.

“I understand that they are angry, they are upset, for this very reason they would like nothing to change, conservatism comes precisely from preserving, from maintaining the status quo, but that is no longer possible, so there they are going to pass the anger,” opined López Obrador.

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International

Security Council to Hold Emergency Meeting on Middle East Crisis

UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Saturday condemned the “military escalation in the Middle East” following attacks by the United States and Israel against Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory strikes, just hours before an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council.

“I call for the immediate cessation of hostilities and de-escalation,” Guterres said in a statement.

The Security Council is scheduled to meet on Saturday at 21:00 GMT (4:00 p.m. in New York) to address “the situation in the Middle East,” the United Nations announced.

The meeting, during which Guterres will deliver remarks, was convened at the request of France, Bahrain, Colombia, Russia and China, according to a diplomatic source.

International

Trump Floats “Friendly Takeover” of Cuba Amid Rising Tensions

U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that his administration is considering what he described as a “friendly takeover” of Cuba, as Washington continues to increase pressure on the island’s communist government.

“The Cuban government is talking to us and they have very serious problems, as you know. They have no money, they have nothing at this moment, but they are talking to us and maybe we will see a friendly takeover of Cuba,” Trump told reporters as he departed the White House for a trip to Texas.

Earlier in the week, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Cuba needed a “radical change,” shortly after Washington eased restrictions on oil exports to the island for what officials described as “humanitarian reasons,” amid a deep economic crisis.

The United States has imposed an energy blockade on Cuba since January, citing what it calls an “extraordinary threat” posed by the communist-run island, located roughly 150 kilometers (90 miles) off the coast of Florida, to U.S. national security.

International

Argentina’s Senate Reviews Milei-Backed Labor Overhaul

Argentina’s Senate on Friday began reviewing the Labor Modernization Law promoted by the administration of President Javier Milei, a proposal that would significantly reshape labor rules across the country.

The upper chamber opened its final discussion of the contentious initiative, which revises the method used to calculate severance payments — lowering the amounts owed in dismissal cases — and introduces an “hour bank” mechanism that allows overtime to be offset with paid leave rather than extra wages.

The legislation also broadens the classification of essential services, a change that would place new limits on the right to strike in designated sectors.

The bill was initially approved by the Senate on February 11 and then moved to the Chamber of Deputies, where lawmakers passed it with amendments. It has now returned to the Senate for definitive approval.

Outside the Congress building in Buenos Aires, workers, trade unions and left-wing organizations staged demonstrations beginning at midday. The gathering later thinned out amid reports of disturbances and a strong police presence. Security forces had secured the area surrounding the legislature since early morning hours.

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Union leaders contend that the reform weakens labor protections, while many business representatives back the measure but stress that sustainable formal employment will require economic expansion, improved credit conditions, greater investment and a more dynamic domestic market.