International

Brazilian President relaunches Brazil Without Hunger plan

Photo: EFE

September 1|

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva relaunched Thursday the Brazil Without Hunger Plan, a social program that includes 80 actions and more than a hundred goals with the main objective of taking the country back off the United Nations (UN) hunger map and reducing poverty rates.

“The problem is that income is not distributed equally. Some eat ten times a day and others do not eat for ten days. We need to correct that. That is why I am obsessed with fighting hunger”, declared Lula at an event to present the plan in Teresina, capital of the state of Piauí, accompanied by several of his ministers.

He also recalled that the South American country had left the hunger map in 2014, but the abandonment of public policies in the future made it return a few years later.

For his part, the Minister of Development and Social Assistance, Family and Fight against Hunger, Wellington Días, informed local media that the goal of leaving the hunger map must be met in 2026 and to achieve it, the country must have a rate of less than 2.5 percent of the population with chronic shortage of access to food in a period of three years.

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According to official estimates of the global report on the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, published by five specialized UN agencies, 32.8 percent of the population of the South American country is included in the categories of severe or moderate food insecurity, equivalent to 70.3 million Brazilians.

This program is based on three fundamental axes that include actions to guarantee access to income; the promotion of quality food throughout the chain, from production to consumption, with a specific section to mitigate the effects of climate change; and the mobilization of all social sectors.

International

Paraguay summons Brazilian ambassador over Itaipú espionage scandal

Paraguay summoned the Brazilian ambassador in Asunción on Tuesday to demand “explanations” and called its own representative in Brasília for consultations following Brazil’s acknowledgment of an espionage operation. The Brazilian government, led by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, attributed the operation to the previous administration.

The surveillance effort aimed to uncover Paraguay’s position in now-suspended negotiations with Brazil regarding the pricing of electricity from the binational Itaipú hydroelectric plant, according to reports in the Brazilian press.

The Brazilian government “categorically denied any involvement in the intelligence operation,” stating in a Foreign Ministry communiqué on Monday that the espionage was carried out under former President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration (2019-2023).

“The operation was authorized by the previous government in June 2022 and was annulled by the interim director of the (state intelligence agency) ABIN on March 27, 2023, as soon as the current administration became aware of it,” Brazil’s government asserted.

Paraguay’s Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez announced that Brazilian Ambassador José Antonio Marcondes de Carvalho was summoned “to provide detailed explanations” regarding the operation. Additionally, Paraguay recalled its diplomatic representative in Brasília “to report on aspects related to the intelligence activity conducted by Brazil regarding Paraguay’s government affairs.”

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International

Elon Musk to step down as government advisor, per Trump insiders

President Donald Trump has informed his inner circle that Elon Musk will be stepping down from his role as a government advisor, according to a report by Politico today.

Citing three individuals close to Trump, Politico states that the president is pleased with Musk’s leadership at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), where he has implemented significant budget cuts. However, both have agreed that it is time for Musk to return to his businesses and support Trump from a different position outside the government.

A senior administration official told Politico that Musk will likely maintain an informal advisory role and continue to be an occasional visitor to the White House. Another source warned that anyone thinking Musk will completely disappear from Trump’s circle is “deluding themselves.”

According to the sources, this transition is expected to coincide with the end of Musk’s tenure as a “special government employee,” a temporary status that exempts him from certain ethics and conflict-of-interest regulations. This 130-day period is set to expire in late May or early June.

International

Milei vows to make Argentina so strong that Falkland Islanders “choose” to join

Argentine President Javier Milei reaffirmed his country’s claim over the Falkland Islands (known as the Islas Malvinas in Argentina) and praised the role of the nation’s armed forces during a ceremony marking the “Veterans and Fallen Soldiers of the Malvinas War Day,” commemorating 43 years since the 1982 conflict with the United Kingdom.

Argentina continues to assert sovereignty over the islands, arguing that Britain unlawfully seized them in 1833.

“If sovereignty over the Malvinas is the issue, we have always made it clear that the most important vote is the one cast with one’s feet. We hope that one day, the Malvinas residents will choose to vote with their feet and join us,” Milei stated.

“That is why we aim to become a global power—so much so that they would prefer to be Argentine, making deterrence or persuasion unnecessary. This is why we have embarked on a path of liberation, working to make Argentina the freest country in the world and once again the nation with the highest GDP per capita on the planet,” he added.