International

Federal judge and wife murdered by an armed group in Mexico

Uriel Villegas, a federal judge, and his wife were shot dead after being attacked by an armed group that entered their residence in the state of Colima. According to the authorities, the judge’s children and a domestic employee survived the incident that occurred on Tuesday, June 16.

Villegas dealt with cases related to organized crime, and since February he had been assigned to a federal criminal court in Colima. According to Mexican media reports, the deceased was in charge of Rubén Oseguera’s case, son of the Jalisco Nueva Generación cartel leader.

In 2018, Rubén Oseguera was sent to a prison in Oaxaca, by order of Villegas. From that prison compound, Oseguera Jr. was extradited to the United States in February.

International

Ecuador’s Noboa vows to continue “war” on criminal groups

Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa said on Sunday that his government will continue the “war” against criminal organizations and warned that he will not yield to criminal gangs operating in the South American country.

During his state-of-the-nation address before the National Assembly, Noboa stated that criminal structures “will tire first” before his administration abandons its fight against violence and drug trafficking.

The president reaffirmed his hardline security strategy amid ongoing concerns over organized crime and drug-related violence in Ecuador.

International

Iran says agreement with U.S. to end Middle East conflict is in final stages

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baqai, said Saturday that Tehran and the United States were in the “finalization phase” of a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the conflict in the Middle East.

Speaking to Iranian state television Irib, Baqai explained that Iran had initially sought to draft a memorandum consisting of 14 clauses as part of the negotiations.

“We are currently in the phase of finalizing these memorandums of understanding,” he stated.

Shortly before Baqai’s remarks became public, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there was “a possibility” that Iran could agree to a deal to end the conflict as early as Saturday.

“There is a possibility that later today, tomorrow, or within the next couple of days, we may have something to announce,” Rubio told reporters in New Delhi, adding that he hoped for “good news.”

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Despite acknowledging progress in the negotiations, the top U.S. diplomat warned that President Donald Trump could still decide to resume military strikes against Iran if talks fail to produce a final agreement.

International

WHO Warns Ebola Outbreak Is Spreading Rapidly in DR Congo

The World Health Organization on Friday raised the risk level of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from “high” to “very high,” the highest alert category used by the organization.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the outbreak is spreading rapidly across the country, particularly in the eastern provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu.

“The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is spreading rapidly,” Tedros stated during a press conference.

He explained that the WHO had previously classified the risk as high at both the national and regional levels, while maintaining a low risk assessment globally.

“We are now revising our risk assessment to classify it as very high at the national level, high at the regional level, and low at the global level,” he added.

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A WHO spokesperson told AFP that “very high” represents the organization’s highest risk category.

The outbreak has expanded across North Kivu and South Kivu, regions divided by the frontline between Congolese government forces and the armed group M23, which is reportedly backed by Rwanda and has seized large areas of territory since 2021.