International

Borrell emphasizes that the EU can help Spain in the face of losses and damage caused by DANA

The High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, stressed on Wednesday that the community club can help Spain in the face of losses and damage caused by the damage through the civil protection mechanism and the European Solidarity Fund for natural disasters.

“Europe can help through the European Civil Protection Mechanism and the European Solidarity Fund against natural disasters, given the enormous amount of material damage and loss of human lives,” said the Spanish politician at a press conference.

“Europe can help through the European civil protection mechanism and the European Solidarity Fund against natural disasters, given the enormous amount of material damage and loss of human lives,” said the Spanish politician at the beginning of a press conference to report on the progress of the candidates for accession to the EU.

Cooperation in the field of civil protection

The European Union’s Civil Protection Mechanism aims to strengthen cooperation on civil protection between the Member States of the Community club and ten other countries, in order to provide a better response to disasters.

The EU Solidarity Fund, meanwhile, allows the Community club to provide financial assistance to a Member State affected by a serious natural disaster.

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Borrell stressed that what happened in Spain “recalls the urgency of the fight against climate change because the high temperature of the Mediterranean is one of the causes of the increase of these extreme phenomena, which are increasingly frequent and increasingly extreme.”

The head of community diplomacy wanted to express his “condolences” for those who died in the floods.

“It is a storm of unprecedented intensity in decades and with many missing people who I hope can be located alive,” said Borrell, who also referred to the “many material damages.”

Solidarity of the European Commission

The former minister expressed the solidarity of the European Commission “with those affected by this tragedy” and also his gratitude to all the emergency services: firefighters, local police, civil protection, armed forces, the National Police and the Civil Guard, who “with so much commitment and professionalism are dedicated to saving lives.”

For his part, the European Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarcic, said today that the EU is willing to “help even more” to Spain.

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At the request of the Government of Pedro Sánchez, the EU activated the Copérnicus satellite service for “an emergency mapping” of the affected areas, Lenarcic added in his profile of the social network X.

The commissioner sent his “most heartfelt condolences to the families and friends who have lost their loved ones in these devastating floods in east of Spain.”

International

Winter Storm Fern Leaves 30 Dead and Over One Million Without Power Across the U.S.

The massive winter storm Fern, bringing polar temperatures, battered large portions of the United States for a third consecutive day on Monday, leaving at least 30 people dead, more than one million households without electricity, and thousands of flights grounded.

In the Great Lakes region, residents awoke to extreme cold, with temperatures dropping below -20°C. Forecasts indicate that conditions are expected to worsen in the coming days as an Arctic air mass moves south, particularly across the northern Great Plains and other central regions, where wind chills could plunge to -45°C, temperatures capable of causing frostbite within minutes.

Across the country, heavy snowfall exceeding 30 centimeters in roughly 20 states triggered widespread power outages. According to PowerOutage.com, nearly 800,000 customers remained without electricity on Monday morning, most of them in the southern United States.

In Tennessee, where ice brought down power lines, approximately 250,000 customers were still without power. Outages also affected more than 150,000 customers in Mississippi and over 100,000 in Louisiana, as utility crews struggled to restore service amid dangerous conditions.

International

Spain approves plan to regularize up to 500,000 migrants in Historic Shift

In November 2024, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced a reform of the country’s immigration regulations aimed at regularizing 300,000 migrants per year over a three-year period, in an effort to counter population aging in a country where births have fallen by 25.6% since 2014, according to official data.

Going against the trend in much of Europe, Spain’s left-wing government has now approved an exceptional migrant regularization plan that could benefit up to 500,000 people, most of them from Latin America.

The measure will allow the regularization of around “half a million people” who have been living in Spain for at least five months, arrived before December 31, 2025, and have no criminal record, Migration Minister Elma Saiz explained on public television.

The plan, approved on Tuesday by the Council of Ministers, establishes that applications will be processed between April and June 30, enabling beneficiaries to work in any sector and anywhere in the country, Saiz said.

“Today is a historic day for our country. We are strengthening a migration model based on human rights, integration, and one that is compatible with economic growth and social cohesion,” the minister later stated at a press conference.

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The socialist government of Pedro Sánchez stands out within the European Union for its migration policy, contrasting with the tightening of immigration measures across much of the bloc amid pressure from far-right movements.

Central America

Honduras swears in conservative president Asfura after disputed election

Conservative politician Nasry Asfura assumed the presidency of Honduras on Tuesday with an agenda closely aligned with the United States, a shift that could strain the country’s relationship with China as he seeks to confront the economic and security challenges facing the poorest and most violent nation in Central America.

Asfura’s rise to power, backed by U.S. President Donald Trump, marks the end of four years of left-wing rule and secures Trump another regional ally amid the advance of conservative governments in Chile, Bolivia, Peru, and Argentina.

The 67-year-old former mayor and construction businessman was sworn in during an austere ceremony at the National Congress, following a tightly contested election marred by opposition allegations of fraud and Trump’s threat to cut U.S. aid if his preferred candidate did not prevail.

Grateful for Washington’s support, Asfura—who is of Palestinian descent—traveled to the United States to meet with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, before visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“We need to strengthen relations with our most important trading partner,” Asfura said after being declared the winner of the November 30 election by a narrow margin, following a tense vote count that lasted just over three weeks.