International

President of Brazil to be the first speaker at the 78th UN General Assembly

Photo: EFE

September 19 |

The president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, confirmed that this Tuesday he will be the first speaker at the 78th General Assembly of the United Nations (UN), at its headquarters in the U.S. city of New York.

“Tomorrow (this Tuesday) Brazil inaugurates the 78th UN General Assembly. I will speak 20 years after my first assembly and 14 years after my last speech as president of Brazil,” wrote the head of state of the South American nation on his official account on the social network X (formerly Twitter).

As usual, the session of the General Assembly, the main deliberative, policy-making and representative body of the UN, will be opened by its president, who on this occasion is Trinidadian diplomat Dennis Francis.

Brazil is the first country to take the podium since 1955, in a custom established during the tenth General Assembly.

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Next, it is the turn of the President of the United States (U.S.), as host country, to speak, followed by all the members of the Assembly, according to the order in which the request to speak was registered.

By protocol, each speaker should not make a speech longer than 15 minutes, however, there have been cases in which world leaders have exceeded that limit, as happened in 1960 with the president of Cuba, Fidel Castro, who spoke for four and a half hours.

On this occasion, the seventy-eighth session of the UN is being held under the motto: “Rebuilding trust and reviving global solidarity”: Accelerating actions within the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals towards the achievement of peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability for all.

International

Javier Milei vows to work ‘side by side’ with the U.S. on trade rules

Determined to work “side by side” with the United States, Argentine President Javier Milei announced in Mar-a-Lagothat his government will modify trade regulations to meet the requirements of Donald Trump’s newly imposed tariffs.

Milei arrived in Florida amid the trade war triggered by the latest round of tariff hikes announced by the Republican leader. While many countries are considering retaliation, Milei’s ultraliberal Argentina has opted to adapt instead.

“Argentina will move forward in adjusting its regulations to comply with the reciprocal tariff proposal drafted by President Trump,” Milei stated at the Gala of American Patriots, organized by the Make America Clean Again (MACA) Foundation and the We Fund the Blue NGO, according to his office.

He further explained that Argentina has already met nine out of the 16 necessary requirements and has instructed his administration to comply with the remaining ones in order to resolve trade asymmetries with the U.S. in a short time frame.

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.