International
The vote count begins in Ireland with the three major parties tied
The vote count in Ireland, after the general elections last Friday, began this Saturday with the three major parties of the country in an apparent technical tie and exploring government pacts waiting to know the final result.
The vote count started at 9:00 a.m. GMT this Saturday, after a voting day in which the majority of the electorate, of almost 3.7 million, divided their first preferences between the leftist Sinn Féin of Mary Lou McDonald, the Christian Democrat Fine Gael of the Prime Minister, Simon Harris, and the centrist Fianna Fáil of Michál Martin.
Results according to a survey at the foot of the ballot box
According to a poll at the ballot box of the public broadcaster RTE and the newspaper ‘The Irish Times’, the three formations obtained 21.1%, 20% and 19.5% of the votes, respectively.
The campaign director of Fianna Fáil, Jack Chambers, said today that it is still early to guess who will win, since it will depend largely on the transfer of votes between candidates, as allowed by the complex Irish electoral system.
The centrist leader insisted, however, that his party does not contemplate a government pact with Sinn Féin, former political arm of the IRA, which indicates that they could reissue the historic coalition of the last legislature with the Fine Gael, in which the Greens also entered, who now obtain 4%.
Chambers highlighted that the aforementioned poll indicates that 35% of voters want their leader, Micheál Martin, to be the next ‘taoiseach’ (prime minister), while McDonald gets 34% and Simon 27%, in line with his drop in popularity during the campaign.
For her part, the nationalist leader has assured that she will seek support in the space of the left, a path that did not work for Sinn Féin after the 2020 elections, when it was the most voted, but remained one seat away from the Fianna Fáil.
In this regard, the leftist People Before Profit-Solidarity (PBP-S) criticized McDonald’s strategy today to ask for transfers of votes from his party to progressive candidates.
Its leader, Richard Boyd Barrett, who obtained 3.1%, maintained that Sinn Féin took too long to offer a “real alternative” of government in the face of the “obvious and historical decline” of centrists and Christian Democrats, rivals since the Civil War (1922-1923) and who have shared power since then.
Forced to look for pacts
With so much equality, the three parties are obliged to seek pacts between themselves and/or with other minority forces, while Harris and Martin have been in favor of re-editing, if needed, the pact of the last legislature.
The three leaders could also look at the independent bloc, which obtains 14.6% of the votes, while formations such as the Labor Party and the Social Democrat receive 5 and 5.8%, respectively, and run as possible partners.
Most likely, according to observers, Martin and Harris will join forces again, although their number of seats will determine who leads the negotiations and who will be the new ‘taoiseach’, a position that could be rotating again.
International
Machado calls Venezuelans to the streets one day before the presidential investiture
Opposition leader María Corina Machado called on “everyone” on Sunday to take to the streets of Venezuela and the world on January 9, one day before the presidential investiture, which both President Nicolás Maduro and anti-Chavista leader Edmundo González Urrutia promise to assume.
“This day will be recorded in history as the day when Venezuela said enough. Stop holding on, stop shutting up. It’s our land, our flag. Freedom is not begged, it is fought and conquered,” Machado said in an audio published in X.
He asked to leave “full of confidence” because -he stressed- “Maduro is not going to go alone, you have to make him leave with the strength of a people who never give up.”
“Get out, shout, fight, it’s time to stand firm, to make them understand that they have come this far, that this is over. There are no excuses, there is no tomorrow if we don’t fight today. Freedom is achieved when we overcome fear. I’m going with you,” said the former deputy, who claims to be in hiding for fear for her safety.
Machado and the largest opposition coalition in front of the presidential investiture
Machado and the largest opposition coalition maintain that González Urrutia is the winner of the presidential elections of July 28, so they demand that this triumph be recognized, despite the fact that the National Electoral Council proclaimed Maduro’s re-election.
Meanwhile, the opposition leader – exiled since September in Spain – reiterates that he will travel to Venezuela to assume the Presidency and, as a preliminary step, he is on an international tour, which has already taken him to Argentina and Uruguay, in search of support.
Tomorrow, Monday, he will be received in the United States, where he hopes to meet with President Joe Biden.
Meanwhile, the Prosecutor’s Office maintains an arrest warrant against González Urrutia and the Police recently offered a reward of 100,000 dollars to anyone who provides information about the opponent’s whereabouts or provides some information that facilitates his arrest.
The Government of Venezuela deployed 1,200 troops throughout the country with the aim of “guaranteeing peace” in view of the inauguration of the Presidency.
International
Bathing with elephants, the popular Thai tourist activity criticized by animal rights activists
The bathing with elephants offered by some centers is a controversial activity to attract tourists in Thailand, which some organizations denounce that it involves risks by stressing animals that weigh more than a ton and have a very high sensitivity.
After the Spanish Blanca Ojanguren, 22 years old, was fatally attacked last Friday by an elephant in a tourist center on the island of Yao Yai (southwest of the country), where she took a bath with her boyfriend, the warnings made by some organizations about the implications of this practice resonate.
The police are still investigating the event
The Yao Yai Police confirmed to EFE on Monday that it is still investigating what happened to the Spanish woman and “gathers evidence” to determine the precise cause of her death.
Following the event, the Spanish Cristina Palacio, co-director of the Kindred Spirit sanctuary, located in the Thai town of Chiang Mai – where bathing with pachyderms is not allowed – emphasizes that “the main problem is the captivity of wild animals.”
Palacio told EFE that tourists must be provided with “correct information” about the nature of elephants so that they can demand “different and respectful experiences.”
Maternal separation
For its part, World Animal Protection warns that the first step to getting an elephant to be bathed by strangers is to “separate the offspring from their mothers, keep them isolated, deprive them of food and water and, in many cases, beat them repeatedly until they can be controlled with fear.”
There is no evidence that this method, which the NGO says it knows through sources that it does not identify, is complied with in all tourist centers that have these animals, while about 2,800 are exhibited in centers for various activities in Thailand, according to data from the organization.
These practices, they insist, have been spreading in Asian countries to attract foreign visitors, as it is seen as a less aggressive spectacle, leaving behind elephant rides, whose attractiveness has decreased in recent years, when – the NGO believes – awareness against animal abuse has grown.
Bathing elephants: health risk for animals and humans
The nature reserve of the tourist island of Phuket prohibits visitors from having direct contact with animals, except to observe them from a prudent distance, and on its website clarifies: “Elelphants do not want to be bathed by humans and humans should not bathe elephants.”
This center warns about the health risks that these baths contain for the animal and for humans, because – among other factors – the elephant can urinate or defecate, increasing the chances of infection for himself and for tourists who stay close, thanks to these offers that allow up to two hours of contact for a price close to one hundred euros.
“In wet and slippery conditions you can fall. With a three-ton elephant nearby, potentially stressed, this is something you really want to avoid,” warns the reserve, which does not deny that pachyderms enjoy bathing or covering themselves with mud, but only when they want it.
The activity generates disparity of opinions and other centers, including a very popular one 155 kilometers from Bangkok that was open on its website this Monday, offer bathing with elephants as one of their activities, defending the protection of the animal and denying possible abuses.
Thailand, the country of elephants
Thailand, which leads the number of elephants in Southeast Asia, tries to control the growth of this population with contraceptive programs to mainly prevent the rapid reproduction of pachyderms in wildlife.
According to government records, there are currently between 4,013 and 4,222 wild elephants (living in freedom), which have caused the death of 240 people since 2012 and that sometimes cross to areas inhabited by people, due to the loss of natural habitat.
It is also estimated that there is a similar population of domestic elephants in the country, of which there is no recent official data on serious incidents with humans, most of them used in shows intended for tourists.
International
Sheinbaum defends Mexico’s presence in Maduro’s investiture
The president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, defended this Monday that a representative of her government attends the investiture next Friday of the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, because “it is up to Venezuelans to define” their government.
“In the case of Venezuela, a representative will go to the protest take, but we don’t see why it shouldn’t be like that, it’s up to Venezuelans, not Mexico, to define,” the president said in her morning conference.
The Mexican ruler, who took office on October 1, justified now recognizing Maduro’s victory, questioned by the United States and the European Union (EU), despite the fact that in July, during the transition of Government in Mexico, she asked for “transparency” in the minutes and voting.
“The position (is) that is in the Constitution, with all the governments of the world, the self-determination of the peoples,” Sheinbaum replied questioned by her apparent change of opinion.
Mexico will be in Maduro’s investiture despite declaring itself “impartial”
The president had advanced two weeks ago that she would send a representation of her Government to the investiture of Maduro, who could be the ambassador, Leopoldo de Gyves, which marked the first time she recognized the president’s re-election, rejected by different governments and national and international organizations.
Sheinbaum announced since October 15 an “impartial” position on the post-electoral crisis in Venezuela, after his predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (2018-2024), agreed in August with his counterparts from Colombia, Gustavo Petro, and from Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, that the minutes should be transparent.
The announcement of the Mexican president occurs while the Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González Urrutia, considered by several countries as the winner of the July 28 elections, is touring America to get support before Maduro’s investiture.
The opponent will seek to meet this Monday with the President of the United States, Joe Biden, after meeting over the weekend with Presidents Javier Milei in Argentina and Luis Lacalle Pou in Uruguay.
Machado calls Venezuelans to the streets one day before the presidential investiture
Bathing with elephants, the popular Thai tourist activity criticized by animal rights activists
Sheinbaum defends Mexico’s presence in Maduro’s investiture
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
-
Central America3 days agoHonduras to send delegation in place of president Castro for Maduro ceremony
-
Sports3 days agoAC Milan defeats Juventus to secure Supercoppa Italiana final spot
-
International4 days agoYouTuber Germán Garmendia recounts lucky escape from New Orleans tragedy that killed 15
-
International3 days agoAlgerian influencer detained in France for alleged calls to attack
-
International4 days agoArgentina files complaint against Venezuela for arbitrary detention of gendarme
-
International4 days agoGlobal conflict surge in 2024 sees a 25% increase in political violence and 223,000 deaths
-
Central America2 days agoHonduras arrests former military leaders over 2009 killings
-
International3 days agoEcuador Imposes 60-Day State of Emergency in Most Violent Provinces as Drug Gangs Clash
-
International4 days agoTotonicapán New Year’s celebration tragedy leaves 73 injured, with no fatalities confirmed
-
International4 days ago1,500 migrants set off from southern Mexico seeking work and refuge in the U.S.
-
International4 days agoColombian President Gustavo Petro reflects on the Cuban Revolution’s impact on Latin American history
-
International3 days agoEdmundo González to meet presidents of Panama and Dominican Republic amid political crisis
-
International10 hours agoMachado calls Venezuelans to the streets one day before the presidential investiture
-
International3 days agoScottie Pippen’s dream predictions about Bitcoin gain attention as market faces volatility
-
International2 days agoBiden administration approves $8 billion arms sale to Israel ahead of Trump’s Presidency
-
International4 days agoMaría Corina Machado calls for nationwide anthem protest ahead of Venezuela’s presidential inauguration
-
International3 days agoVon der Leyen’s health forces two-week break amid severe pneumonia
-
International4 days agoNicolás Maduro blames opposition groups for violence during post-election protests in Venezuela
-
International3 days agoNew Myanmar law escalates online censorship and surveillance
-
International3 days agoElon Musk’s comments on UK abuse scandal spark government response
-
International3 days agoSuspect arrested in Liam Payne’s death case in Buenos Aires
-
International10 hours agoSheinbaum defends Mexico’s presence in Maduro’s investiture
-
International10 hours agoJustin Trudeau announces his resignation from the leadership of his party and as Prime Minister of Canada
-
International10 hours agoBathing with elephants, the popular Thai tourist activity criticized by animal rights activists
-
International10 hours agoBoluarte promises to reduce citizen insecurity in Peru this year
-
International3 days agoOAS demands release of Argentine officer detained in Venezuela
-
International3 days agoEvo Morales extends revolutionary salute to Maduro and Venezuela
-
International10 hours agoNew Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip leave at least 48 dead in the last few hours
-
International10 hours agoThree Israelis killed in a Palestinian attack in the northern West Bank
-
International10 hours agoThe trial against Sarkozy opens for financing his campaign with Gaddafi money
-
International10 hours agoEmmanuel Macron accuses Elon Musk of supporting “a reactionary international” in a world in “disorder”
-
International10 hours agoNorth Korea launches an intermediate-range missile, its first test in two months
-
International10 hours agoThe federal president of Austria commissions the far-right Herbert Kickl to form a government
-
International10 hours agoRussia announces the capture of the Ukrainian bastion of Kurákhove in the Donestsk region