International
Ukraine debates the exemption from military service in exchange for higher taxes
Ukraine is studying the possibility of allowing its citizens to avoid mobilization in exchange for a greater contribution to the state budget, in an attempt to find the right balance between guaranteeing enough soldiers for the Army and resources to pay for the defense of the country and an enlistment during martial law that is considered fair.
The Ukrainian Parliament is preparing to review three bills presented by the president of its Economy Committee, Dmitro Nataluja, which provide for the so-called exemption or “economic reserve” of individual employees and entrepreneurs.
Thus, companies will be able to “reserve” their especially valuable employees by paying an additional amount to the state budget of about 470 euros per month for each or when the salary is equal to or greater than 840 euros, since taxes in this case are already high.
Supporters of the idea argue that it would help limit the growing labor deficit in Ukraine, caused by emigration and mobilization, which 58% of companies indicate as the main problem.
According to the European Association of Ukrainian Enterprises, the measure would complement the current reservation mechanism, which is based, among other measures, on mobilization quotas in various sectors considered the most important and is often criticized for its lack of transparency and predictability.
The “economic reserve” would guarantee that companies continue to function, thus boosting the economy and contributing to the financing of the Army, the companies argue.
Currently, the State finances its defense against the Russian invasion only with its own income, while the money contributed by the allies directly to the state budget can only be spent on “civilian” purposes.
According to the Government of Ukraine, at least 11.500 million more euros need to be found in 2024.
Nataluja maintains that his idea can contribute between 4.6 billion and 7.4 billion euros to the budget, which would help equip and pay the soldiers who are being mobilized now.
The fate of the proposals depends on the support they obtain in society depending on their impact on the mobilization.
Vitali, a 35-year-old computer scientist from the city of Lviv, has barely left his apartment in the last half year for fear of meeting on the street with the representatives of the recruitment center.
Since the country currently needs more soldiers on the battlefield, he fears that he will be sent to an infantry unit and be injured or died.
With a monthly income of much more than 400 euros, the average salary of the country, Vitali says that he would be happy to pay to avoid military service, in addition to the frequent direct donations to the Ukrainian Army that he currently makes.
“I would know that I am not doing anything wrong from a legal point of view, I would support our defense effort and I could finally live without fear,” he explains to EFE.
However, for many soldiers and veterans, the introduction of an “economic reserve” would be a hard blow to national unity and the image of the Army.
“It is the principle of social justice that differentiates us from our enemy. We are all equal before the law, in the Army we are all equal and all sectors of the population must enlist,” argues on local television “Express” Oleg Simoroz, a well-known veteran who lost both legs in combat.
Simoroz points out that such “discrimination based on property” or personal wealth has no place in “a civilized democracy.”
According to him, the idea undermines long-term efforts for military service to be considered “prestigious” and that, instead, the Government should increase taxes on oligarchs and optimize its own expenses to find more funds.
Those who defend the proposals point out, however, that the veteran ignores that some pay bribes to avoid mobilization or have difficulties due to the absence of clear rules on the exemption from mobilization.
They believe that the “economic reserve” would make the mobilization more transparent and would also benefit the Army.
International
Democrats pressure Donald Trump with a vote in the Senate on in vitro fertilization
In an attempt to corner former US president and Republican candidate Donald Trump, Senate Democrats put to a vote on Tuesday a bill to guarantee access to ‘in vitro’ fertilization, a proposal that the conservatives blocked.
The vote took place just two weeks after Trump said that, if elected in the November 5 elections, he will not only protect access to in vitro fertilization, but will also make the Government or insurers cover the cost of this service.
Taking advantage of these statements with which they intend to attract moderate voters, the Senate Democrats decided to put the legislative initiative back to a vote, three months after it was blocked by the Republicans.
The architect of this strategy was the leader of the Democratic majority in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, who this Tuesday appeared with his co-religionists at a press conference on the stairs of Congress, surrounded by dozens of photos of families with children conceived by ‘in vitro’ fertilization.
“For many Americans, starting a family is one of the greatest joys. However, millions of people fight infertility every year. Unfortunately, as we have seen this year, access to ‘in vitro’ fertilization can no longer be taken for granted,” he said before the vote.
The senator recalled how the conservative majority of the US Supreme Court ended in June 2022 with federal protections against abortion by repealing the ‘Roe vs Wade’ ruling, which protected that right for half a century, allowing each state to set its own rules.
Twenty months later, the highest judicial instance of the conservative state of Alabama banned ‘in vitro’ fertilization by accepting the argument of the evangelical right that frozen embryos should be considered children.
That decision, later reversed by the Alabama state parliament, has fueled the debate about this reproductive method that has infiltrated the election campaign. The vice president and Democratic candidate, Kamala Harris, defends the technique, while Trump has maintained ambiguous positions.
Although he recently expressed his support for in vitro fertilization, he has also repeatedly boasted of having appointed the three Supreme Court judges who contributed to annul the federal right to abortion.
Trump has promoted the idea that the Republican Party is a “leader” in ‘in vitro’ fertilization, but the reality is that the formation is divided: the moderates are committed to protecting this method and the most religious sectors consider that it should be banned.
For his part, Harris has made the defense of reproductive rights a pillar of his campaign. In a statement issued after the Republican blockade of the measure, he harshly criticized the position of the Republican Party and described its resistance to women “freely deciding on their own bodies” as “extreme, dangerous and wrong.”
The legislative project, baptized as the “Law of the Right to ‘in vitro’ fertilization”, received the support of all Democrats and Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Susan Collins (Maine). The rest of the Republicans opposed it.
The text only received 51 votes in favor and could not exceed the barrier of 60 supports necessary to be debated in the Senate and, subsequently, be submitted to a final vote.
The project aimed to make access to ‘in vitro’ fertilization more affordable by requiring some insurers to cover fertility treatments.
According to the FertilityIQ organization, dedicated to providing information and guidance on fertility, the average cost can exceed $20,000. However, the exact price depends on the circumstances of each patient, including the coverage of their insurance.
International
The Government of Ecuador decrees a curfew in six provinces during a national blackout
The Government of Ecuador decreed a curfew in six provinces and one canton (municipality) of a seventh province during the eight hours that the power outage will last throughout the country, which will begin at 22:00 local time (03:00 GMT) on Wednesday.
The curfew will govern in the coastal provinces of Guayas, Los Ríos, Manabí, Orellana, Santa Elena, El Oro and in the municipality of Camilo Ponce Enríquez, in the province of Azuay.
In these same areas there is currently a state of emergency in force to face the organized crime gangs that operate in Ecuador, mainly dedicated to drug trafficking, and whose violence has led the country to register in 2023 the highest homicide rate in Latin America, with 47.2 per 100,000 inhabitants.
The Presidency indicated that police and military will strengthen their actions to ensure citizen and country security, “with special attention to the cantons (municipalities) and parishes in which this suspension of freedom of transit governs.”
He said that, in due course, he will communicate other complementary measures that they consider necessary depending on the situation next week.
Wednesday’s blackout was initially attributed by the Government to maintenance in the national electrical infrastructure to face a new period of electricity rationing due to lack of generation in the main hydroelectric power plants in Ecuador, before what the Executive described as the worst dry season of the last 61 years.
But on Monday night, the Administration of President Daniel Noboa anticipated that from Monday to Thursday of next week there will also be eight-hour blackouts during the nights throughout the country, due to the impossibility of supplying the national demand for electricity.
During these blackouts, the Police will deploy more than 46,000 agents nationwide to carry out patrols that will focus especially on financial institutions, residential complexes, fuel service stations and prisons.
This was anticipated on Tuesday by the Chief of Police for the Metropolitan District of Quito, Henry Román, who pointed out that there will be police controls at the entrances and exits of the main cities of the country, where all vehicles will be inspected.
For its part, it is expected that the military will take control of the Mazar reservoir, the second largest in the country, as provided by Noboa in the previous days to avoid sabotage in this critical infrastructure for the supply of national electricity demand.
The Mazar reservoir, located in the southern Andean province of Azuay, has a capacity of 410 million cubic meters of water and serves to supply a complex of three hydroelectric plants located in the Paute River basin with an installed capacity of 1,757 megawatts.
However, in recent days the level of this water reserve has dropped drastically due to the prolonged absence of rain.
International
Harris expresses confidence in the Secret Service and criticizes Trump’s anti-migrant rhetoric
The vice president of the United States and Democratic candidate, Kamala Harris, expressed her confidence in the Secret Service on Tuesday, after the second assassination attempt suffered by former President Donald Trump, and charged against the anti-migrant rhetoric of the Republicans.
During a conversation with the National Association of African American Journalists, Harris said that she feels safe with the protection of the Secret Service and immediately criticized Trump’s campaign for spreading the lie that Haitian migrants from Springfield (Ohio) steal and eat the neighbors’ pets.
“I feel safe. I have the protection of the Secret Service, but that does not deter the importance of fighting for the safety of all people in our country,” he said.
The Democratic aspirant stressed that “not everyone has a Secret Service,” she regretted that “there are too many people who do not feel safe” and gave the example of Ohio, where threats against Haitians have grown due to the hoaxes of Trump and his vice presidential candidate, J.D. Vance.
Likewise, Harris revealed that this same Tuesday he called Trump to talk about the assassination attempt he suffered on Sunday, when a man armed with a rifle was arrested in the vicinity of the West Palm Beach golf course (Florida) where the Republican was.
“I told her what I have said in public: there is no room for political violence in our country,” the vice president said.
This is the second assassination attempt suffered by Trump so far in the campaign, after the one that occurred in July when a man shot the Republican at a rally in Butler (Pennsylvania).
Trump blamed on Monday the second attempted murder on the “lies” that Harris spreads against him and the “rhetoric of the communist left.”
Democrats pressure Donald Trump with a vote in the Senate on in vitro fertilization
The Government of Ecuador decrees a curfew in six provinces during a national blackout
Harris expresses confidence in the Secret Service and criticizes Trump’s anti-migrant rhetoric
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 agoSpain reduces the escalation of tension with Caracas in the midst of the diplomatic crisis
-
International4 days agoWashington and London leave in the air the authorization to use their missiles against Russia
-
International4 days agoNorth Korea seeks to break into the US presidential elections with its uranium centrifuges
-
International4 days agoThe reform of the Judiciary in Mexico is declared constitutional and awaits officialization
-
International4 days agoKamala Harris seeks to shorten distances with Trump in conservative areas of Pennsylvania
-
International4 days agoUkraine and Russia exchange more prisoners while attacking and counterattacking in Kursk
-
Central America3 days agoU.S. Secretary of State Blinken congratulates El Salvador on 203 years of independence
-
International22 hours agoPetro considers that the ELN attack in Arauca “closes a peace process with blood”
-
International22 hours agoDemocrats pressure Donald Trump with a vote in the Senate on in vitro fertilization
-
International2 days agoFour injured in russian school hammer attack by 13-year-old student
-
International22 hours agoThe US promises “not to spare resources” investigations into the assassination attempt against Trump
-
International3 days agoWittenberg University in Springfield takes extreme precautions after threats of shooting
-
International22 hours agoThe Government of Ecuador decrees a curfew in six provinces during a national blackout
-
International22 hours agoBlinken promises González Urrutia and Machado that he will defend “democracy” in Venezuela
-
International22 hours agoThe Venezuelan Parliament presents a draft agreement on the rupture of relations with Spain
-
International2 days agoEl Salvador’s Independence celebrated with flag displays in New York and Qatar
-
International22 hours agoRecord registration of Latino voters after Harris’ arrival in the presidential race
-
Central America2 days agoMurdered Environmentalist Juan López Laid to Rest in Honduras Amid Mourning and Outrage
-
Central America2 days agoEl Salvador bonds surge following president Bukele’s fiscal announcement
-
International22 hours agoHarris expresses confidence in the Secret Service and criticizes Trump’s anti-migrant rhetoric