International
India opens the polls for the seventh time in the last phase of the general elections
India opened the polls for the seventh time in the last phase of the general elections, the longest and busiest in the world, which conclude today with the vote of eight regions, including the constituency that elects the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.
The polling stations of 57 constituencies in eight territories and states of the country opened around 7:00 local time (02:00 GMT) for the seventh phase of the Indian general elections, according to the Indian Electoral Commission (ECI).
“This will mark the grand finale for the largest electoral marathon in the world that began on the 19th of last month and has already covered 6 phases and 486 seats of the Lok Sabha (Lower Chamber),” said the ECI.
For the last phase, more than 100 million voters are called, including 52.4 million men; 48.2 million women, 3,574 third-gender voters.
In the center of the sacred city of Benarés, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, the electoral district by which the current prime minister is measured, at the time of the beginning of the voting the schools were full of voters who come in groups to participate.
In the Hindu temple Vishvanath in Benarés, where one of the more than ten schools in the millennial city is located, hundreds of people remained in the queue even before the start of the voting.
“The Electoral Commission has done a very good job, now we can only wait for the results patiently, but for us it was a fairly fast process, because our life went on while other states voted. Today is our big day,” Mahesh Purohit told EFE, after casting his vote.
These elections have been marked by high temperatures in the northern regions, including Uttar Pradesh, with temperatures approaching 50 degrees Celsius, which has required special arrangements, the installation of fans, shade spaces or the distribution of moisturizing drinks for people waiting in the queues.
This has been a concern of the ECI for the impact it may have on participation in general, which in the first six phases has been below the average 70%.
India’s seven-phase general elections for 543 seats of the Lok Sabha, the Lower House of Parliament, began on April 19, which marked the largest democratic exercise ever held in the world, with almost 969 million registered voters.
On the other hand, at least 62 people have died because of the heat wave that affects northern India, including dozens of electoral officials, while the country celebrates this Saturday the last phase of general elections marked by temperatures that have exceeded 50 degrees.
International
Austrian man arrested in Croatia with deceased woman as passenger in his car
A 65-year-old Austrian citizen was arrested at a border checkpoint in Croatia after attempting to enter the country in his car with a deceased woman sitting as a passenger, police announced on Tuesday.
The man was detained in a routine check in late November in Gunja, a border area separating Bosnia from Croatia, the police told AFP. Suspicious because they saw “no consciousness or movement” from the passenger, Croatian officers called a doctor, who confirmed the death of the 83-year-old woman, also Austrian, according to her identification.
The woman’s relationship to the suspect is unknown. She had died in Bosnia, and the man intended to repatriate her body to Austria to “avoid the formalities related to transporting a corpse,” according to the police. Croatian media reported that the man was her legal guardian.
Once her death was confirmed, a funeral service took charge of the body.
International
Colombian nationals arrested for human trafficking and disappearance of migrant boat
Colombian authorities arrested two nationals accused of the illegal trafficking of migrants to the United States and of endangering lives due to the disappearance of a boat with 40 people aboard, U.S. Department of Justice officials reported on Tuesday.
Hernando Manuel de la Cruz Rivera Orjuela, 52, and Luis Enrique Linero Pinto, 40, both Colombian citizens, were arrested on December 13 in Colombia at the request of the United States for their alleged involvement in a “transnational human trafficking operation,” the department said in a statement.
According to the charges, the detainees were transporting migrants to San Andrés Island in the Caribbean, where they would then be taken by boat to Nicaragua. The goal was to reach the United States through Central America and Mexico.
The accused are said to have advised the migrants on how to reach San Andrés Island, where they personally received them, arranged accommodations, and “took them to the boats that transported them to Nicaragua so they could enter the United States illegally,” the statement reads.
“These defendants put several migrants on the boat that disappeared off the coast of Nicaragua in 2023,” said Deputy Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, as cited in the statement.
Both men are “directly and personally responsible for the illicit trafficking of migrants on that vessel,” according to the indictment dated October 23.
International
Homemade landmine explosion in Michoacán kills two soldiers, injures five
Two soldiers were killed and five others were injured by the explosion of homemade landmines planted by a criminal group in a mountainous area of the Mexican state of Michoacán (west), the Secretary of Defense reported on Tuesday.
The attack occurred on Monday morning in the municipality of Cotija, a border area between Michoacán and the state of Jalisco, when the military was conducting a reconnaissance mission after receiving information about an armed camp in the area, explained Secretary General Ricardo Trevilla.
“At that moment, an improvised explosive device detonated. Unfortunately, two soldiers lost their lives, and five others were injured,” the military leader detailed. The affected soldiers were airlifted to hospitals in the region by a military helicopter, while the rest of the team continued with the reconnaissance of the area.
Trevilla stated that before the explosion, the military unit had located the dismembered bodies of three people, and upon continuing the mission, they confirmed the camp was abandoned.
Asked about the individuals responsible for placing the explosives, the general suggested they could be criminals linked to the local group Cárteles Unidos, which operates in Michoacán and uses these tactics in their territorial dispute with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of the most powerful criminal organizations in the country.
Austrian man arrested in Croatia with deceased woman as passenger in his car
Colombian nationals arrested for human trafficking and disappearance of migrant boat
Homemade landmine explosion in Michoacán kills two soldiers, injures five
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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