International
Venezuela opposition heavyweight calls for end to interim govt
AFP
One of Venezuela’s opposition heavyweights called Sunday for an end to the country’s interim government that was formed in 2019 to try to oust President Nicolas Maduro, two weeks after a crushing defeat in regional elections.
“The interim government should disappear completely,” said Julio Borges, speaking from exile in Colombia.
He offered his resignation as foreign policy chief under opposition leader Juan Guaido, who declared himself acting president in January 2019 with the support of dozens of other countries, forming a parallel administration.
Borges slammed the record of Guaido’s government, saying, “We must take steps to reform everything that has been called interim government… the interim government has been deformed.”
His call comes just two weeks after Maduro’s forces won a landslide victory, routing the divided opposition, which had parties on the ballot for the first time since 2017.
Borges is due to present his proposals on Tuesday before a commission made up of lawmakers who were part of the National Assembly while it was controlled by the opposition from 2016-2020.
The opposition had boycotted legislative elections in 2020 as well as a presidential vote in 2018 in which Maduro was reelected, which was not recognized by part of the international community.
“We have lost legitimacy, international support, because there have been too many contradictions, there have been too many mistakes, there have been too many scandals and that has made the world put the Venezuelan case on ice,” Borges said.
He urged the opposition to “rebuild and accumulate the strength to regain legitimacy within Venezuela and outside Venezuela,” criticizing as well the opposition’s management, especially of Venezuelan assets abroad by the “party of Guaido.”
Washington has entrusted the management of assets in the United States of the oil-rich South American country to Guaido.
“The subject of assets (outside Venezuela) is a real scandal,” Borges said, calling for “more clarity and transparency.”
Guaido did not immediately react to Borges’ statements.
International
Police investigate deaths of Rob Reiner and wife as apparent homicide
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is investigating the deaths of Hollywood actor and filmmaker Rob Reinerand his wife as an “apparent homicide,” amid a wave of tributes to the director of classics such as When Harry Met Sally.
According to U.S. media reports on Sunday, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner were found dead at their Los Angeles mansion with what appeared to be stab wounds.
Several political figures shared messages of condolence following the reported deaths of the director of A Few Good Menand his wife.
While the LAPD did not officially confirm the identities of the victims, it stated that homicide detectives were dispatched to the Reiner residence.
“At this time, no additional details are available and the investigation into an apparent homicide is ongoing,” the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement posted on social media.
LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton told reporters that no arrests have been made and that no individuals are currently being questioned as suspects.
“I’m not going to confirm whether anyone is being questioned at this moment or not. We are going to try to speak with as many family members as we can,” Hamilton said.
CNN reported that a family spokesperson confirmed the deaths of Reiner and his wife.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, former U.S. President Barack Obama, and former Vice President Kamala Harrisissued statements expressing their condolences.
International
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
The United States and Mexico have reached an agreement to comply with current water obligations affecting U.S. farmers and ranchers and for Mexico to cover its water deficit to Texas under the 1944 Water Treaty, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement.
The department уточified that the agreement applies to both the current cycle and the water deficit from the previous cycle.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump accused Mexico of failing to comply with the water-sharing treaty between the two countries, which requires the United States to deliver 1.85 billion cubic meters of water from the Colorado River, while Mexico must supply 432 million cubic meters from the Rio Grande.
Mexico is behind on its commitments. According to Washington, the country has accumulated a deficit of more than one billion cubic meters of water over the past five years.
“This violation is severely harming our beautiful crops and our livestock in Texas,” Trump wrote on Monday.
The Department of Agriculture said on Friday that Mexico had agreed to supply 250 million cubic meters of water starting next week and to work toward closing the shortfall.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, quoted in the statement, said Mexico delivered more water in a single year than it had over the previous four years combined.
Trump has said that if Mexico continues to fall short of its obligations, the United States reserves the right to impose 5% tariffs on imported Mexican products.
Mexico’s Deputy Foreign Minister for North America, Roberto Velasco, said that a severe drought in 2022 and 2023prevented the country from meeting its commitments.
International
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Several people were shot on Saturday in an attack on the campus of Brown University, in the northeastern United States, local police reported.
“Shelter in place and avoid the area until further notice,” the Providence Police Department urged in a post on X. Brown University is located in Providence, the capital of the state of Rhode Island.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that he had been briefed on the situation and that the FBI was on the scene.
At 5:52 p.m. local time (11:52 p.m. GMT), Brown University said the situation was still “ongoing” and instructed students to remain sheltered until further notice.
After initially stating that the suspect had been taken into custody, Trump later posted a second message clarifying that local police had walked back that information. “The suspect has NOT been apprehended,” the U.S. president said.
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Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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