International
The trial of an Australian Instagramer accused of overmedicating her baby to get donations begins
An Australian Instagrammer accused of poisoning her one-year-old baby to gain followers and obtain donations administered her daughter a medicine against seizures in disobeying medical recommendations, as reported this Tuesday before the Australian court that judges the case.
In today’s hearing, the prosecution exposed before the Magistrates’ Court of the city of Brisbane, in east of Australia, that the girl had been diagnosed with tuberous sclerosis, a genetic disorder that caused benign tumors, according to the public channel ABC.
Last year, doctors prescribed the girl the drug “Carbamazelina”, used by people who suffer from epilepsy, but when they detected that it caused seizures in the baby, they withdrew the treatment.
However, the mother, 34 years old and who, according to what was exposed today by the prosecution, still had the prescription for the drug, would have ignored the opinion of the doctors and continued to administer the medicine to the little girl with the aim of obtaining donations and followers.
According to the Australian authorities, the accused thus obtained about 60,000 Australian dollars (37,500 US dollars or almost 36,000 euros).
“There really is no valid explanation for why… (the woman) did not go once, not twice, but three times… to a pharmacy to obtain a medicine that she knew she should no longer give her daughter because it caused her harm,” Police prosecutor Jack Scott said during the session.
Scott indicated during the hearing that on one occasion the seizures caused by the drug caused the girl a cardiac arrest that required medical intervention, according to information collected by the Australian Press Agency (AAP).
The court told EFE today in a statement that during the session a request for bail was also submitted for the detainee, which will continue to be evaluated at a hearing on Wednesday at 9:00 local time (23:00 GMT on Tuesday).
This case has shocked the southern country, very firm in its policies of control over social networks with recent measures that restrict access to them for adolescents, and maintained a tough battle with X for a video showing the knife attack of a teenager against a religious in Sydney in April 2024.
The woman, who has not been identified for legal reasons, was arrested on January 16 following a police investigation based on suspicions that the parent provided the baby with medicines without medical approval.
According to the Queensland Police investigations, between August 6 and October 15, 2024, the woman allegedly administered several prescription and unauthorized medications to the baby and tried to hide this behavior.
The mother also recorded her daughter “while she suffered anguish and immense pain” and published the videos on social networks “to attract monetary donations and online followers,” according to the Police.
In mid-October, medical staff at a hospital in southern Brisbane detected what happened and informed the police while the girl was admitted.
The blood tests carried out then detected that the baby had unauthorized medications in her blood.
After her arrest, the woman was charged with five crimes of poisoning with the intention of causing harm, three of preparation to commit crimes with dangerous objects and a crime of torture, one of manufacturing child exploitation material and one of fraud, which add up to more than two decades in prison if she was found guilty.
International
Cardinals seek a “unifier” as they prepare for conclave to elect new pope
Several cardinals who will participate in the conclave to elect Pope Francis’ successor said they are approaching the mission with “apprehension,” “responsibility,” and “hope,” while also beginning to outline the profile of the next pope: a “unifier.”
The 12-year pontificate of the first Latin American pope was marked by reforms and a simple style, which earned him strong opposition from the Church’s most conservative sectors, with his predecessor Benedict XVI as a symbol of that resistance.
“The task before us these days is greater than us, and yet it is a duty we must fulfill,” summarized French Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline during a mass in Rome on Thursday evening.
A few meters away, Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich admitted to journalists that he approaches the conclave “with a certain apprehension,” but also with “great hope.”
“We feel very small. We must make decisions for the entire Church, so please pray for us,” added the Jesuit cardinal, who was a close advisor to the Argentine pontiff.
He estimated that the conclave would “probably” begin on May 5 or 6, after the nine-day mourning period at the Vatican known as the Novendiales.
International
Trump and Zelensky hold “very productive” meeting in Rome during Pope’s funeral
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky held a “very productive” meeting, according to the White House, this Saturday in Rome on the sidelines of Pope Francis’ funeral.
No specific details about their conversation were disclosed, but the White House promised to release more information later. Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andrii Yermak, described the 15-minute discussion at St. Peter’s Basilica as “constructive.”
This was the first meeting between the U.S. and Ukrainian presidents since their heated exchange in Washington on February 28, when Trump and his Vice President JD Vance verbally confronted Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Dozens of heads of state, government leaders, and senior officials gathered in Rome on Saturday for Pope Francis’ funeral, creating opportunities for multiple diplomatic meetings.
The Ukrainian presidency stated that Trump and Zelensky “agreed to continue” their talks later Saturday in the Italian capital and shared photos of both leaders seated face-to-face, also engaging in conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The U.S. president said on Friday that a deal between Ukraine and Russia is “very close,” without providing details, following discussions between his envoy Steve Witkoff and Vladimir Putin in Moscow about the possibility of launching “direct negotiations” between the two sides.
International
A magnitude 6 earthquake shakes the province of Esmeraldas in Ecuador, bordering Colombia
A magnitude 6 earthquake was recorded this Friday in the coastal province of Esmeraldas, bordering Colombia, causing damage to several infrastructures and leaving, so far, 20 people injured.
According to the Geophysical Institute of the National Polytechnic School, the earthquake occurred at 06:44 local time (11:44 GMT) at 1.03 degrees south latitude and 79.69 degrees west longitude.
According to the source, the tremor occurred at a depth of 30 kilometers and 9.31 kilometers from Esmeraldas, capital of the homonymous province.
According to the National Secretariat of Risk Management (SNGR), the affected people had head injuries and bruises.
While the SNGR continues with the verification of affectations, it indicated that 80% of the electricity service and 80% of the telecommunications that were affected, are gradually restored.
Among the affected public buildings are the ECU 911 due to a fall of masonry; the Vargas Torres University, which has cracks; the Los Militares building where the front collapsed and the Prefecture building, among others.
The SNGR reported that the earthquake was felt with strong intensity in seven municipalities of the province of Esmeraldas and moderately in the provinces of Guayas and Manabí, while mildly in Carchi, Cotopaxi, Imbabura, Los Ríos, Pichincha, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas and Tungurahua.
About twenty minutes after the earthquake in Esmeraldas, one of magnitude 4.1 was reported in the coastal province of Guayas, located in the southeast of the country, without damage or victims having been reported so far.
The President of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, ordered the displacement of all his ministers to Esmeraldas, in order to coordinate actions after the magnitude 6 earthquake recorded this Friday.
“I have arranged for the immediate deployment of all ministers in the province of Esmeraldas to coordinate the installation of shelters, delivery of humanitarian aid kits and assistance in everything our people need,” Noboa wrote on his social network account X.
The province of Esmeraldas was one of the most affected by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake recorded on April 16, 2016, which left more than 670 dead, thousands affected, as well as millions of material losses.
This earthquake also hit the province of Manabí, located, like Esmeraldas, on the coast of the Andean country, but also affected other areas and was felt strongly, even in the Ecuadorian capital.
Ecuador is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire or Belt, which concentrates some of the most important subduction areas (sinking of tectonic plates) in the world and is the scene of strong seismic activity.
In addition to Ecuador, the Horseshoe-shaped Belt comprises a large number of countries such as Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, the United States and Canada.
Cardinals seek a “unifier” as they prepare for conclave to elect new pope
Trump and Zelensky hold “very productive” meeting in Rome during Pope’s funeral
A magnitude 6 earthquake shakes the province of Esmeraldas in Ecuador, bordering Colombia
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