International
Change course or follow the same line: Uruguay elects its new president on Sunday
Change course or continue on the same path. That is the decision that Uruguayans will have to make on Sunday in elections marked by the parity that the latest polls showed.
28 days after the presidential and parliamentary elections, about 2.7 million people will go to the polls on November 24 to choose between the ruling party Álvaro Delgado and the opposition Yamandú Orsi.
From the ban to the second round to elect president in Uruguay
After none of the eleven candidates who competed in the previous instance exceeded 50% of the votes, the two most voted advanced to the second round.
This will take place between 8:00 and 19:30 local time (11:00 to 22:30 GMT) and it is expected that around 21:30 (00:30 GMT) the consultants will be able to show their first projections.
However, the latest polls presented showed a lot of parity between the candidate of the opposition Frente Amplio and the one who will represent the government coalition, made up of the ruling National Party, the Colorado Party, Cabildo Abierto, the Independent Party and the Constitutional Environmentalist Party.
Five days after Delgado and Orsi came face to face in a mandatory debate in which they presented their main proposals for the period 2025-2030, the South American country began to live the electoral ban.
In this way, the parties will not be able to carry out acts of proselytist propaganda.
An instance that only Tabaré Vázquez eluded
The second round of the Uruguayan presidential elections was held for the first time in 1999.
A plebiscite held in 1996 reformed the Constitution of the South American country and introduced changes such as the creation of primary elections and the ballot on the last Sunday of November.
This puts the two most voted candidates face to face in the presidential and parliamentary elections that are held on the last Sunday of October every five years and are held provided that neither has exceeded 50% of the votes in that instance.
Through that channel, the Colorado Party maintained the Government in the 1999 elections and did so with a historical surname.
Jorge Batlle became the fourth Batlle to be president of the South American country, after his great-grandfather Lorenzo Batlle, his great-uncle José Batlle y Ordóñez and his father, Luis Batlle Berres.
On October 31, 2004, Tabaré Vázquez went again for the Presidency and managed to get the left to win for the first time in Uruguay by obtaining 51.68% of the votes in the presidential and parliamentary elections.
That triumph of the Frente Amplio is so far the only one that got a game without the need for a second round, since it was implemented.
Five years later, José Mujica defeated Luis Alberto Lacalle Herrera in the second round and in 2014 Tabaré Vázquez joined the select group of presidents who ruled Uruguay on two occasions by beating Luis Lacalle Pou.
The current president acceded to this instance again in 2019 and on that occasion defeated the Frenteamplista Daniel Martínez.
Delgado and Orsi
Now, Delgado and Orsi will be the ones who will go hand in hand in search of access to the Presidency for the period 2025-2030.
Veterinarian by profession, the first of them will try to keep the chair currently occupied by Lacalle Pou, of whom he was his secretary of the Presidency between 2020 and 2023.
Previously, Delgado was a deputy in the period 2005-2015 and senator between that year and 2020.
For his part, the History professor Orsi will go for the Presidency after having been mayor (head of the local government) of the department (province) of Canelones between 2015 and 2020.
He also held the position of secretary general there between 2005 and 2015.
International
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.
The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.
An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.
Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.
Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.
Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.
Internacionales
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.
In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.
Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
-
International3 days agoColombia sees deadliest surge in violence since FARC peace deal
-
International4 days agoNine dead after driver runs over crowd at Vancouver Street Festival
-
Central America3 days agoGuatemala sees road blockades amid protests against lawmaker pay hikes
-
International4 days agoKing Charles III expresses deep sadness after Vancouver festival tragedy that left nine dead
-
International3 days agoSpain’s PM calls for calm and patience amid ongoing blackout
-
International3 days agoConclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
-
International3 days agoMexican activist who exposed pornography ring found dead in Veracruz
-
International3 days agoMadrid carries out 286 elevator rescues amid massive blackout
-
International1 day agoVatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
-
International1 day agoKristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
-
Internacionales2 hours agoClashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
-
International2 hours agoMan arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka