International
Widespread regret and condolences for the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisí
The death in a helicopter accident of the president of Iran, Ebrahim Raisí and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hosein Amir Abdolahian, has generated great regret in Arab countries and widespread condolences in the West.
The helicopter in which Raisí and other authorities were traveling disappeared for unexplained reasons this Sunday when it was returning from the city of Tabriz and the aircraft was found today in a mountainous area of the Varzeqan region, in Eastern Azerbaijan.
Among the Arab countries, the Lebanese government decreed on Monday three days of official mourning for the death of President Raisí.
Lebanon maintains good relations with Iran, one of the foreign powers that are considered most influential in the nation, due in large part to the close collaboration between Tehran and the Lebanese Shiite group Hizbulá.
The president of Syria, Bashar al-Asad, expressed his condolences and thanked Ebrahim Raisí for his work to strengthen the ties between the two countries, important allies at various levels.
The president of Iran had made a historic visit to Damascus a year ago, the first of an Iranian leader of his level since 2010, a year before the outst of the war in Syria.
Iran is a key route for supplying oil derivatives and other goods to Syria, subject to a series of international sanctions that limit its trade activities, and also maintains a strong armed presence in Syrian territory, where Iranian advisers and pro-Iranian militias are present.
For his part, the president of the Palestinian National Authority, Mahmud Abbas, on Monday offered his condolences to the Islamic Republic of Iran after the fatal accident and that of Tunisia, Kais Said, also expressed “great sadness and pain.”
Meanwhile, the president of Turkey, the Islamist Recep Tayyip Erdogan, expressed his condolences for his “esteemed counterpart and brother” Raisí and highlighted the efforts of the deceased “for the peace of the Iranian people and our region during his term.”
One of the most heartfelt reactions was that of the Lebanese Shiite group Hizbulá, a close ally of Tehran.
“For us he was an older brother, a strong supporter and a firm defender of our cause, and of the cause of the nation, especially Jerusalem and Palestine. And a protector of the Resistance movements and its mujahideen in all the positions of responsibility he held,” Hizbulah said in a statement.
The Lebanese group is part of an informal anti-Israeli alliance led by Tehran known as the “Axis of Resistance”, several of whose members hold fronts of support for the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in the framework of the war that began seven months ago in Gaza.
Hizbulah, who leads one of those fronts against Israel from southern Lebanon, allegedly receives strong arms and logistical support from his Iranian allies.
And the de facto government of the Taliban in Afghanistan also expressed its condolences on the death of Ebrahim Raisí, who was part of a Cabinet determined to build good relations with the fundamentalists despite occasional incidents.
Under the command of Raisi, who came to power in 2021 and was one of the favorites to succeed the supreme Iranian leader, Ali Khamenei, Tehran became one of the few countries interested in improving bilateral relations with the Taliban when they took power in Afghanistan that same year.
The Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad al Thani, and the Shiite Houthi rebels of Yemen expressed their “sincere condolences” to Iran on Monday in two messages.
Qatar is one of the closest Arab countries to Iran and has mediated on several occasions between the Government of Tehran and other countries, in particular the United States, to bring views on issues such as the nuclear program or that of Iranian ballistic missiles.
The Houthis of Yemen are an Iran-backed Shiite political and religious movement that took up arms in 2014 against the internationally recognized Yemeni government, and since then they control large areas of the north and center of that country in the south of the Arabian Peninsula.
In recent months, Houthis have managed to attract international attention for their attacks with ballistic missiles and drones, allegedly Iranian, against Israeli merchant ships or ships linked to Israel in the Red Sea, in retaliation for that country’s war in Gaza.
Russian President Vladimir Putin today expressed his condolences for the “enormous tragedy” of Raisi’s death, whom he described as a “friend.”
“As a true friend of Russia, he made a valuable personal contribution to the development of good-neighbourly relations between our countries and made great efforts to bring them to the level of strategic partnership,” the Russian president added.
Russia and Iran have strengthened their relations in recent years, especially since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, since Tehran supplies Moscow with the Shahed drones with which it bombs the territory of the neighboring country.
For his part, Chinese President Xi Jinping assured that his people “have lost a good friend.”
Xi highlighted the “important contributions of the Iranian president to the security and stability” of his country, as well as to “its development and prosperity,” according to a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry. In this line, the Chinese leader recognized Raisí’s efforts to “strengthen and develop the integral strategic relationship” between China and Iran, ties that he believes will “continue to be strengthened.”
In 2021, China and Iran sealed a 25-year economic cooperation agreement that broadly provides for Chinese investments in the Iranian energy and infrastructure sectors.
The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, expressed condolences for the death of Raisí, Minister Abdolahian and his entourage. “Our thoughts are with the families,” he wrote in a message on his social network account X.
The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, joined with a statement in which he also conveyed his condolences to the rest of the deceased authorities, their relatives and “the affected Iranian citizens.”
Meanwhile, the NATO spokeswoman, in a message on social network X wrote: “Our condolences to the people of Iran for the death of President Raisí, Foreign Minister Amir Abdolahian and other people who died in the helicopter accident.”
Japan also sent its condolences to Iran. “There is nothing sadder than the news of a sudden death like this. We convey our condolences to the Government of Iran and its people, as well as to the families of the victims,” said Japanese government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi.
International
A magnitude 6 earthquake shakes the province of Esmeraldas in Ecuador, bordering Colombia
A magnitude 6 earthquake was recorded this Friday in the coastal province of Esmeraldas, bordering Colombia, causing damage to several infrastructures and leaving, so far, 20 people injured.
According to the Geophysical Institute of the National Polytechnic School, the earthquake occurred at 06:44 local time (11:44 GMT) at 1.03 degrees south latitude and 79.69 degrees west longitude.
According to the source, the tremor occurred at a depth of 30 kilometers and 9.31 kilometers from Esmeraldas, capital of the homonymous province.
According to the National Secretariat of Risk Management (SNGR), the affected people had head injuries and bruises.
While the SNGR continues with the verification of affectations, it indicated that 80% of the electricity service and 80% of the telecommunications that were affected, are gradually restored.
Among the affected public buildings are the ECU 911 due to a fall of masonry; the Vargas Torres University, which has cracks; the Los Militares building where the front collapsed and the Prefecture building, among others.
The SNGR reported that the earthquake was felt with strong intensity in seven municipalities of the province of Esmeraldas and moderately in the provinces of Guayas and Manabí, while mildly in Carchi, Cotopaxi, Imbabura, Los Ríos, Pichincha, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas and Tungurahua.
About twenty minutes after the earthquake in Esmeraldas, one of magnitude 4.1 was reported in the coastal province of Guayas, located in the southeast of the country, without damage or victims having been reported so far.
The President of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, ordered the displacement of all his ministers to Esmeraldas, in order to coordinate actions after the magnitude 6 earthquake recorded this Friday.
“I have arranged for the immediate deployment of all ministers in the province of Esmeraldas to coordinate the installation of shelters, delivery of humanitarian aid kits and assistance in everything our people need,” Noboa wrote on his social network account X.
The province of Esmeraldas was one of the most affected by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake recorded on April 16, 2016, which left more than 670 dead, thousands affected, as well as millions of material losses.
This earthquake also hit the province of Manabí, located, like Esmeraldas, on the coast of the Andean country, but also affected other areas and was felt strongly, even in the Ecuadorian capital.
Ecuador is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire or Belt, which concentrates some of the most important subduction areas (sinking of tectonic plates) in the world and is the scene of strong seismic activity.
In addition to Ecuador, the Horseshoe-shaped Belt comprises a large number of countries such as Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, the United States and Canada.
International
Preparations for Pope Francis’ funeral, in figures
The funeral of Pope Francis this Saturday, the first of a reigning pontiff for two decades, is an event that moves dizzying figures and will require the full mobilization of Italian authorities and volunteers.
These are some of the figures that draw what can be expected tomorrow for a historic day:
The Italian Ministry of the Interior has calculated that 200,000 faithful will attend the funeral of Francis. For the next conclave – with a date yet to be defined – and the election of the new pope, that figure amounts to 250,000.
The funeral procession that will move the remains of the late pope from St. Peter’s Vatican to the Basilica of Santa María la Mayor, where Francis arranged to be buried in a simple tomb.
3,000 volunteers will mobilize the Italian Civil Protection, responsible for the management of the preparations. There will be 55 health teams distributed throughout the funeral procession between San Pedro del Vaticano and the basilica de Santa María la Mayor, in addition to 11 advanced medical posts and 52 additional ambulances that will join the existing fleet.
17 degrees and a radiant sun are expected at 10:00 (08.00 GMT) on Saturday, the start time of the funeral, although the thermometer could reach 24 degrees throughout the day.
The state group Ferrovie dello Stato makes 260,000 seats available to those who wish to approach Rome by train. Civil Protection also confirmed that 500 parking spaces for buses and coaches have been reserved for the same day in Rome and its surroundings.
130 international delegations have already confirmed their presence at the event, but it is expected that the final figure may rise to 170. Fifty will be headed by heads of state or government, including a dozen sovereigns.
120,000 arrivals planned in Rome on April 25 and 26, which will translate into about 320,000 overnight stays, according to figures from the Department of Tourism of the Italian capital, which warns that the estimates may be below even those that finally occur. 101,000 of those arrivals will take place in hotels and another 53,000 in “supplementary establishments”.
11,000 soldiers and members of the security forces, not counting the teams of the international delegations, who will ensure that the funeral is held without incident. Police, police officers and traffic officers will join at least 1,500 soldiers.
5 anti-drone bazooas, capable of intercepting the radio frequencies with which these devices are operated, which will reinforce the decreed no-fly zone over the Roman sky.
International
“A dignified life” for migrants, the plea in Panama in memory of Pope Francis
Catholics who work with some of the 299 migrants deported by the United States to Panama, beg the Government that beyond placing the flag at half-mast for the death of Pope Francis this week, it should pay tribute to him by giving “a dignified life” to the migrants, as the Supreme Pontiff preached.
“Never forget your human dignity,” because “you are not a discard,” the pope wrote last year in a message addressed to the thousands of migrants who had just crossed the dangerous Darién jungle, the natural border between Colombia and Panama, on their way to the United States.
Known by many as “the pope of migrants” for his defense of those who are forced to leave their land in search of better living conditions, he himself recalled then that he was “son of migrants who went out in search of a better future,” and that “there were times when they were left with nothing, until they went hungry; with empty hands, but their hearts full of hope.”
Therefore, members of Catholic organizations that are part of the CLAMOR Network (the Latin American and Caribbean Ecclesiastical Network for Migration, Displacement, Refuge and Trafficking in Persons), and who work with dozens of migrants in the Panamanian capital deported by the United States, remember the teachings of Pope Francis.
Elías Cornejo, coordinator of social promotion and attention to the migrant population of the Catholic organization Fe y Alegría, which is part of the Clamor Network, explained to EFE in a migrant shelter that we must “look for alternatives for these people, they cannot be kept in conditions that are not favorable or dignified.”
“In the context of the death of Pope Francis, who was incisive in insisting on humane treatment of migrants, I believe that this country that declares itself mostly Catholic (…) beyond the flag at half-mast, I would also ask the national government to dignify that memory of Pope Francis by giving an answer to many people who (…) have the right to have a dignified life,” Cornejo stressed.
“Give them that, try to find a human, Christian, evangelical answer,” he insisted.
The pilgrimage of this group of migrants through Panama began in mid-February, when a total of 299 arrived on three planes from the United States within the framework of an agreement that turned the Central American nation into a “joup” country for their repatriation.
Coming from extracontinental nations such as China, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Iran, Russia, Pakistan or Nepal, 188 returned to their countries “voluntarily”, according to the latest official information available, and 111 refused to do so, many of them fearing for their lives.
The entire group was first housed in a central hotel in the Panamanian capital, and those who refused to be repatriated to their countries were transferred to a shelter more than 200 kilometers away, near the Darién jungle.
Then, after the decision last March by the Government of Panama to grant them a temporary humanitarian permit for 30 days, extendable up to 90, to find a way out of their situation, they took them back to the capital, although now without any type of logistical support, so the CLAMOR Network occupied that vacuum by first hosting the migrants in a humble hotel in the city, to transfer them days later to one of its shelters.
According to Cornejo, who underlines the support they receive in the shelter of “non-believing people, believing people, Muslim people, people of other religions too,” of the 69 migrants who moved there – families with children continue to stay in a hotel – 47 remain, since they “make their own decisions and move” by their own decision to other places.
“We don’t know where, we have an idea, but we don’t want to keep them or force them to anything, because they are free, they are not people who are imprisoned (…) We don’t want to pressure them, we don’t want to pressure the Government, but we do want to tell them again, ‘please, let’s find a way out of this’. An exit that has to be worthy for the State and for them, for migrants,” he remarked.
At least, he says, from the Foreign Ministry they have guaranteed that they will not deport anyone by force if the new 60-day period ends, an extension that ends in June and that, according to official data shared with EFE, at least 80 migrants have requested.
Two mothers from Asian countries who requested with their children the extension of the “temporary resident permit for humanitarian reasons”, as indicated in the document to which EFE had access, and who asked for anonymity, insisted that returning to their country is not an option, since if they return their “lives are in danger”.
Housed in a humble hotel in the center of the Panamanian capital, on a floor where behind each door there is a family of different nationality, they explain to EFE through a translation application part of their journey to the United States, crossing several countries of America with their minor children, and then their sudden expulsion without knowing the destination, some handcuffed hand and foot.
“When they put me on the plane I felt suffocated. His hands and feet were cold. My heart was beating fast, I had high blood pressure. I told the military,” recalls one of them. There were men and women handcuffed, the children were terrified. They are adults, but children are not, “how can they treat them as criminals?”
Now, they say, they are “afraid” that the day will come when the deadline they were given to stay in Panama will expire. “When this document ends, I don’t know exactly what will happen to us if the United States doesn’t get us out of here.”
“We want to ask Donald Trump to return us to the United States, please,” they begged.
A magnitude 6 earthquake shakes the province of Esmeraldas in Ecuador, bordering Colombia
Preparations for Pope Francis’ funeral, in figures
“A dignified life” for migrants, the plea in Panama in memory of Pope Francis
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