International
Borrell calls for a meeting of ministers in Brussels and not in Budapest in protest of Orbán’s tour
The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, decided on Monday to convene the EU foreign and defense ministers in Brussels in Brussels at the end of August, instead of the one planned in Budapest, to show the EU’s rejection of the tour of the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán through Russia, China and the United States.
“We must send a signal, even if it is symbolic,” Borrell said at a press conference, about the boycott that some EU countries are willing to carry out against the rotating presidency of the European Union that Hungary holds this semester.
However, “I reject the word ‘boycott,” said the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, given that “the meeting will be held and Hungary will participate in it” will be held wherever it is held.
But he did consider that Orbán’s interviews with Russian President Vladimir Putin; Chinese President XI Jinping and former US President and re-election candidate Donald Trump should have “consequences,” so he considered it “appropriate” that the August meeting be held in Brussels and not in Budapest.
The EU foreign ministers, who today held their last meeting in the EU capital before the August break, discussed the possibility of meeting again in Ukraine at the end of August, instead of in Budapest, but Hungary opposed it, so the proposal did not go ahead, due to the lack of unity required.
The spokesman for the Hungarian Government, Zoltan Kovac, said that Hungary faces an “aggressive and warring hysteria for its ‘peace mission’” and called the discussion about whether to oppose the informal meeting in Budapest as “childish.”
Kovac pointed out that Hungary is “prepared” to hold the meeting in its country, “but it is also willing to attend if it is held in Brussels,” as he wrote in a message on his official account on social network X.
“There is no hysteria, we are just telling the truth,” said Borrell, who assured that “the only one who is in favor of the war is Putin, who wants the participation and surrender of Ukraine as preconditions for any conversation (of peace) and any ceasefire.”
The possibility of torpedoing the Hungarian presidency, however, does not convince the Twenty-seven equally, since the Spanish Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, said that “Spain does not support boycotts within the EU,” although he will see “meeting by meeting, according to the content of the agenda,” who sends to the meetings.
Also the Luxembourg Foreign Minister, Xavier Bettel, assured that it “does not make sense” to act in this way, that they have defended Poland, the Baltic countries, Sweden and Denmark.
Beyond this issue, Borrell defended the need for EU countries to support the reconstruction of Ukraine’s electricity grid, damaged by Russian bombings, given that “Putin wants to bring darkness and cold to Ukraine.”
In this sense, the European Investment Bank, whose president, the Spanish Nadia Calviño, attended the meeting with the ministers, today announced new loans worth 450 million euros for the reconstruction of hydroelectric plants and the electricity grid damaged by the Russian bombings.
Kovac also announced that Hungary and Slovakia conveyed their disagreement over Ukraine’s decision to partially ban the passage of Russian gas through their territory, which is affecting those EU countries.
International
Trump criticizes Panama Canal fees and demands U.S. control over strategic waterway
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump criticized what he described as unfair fees imposed on American ships passing through the Panama Canal and threatened to demand that Washington take back control of the strategic waterway.
“Our Navy and commerce have been threatened in a very unjust and reckless way. The rates that Panama charges are ridiculous,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
The president-elect also denounced the growing influence of China in the canal, a situation he called concerning as U.S. businesses depend on the waterway to transport goods between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
“This complete scam against our country will end immediately,” he stated.
The Panama Canal, completed by the United States in 1914, was handed over to Panama under the 1977 treaty signed by Democratic President Jimmy Carter. Panama took full control of the commercial passage in 1999.
“It was exclusively for Panama to manage, not China or anyone else,” Trump said. “We would never allow it to fall into the wrong hands!”
“If Panama cannot guarantee a ‘safe, efficient, and reliable’ operation of the canal, we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us in its entirety, without a doubt,” the Republican added.
Panamanian authorities did not immediately respond to Trump’s statements. While he will assume office on January 20, Trump has been exerting his political influence in the final days of President Joe Biden’s administration.
Five percent of global maritime trade passes through the Panama Canal, which allows vessels traveling from Asia to the U.S. East Coast to avoid the long and dangerous route around the southern tip of South America.
The countries that use the Panama Canal the most are the United States, China, Japan, and South Korea.
In October, the Panama Canal Authority reported earnings of nearly $5 billion in the last fiscal year.
International
Putin vows retaliation following drone attack on luxury building in Kazan
Russian President Vladimir Putin promised more “destruction” in Ukraine on Sunday, in response to a drone strike that hit a residential building in the city of Kazan, located in central Russia, on Saturday.
Russia accused Ukraine of launching a “massive” drone attack, which struck a luxury apartment block in Kazan, about 1,000 kilometers from the border.
Videos shared on Russian social media show drones hitting a high-rise glass building. No casualties have been reported as a result of the attack.
In his statements, Putin addressed the local leader of Tatarstan, the region where Kazan is located, during a virtual ceremony marking the opening of a road.
The attack in Kazan is the latest in a series of increasingly frequent bombings in this nearly three-year-old conflict. Ukraine has not commented on the attack.
Putin had previously threatened to strike the center of Kyiv with a hypersonic ballistic missile in response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory.
The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the recent Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities were retaliation for Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied missiles to target Russian territory.
International
Small plane crashes in Gramado, Brazil, killing nine people
At least nine people were killed on Sunday after a small aircraft crashed in a commercial area of the tourist city of Gramado, in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, authorities confirmed.
“There are nine confirmed deaths according to Civil Defense services, and there are no survivors from the plane,” said Cléber dos Santos Lima, director of the Interior Police Department of the Civil Police of the state, in a statement to AFP.
Authorities have not yet confirmed the exact number of passengers and crew aboard the aircraft, a turbo-prop Piper Cheyenne 400. However, Civil Defense had previously stated that “preliminarily, the plane was carrying ten people.”
The plane crashed on Sunday morning “into the chimney of a building, then onto the second floor of a house, and finally fell onto a furniture store,” according to a statement from the Rio Grande do Sul Public Security Secretariat.
Trump criticizes Panama Canal fees and demands U.S. control over strategic waterway
Putin vows retaliation following drone attack on luxury building in Kazan
Small plane crashes in Gramado, Brazil, killing nine people
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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