International
Pellegrini and Korcok go to the second round for the Presidency of Slovakia
Social Democrat Peter Pellegrini, supported by the coalition government with proximity to Russia and Hungary, and the diplomat Ivan Korcok, supported by the liberal and progressive opposition who defend to help Ukraine militarily, will compete for the Presidency of Slovakia in a second round on April 6.
With 85% of the scrutiny, Korcok achieved 39.2% of the ballots, while Pellegrini received 39%, according to the statistical office that offered the live scrutiny.
Since his return to power at the head of a coalition of leftist populists and ultra-nationalists, Prime Minister Robert Fico has reoriented foreign policy towards a more favorable position to Russia and has attacked independent institutions, such as the judiciary, dismantling the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office that investigated senior officials in the formation of the head of the Government.
In this context, the Presidency becomes a key position to control the executive power.
“The country is not well and I want it to move,” Korkoc said after learning the preliminary results that give the passage to the second round and in reference to the massive protests against the latest measures of the coalition executive.
“Slovakia has lost the compass in foreign policy,” the experienced diplomat also said about the radical turn that has meant to stop supporting Ukraine militarily since Fico came to power, unlike what happened in the previous legislature.
The participation of 50 percent was slightly higher than the 48 percent there was five years ago, when the current head of state, Zuzana Caputova, and the then vice president of the European Commission, Maros Sefcovic, passed the second round.
Pellegrini stressed that the country now needs “concord,” and “not to witness continuous conflicts between politicians and institutional representatives.”
It must be seen which of the two candidates will be able to attract the most nationalist and radical vote that has not managed to be represented in these elections, since, despite the differences in political ideology, there are many points on which Pellegrini and Korcok agree, the latter has recognized.
Pellegrini already has a remarkable trajectory: he has been prime minister and currently presides over Parliament for the second time.
In addition, he leads his own party, La Voz (“Hlas”), after having been a minister on several occasions.
Hlas is a split of the social democratic formation Smer de Fico, the politician who has been at the head of the Government in Slovakia for the longest time and who in recent years, since the pandemic, has resulted in populist, anti-immigration, reluctant with vaccines and pro-Russian positions.
The main criticism that Pellegrini receives is that he has not managed to disassociate himself from the figure of his previous leader, Fico, and it is unknown if as president he will be able to put a halt to some of the reforms of the Executive that violate the rule of law.
Korcok, 59, former foreign minister and former ambassador in the United States, Germany and the EU, presents himself as the counterweight to the current government.
His profile is close to that of the outgoing president, the liberal Caputova, who has hindered the controversial reforms of the Government.
On April 6, the Slovaks will choose the successor of Caputova, the country’s first female president, after she decided not to seek a second term. The outgoing president, who has sued Prime Minister Fico for calling her a “traitor” and an “American agent,” says she does not have the energy to continue for another five years, citing threats against her family in a very polarized period of Slovak politics.
Caputova expressed his hope that his successor “will represent the country well abroad.”
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
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