International

Firefighters have extinguished 128 forest fires in Bolivia

Photo: @LuchoXBolivia

November 14 |

The president of Bolivia, Luis Arce, reported Monday that 4,882 firefighters and 53 military units were mobilized in the country to extinguish a total of 128 forest fires.

Authorities are working to extinguish multiple fires in the departments of La Paz, Santa Cruz and Beni, where indigenous peoples and nature reserves are located, where the fire has spread into the Amazon jungle, so that several protected areas are at risk.

“Over the weekend, thanks to the deployment of 80 forest firefighters from the Armed Forces, we controlled the fire in the Buena Vista indigenous community in the municipality of San Buenaventura, La Paz. We are still in the area following up to provide security to our indigenous population”, said the President.

The President mentioned that the Government, in collaboration with the Central de Pueblos Indígenas de La Paz, delivered more than 46 tons of humanitarian aid to the families affected by the fires.

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The Vice-Minister of Civil Defense, Juan Carlos Calvimontes, assured that the fire is under control in the community of Buena Vista, in the north of La Paz, with the balance of four houses destroyed. He also mentioned that 90 percent of the outbreaks have started in ranches aggravated by extreme drought and the El Niño phenomenon.

So far, 15 criminal proceedings have been initiated for forest fires and 438 citations have been issued for unauthorized burning.

Calvimontes noted that there are currently 3,636 hot spots, of which 2,457 are in the department of Beni, where cattle ranchers have the practice of setting fires.

International

Merengue concert turns to mourning as Jet Set collapse claims 136 lives

Dominican rescue teams will end search and recovery operations on Wednesday, April 9, 2025, at the Jet Set nightclubin Santo Domingo, where the building collapsed during a live concert.

Authorities estimate that the final 20 bodies will be recovered from the rubble today, bringing the official death toll to 136. This includes 12 additional bodies found overnight in the disaster zone, adding to the previously confirmed 124 fatalities.

Outside the collapsed nightclub, desperate relatives of the missing continue to gather, clinging to hope for news. Many also visited nearby hospitals and morgues in search of their loved ones.

A list of confirmed victims has been posted on a tent set up near the site, where the bodies are being transferred for identification.

The tragedy occurred during a performance by renowned merengue singer Rubby Pérez, who was among the deceased.

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Central America

Colombia to host fourth EU-CELAC Summit in November

The Fourth Summit between the European Union (EU) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) will take place on November 9 and 10 in Santa Marta, Colombia, according to a joint statement released Wednesday by the Colombian government and the European Council.

The summit will be co-chaired by Colombian President Gustavo Petro, in his role as pro tempore president of CELAC, and European Council President António Costa, the statement added.

The last EU-CELAC summit took place in July 2023 in Brussels, when both blocs agreed to hold these meetings every two years.

The summit brings together the 27 EU member states and the 33 CELAC countries, representing 14% of the global population, 21% of global GDP, and one-third of the members of the United Nations, the communiqué noted.

International

Russia and US to Meet in Istanbul for Diplomatic Talks on April 10

The Kremlin confirmed today a forthcoming meeting with the United States to discuss the normalization of diplomatic relations, which will take place in Istanbul.

“Our participation will be through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” said Dmitry Peskov, the presidential spokesperson, during his daily telephone press conference.

Peskov was responding to a question about who would represent Russia in the new round of negotiations, which is supposedly scheduled for April 10.

Subsequently, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the delegations will be led by the Russian ambassador to the U.S., Alexandr Darchiev, and the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, Sonata Coulter.

These are the same negotiators who met in late February in Istanbul, where the expert-level negotiation format was the same, according to the source.

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had said a few days ago that the next meeting would be held in the Turkish city, though he did not confirm a date.

Lavrov, who participated in only one of these meetings, clarified that the upcoming discussions would address the issues still dividing Moscow and Washington diplomatically, referring to the operations of both countries’ embassies.

The Kremlin asserted that Washington has not yet responded to Russia’s security concerns, preventing a ceasefire declaration on land, sea, and air.

Meanwhile, Trump expressed discontent with Russia’s recent attacks, including one last week that killed 20 people in Krivi Rig, the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

So far, Russia has rejected a cessation of hostilities and only declared a 30-day ceasefire on March 18 against attacks on energy infrastructure, which was extended by Kyiv a week later.