International
The Democratic leader in the US Senate calls for elections in Israel to replace Netanyahu
The leader of the Democrats in the United States Senate, Chuck Schumer, accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday of being an obstacle to achieving peace in Gaza and called for elections to replace him.
These statements are the most critical message of a senior leader of the Democratic Party against the Israeli government since the beginning of the offensive on the Gaza Strip that started after the Hamas attack on October 7.
“Tentanyaho’s coalition no longer adapts to Israel’s needs after October 7. The world has changed radically since then and the Israeli people are being suffocated by a vision of Government stagnant in the past,” Schumer said to the plenary of the Upper House.
The leader of the majority in the Senate, the first Jew to hold that position, opined that Netanyahu is one of “the biggest obstacles to peace” along with Hamas, the Israeli far-right and the president of the Palestinian National Authority, Mahmud Abbas.
For Schumer, the prime minister “has lost his way by putting his political survival as a priority,” having surrounded himself with far-right ministers and having tolerated the high number of victims in Gaza, which has caused “support for Israel worldwide to be at historic lows.”
“Israel cannot survive if it becomes an ous,” the senator warned.
Therefore, he opined that “new elections are the only way to facilitate a healthy and open decision-making process about the future of Israel.”
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, supports the war against Hamas and continues to supply weapons for Israel, but has also pressured Netanyahu to take care of the lives of civilian Palestinians.
There is increasing concern within the Democratic Party about the electoral impact that support for the Gaza War may have in the United States presidential elections next November, in which Biden will seek his re-election.
The leader of the Republicans in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, lashed out against Schumer’s request for elections, a fact he considered “unprecedented.”
“In no way can we treat other democracies like this,” said McConnell, who opined that the Democratic Party is “anti-Israeli.”
International
Trump criticizes Panama Canal fees and demands U.S. control over strategic waterway
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump criticized what he described as unfair fees imposed on American ships passing through the Panama Canal and threatened to demand that Washington take back control of the strategic waterway.
“Our Navy and commerce have been threatened in a very unjust and reckless way. The rates that Panama charges are ridiculous,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
The president-elect also denounced the growing influence of China in the canal, a situation he called concerning as U.S. businesses depend on the waterway to transport goods between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
“This complete scam against our country will end immediately,” he stated.
The Panama Canal, completed by the United States in 1914, was handed over to Panama under the 1977 treaty signed by Democratic President Jimmy Carter. Panama took full control of the commercial passage in 1999.
“It was exclusively for Panama to manage, not China or anyone else,” Trump said. “We would never allow it to fall into the wrong hands!”
“If Panama cannot guarantee a ‘safe, efficient, and reliable’ operation of the canal, we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us in its entirety, without a doubt,” the Republican added.
Panamanian authorities did not immediately respond to Trump’s statements. While he will assume office on January 20, Trump has been exerting his political influence in the final days of President Joe Biden’s administration.
Five percent of global maritime trade passes through the Panama Canal, which allows vessels traveling from Asia to the U.S. East Coast to avoid the long and dangerous route around the southern tip of South America.
The countries that use the Panama Canal the most are the United States, China, Japan, and South Korea.
In October, the Panama Canal Authority reported earnings of nearly $5 billion in the last fiscal year.
International
Putin vows retaliation following drone attack on luxury building in Kazan
Russian President Vladimir Putin promised more “destruction” in Ukraine on Sunday, in response to a drone strike that hit a residential building in the city of Kazan, located in central Russia, on Saturday.
Russia accused Ukraine of launching a “massive” drone attack, which struck a luxury apartment block in Kazan, about 1,000 kilometers from the border.
Videos shared on Russian social media show drones hitting a high-rise glass building. No casualties have been reported as a result of the attack.
In his statements, Putin addressed the local leader of Tatarstan, the region where Kazan is located, during a virtual ceremony marking the opening of a road.
The attack in Kazan is the latest in a series of increasingly frequent bombings in this nearly three-year-old conflict. Ukraine has not commented on the attack.
Putin had previously threatened to strike the center of Kyiv with a hypersonic ballistic missile in response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory.
The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the recent Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities were retaliation for Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied missiles to target Russian territory.
International
Small plane crashes in Gramado, Brazil, killing nine people
At least nine people were killed on Sunday after a small aircraft crashed in a commercial area of the tourist city of Gramado, in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, authorities confirmed.
“There are nine confirmed deaths according to Civil Defense services, and there are no survivors from the plane,” said Cléber dos Santos Lima, director of the Interior Police Department of the Civil Police of the state, in a statement to AFP.
Authorities have not yet confirmed the exact number of passengers and crew aboard the aircraft, a turbo-prop Piper Cheyenne 400. However, Civil Defense had previously stated that “preliminarily, the plane was carrying ten people.”
The plane crashed on Sunday morning “into the chimney of a building, then onto the second floor of a house, and finally fell onto a furniture store,” according to a statement from the Rio Grande do Sul Public Security Secretariat.
Trump criticizes Panama Canal fees and demands U.S. control over strategic waterway
Putin vows retaliation following drone attack on luxury building in Kazan
Small plane crashes in Gramado, Brazil, killing nine people
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
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