Javier Milei remains the person most likely to preside over Argentina as of December 10, but as he travels the final stretch towards the elections on October 22, the ultra-liberal populist continues to surprise: the Church

The Iranian authorities have been deploying their armed forces in several cities in the country for days and forcing dozens of businesses not to support strikes, in an attempt to contain any street protests.. This Saturday marks the first anniversary of the death of Mahsa Jina Amini, the young woman who died in police custody after being arrested for not wearing the Islamic veil correctly.

The images of Amini in the hospital, with clear signs of having been beaten during her detention, unleashed a wave of protests that spread throughout the country.. Thousands of women took to the streets to burn their veils or cut their hair in an act of protest to demand more freedoms and the end of the current political regime.. The protest movement became a cry against the economic crisis and against the authority of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which was supported by different strata of society in all the cities of the country.

Armed troops from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) stationed days ago at Amini's family home, in her hometown of Saqez, where the young woman is buried.. Authorities detained Amini's uncle, according to Shiva Nazar Ahari, founding activist of the Reporters Committee for Rights.. The young woman's family had planned to pay tribute to her in the cemetery, but it was not possible due to pressure from the authorities.

Police deployment has spread to other cities in an attempt to quell small protests against the supreme leader. In Tehran and other important cities in the northeast of the country such as Mashhad or Shiraz, in the south, dozens of people defied the authorities on Friday night and took to the streets chanting: Death to the dictator!” and “Woman, life, freedom!”, the latter is the emblem of Mahsa Jina Amini's cause, which created a wave of solidarity both within Iran and from millions of women in other countries.

In the Kurdish towns of Marivan and Abdomen, security forces failed to prevent groups of protesters from lighting bonfires in some areas and shouting slogans.. The protests have also spread on social networks, where anonymous users have posted images commemorating the anniversary of the young woman's death.

Two months ago, in a show of unity between Kurdish parties, six groups called a general strike scheduled for this Saturday, due to the “irreversible and unstoppable steps” taken by the thousands of Iranians who took to the streets to protest the violence. police. According to IranWire, dozens of merchants have been summoned in recent days to go to intelligence departments, mainly in Amini's hometown, Saqez, and have been forced to sign a paper stating that they would not support the strike.. The outlet reported at least 50 merchants subjected to harsh interrogations.

In the last year, the Iranian regime has responded harshly to street protests, with more than 20,000 Iranians detained, while 500 people have been killed, mostly shot, at the hands of security forces.. Nearly twenty people have been sentenced to death for their participation in the protests and seven of them have already been executed.. For its part, Tehran insists that the protests are instigated “by foreign powers” and has warned on several occasions that whoever joins the demonstrations will pay a high price.

Aside from the lack of freedoms, the country suffers a severe economic crisis, with high inflation that has worsened with foreign sanctions.. On the eve of the anniversary of Amini's death, the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia announced the imposition of new sanctions against individuals and entities, while reaffirming their “commitment to the brave people of Iran.”. Protests were held in cities around the world such as Istanbul, Madrid, Paris and Brussels to commemorate Amini's murder and demand improved civil rights for Iranians.

Li Shangfu has been China's Defense Minister for only six months before being hit by a corruption scandal that could ruin the successful career of this 65-year-old veteran general.. Many rumors have been circulating since he disappeared from the public sphere at the end of August. The weeks went by and there was no trace of the minister in the events and meetings that were on his agenda..

After a hectic summer in Chinese politics, in which high military commanders to a Foreign Minister have fallen, it was inevitable that alarms and speculation would be triggered in the absence of Li, especially considering that this was happening in a country nothing transparent when it comes to giving explanations when these mysterious disappearances happen.

Silence continues in Beijing. There are no official statements regarding this. They are not expected either. But Chinese officials no longer hide that there is an ongoing corruption investigation into Li Shangfu for a plot related to the purchase of military equipment.. To understand the case, first you have to go back a few years and draw a few strokes of the character.

The son of a high-ranking commander, Li fought under Mao Zedong during the civil war and also in the Korean War, supporting the North's side.. But Li was not a skilled soldier, but one of the best aerospace engineers of his generation.. What he was good at was sending rockets into space. He worked at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in western China, an institution operated by the People's Liberation Army (PLA).. There he directed the launch of China's first lunar probe and also the first anti-satellite missile test.

Nine years ago, rewarded for his achievements, he was promoted to general and chief of staff of the PLA Strategic Support Force, an organization that was responsible for retiring old army commanders and moving the right pieces so that the fighting force largest in the world, rusty in many of its departments, will begin to modernize, starting with the acquisition of modern military equipment. The latter was his main task and for this reason he was sanctioned by the United States: he supervised the purchase of Russian Su-35 fighter jets and S-400 air defense missile systems.

“Alleged violations”

Precisely, regarding Li's time at the head of the agency that acquired military equipment, the Chinese authorities announced in July that they had launched an investigation into “alleged violations” dating back to October 2017.. The published notice cites the “active leak of secrets” and irregularities in the “bidding process for personal benefit”. We will have to wait to learn more details about the open investigation. On Friday, the Financial Times newspaper cited Washington security sources as saying that Li was “under house arrest” as a result of the corruption investigation.

During the last National People's Congress (NPC), the annual session of the Chinese Parliament, President Xi Jinping launched a major reshuffle in key government positions, in which Li Shangfu was named Minister of Defense.. A position with a lot of public presence, but with more diplomatic than command power – it is a practically ceremonial position – in the powerful Central Military Commission, who really directs military affairs.. This body is made up of seven people, among whom is Li. But all of them are under the supervision of President Xi, who heads this commission as the highest military decision-making authority.

Li's case is reminiscent of the recent disappearance of former Foreign Minister Qin Gang. At the end of July, just a month after he faded from the public spotlight, unleashing all kinds of rumors, Beijing finally confirmed the strange dismissal of Qin, one of the politicians closest to President Xi.. In the capital of the Asian giant, no explanation has yet been given about the reasons behind this dismissal just eight months after he was appointed minister.

No one has heard anything about Qin's whereabouts since.. Neither has Li since he was last seen on August 29, when he gave a keynote speech at the China-Africa Peace and Security Forum in Beijing.. A few weeks earlier, the minister visited Belarus and Russia. In Moscow he met with his counterpart, Sergei Shoigu. While it was strengthening military ties with its strategic ally, a new anti-corruption campaign had just been launched in Beijing that took out senior officials of the department that is in charge of supervising the country's ballistic missiles and nuclear arsenal, specifically two general. Among them was Li Yuchao, who last year was promoted to a member of the Central Committee, the top leadership body of the ruling Communist Party (CPC).

Harking back to old military-related corruption cleanups, in 2012, when Xi Jinping took power, the two vice-chairmen of the Central Military Commission were removed. But the biggest fish to fall was the former head of the PLA Joint Chiefs of Staff, Fang Fenghui, sentenced in 2019 to life imprisonment.

The French ambassador to Niger, Sylvain Itté, is being held inside the embassy in Niamey by the military who carried out the coup d'état in the country in mid-July, as denounced this Friday by the French president, Emmanuel Macron.. They demanded the departure of the ambassador, but Paris, which does not recognize the coup government, had insisted that he would remain in the country.

“In Niger, as I speak to you, we have the ambassador and diplomatic members who are taken hostage in the French embassy,” Macron said in statements at this event that were reported by the press present.. He has also said that “it is forbidden to bring them food, they only eat military-type rations.”

The military seized power on July 26 and then requested the departure of the French diplomat and denounced the agreements that existed with the former colonial power.. Paris also has some 1,500 soldiers deployed in the country on a mission to fight jihadist terrorism.

A few days ago, the French Ministry of Defense already announced that it maintains contacts with the military to prepare the departure of part of the French troops.. It has already had to withdraw its troops from Mali and Burkina Faso, after the respective military coups in both countries.

While anti-French demonstrations grow in the country (especially demanding the departure of troops), France insists that it does not recognize the coup government; only admits as legitimate the deposed president, Mohamed Mazoum, held by the military. In an event with ambassadors a few weeks ago Macron also warned that the diplomatic representative in Niamey would remain in the country.

Itté “does not have the possibility of going out, he is persona non grata and they do not allow him to eat,” said Macron, who assures that he speaks with the deposed president daily.. Itté's departure will be made when “it is agreed with Bazoum, who is the legitimate authority.”

The death toll from floods after two dams burst in eastern Libya has risen to 11,300, as announced this Friday by the Red Crescent (IFRC) in the country.. A few hours ago, one of the access roads to the port city of Derna, which were completely destroyed by the torrent of water, was restored, which has speeded up the entry of rescue teams and doctors, but also television cameras. , which have shown the scope of the disaster.

About a quarter of Derna, with some 150,000 inhabitants, has been completely erased by the passage of water and now only a mountain of mud, pieces of buildings and vehicles remain.. Rescue teams have told the Turkish news agency Anadolu that in some parts of the city the mountain of rubble is close to four meters high.. Images from the agency show rescue workers in waist-deep water, surrounded by floating pieces of iron and wood, searching for signs of life around them.. The infrastructure to assist rescue teams during the search has been completely destroyed.. Electricity has barely been restored in some parts of the city and there is no drinking water.

Bashir Ben Amir, representative of the International Rescue Committee, said in statements to the BBC that the lack of infrastructure slows down and makes work difficult: “Our teams work day and night, but the needs are high and increasing day after day. “We need to ensure basic logistics to be able to operate.”

U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths told a briefing in Geneva that more equipment is needed to recover bodies trapped under mud and in damaged buildings, as well as primary care to prevent outbreaks of cholera and other diseases. among the survivors. “Priority areas are shelter, food and key primary healthcare, due to concerns about cholera and lack of clean water,” he explained.

The Libyan disease control center has recorded 55 cases of children poisoned by drinking contaminated water from Derna. For their part, the World Health Organization (WHO) and other humanitarian aid groups have asked Libyan authorities to stop burying flood victims in mass graves, because they could pose a serious health risk if buried. They are located near remains of water.

“We urge the authorities of the communities affected by the tragedy not to rush into mass burials,” said Kazunobu Kojima, head of biosafety at the WHO.

The Libyan authorities have decided to carry out mass burials because they cannot safely house thousands of bodies in temporary morgues nor can they bury them regularly due to the difficulty of using transportation in the city after the floods.. Furthermore, according to the Muslim rite, bodies should be buried at least twenty-four hours after death or, in any case, as soon as possible.. More than 3,000 people were buried last Thursday and the authorities announced that the burial of another 2,000 people was being arranged.. Most have been buried in mass graves outside the city of Derna or in nearby towns.

For his part, the Libyan ambassador to the United Nations, Taher El-Sonni, significantly reduced the death toll to around 6,000 people, while around 10,000 remain missing.. Rescuers have less and less hope of finding people alive under the rubble. The death toll is expected to continue rising, although the figures published by Libyan authorities are sometimes disparate, due to the country being divided into two rival entities since 2014.

Numerous local testimonies have told the media that lifeless bodies do not stop appearing in the streets, under the mud and on the seashore.. The current of water has carried bodies up to 150 kilometers from Derna. Devastating floods have left more than 38,000 people homeless. Although experts indicate that the rupture of the dams could have been avoided with the maintenance of the infrastructure, Storm Daniel, which hit the eastern Mediterranean last week, has caused unprecedented rainfall in Libya. Last Sunday, more than 400 liters per square meter fell in a 24-hour period in the east of the country, when the month of September has a historical average of 1.5 liters in this region.