International
The ruling coalition in Japan loses its majority for the first time since 2009
The ruling coalition of Japan formed by the Liberal Democratic Party (PLD) of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and the Buddhist force Komeito has lost its parliamentary majority in the general elections, as confirmed by the election results on Monday.
These two forces suffered a resounding defeat by obtaining as a whole of 215 seats in the elections held the day before, below the majority of the 233 that mark the majority in the Lower House of the Diet (Parliament) of Japan.
The conservative PLD of Ishiba took 191 seats, a sharp drop compared to the 256 it had from the previous 2021 elections, while Komeito won 24.8 less, according to the count of results collected today by the state chain NHK and in the absence of the final official figures being announced.
PDC, the big winner of the elections in Japan
The great winner of the elections has been the progressive Constitutional Democratic Party (PDC) of Yoshihiko Noda, the main force of the opposition, which has increased its parliamentary representation from 98 seats to 148.
This is the first time since 2009 that the PLD loses in elections the majority sufficient to govern, either alone or with its traditional coalition partner.
These results open a period of great political uncertainty for Japan. Both the Ishiba PLD and the Noda PDC have expressed their willingness to seek possible alliances that allow them to govern, although for now they have ruled out any option of doing it together.
Electoral punishment for the government party
The electoral punishment that the PLD has fit is attributed above all to the succession of scandals in which it has been involved in recent years, the most recent of them a series of cases of irregular financing of its parliamentarians that led to the resignation last month of the previous prime minister, Fumio Kishida.
Ishiba won his party’s primaries and campaigned for these generals with the slogan of “respecting the rules” and promoting the principles of honesty and transparency, but this message does not seem to have convinced voters.
The PLD “has not been able to gain the trust” of citizens and “has been tried severely,” said the current prime minister the day before when he learned of the projections that drew a gloomy panorama for its formation.
International
Thirteen cuban military members missing after explosion at arms warehouse
Thirteen members of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) have been reported “missing” following an explosion at an arms and ammunition warehouse in the eastern part of the island, the military institution announced.
“As a result of the explosions at an arms and ammunition warehouse in the Melones community… in the province of Holguín, 730 km east of Havana,” two officers, two non-commissioned officers, and nine soldiers are reported as “missing,” according to a statement from the Ministry of the Armed Forces released by Cuban state television.
The statement specified that “investigations are still ongoing at the site,” which led to the evacuation of more than 1,200 residents from areas near the warehouse of a military unit where “aged ammunition was being classified.”
Neither the official press nor Cuban state television have provided images of the explosions at the military unit, but independent media outlets published photos online showing a massive column of smoke and police officers deployed in the streets of the Melones community.
International
Trump considers declaring National Economic Emergency to justify universal tariffs
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump may be considering declaring a national economic emergency in order to justify implementing a package of universal tariffs on both allied and adversary countries, according to CNN.
The proclamation of these measures would grant the incoming U.S. president the freedom to create a new tariff program using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
This move would give the president the authority to manage imports during a national emergency.
According to the report, Trump has a penchant for this law as it provides broad jurisdiction on how tariffs are implemented without strict requirements to prove they are necessary for national security reasons.
International
Venezuelan opposition candidate Enrique Márquez detained ahead of Maduro’s inauguration
Enrique Márquez, a minority opposition candidate in Venezuela’s July 28 elections, was “arbitrarily detained,” denounced a political coalition he is part of and his wife, who described the action as “kidnapping.”
Since Tuesday night, there has been a wave of reports of detentions, with at least a dozen arrests just over 48 hours before President Nicolás Maduro’s inauguration for a third six-year term, following a controversial reelection.
“We inform that yesterday, 07.01.25, Enrique Márquez was arbitrarily detained,” stated the Popular Democratic Front (FDP).
“He was kidnapped by paramilitary groups who, using force as their law, aim to silence and intimidate those of us who want a better country and have a different vision,” said his wife, Sonia Lugo de Márquez, on the leader’s X account.
Thirteen cuban military members missing after explosion at arms warehouse
Trump considers declaring National Economic Emergency to justify universal tariffs
Venezuelan opposition candidate Enrique Márquez detained ahead of Maduro’s inauguration
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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