International
Rudy Salas, a key record to recover the Democratic majority in the US Lower House.
Rudy Salas has become a key file for the Democrats to regain control of the US Lower House by competing for an agricultural district of California, Hispanic and in which his party has surpassed in recent years the Republican in the voter registry.
Salas, 47 years old and who seeks to make history as the first Hispanic elected to the country’s Congress by District 22, told EFE that he hopes to give his community a leader who fights for their true needs.
The candidate faces for the second time the Republican congressman David Valadao, who won the elections in 2022 by just 4,000 votes, in a district where about 60% of eligible voters are Latinos.
“The inhabitants of this area have many concerns that can be addressed from Congress and I will work from there to improve their situation,” Salas said in a telephone interview.
The electoral contest has drawn attention at the national level because the Latino has the possibility of obtaining a victory in this agricultural area of the San Joaquín Valley, which has been a republican bastion, dominated by the interests of the great ranchers.
However, in this district, which covers the counties of Kern, Kings and Tulare, the majority of registered voters are now Democrats (41.2%), while Republicans represent 27.3% and independents 23.1%.
Rudy Salas, the Latino who wants to leave a mark
Salas said he was prepared to reach Washington after a decade in the California Assembly, where he supported laws in favor of working people like his father, with whom he cultivated in the countryside.
He had already marked a milestone before by being the first Latino member of the Bakersfield City Council, the city where he was born and the most important in the district.
When asked about the difference between this campaign and the last one, the candidate explains that the low participation in 2022 put him at a disadvantage compared to his opponent, so in this cycle he has dedicated himself to “educating voters why this election is so important for them and their families.”
The Hispanic started this process last year, which has led him and his collaborators to knock on more than 150,000 doors, make more than a million calls and dozens of forums with the community.
70% with Latin roots
In that tour he found that the greatest concerns of the inhabitants of this district, where seven out of ten have Latin roots, focus on health, education, access to drinking water, the economy, affordable housing and immigration.
“I have heard many stories of families with mixed immigration status that have been waiting for an immigration reform for ten, twenty years or more,” says the candidate, who received the support of the Agricultural Workers’ Union (UFW).
Salas supports a path to citizenship for the long-standing undocumented and opposes the proposal for mass deportations and the expansion of migrant detention centres.
But his campaign has also focused on bringing to light the contradictory positions of Valadao, who will complete 12 years in the US Congress and is currently a member of the powerful Committee on Allocations and the Budget Committee of the House.
Key to the control of the Camera
He criticizes the Republican’s votes against the laws to reduce the cost of medicines, the Affordable Health Care, better known as Obamacare, and the Infrastructure, which had bipartisan support, among many others.
The Democrats need to turn around for the least four seats of the Lower House – currently controlled by the Republicans with 221 seats – so the Salas contest has gained relevance.
Apart from the 22nd district, California has four other tight contests where the Democratic Party has its hopes to achieve a victory and regain control of Congress.
Agreass of the responsibility he carries on his shoulders, the Latino has called on voters to help him “make a difference in people’s lives.”
International
India Approves New Dengue Vaccine as Global Cases Continue to Rise
India has approved a new dengue vaccine as health authorities seek to strengthen prevention efforts against a mosquito-borne viral disease that affects millions of people worldwide every year.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), half of the global population is currently at risk of contracting dengue, which causes between 100 million and 400 million infections annually.
Since 2021, India has recorded more than one million dengue cases, including at least 1,500 deaths.
The virus can cause high fever, severe headaches, muscle pain, nausea, skin rashes and, in rare cases, internal bleeding and death.
The vaccine, authorized by India’s Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), was developed by Japanese pharmaceutical company Takeda. The Indian Health Ministry said the vaccine is recommended in two doses for people between 4 and 60 years old.
The treatment has already been approved by health authorities in around 40 countries worldwide.
Meanwhile, Indian pharmaceutical company Panacea Biotec has begun the final phase of clinical trials for a single-dose dengue vaccine, aiming to provide another prevention option against the disease.
Brazil recently announced the suspension of the use of another single-dose dengue vaccine developed in the country after two suspected deaths were reported.
International
U.S. Sends First Humanitarian Aid Flight to Cuba Amid Ongoing Tensions Between Both Governments
The United States announced Tuesday the dispatch of a humanitarian aid flight to Cuba as part of a $100 million assistance package proposed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio in May.
The flight departed from Miami with the support of Catholic Relief Services, according to a statement from the U.S. State Department.
The administration of President Donald Trump, which has maintained restrictions on oil supplies to the island and tightened sanctions against the Cuban government, had initially announced humanitarian assistance in November following the devastating impact of Hurricane Melissa.
In February, amid rising tensions between Washington and Havana, Rubio announced an increase in aid while continuing to criticize the Cuban government.
The U.S. secretary of state accused Cuba’s communist authorities of obstructing the distribution of assistance. Washington has insisted that the aid be delivered through the Catholic Church to ensure it reaches Cuban citizens directly.
The Cuban government, meanwhile, has blamed the U.S. oil blockade for making the distribution of humanitarian assistance significantly more difficult.
The aid shipment comes as relations between the two countries remain strained, with disagreements continuing over sanctions, energy supplies and the management of humanitarian support.
International
Controversial Pesticide Law Passes in France, Sparking Ecological Concerns and Ministerial Fallout
The French Parliament on Tuesday approved a highly controversial agricultural law that allows certain farmers to use two pesticides considered harmful to bees, substances that had been banned in France but remain authorized in the European Union.
After the National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament, approved the agricultural bill in the early hours of Tuesday, the Senate gave its final approval with a vote of 214 in favor and 111 against, officially adopting the measure.
Following the decision to reintroduce the use of acetamiprid and flupyradifurone, the office of Environment Minister Monique Barbut announced that she would soon submit her resignation.
Supporters of the measure argue that French producers of sugar beets, apples and hazelnuts need access to these insecticides — banned in France since 2018 and 2019, respectively — to remain competitive with European farmers in other countries where the products are still allowed.
Opponents, including environmental groups, argue that the substances pose serious risks to bees and could also threaten human health.
“Let us be proud of the work that has been done,” said Senator Laurent Duplomb of the conservative Republicans party, one of the main supporters of the measure.
The vote came after France’s Constitutional Council, the country’s highest court, struck down a previous attempt last year to bring back acetamiprid, ruling that the measure could pose risks to human health. That decision followed a petition signed by more than two million people opposing the pesticide’s reintroduction.
The previous bill had also been promoted by Duplomb, who argued that French agriculture needed additional tools to compete in international markets.
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