International

Sheinbaum forgets the migratory issue on her first visit to the northern border as president

The president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, visited the border this Saturday for the first time since she took office, where she practically forgot about people on mobility and the migratory situation in the northern region of the country.

Despite the fact that in recent days various activists, civil organizations and municipal authorities demanded significant changes in migration policies, the president did not mention a word about it and even avoided the meeting with the press.

Sheinbaum visits the border

The president was received by a large group of supporters at the Rosarito Beach Convention Center, located about 25 kilometers from the Tijuana border, where she offered a speech focused on the presentation of her welfare programs.

During her speech, President Sheinbaum limited herself to saying that, with the Fourth Transformation, “we claim Mexican workers and in particular our brothers who live on the other side of the border, who are heroes and heroines of the homeland.”

“(People) who do not abandon their families, who do not abandon our country, because that is how we Mexicans are, we love each other, we help each other, that is the strength of the people of Mexico,” he said.

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Continuity of social programs

On other issues, Sheinbaum took advantage of his visit to the border to reaffirm the continuity of the welfare programs promoted by former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

“Thanks to our senators and deputies, who are also servants of the nation and the people, all the programs will continue; the universal pension, support for young people, pension for people with disabilities,” he said.

In addition, he recalled his campaign promises, and anticipated three new welfare programs, “corresponding to the second floor of the transformation”: support for women between 60 and 64 years old, public school students up to the basic secondary level, which implies all public school students up to secondary level; and the home-to-home health care program for older adults.

In addition, he recalled his commitment to install pharmacies in each Banco del Bienestar branch from the second quarter of next year, so that “people can go there to pick up their free medicines.”

“Those are the three main programs, but we are also going to build a million homes throughout the country, in addition to bookkeeping,” he said.

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Judicial reform is not authoritarianism

Regarding judicial reform, Sheinbaum said that “on June 1st of next year we will elect the judges, magistrates and ministers of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, because now they say that we are authoritarian, but how are we going to be authoritarian, if what we want is for the people to elect the Judiciary.”

“It is the mandate of the people and the president of the Republic is to fulfill that mandate,” he insisted, amid suspensions by judges, accusations for attacking judicial independence and Sheinbaum’s argument that it is impossible to stop the application of the most recent judicial reform to elect judges

International

Iran Reports 201 Dead, 747 Injured After U.S. and Israeli Strikes

The Iranian Red Crescent Society reported Sunday night (local time) that at least 201 people were killed and 747 injured following attacks carried out by Israel and the United States against the Islamic Republic.

A spokesperson for the humanitarian organization said more than 220 rescue teams have been deployed across affected areas and that relief operations are continuing without interruption. The official highlighted the difficulty of treating the large number of wounded and the urgent need for additional resources in impacted provinces.

Out of Iran’s 31 provinces, 24 have reported damage, according to a statement carried by the Isna news agency. This marks the first overall casualty toll released by Iranian state-affiliated media since the launch of the offensive.

Among the dead are 85 schoolgirls from a school in the southern city of Minab, according to the country’s judiciary. “The number of martyrs at the Minab girls’ school has risen to 85,” the local prosecutor’s office said, as quoted by the judiciary’s website, Mizan Online.

Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian described the attack as a “savagery” that “constitutes a new black page in the record of countless crimes committed by the aggressors.”

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Meanwhile, the international community continues to monitor the situation closely amid concerns about possible further reprisals and the broader impact on Middle East stability, energy markets, and global security.

AFP noted that it was unable to independently verify the casualty figures or the circumstances surrounding the events.

International

Pope Leo XIV Urges End to ‘Spiral of Violence’ in Middle East

Pope Leo XIV on Sunday called for an end to the “spiral of violence” in the Middle East, following military strikes by the United States and Israel against Iran and subsequent retaliatory bombardments in the region.

“Faced with the possibility of a tragedy of enormous proportions, I urge the parties involved to assume their moral responsibility and stop the spiral of violence before it becomes an irreparable abyss,” the pontiff told the crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.

Speaking during the Angelus prayer, the U.S.-born pope said stability and peace cannot be achieved through threats or weapons. “Stability and peace are not built with reciprocal threats or with arms that sow destruction, suffering and death, but only through reasonable, sincere and responsible dialogue,” he declared.

The leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics also called for diplomacy to “regain its role” amid escalating tensions.

In addition, the pope urged Afghanistan and Pakistan to urgently resume dialogue after several days of clashes between the two countries.

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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.