International
Harris and Trump commemorate the anniversary of the attack on Israel with symbolic acts
US Vice President Kamala Harris planted a pomegranate in her official residence on Monday, while Former President Donald Trump visited the grave of a prominent rabbi in New York, in acts of great symbolic content to commemorate the first anniversary of Hamas’ attack against Israel.
Both candidates sought to give a solemn air to the day with gestures that reaffirmed their commitment to Israel and, although they tried to maintain an institutional tone, the ceremonies acquired a clear political dimension less than a month before the November 5 elections.
“Today we plant a pomegranate in this garden because, in Judaism, it is a symbol of hope and virtue,” Harris said in statements to the press, in which she said she felt “devastated by the pain and loss” caused a year ago by the Hamas attack, which left 1,200 dead and took 251 hostages.
Trump and Harris star in symbolic acts for Israel
Harris reaffirmed his commitment that he will “always” ensure that Israel has the means to defend itself, but also considered that the world must work to alleviate the “immense suffering” of the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip, who have experienced “so much pain and so much loss during this year.”
In addition, in response to questions from the press, he said that he will not “surrender” in attempts to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages.
The vice president, like US President Joe Biden, has reiterated her support for Israel at all times, but has spoken with a firmer language about the suffering in the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli offensive has already left more than 41,900 fatalities.
Trump visits the grave of a key figure for Orthodox Jews
For his part, Trump visited in New York the grave of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, a prominent figure of Orthodox Judaism who led the Jabad-Lubavitch movement for more than four decades until his death in 1994.
Known as the “Rebe of Lubavitch”, Schneerson was the seventh leader of this religious current and some considered him a messianic figure, although the Jabad movement has officially denied any interpretation in this regard.
With a black kippá on his head, Trump, who belongs to the Presbyterian Church, deposited a stone on the tombstone of Schneerson’s tomb, following a Jewish custom. In addition, in front of the cameras, he broke into pieces a small piece of paper on which he had apparently left a message for the rabbi and left it inside the mausoleum.
Trump did not make statements to the press at that event, but he will address the media this afternoon in Miami.
In a statement, Karoline Leavitt, one of the Republican spokespeople, reiterated that if the former president had been in the White House, the Hamas attacks “would never have happened.”
Biden lights a candle to honor the victims
Meanwhile, Biden and the first lady, Jill Biden, participated this Monday in a ceremony with a rabbi in which they lit a yahrzeit candle, used in Judaism to honor the memory of the deceased, and kept a moment of silence to remember the victims of Hamas.
The ceremony was officiated by Rabbi Aaron Alexander of the Adas Israel Congregation, a family friend of the American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was taken hostage by Hamas and whose body was found at the end of August in a tunnel in Rafah, in the Gaza Strip.
Although Biden did not speak during the event, in the morning he issued a statement in which he reaffirmed his commitment to Israel’s right to defend itself after the Hamas attacks, while reiterating his government’s determination to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza that allows the release of the hostages.
Condolences from the United States
“We will not give up until we bring the hostages home,” he said in his statement.
In addition, Biden spoke on the phone on Monday with the President of Israel, Isaac Herzog, to express his condolences on the anniversary of the attack.
The president, however, did not call the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, with whom he has not spoken since August 21 and with whom he maintains an increasingly tense relationship after the failed attempts of the United States to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas that allows a ceasefire and release the hostages.
International
Chile enters runoff campaign with Kast leading and Jara seeking a last-minute comeback
Chile’s presidential runoff campaign for the December 14 election kicked off this Sunday, with far-right candidate José Antonio Kast entering the race as the clear favorite in the polls, while left-wing contender Jeannette Jara faces an uphill scenario, hoping for a comeback that some experts describe as “a miracle.”
The final polls released in Chile—published before the mandatory blackout on survey dissemination—give Kast, an ultraconservative former lawmaker running for president for the third time, a lead of between 12 and 16 points. His opponent, the communist former minister in Gabriel Boric’s current administration, is weighed down not only by the government’s low approval ratings but also by a fragmented electorate.
Although Jeannette Jara received the most votes in the first round with 26.9%, her lack of alliances beyond the left makes it difficult for her to expand her support. Kast, who secured 23.9%, has already brought key figures on board: ultralibertarian Johannes Kaiser (13.9%) and traditional right-wing leader Evelyn Matthei (12.4%), both now backing his candidacy.
Analysts note that although Kast’s support base consolidates more than 50% of the electorate, it does not guarantee an automatic transfer of votes. Populist economist Franco Parisi, who placed third with 19.7%, emerges as the major wildcard. His party, the People’s Party (PDG), is set to decide this Sunday through an internal consultation whether to endorse one of the two finalists.
International
Trump says asylum decision freeze will remain in place “for a long time”
U.S. President Donald Trump warned on Sunday that the suspension of decisions on asylum applications—implemented as part of his order to “halt” immigration from third-world countries following Wednesday’s shooting in Washington—will remain in effect “for a long time.”
The president declined to specify how long the freeze, imposed last Friday by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), would last. The suspension affects individuals waiting for an asylum ruling from that agency, though it does not apply to cases handled by U.S. immigration courts.
The delay is part of a series of measures enacted by the Trump Administration after a shooting on Wednesday in which an Afghan national allegedly opened fire on the National Guard in Washington, D.C., killing one officer and leaving another in critical condition.
Trump has ordered a permanent halt to immigration from 19 countries classified as “third-world.” He also indicated on Sunday that “possibly” more nations could be added to the list.
“These are countries with high crime rates. They are countries that do not function well… that are not known for success, and frankly, we don’t need people from those places coming into our country and telling us what to do,” Trump said, adding: “We don’t want those people.”
USCIS had already announced on Thursday a “rigorous review” of green cards held by migrants from 19 “countries of concern,” including Afghanistan, Cuba, Venezuela, and Haiti.
International
Sri Lanka and Indonesia deploy military as deadly asian floods kill over 1,000
Sri Lanka and Indonesia deployed military personnel on Monday to assist victims of the devastating floods that have killed more than a thousand people across Asia in recent days.
A series of weather events last week triggered prolonged torrential rains across Sri Lanka, parts of Indonesia’s Sumatra island, southern Thailand, and northern Malaysia. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said Monday in North Sumatra that “the priority now is to deliver the necessary aid as quickly as possible.”
“There are several isolated villages that, with God’s help, we will be able to reach,” he added. Subianto also stated that the government had deployed helicopters and aircraft to support relief operations.
Floods and landslides have claimed 502 lives in Indonesia, with a similar number still missing.
This marks the highest death toll from a natural disaster in Indonesia since 2018, when an earthquake and subsequent tsunami killed more than 2,000 people.
The government has sent three military ships carrying aid and two hospital vessels to the hardest-hit regions, where many roads remain impassable.
In the village of Sungai Nyalo, located about 100 kilometers from Padang, the capital of West Sumatra, floodwaters had receded by Sunday, leaving homes, vehicles, and crops coated in thick mud.
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