International
People are already dying from diseases in Gaza and not only from the bombings, denounces MSF
The quasi-total collapse of the health system in the Gaza Strip, devastated after more than 200 days of war with Israel and more than 34,400 deaths; in addition to the shortage of drinking water, overcrowding and lack of medicines make many Gazans die from easily treatable diseases.
“How many children have already died of pneumonia in overflowing hospitals?” asks Mari Carmen Viñoles, head of the Emergency Unit of Doctors Without Borders, an organization present in the Palestinian enclave and which this Monday publishes a report entitled: ‘Silent deaths’.
“And the deadly consequences of the closure of renal dialysis units in the hospitals attacked? These are the silent deaths of Gaza that are not reported,” Viñoles adds.
According to the report, based on medical data and patient testimonies, the current living conditions in Rafah, where more than a million displaced Palestinians take refuge, are not conducive to survival.
The UN coordinator for humanitarian aid and reconstruction of Gaza, Sigrid Kaag, warned on Monday that the reconstruction efforts of the devastated Gaza Strip are “tied” to the two-state solution, although she warned that the Palestinians “can’t wait.”
“It needs to be said that reconstruction efforts, not only politically but from an investment perspective, are all tied to political parameters: the two-state solution,” Kaag said in a panel on Gaza at the special meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF), which is held in Riyadh.
Likewise, the head of the UN warned that from a humanitarian point of view “civilians cannot be asked to wait” for the creation of a Palestinian State to begin the reconstruction of the enclave and recalled that more than one million children are not being enrolled in school because of the war.
According to Kaag, schools are being used as shelters, contagious diseases represent a threat as there is a shortage of water and lack of sanitation and insecurity prevents the beginning to rebuild the devastated Strip.
“We need to act now, and this cannot wait for a political solution (…) We have failed the Palestinians countless times,” insisted Kaag, who added that “political will is what is required.”
On the other hand, he called for a “paradigm shift” in the delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza, and assured that it is not only necessary to increase the volume of assistance, but also to expand the type of products that are distributed to the population, such as medicines.
“We are no longer counting trucks. We are seeing what aid is being distributed and what kind of assistance reaches the population,” Kaag said.
The diplomat recalled that the distribution of aid still faces “a number of obstacles,” such as “behavior at Israeli checkpoints,” something she said “must change.”
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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