International
Trump meets with Zelenski at the Elysée, in a meeting organized by Macron
The president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, met this Saturday with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, in a meeting in which the French head of state, Emmanuel Macron, who had invited them to the commemorations of the reopening of Notre Dame de Paris, also participated as host.
Zelenski arrived shortly after 17.30 local time (16.30 GMT) at the Elysée Palace, where Trump had gone three quarters of an hour before for a face-to-face with Macron.
The head of protocol of the Elysée, and not the French president, was the one who went out to receive the Ukrainian leader in the courtyard, where the Republican Guard was paying honors.
Zelenski quickly entered the building where Trump and Macron were waiting for him, with whom he posed for a few seconds with the tense gesture in front of the cameras before starting the discussions between the three.
Tariffs, Middle East and Ukraine
The president-elect of the United States and the head of the French state planned to talk about the tariffs that the former threatens to impose on products entering his country from the European Union, the war in the Middle East and, above all, the conflict in Ukraine.
An issue that obviously interests Zelenski more than anyone else, taking into account that the United States is his main supplier of weapons.
During the campaign for his election, Trump had underlined his intention to resolve the war in Ukraine within 24 hours. His attitude has raised uncertainty and fear among Europeans, and in particular in Kiev, for the possibility that this means the end of Washington’s military support.
Diplomatic solution for the war in Ukraine
Zelenski has assumed in recent weeks that his country will not be able to reconquer by arms the territory that Moscow has conquered and has insisted that a diplomatic solution must be sought.
After the meeting at the Elysée, which lasted just over an hour, the three greeted each other again in front of the cameras in the courtyard of the Elysée and the only handshake between Trump and Zelenski was seen.
The two got into their respective official cars to go to Notre Dame.
The three presidents were supposed to participate there from 18.15 local time (17.15 GMT) in the reopening ceremonies of Notre Dame, although in view of the accumulated delay, it is possible that this schedule will not be respected.
These ceremonies will be attended by a quarantine of heads of state and government. The protection device includes a contingent of more than 6,000 police and gendarmes and the establishment of a perimeter closed to the public on the island of the Cité, where the cathedral is located.
Macron’s guests to the ceremony will attend a dinner offered by the French president at the Elysée in the evening.
Macron talks about a historic day and asks to work for peace
The French head of state, Emmanuel Macron, has considered that this Saturday has been a “historic day” after having met the president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, to whom he has asked to continue “common action for peace and security.”
In a message on his X account, Macron congratulated himself on the meeting he has led to at the Elysée Palace between the three: “The United States, Ukraine and France. Together on this historic day. Gathered by Notre Dame. Let us continue common action for peace and security.”
That text is accompanied by an image of the three, who have been talking for just over half an hour, before participating in the reopening ceremony of Notre Dame Cathedral, after five years of restoration due to the fire it suffered in April 2019.
In another previous message, Macron has referred to his face-to-face interview with Trump and has insisted on the “challenges” they have to overcome together and on the “pride in friendship” between his two countries.
The message also includes a short video of the beginning of the meeting of both leaders at the Elysée Palace, which has been held a few tens of minutes before the start of the reopening ceremony of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, which is the reason for the presence of the president-elect of the United States in France.
A “great honor” for the French
In that video, Macron said he was “happy to welcome President-elect Donald Trump in Paris for the reopening of Notre Dame five years later. He was president when the cathedral caught fire.”
“It is a great honor for the French,” he added, before noting the “solidarity” that Trump had expressed for the Notre Dame fire.
Trump, for his part, has highlighted the “very good relationship” he has had with the French president and explained how Americans love and respect the French.
“Very honored to be here,” Trump told Macron, who has also expressed his willingness to work with him and has pointed out that “the world seems to be going crazy.”
Zelenski considers his interview with Trump “good and productive”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has considered “very good and productive” the meeting he has held in Paris with the president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, and with the French head of state, Emmanuel Macron, sponsored by the latter, host of the celebration of the reopening of Notre Dame.
In a message on his X account, Zelenski has pointed out that “President Trump has been, as always, decisive. I thank you.”
He also wanted to thank Macron for organizing “this important meeting.”
International
Indigenous candidate Leonidas Iza predicts a new social explosion if there is no change in Ecuador
The presidential candidate of Ecuador for the indigenous movement, Leonidas Iza, who was part of the wave of protests of 2019 and who led that of 2022, reveals himself as an “anti-system” politician in the face of “a corrupt system” that he intends to reformulate to relieve the impoverished, because he predicts a new social explosion if there is no change in the Government to meet popular demands.
Iza, 42, is the candidate of Pachakutik, the political arm of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie) that he himself presides over, and with which he was at the forefront of the 2022 wave of protests against the government of conservative President Guillermo Lasso, where he was arrested and even labeled a “terrorist.”
“I am one of those who has never lost the ability to be outraged when governments have had policies against their own citizens,” Iza, a native of the Andean province of Cotopaxi, said in an interview with EFE.
“I am not against the private sector, I am against those who do not pay taxes and those who come to the Government only to defend their companies,” said the candidate in reference to the last two presidents (Lasso and Daniel Noboa).
“We fight for social justice, not to be violent. It is a reaction to the injustice to which we have been subjected,” he said.
For Iza, who represents the anti-extractivist left of Ecuador, the country has “a corrupt system, a health system that does not work, a deficient and unfair economic system, and public services that are not helping citizens.”
“And that’s what we want to change. We won’t be able to do it overnight, but the State can give relief to the people,” the candidate said.
To do this, it proposes to fight against tax evasion, which amounts to about 7.5 billion dollars a year, and also against corruption, which is estimated at about 3 billion dollars per year, to balance public accounts without having to follow the current credit program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that asks to cut public spending and raise taxes.
He also aimed to increase agricultural productivity, as well as boost tourism to go from 1 to 3 million visitors a year, and anticipated that he will regulate small and artisanal mining to avoid illegal mining but will not allow large-scale mining because it considers that it can contaminate the country’s large river basins.
Iza anticipated that he will not pay the external debt as long as there are “guaguas (children, in Kichwa) who have no education and are dying of hunger, and colleagues who are dying for lack of health.”
“We will tell the IMF and the other multilaterals that we are going to pay, but first we are going to solve the structural problem we have at the moment: education, health and minimum conditions for security,” he warned.
In that sense, Iza pointed out that “the strength of a popular reaction in the streets is accumulating” that must be resolved by whoever is elected. “Knowing my country, which has been on the streets all its life, there will be a popular reaction if (the discomfort) is not resolved in the following months,” he reiterated.
“The option that understands the people is us, and not the sectors that have always been in the Government,” said Iza, who avoided pointing out whether that reaction will reach the dimensions of the strong protests of 2019 and 2022, both led by the indigenous movement.
In this electoral campaign, Iza has left his distinctive Andean red poncho to put on the bulletproof vest in the face of the persistent wave of violence of organized crime that the country is experiencing, because he warned that the “war” that Noboa declared to the criminal gangs has not worked because its leaders are still free.
Faced with this, he promised “a hard hand for all” and recalled that “state institutions must suffocate everyone (criminals)”.
The candidate also advocated deepening international cooperation: “there must be a responsibility of all countries (producers, consumers and drug transit), especially in the region (of Latin America)”.
Asked if Ecuadorian society is ready to have an indigenous president of rural origin, Iza sees himself with popular support to face “the most reactionary sectors that have support in racism and stigmatization.”
International
Deaths in a hotel fire in a ski resort in Turkey rise to 69
The fire that occurred this morning in a 12-story hotel in a ski resort in northwestern Turkey claimed at least 69 deaths, in addition to causing fifty injuries, according to the latest assessment of the country’s authorities.
The fire originated around 3.30 a.m. local time (0.30 GMT) in a hotel, built entirely of wood, in the Kartalkaya ski center, halfway between Istanbul and Ankara, with almost full occupancy.
The flames were extinguished after about ten hours of firefighters’ work and the authorities found the death of 66 people, in addition to rescuing 51 injured, compared to the 10 dead and 32 injured initially estimated.
The hotel, with 161 rooms, had an occupancy close to 90%, because these days are the winter school holidays in Turkey, says the Turkish newspaper Hürriyet.
The wooden construction and the location of the hotel at the foot of a ski slope, which only allows vehicle access from the front facade, made the intervention of firefighters difficult, the Turkish newspaper explained.
According to the television network NTV, about 300 people, including employees, were in the hotel at the time of the fire, the causes of which are still unknown.
International
Hamas calls for counterattack on Israeli soldiers during their incursion in the West Bank
The Islamist organization Hamas urged the Palestinians on Tuesday to intensify and support their militiamen in the clashes against the Israeli Army during the military incursion that began today in Yenin, in the north of the occupied West Bank.
“We call on the masses of our people in the West Bank and their revolutionary youth to mobilize and intensify the clashes against the (Israeli) occupation army at all points, and to work to thwart the extensive Zionist aggression against the city of Yenin.”
“This military operation launched by the occupation in Yenin will fail, as did all its previous military operations against our brave people and their tenacious resistance,” the Palestinian group said.
Since the beginning of the operation, nicknamed by the Army “Iron Wall”, at least seven Palestinians have died in Yenin and another 35 have been injured, according to data from the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
Hamas accused the forces of the Palestinian National Authority (ANP), President Mahmoud Abbas’ ruling party in the West Bank, of having left Yenin to allow the operation of Israeli troops, instead of defending the Palestinians.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended on Tuesday that the last assault launched by his forces against Yenin, in the north of the occupied West Bank, seeks to “eradicate terrorism.”
“This is another step towards the objective we have set ourselves: to strengthen security in Judea and Samaria (West Bank),” according to a statement released by its Office.
“We are acting systematically and decisively against the Iranian axis wherever it sends its weapons: in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Judea and Samaria (West Bank),” concludes the Israeli president’s note.
The rail comes shortly after the start of the ceasefire in Gaza, which includes a weekly exchange of hostages in the Strip for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons.
Following the release of the prisoners, the Army increased its presence in this occupied territory with seven companies, claiming to strengthen its “anti-terrorist efforts.”
The images recorded in Yenin show dozens of Army vehicles accessing the local refugee camp, which has also been bombed by Israeli aviation.
The incursions and attacks of Israeli forces in Yenin, considered a bastion of Islamist-like militias, were already constant but they worsened after the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023.
However, since mid-December it has been the security forces of the Palestinian National Authority (ANP), which governs small parts of the West Bank, that have led an offensive in this population, which until last Friday triggered armed fighting against the militiamen.
This exchange of fire has caused at least 15 people dead on both sides, including two minors.
The occupied West Bank is experiencing its greatest spiral of violence since the Second Intifada (2000-05), and in 2024 at least 491 Palestinians have died in the territory by Israeli fire, most of them militiamen from refugee camps, but also civilians, including at least 75 minors, according to EFE’s count.
So far this year, at least 24 Palestinians have already died in Israeli attacks, five of them minors.
Indigenous candidate Leonidas Iza predicts a new social explosion if there is no change in Ecuador
Deaths in a hotel fire in a ski resort in Turkey rise to 69
Hamas calls for counterattack on Israeli soldiers during their incursion in the West Bank
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
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