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Guterres: “It’s time to give the Palestinians hope that there will be a Palestinian state”

The Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, assured this Saturday that it is necessary to agree on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, release the hostages in the hands of the Islamist group Hamas and give hope for the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

“It’s time to create hope for the Palestinian people that there will be a Palestinian state,” Guterres said at a press conference from Arish airport in Egypt, after visiting the Rafah border crossing, which connects the Sinai peninsula with the Gaza Strip.

The head of the UN said that “everything possible” must be done to avoid an Israeli offensive in the Palestinian town of Rafah, in the southern end of the Strip and where about 1.5 million displaced people are crowded by the war that began on October 7.

“Everyone is going to assume their responsibilities with History. For me, it is clear: We need to avoid a catastrophic situation in Rafah,” Guterres said, adding that there is “a clear consensus” between the United States, the European Union, the UN and the international community against that ground offensive.

Asked how the effects of an offensive in Rafah could be mitigated, the diplomat replied: “Don’t ask me how I can guarantee that the Israeli Government does anything, because it is clear that the Israeli Government does not normally do what I ask.”

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Guterres described the obstacles to the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip as “moral outrage”. According to the Egyptian authorities, more than 7,000 trucks loaded with assistance are waiting for instructions from Israel to enter the Palestinian enclave.

“A long line of rescue trucks blocked on one side of the door, and the long shadow of hunger on the other side. This is more than tragic. It’s a moral outrage,” Guterres said at a press conference from the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing, which connects the Egyptian Sinai peninsula with the Gaza Strip.

The head of the UN, who today made his second visit to the border with Gaza since the beginning of the war on October 7, also warned against an Israeli operation in the Palestinian town of Rafah, in the extreme south of the Strip and where about 1.5 million displaced Gazans are crowded.

“All this shows that it’s time for an immediate ceasefire. I say it again. It’s time for a strong commitment by Israel to full and unrestricted access to humanitarian goods throughout Gaza,” Guterres urged.

He also appealed to the “spirit of compassion” of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan fasting for “the immediate release of all hostages” in the hands of the Islamist group Hamas.

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“It is monstrous that after so much suffering for so many months the Palestinians in Gaza celebrate Ramadan while Israeli bombs continue to fall, bullets continue to fly, artillery continues to strike and humanitarian assistance continues to face obstacles behind obstacles,” the Portuguese lamented.

Upon his arrival in Egypt, Guterres met with the governor of the province of Northern Sinai, Mohamed Shosha, who told him that Israel “is hindering the entry of trucks” into Gaza due to severe restrictions and lengthy procedures, something that has caused about 7,000 trucks to have not yet been able to enter the enclave, according to a statement from the provincial administration.

The head of the UN reiterated that “nothing justifies the horrible attacks in Hamas of October 7,” in the same way that “nothing justifies the collective punishment of the Palestinian people,” in reference to the retaliation of Israel – which has resulted in about 32,000 lives – for the attacks of the Islamist group that left about 1,200 dead.

“Now more than ever it’s time to achieve an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. It’s time to silence the weapons. Palestinian children, women and men in Gaza are still trapped in an incessant nightmare, communities destroyed, houses demolished, entire families and generations annihilated by hunger and starvation that stay the population,” Guterres recalled.

In this sense, he urged all UN member countries to support humanitarian work, after several countries suspended funding for the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) after Israel’s accusations against a dozen of its members of participating in the Hamas attacks.

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“I want the Palestinians in Gaza to know that they are not alone. People from all over the world are outraged by the horrors that we all witness in real time (…) We have already seen enough. We have already had enough and we still believe that human dignity and decency must define us as a global community,” Guterres said.

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International

At least ten dead in Iran in a bus accident in the west of the country

At least ten people lost their lives this Saturday when a passenger bus fell down a ravine on a highway in the province of Lorestan, in western Iran.

“The bus that left Andimeshk (Juzestan province) to Poldokhtar (Lorestan), went off the road and fell into a ravine so unfortunately at least 10 people have died,” announced the executive director of the Red Crescent of the province of Lorestan, Mohammad Ghadami, reported the Tasnim agency.

The official did not give details about the number of injured in the accident and their state of health.

Ghadami said that four rescue teams were sent to the scene of the incident immediately after it was reported at 12:39 local time (9:10 GMT) this Saturday.

Mortality on roads, one of the highest in the world

Traffic accidents are very common in Iran, where the road mortality rate is one of the highest in the world, with an average of 20,000 deaths per year.

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Many of the accidents are due to the poor condition of the vehicles and the poor compliance with traffic rules by drivers.

Last August, at least 28 Pakistani pilgrims died when the bus in which they were traveling overturned in central Iran, in an accident that occurred due to a brake failure.

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International

Helene, the violent hurricane that destroyed the southeastern United States

Hurricane Helene is one of the extreme climatic events that have starred this 2024 after leaving more than 150 direct deaths and billions of dollars in losses in six states of the southeastern United States, according to preliminary figures.

The deadly Helene, which in the continental United States has only been surpassed by Katrina (2005), ended with more than 150 deaths, at least a hundred in North Carolina, in addition to leaving a path of destruction that reached the mountainous area of that state with special virulence.

After impacting Central America and the Yucatan Peninsula, Helene made landfall on September 26 with winds of 225 kilometers per hour in the Big Bend region of Florida, in the northwest of that state, as the most powerful cyclone in that region since records have been available.

From Florida, where it arrived as a major hurricane, and while it weakened progressively to become a tropical depression, Helene continued on land through Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

North Carolina was the one that took the worst part, not only for the number of deaths but for the economic losses, which amount to more than 59.6 billion dollars, according to an update from the state government released this month.

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The historic rainfall of up to 76 centimeters caused floods and landslides in this state, which caused serious damage, and long-term, both in homes and in public infrastructure and the agricultural industry.

Million-dollar economic losses

Quantifying at this time the economic losses in all the states impacted by Helene, which generated strong winds and tornadoes, is difficult because there are discrepancies in the damage assessment since it produced “a large-scale disaster,” as Mónica Escaleras, professor of the Department of Economics at Florida Atlantic University (FAU), told EFE.

“The widespread nature of the damage, the diversity of affected sectors and ongoing recovery efforts” are factors that prevent an accurate estimate at present, he added.

Escaleras believes, however, that Helene is a reflection of how in recent years “extreme weather events have become increasingly frequent and intense, altering infrastructure and supply chains.”

A preliminary report from the Institute of Agricultural and Food Sciences of the University of Florida (UF/IFAS) estimates that agricultural losses in this southern state due to Helene can range between 40.3 and 162.2 million dollars, after destroying 6.1 million acres (2.4 million hectares) of arable land.

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More hurricanes like Helene in the future

A key factor in Helene’s intensity were the high temperatures in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, whose surfaces were at about 29.4 degrees Celsius when the system began to form.

A preliminary study by the World Weather Attribution network of scientists reflected that this temperature is the result of climate change, which made Helene’s effects worse, responsible for example for 10% more rain.

“It is expected that the growing occurrence of these events will generate higher insurance premiums and may lead to the withdrawal of coverage in high-risk areas, which will affect both the real estate and business sectors,” Escaleras said.

This possible future scenario can, on the other hand, affect unprotected communities more, such as the Hispanic one in the United States. The Climate Power organization revealed last week a report that shows that Latino communities have been the great victims of the extreme weather events that occurred in 2024.

The report in question found that many Latino families in western North Carolina live in trailers flooded or destroyed by the storm, and that not mastering English they had obstacles when it came to receiving information about recovery tasks.

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Antonieta Cádiz, executive director of the Climate Power In Action campaign, reminded EFE of the case of the workers of a plastics factory in Erwin (Tennessee) who died after a negligence in their evacuation, which was not carried out due to the imminent effects of Helene, employees who were mostly Hispanic.

The above, he said, is a sample of the disproportionate and “deep inequalities” that affect the Hispanic community when it comes to extreme weather events.

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International

The piangua, the mangrove mollusk that empowers women in the Colombian Pacific

When the low tide in the Colombian Pacific, a group of women put on rubber boots, take a raft and enter a mangrove forest to collect the piangua, a mollusk that, in addition to providing food to their families, empowers them and gives them a voice in their territory.

They are in the community of La Plata, in the heart of the Uramba-Bahía Málaga National Natural Park, and they have just six hours to work before the sea rises again. Stuck in the mud they sing to liven up their days and regardless of the sun or rain they fill their containers with this mollusk similar to the mussel with which they prepare delicious recipes.

“It is a very important ancestral activity because it allows us to have economic sustainability as women, to be a symbol of resistance to cultural traditions and to take care of our gastronomic traditions,” Matilde Mosquera Murillo, legal representative of the Raíces Piangüeras Association.

Mosquera, 27 years old and a sociologist by profession, took on the challenge of leading that organization created in 2019 and has managed to bring together more than 70 women who are dedicated to this profession in the Community Council of La Plata-Bahía Málaga, where they play a fundamental role in conservation.

“We monitor mangroves, because we know the importance they have in the ecosystem, they are the cradle of thousands of species. We also make every process sustainable so that all the initiatives we lead allow us to take care of nature,” Mosquera insists.

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International recognition

Their work already has international recognition and since 2023 they have held the ‘Meeting of Women of the Colombian Pacific’. In the first edition they asked the National Government to advocate before UNESCO to declare the piangüeo as Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

“We believe in the need for a political strengthening of women, that our voice is heard and that we are part of the decisions that are made in the country so that we have votes in public policies and that they recognize our ancestral work in the world,” she adds.

The environmental richness of the La Plata archipelago is enormous and its 32 islands and islets are the habitat of 1,396 species of birds, reptiles, mammals and felines, as well as 60 classes of frogs, 25 of lizards and 52 of snakes.

There are also eight species of sharks, 22 rays and 348 of fish that have six types of mangroves as their home: red mangrove, born mangrove, ped mangrove, button or button mangrove, bobo mangle and feeder mangle.

Unity and awareness

According to Santiago Valencia, leader of the Community Council of La Plata-Bahía Málaga, women use a ‘piangüímetro’, a tool that works as a rule that allows them to measure the mollusk when it has already passed its reproductive stage.

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“Their organization is as strong as the roots of the mangrove and they even come together to reforest when they see it necessary. This unity has made them look for other alternatives because they see that everything is possible and today they see themselves as what they are: powerful women, businesswomen and nature lovers,” says Valencia.

Currently, women piangüeras work in the search for resources that allow them to access studies to improve and strengthen their processes.

Some of them have already created other ventures for the manufacture of ointments based on medicinal plants from the jungle, ancestral drinks and even think about packing the piangua in a vacuum to export it to other countries.

“When we go to the mangrove we sing as a symbol of power, to express our feelings, it also serves to harmonize our activity and understand that we are important; we will leave this inheritance to our children and it will continue for generations,” concludes Mosquera.

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