International
Chile to reopen Easter Island for tourism for first time since pandemic
AFP
Popular Pacific Ocean tourist destination Easter Island will reopen to the world on August 1, after more than two years closed due to the pandemic, the Chilean government said on Friday.
The island, located 3,500 kilometers west of the coast of Chile, is world-famous for its “moais,” huge stone statues in human form partially buried in the earth.
“It has been agreed that the opening of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) would take place on Monday, August 1, 2022,” said a statement from the ministry of economy, development and tourism.
The original reopening date was February, but that plan did not materialize under the government of former president Sebastian Pinera.
Authorities drew up a new plan to reopen the island after leftist President Gabriel Boric took office in March.
The island’s main source of revenue was domestic and international tourism before flights to and from it were grounded on March 16, 2020, following the first reported cases of coronavirus in the country.
Easter Island currently has only one weekly flight, operated by the Latam airline. From August 1, up to three flights per week will be operated by Latam to transport tourists, the ministry said.
The Chilean government has set a precondition that the local Covid-19 vaccination rate must reach 80 percent in order for tourism to reopen. The current vaccination rate among the island’s 10,000 inhabitants is approximately 73 percent.
The medical center of its only city, Hanga Roa, does not have an intensive care unit, but is equipped with respirators. An emergency flight to the mainland takes about five-and-a-half hours.
The island has had only a handful of cases of coronavirus. No hospitalizations or deaths have resulted from the outbreak, according to local authorities.
In October, the indigenous population of Easter Island held a referendum on whether tourism to the UNESCO world heritage site should be resumed.
The result, which was non-binding, showed more than 67 percent of those who voted were against the move.
Chile has recorded 3.6 million cases and more than 57,000 deaths due to the coronavirus since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the World Health Organization.
International
White House considered dropping leaflets over Caracas to pressure Maduro
The White House recently proposed a plan to drop leaflets from U.S. military aircraft over Caracas to further pressure Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, according to sources familiar with the matter cited by The Washington Post.
The operation — which as of Saturday had not yet been authorized — considered dropping the leaflets this Sunday, the day of Maduro’s 63rd birthday. The materials were expected to highlight the $50 million reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest, a bounty the White House doubled in August on the grounds that the Venezuelan leader is involved in “narcoterrorism.”
The proposal represents an escalation in Washington’s efforts to oust Maduro, a goal Trump pursued during his first term (2017–2021) and one that remains a priority for several of his top advisers.
Since the summer, the United States has carried out a large-scale military deployment in the southern Caribbean aimed at pressuring Maduro and, according to the White House, combating drug trafficking. This operation has resulted in the destruction of roughly twenty boats allegedly carrying narcotics and the deaths of 83 people on board.
In mid-November, Trump said he had made a decision regarding a possible military action in Venezuela, further raising tensions with Caracas.
On Friday, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an advisory urging commercial flights to “exercise extreme caution” when flying over Venezuela and the southern Caribbean due to the “potentially hazardous situation” linked to increased military activity in the region.
This prompted several European and American airlines to cancel flights to the Caribbean nation.
International
Trump attacks Europe and Biden on Truth Social ahead of talks on Ukraine peace plan
In a message posted on Truth Social, the U.S. president also targeted European nations, “which continue buying oil from Russia,” as well as his predecessor, Joe Biden, whom he accused of inaction at the start of the conflict.
“I inherited a war that never should have happened, a war in which everyone is losing,” the president wrote in all caps on his social media platform.
“The Ukrainian leaders have shown zero gratitude for our efforts, and Europe keeps buying oil from Russia.”
“The United States continues to sell massive quantities of weapons to NATO for distribution to Ukraine (corrupt Joe gave everything away — free, free, free — including large sums of money!),” he added.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to meet with a Ukrainian delegation in Geneva this Sunday in hopes of advancing Trump’s plan for Ukraine.
Washington now presents Trump’s 28-point proposal as a “framework for negotiations” aimed at ending the conflict, though it is viewed with concern in both Kyiv and Brussels.
International
Tatiana Schlossberg reveals aggressive leukemia diagnosis in personal New Yorker essay
In a deeply personal essay published in The New Yorker, Tatiana Schlossberg revealed her diagnosis: acute myeloid leukemia with a rare genetic mutation known as Inversion 3, a variant that responds poorly to standard treatments.
The 35-year-old journalist explained that the disease was discovered shortly after the birth of her second daughter in May 2024, when doctors detected an extremely high white blood cell count. Schlossberg said she was in complete shock upon receiving the diagnosis, noting that she “didn’t feel sick” and had experienced a healthy pregnancy.
Her treatment since then has been intense. She has undergone chemotherapy, at least two bone marrow transplants, and is participating in clinical trials involving CAR-T therapy, an advanced form of immunotherapy. In one of these trials, her doctors told her they might be able to “keep [her] alive for a year, maybe less.”
Schlossberg reflected on her fears for her children, her husband, George Moran, and her parents, and on the emotional weight of becoming part of the Kennedy family’s long history of tragedy. She also criticized her cousin, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., for political decisions that she argues have harmed medical research that could benefit cancer patients like her.
White House considered dropping leaflets over Caracas to pressure Maduro
Trump attacks Europe and Biden on Truth Social ahead of talks on Ukraine peace plan
Tatiana Schlossberg reveals aggressive leukemia diagnosis in personal New Yorker essay
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