International
The US makes “significant progress” with Saudi Arabia to increase defense cooperation
The United States made “significant progress” with Saudi Arabia to increase cooperation between the two countries in defense, part of the “megapact” that Washington has been promoting for months and that could lead to the normalization of relations between Israel and the Saudi kingdom.
These advances occurred during the meeting held this weekend in Saudi Arabia by the White House National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, and the Saudi Crown Prince, Mohamed bin Salman, as John Kirby, one of the White House spokesmen, explained to the press on Monday.
Kirby said that the agreement “is closer than ever” and that the text that details the terms of it is already “almost finalized.”
The spokesman refused to set a date for the official announcement of those agreements, but assured that this weekend a “historic progress” was achieved in the elements of the so-called “megapact” that concern both Saudi Arabia and the United States.
“We believe that, after this weekend, we have achieved a set of practically definitive texts on some of those bilateral agreements between the United States and Saudi Arabia,” Kirby emphasized.
In a similar tone, the Saudi Government has pronounced itself, which this Sunday, through the official SPA agency, indicated that the draft of the “strategic agreements” is already “almost finished.”
The details of this “megapact” that Washington has been promoting for months and that took a back seat after the October 7 attack by the Islamist group Hamas, which caused 1,200 deaths and triggered an Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip with more than 35,000 fatalities, have not yet been made public.
However, those negotiations have been reactivated in recent days and have gained greater importance within the framework of the talks to end the war in Gaza and rebuild the enclave.
Specifically, according to the details revealed by the US media, progress has been made in the negotiations between Saudi Arabia and the United States for the signing of a defense pact that allows the Saudi kingdom to strengthen its position vis-à-vis Iran, which it considers the main threat in the region.
That pact would allow Riyadh to have long-term access to advanced weapons, without its transfer being interrupted by diplomatic incidents, as it tried to be part of the Democratic bench of the US Congress after the 2018 assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Saudi Arabia has also pressed for the agreement to allow it to enrich uranium, although Washington could impose some conditions to prevent the door from being opened to a possible nuclear weapons program.
In exchange for those concessions, Saudi Arabia would agree to limit Chinese technology in its most sensitive networks, in what is perceived as an attempt by Washington to limit the impact of the Asian giant in the region.
Once Washington and Riyadh reach an agreement, the next step would be to get Israel to agree to create a Palestinian state and end the war in Gaza.
However, the creation of that Palestinian State seems incompatible with the political positions of the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who has publicly opposed it and whose permanence in power depends on the support of far-right politicians who support the creation of more Israeli settlements in territories that the Palestinians claim as their own.
International
Fire in India’s Jhansi Hospital kills 10 newborns
At least 10 newborns have died following a fire in the neonatal unit of a hospital in Jhansi, India, which was attributed to a faulty oxygen machine, authorities reported on Saturday, adding that 39 babies were rescued.
“Unfortunately, 10 infants have died,” said Brajesh Pathak, Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, regarding the fire that occurred on Friday night.
The fire started at 10:30 PM (17:00 GMT) at the Maharani Lakshmibai Medical University in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
The rescued babies, all only a few days old, were moved to another area of the hospital for treatment.
Dr. Narendra Senga, the director of a medical faculty attached to the hospital, also confirmed the death toll of 10 infants.
International
Seven british citizens arrested in Spain for hashish trafficking 1.2 tons seized
Seven British citizens were arrested in Spain for hashish trafficking in an operation that led to the seizure of 1.2 tons of the drug, which is made from cannabis resin, the Spanish Ministry of the Interior reported on Saturday.
“National Police agents, in collaboration with the National Crime Agency (NCA) of the UK, have dismantled an organization allegedly dedicated to transporting drugs in trucks in Marbella and Elche,” the ministry stated in a press release.
“Agents seized 1,200 kilos of hashish and arrested seven British citizens,” the report specified.
The drugs were found in Marbella and Fuengirola, in southern Spain, as well as in Elche, in the southeastern region.
Part of the hashish was hidden in “large plastic barrels filled with fine mortar sand.”
In addition, the police seized over €63,000 in cash, five passenger vehicles, and a heavy-duty truck.
All of the detainees have been placed in pretrial detention.
Spain serves as the gateway for most of the hashish sold in Europe, due to its proximity to North Africa, the main production area.
In 2022, Spain seized 324.7 tons of hashish, according to the latest available official annual data.
International
Sinaloa cartel network dismantled in Spain following kidnapping and ransom incident
Fourteen members of the Mexican Sinaloa drug cartel were arrested in Spain following an investigation that began with the kidnapping and murder of an associate, the Spanish National Police announced on Sunday.
“The dismantled criminal network, based in Catalonia, is allegedly involved in the kidnapping and death of a man whose body was found in a wooded area of the region,” explained the National Police in a statement. The victim had traveled from Italy to meet with some of the leaders of the gang.
The criminal organization was “mainly composed of Mexican individuals” and was “linked to the Mexican Sinaloa cartel.”
The victim, a 46-year-old man, was allegedly working for the organization and had traveled to Barcelona from Italy to meet with leaders of the criminal network. The kidnapping took place between late May and June, and the victim’s family in Kosovo alerted the police after receiving a ransom demand of €240,000 (approximately $253,000). The family paid part of the ransom, $32,000 in cryptocurrency.
The victim’s body, whose nationality was not disclosed, was found in August in a forest, showing signs of violence and in an advanced state of decomposition.
The arrested individuals are allegedly connected to drug trafficking, money laundering, kidnapping, and murder. They received packages from Mexico containing methamphetamine soaked into pieces of clothing, which were sent to Catalonia. Once in Spain, they extracted the drug in a laboratory they operated.
The Sinaloa cartel is named after the northwestern Mexican state where it was founded and remains one of the most important criminal organizations in the world, despite the incarceration of two of its historic leaders, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán and Ismael “Mayo” Zambada, in the United States.
Fire in India’s Jhansi Hospital kills 10 newborns
Seven british citizens arrested in Spain for hashish trafficking 1.2 tons seized
Sinaloa cartel network dismantled in Spain following kidnapping and ransom incident
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
Ecuador prison riot leaves at least 43 dead
-
International4 days agoMálaga paralyzed by new storm as torrential rains hit Spain
-
International4 days agoEcuadorian judge orders preventive detention for nine inmates after deadly prison clashes
-
International4 days agoHezbollah launches explosive drone strike on Israel’s defense headquarters
-
International4 days agoSeven bodies found with signs of torture in Sinaloa
-
International4 days agoSantiago Uribe cleared of homicide and paramilitary charges
-
International3 days agoThousands of displaced people in Haiti flee the violence of armed gangs
-
International4 days agoTrump nominates Matt Gaetz as attorney general
-
International3 days agoDrug trafficker dies after boat collision with Guardia Civil Vessel in Sanlúca
-
Central America3 days agoMulino warns Trump: Darién is U.S.’s ‘other border’ in call for bilateral solutions to migration
-
International3 days agoVenezuelan opposition activist dies in custody amid allegations of repressive crisis
-
International4 days agoMarco Rubio to become first latino U.S. diplomacy chief under Trump
-
International3 days agoFour complaints in a month for sexual abuse against public figures shake Chile
-
International3 days agoIsraeli airstrikes on Damascus kill 15 and injure 16, including women and children
-
International21 hours agoFire in India’s Jhansi Hospital kills 10 newborns
-
International3 days ago
Aemet downgrades rainfall alert as heavy rains ease in Spain
-
International2 days agoUkraine finds in technology its best ally for war
-
Central America3 days agoTen dead in Panama due to storms causing over $100 million in damages
-
International3 days agoMaria Corina Machado sees clear signs for Venezuela after Trump’s victory
-
International21 hours agoSinaloa cartel network dismantled in Spain following kidnapping and ransom incident
-
International2 days agoIsrael bombs Lebanon again after a wave of attacks with dozens of dead
-
International3 days agoPope Francis meets former Gaza hostages
-
International21 hours agoPedro Sánchez to explain government’s handling of deadly floods in congress appearance
-
International2 days agoAustralia asks the population to write down their flatulence to study intestinal health
-
International2 days agoAbkhesian opponents take the seat of the Parliament of the region
-
Internacionales2 days agoThe Chinese Communist Party expels the former Minister of Agriculture, accused of corruption
-
International2 days agoLatin America will once again be in the sights of the United States with Rubio at the head of diplomacy
-
International3 days agoTrump will nominate Doug Burgum, governor of North Dakota, as Secretary of the Interior
-
International3 days agoNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un orders the mass production of drones for suicide attacks
-
International2 days ago
The director of the RAE asks to take care of Spanish in AI so that they do not create their own dialects
-
International3 days agoThe Ibero-American Summit begins, the first without Latino presidents except the host
-
International3 days agoTrump elects Robert Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health
-
International3 days agoBoluarte and Xi inaugurate Chancay megaport, called to be a bridge between China and A.Latina
-
International21 hours agoSeven british citizens arrested in Spain for hashish trafficking 1.2 tons seized