International
The trial against Daniel Sancho in Thailand concludes and the reading of the sentence is set for August 29
The trial against the Spaniard Daniel Sancho, accused of the premeditated murder of Colombian surgeon Edwin Arrieta, concluded this Thursday in Thailand with a plea from the accused after a trial of about a month.
The last hearing of the trial against Sancho concluded this Thursday around 11:00 local time (04.00 GMT) in the Provincial Court of Samui (southern Thailand), a day before the date initially scheduled for the end of the process, which has been held behind closed doors since last April 9.
Although initially the magistrate gave a month for the parties to present final arguments in writing from now on, the defense asked to extend that period to two months because they have to translate it, which the magistrate authorized and delayed the reading of the sentence.
During today’s hearing, Sancho made a final plea of about 45 minutes, which he had requested himself.
The last session of the trial is held after Sancho finished the eve of testifying, especially in Spanish but also in English, with difficulties in translating into Thai, and after answering in two consecutive hearings to the questions of the defense and the Prosecutor’s Office.
The trial, which has been held in the midst of enormous media attention and which has had a total of twelve sessions and about 35 witnesses, with only a dozen on behalf of the defense, was attended by Sancho’s father, actor Rodolfo Sancho, and the accused’s mother, investment analyst Silvia Bronchalo.
Likewise, representatives of the Embassy of Spain in Thailand have attended the hearings, a usual protocol since it is a compatriot accused of a crime that can be punished with up to the death penalty, although the Asian country barely applies it.
The Spaniard is also accused of the concealment of the body, for the dismemberment of Arrieta, whose remains were scattered in several places on the island, including the sea, and of the destruction of other people’s documentation, by the Colombian’s passport.
Sancho pleaded not guilty to the premeditated murder, the crime that carries the maximum penalty, and the destruction of other people’s documentation during the first day of the trial, when he only accepted the charge of concealment of the body.
The defense has alleged that Sancho, who has played a very active role in the trial, acted in self-defense after an attempted rape by Arrieta and that the death of the Colombian surgeon in the Spaniard’s villa in Phangan was due to an accident during a fight.
Sancho has been in pre-trial detention since August 7 in the Samui prison, from which he has traveled in a police van to attend the trial and in which he will be re-hospitalized this Thursday.
Spanish actor Rodolfo Sancho assured this Thursday that “it is an absolute lie” that he has not conveyed his condolences to the family of Colombian surgeon Edwin Arrieta, for whose alleged premeditated murder his son Daniel Sancho has been tried in Thailand.
“I just want to comment on one thing, that I don’t know why there are people who are saying that I am inhuman, that I have never said that I felt anything for the family (from Arrieta), that I have not presented my condolences,” Rodolfo Sancho said today at the exit of the Provincial Court of Samui (southern Thailand), where the trial against his son concluded this Thursday.
“It’s an absolute lie,” the actor stressed, who added: “The first thing I did when all this jumped was indeed that, and people who know it, know it, and those who don’t, have not informed themselves well.”
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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