International
Haiti hospitals and telecoms hit by fuel shortage as gangs tighten grip
AFP
Hospitals and telecommunication services in Haiti have warned that services could be halted due to fuel shortages caused by the growing grip of criminal gangs on the capital Port-au-Prince.
Lives are “likely to be lost” if fuel deliveries do not reach hospitals immediately, warned the acting UN humanitarian coordinator in the country, Pierre Honnorat, in a statement released Sunday.
An association of private hospitals in Haiti, which provides more than 70 percent of emergency and hospital care to the population, said it was issuing “a cry of alarm to the government.”
“With this fuel shortage, the continuation of vital services of 40 hospitals to entire sections of the population is threatened. The poorest people may pay dearly,” said the association on Sunday.
The same concern was expressed by international NGO Medecins sans Frontieres, which has been present in Haiti for 30 years.
“If the situation continues, the trauma/burns hospital in Tabarre in Port-au-Prince, which receives an average of 155 patients per month, may have to reduce its activities and restrict its admission criteria in the coming days,” MSF said.
The gangs that control a large part of Port-au-Prince have been blocking roads leading to the oil terminals, preventing regular supply of gas stations for several months.
The situation is already causing the shutdown of mobile telecommunications services, whose antennas are powered by generators.
“More than 300 sites out of 1,500 of Digicel are affected by the fuel shortage,” said Jean-Philippe Brun, director of operations of the telephone company, which controls 75 percent of the Haitian market.
Schools and businesses were closed Monday in the Haitian capital, and the streets, usually congested by traffic, were deserted following a call for a strike by the public transport unions to protest against growing insecurity.
Since the summer, armed gangs have increased the number of kidnappings across the country.
One of the country’s most powerful gangs is demanding $17 million in ransom to free a group of missionaries and their families — 16 US citizens and one Canadian — who were kidnapped on October 16 east of Port-au-Prince.
International
Maduro accuses U.S. of aggression over Caribbean military drills
The government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro denounced on Sunday what it called a “military provocation” following the start of joint military exercises between the United States and Trinidad and Tobago off the coast of Venezuela.
Caracas reacted to the arrival of the U.S. warship USS Gravely in Trinidad and Tobago — a small Caribbean archipelago located just off Venezuela’s coast — as U.S. President Donald Trump steps up pressure on his Venezuelan counterpart.
The Venezuelan government also announced the capture of a group of alleged mercenaries it claims were linked to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
According to AFP journalists in Port of Spain, the U.S. destroyer was visible off the coast of the Trinidadian capital on Sunday morning.
In an official statement, Caracas asserted that the maneuvers “are not defensive exercises, but rather a colonial military operation aimed at turning the Caribbean into a space for lethal violence and U.S. imperial domination.”
International
Argentina’s Milei secures strong victory and calls for dialogue after election surge
Argentine President Javier Milei secured a surprising and resounding victory in Sunday’s legislative elections, vowing to push forward with his ultraliberal reform agenda during the second half of his administration.
The result brought relief to the government after weeks of intense pressure on the Argentine peso, which had forced Milei to seek financial assistance from U.S. President Donald Trump, who had reportedly made his support contingent on the outcome of the vote.
“Today we passed the turning point; today begins the construction of a great Argentina,” Milei declared in his victory speech, where he entered to rock music but adopted a more measured and conciliatory tone once at the podium.
The ruling party, La Libertad Avanza (LLA), won 40.8% of the vote, outperforming the Peronist (center-left) coalition, which garnered 31.6% across its various factions.
In third place came Provincias Unidas, a bloc promoted by provincial governors seeking to break the country’s political polarization, with 7.1% of the vote, according to preliminary data from the National Electoral Directorate, with over 90% of ballots counted.
With this outcome, the ruling coalition expanded its presence in Congress, approaching the one-third threshold needed in both chambers to uphold presidential vetoes on contested bills. However, Milei will still need to forge alliances to advance deeper structural reforms that require broader majorities.
“We will undoubtedly have the most reformist Congress in Argentina’s history,” Milei predicted from his campaign headquarters, adopting an unusually conciliatory tone as he called for dialogue with governors and other political forces.
International
Trump to Meet Qatari Leaders During Asia Stopover to Discuss Gaza Peace
U.S. President Donald Trump will meet on Saturday with the Emir and Prime Minister of Qatar during a stopover on his trip to Asia, officials reported. Qatar plays a key role in maintaining the fragile peace agreement in Gaza.
The Qatari leaders will board Air Force One at the end of the day when it lands for refueling at Al Udeid Air Base, the regional headquarters of U.S. military forces, a White House official said.
This marks Trump’s first trip to Asia since taking office in January. His agenda includes two regional summits, a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and planned encounters with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
In Qatar, the previously unannounced meeting will also include U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who recently returned from Israel after working to maintain the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
Qatar has been a key mediator in indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas since the conflict began and is one of the guarantors of the peace deal alongside the United States, Turkey, and Egypt.
This week, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss critical next steps in the agreement, including the establishment of a security force in Gaza and the future of Hamas. Meanwhile, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohamed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani has been a central negotiator since the outbreak of the war following Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Maduro accuses U.S. of aggression over Caribbean military drills
Argentina’s Milei secures strong victory and calls for dialogue after election surge
Trump to Meet Qatari Leaders During Asia Stopover to Discuss Gaza Peace
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 agoControversial $130 million donation to Pentagon sparks debate over troop pay
-
International3 days agoPentagon deploys USS Gerald R. Ford after narco-boat operation kills six
-
International5 days agoUruguay’s Orsi and Tony Blair discuss AI cooperation and child poverty policies
-
International4 days agoColombia ready to replace suspended U.S. support, President Petro asserts
-
International5 days agoColombia conducts nationwide emergency drill focused on hidroituango dam
-
International5 days agoCuba accuses U.S. of pressuring countries ahead of UN vote on embargo
-
International4 days agoCristina Fernández calls Argentina’s legislative elections “decisive” to stop Milei
-
International2 days agoTrump to Meet Qatari Leaders During Asia Stopover to Discuss Gaza Peace
-
Central America5 days agoU.S. and Panama hold joint jungle exercises to strengthen security ties
-
International4 days agoTrump announces over 3,000 arrests in major U.S. crackdown on drug cartels
-
International4 days agoPutin calls U.S.-Russia summit a “mistake” without guaranteed results
-
International16 hours agoArgentina’s Milei secures strong victory and calls for dialogue after election surge
-
International2 days agoMaduro Requests Supreme Court to Strip Opposition Leader López of Venezuelan Citizenship
-
International16 hours agoMaduro accuses U.S. of aggression over Caribbean military drills