International

Emmanuel Macron accuses Elon Musk of supporting “a reactionary international” in a world in “disorder”

French President Emmanuel Macron accused Elon Musk on Monday of “supporting a new reactionary international” and interfering in the elections of other countries, such as Germany.

“Ten years ago, if we had been told that the owner of one of the largest social networks in the world would support a new reactionary international and intervene directly in elections, including Germany, who would have imagined it?” he asked during a speech before the annual conference of French ambassadors.

Macron warned of the “uncertainty” that lives a world increasingly in “disorder”, marked by the return of imperial impulses, the questioning of information and knowledge and the “very violent” questioning of humanism.

He warned that there is “an international of reactionaries” that represents “great private financial interests”, which takes advantage of the fact that “our liberal democracies have not been sufficiently effective” in protecting the middle class.

“We must achieve an agenda for the defense of democracy”

“We must achieve an agenda for the defense of democracy,” with counter-powers, and he also warned that large technology companies, while offering new possibilities, are also making States feel threatened by their growing power.

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Faced with this situation, he reached out to the president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, assuring that the future tenant of the White House “kinds that he has a solid ally” in France.

He added that Trump, who will take office in two weeks, has “a lucid ambition about the transatlantic relationship” between the US and Europe, and recalled that France “knew how to work” with Trump during his first term in 2016-2020.

Macron also acknowledged that “if you are weak and defeatist, there is little chance of being respected by President Trump’s United States.”

The French head of state extended his criticism of Russia and Iran. Regarding Russia, he said that it “has changed” in the way it exerts its “aggressiveness towards Europeans,” and recalled its political and electoral interference last year in Romania, Moldova, Georgia and Armenia.

Macron on Ukraine: “There is no quick and easy solution”

He also accused Moscow of “de facto globalizing” the war in Ukraine, which in his opinion is one of the great strategic challenges for Europe.

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Macron acknowledged that “there is no quick and easy solution to that conflict,” but also recalled that there will be no solution without the Ukrainians, something that Europe would not accept either.

And about Iran, he said that his ballistic program “threatens European territory” and that he has been involved in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as in the conflicts in the Middle East.

“The Iranian issue is one of the main ones that we will deal with with the new US Administration,” he summarized.

Macron also warned about the “very important” risk of “regression” in the international fight against climate change, for which he said he is responsible for the recent disasters in Spain and in the French department of Mayotte.

“There is no justification for the continuation of Israel’s military operations”

On Gaza, he said that “there is no justification for the continuation of Israel’s military operations” in that territory and said that this year must mark the progress for the materialization of Palestinian aspirations.

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The French president also focused on international trade, which in his opinion must be “rethought”, because Europeans “have been too naive”, and gave as an example the dispute with China over electric cars.

“If there is no loyalty in trade, it is not possible to produce competitively in Europe,” he said, so he asked to “defend European production capacity at every step of the value chain.”

International

Football Fan Killed in Clashes After Colombian League Match

Fans of Cúcuta Deportivo and their traditional rivals Atlético Bucaramanga clashed outside the stadium following their local league match on Tuesday, leaving one supporter dead and several others injured.

The deceased fan was stabbed, according to a senior police official in Cúcuta who confirmed the cause of death in a video statement. Local media reported that the victim was a supporter of the visiting team, Atlético Bucaramanga.

The match ended in a 2-2 draw. Authorities had banned the entry of Atlético Bucaramanga’s organized supporters into the stadium in an effort to prevent disturbances.

Despite the restrictions, violence broke out in the surrounding areas after the game. Among the injured were three police officers, an institutional source told AFP.

The incident adds to a series of recent violent episodes linked to Colombian football. The most recent occurred in December, when supporters of Atlético Nacional and Independiente Medellín clashed in the stands and on the pitch, leaving 59 people injured.

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International

Missing Spanish Sailor Rescued After 11 Days Adrift in Mediterranean

The man had departed from the port of Gandía, on Spain’s eastern coast, with the intention of reaching the southern Spanish town of Guardamar del Segura, a journey of about 150 kilometers, a spokesperson for Spain’s maritime rescue service told AFP.

Search boats and aircraft were deployed on January 17, but the operation was called off on January 22 after efforts proved unsuccessful. Alerts were then issued to vessels navigating the area in case they spotted any signs of the missing sailor.

As hopes were fading, a surveillance aircraft from the European Union’s border agency Frontex spotted the sailboat on Tuesday, along with a person signaling for help, approximately 53 nautical miles northeast of Bejaia, Algeria.

A nearby vessel, the Singapore-flagged bulk carrier Thor Confidence, carried out the rescue and is expected to bring the man to an end to his ordeal when it arrives on Thursday in the southern Spanish port city of Algeciras.

Maritime rescue services shared images on social media showing a small white sailboat drifting at sea and secured alongside the much larger ship.

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It remains unclear how the sailboat ended up hundreds of kilometers off its intended route or how the man managed to survive for so long alone in open waters.

International

Rubio Says U.S. Could Participate in Follow-Up Russia-Ukraine Talks

The United States could join a new round of talks this week aimed at ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday.

Teams from Kyiv and Moscow met last Friday and Saturday in Abu Dhabi in their first publicly acknowledged direct negotiations to discuss the peace initiative promoted by former U.S. President Donald Trump.

“They are going to hold follow-up talks again this week,” Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “There could be U.S. participation.”

However, Rubio suggested that Washington’s role may be more limited than during last week’s discussions, which included Steve Witkoff, the president’s special envoy, and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.

The secretary of state indicated that progress may have already been made on security guarantees for Ukraine, one of Kyiv’s key demands in any agreement with Moscow after nearly four years of Russian invasion.

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“There is one remaining issue that everyone is familiar with, and that is the territorial claim over Donetsk,” Rubio said, referring to the eastern Ukrainian region that Russia wants Ukraine to cede.

“I know that active efforts are underway to see whether the positions of both sides on this issue can be reconciled. It remains a bridge we have not yet crossed,” he added during the hearing.

Rubio acknowledged that the territorial question would be particularly difficult for Ukraine to resolve.