This week, New York has experienced the worst 48 hours in recent times. This Tuesday, the Police found Charlotte Sena, a 9-year-old girl who had been kidnapped last Saturday afternoon while taking a walk in Moreau Lake Park.. Her kidnapper, Craig N.. Ross Jr. has been arrested thanks to fingerprints found on a ransom letter he left in the family's mailbox on Monday.. Apparently, the man had been arrested in 1999 for driving under the influence of alcohol.

According to The New York Times, on Monday, while police were watching the family home, a car drove up and someone, believed to be Ross, placed a ransom note in the mailbox. The police recovered that note and managed to extract a fingerprint, discovering the identity of the kidnapper, since he had been arrested before.

Hours later, the agents appeared at the kidnapper's house, in Milton, where Ross, who was arrested at the time, had a caravan in which he lived.. They also found the little girl hiding in a closet and “apparently unharmed.”

According to the aforementioned newspaper, the minor disappeared during a bicycle ride in the aforementioned park, about 45 miles north of Albany.. Shortly after she disappeared, the girl's bicycle was found, leading authorities to conclude that she had been kidnapped, a scenario that the state's governor, Kathy Hochul, called “every parent's nightmare.”

About 400 people participated in the search for Charlotte in an area of 74 kilometers, including Police, Forest Guards and Firefighters. Drones and airboats were also used.

The Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, Mikhail Fedorov, presented this Wednesday a camouflage cape made of a special heat-impermeable material that will help his snipers and special operations soldiers not be recognized in the dark by Russian thermal cameras.

“The design is compact and light, weighing up to 2.5 kilos,” Fedorov wrote on his Telegram account, where he also published a video showing how it makes it difficult for the heat cameras to identify the military. that are covered with this material.

This garment, which can now begin to be used by the Ukrainian military, is also waterproof, protects from moisture from snow and also from high temperatures and is not flammable.

The new material has been designed within the framework of the Brave1 initiative, launched by the Ukrainian Government to promote innovations in the defense sector and facilitate collaborations between the public and private sectors.

Former US President Donald Trump has fallen from Forbes magazine's list of the 400 richest Americans. His fortune is currently estimated at $2.6 billion, which places him $300 million below the cut-off figure.

This was announced this Tuesday by the magazine itself, who indicated in an article that the magnate's net worth has been reduced by 600 million dollars compared to last year due mainly to the dramatic loss of value of his social network Truth Social.

Its parent company, in which Trump is the majority owner with 90%, has fallen from an estimated value of 730 million to less than 100 million due to its complicated IPO, which does not prosper in a market dominated by Twitter).

The decline in his assets has also been influenced by the losses in value of his office buildings in San Francisco and New York, which together have reduced some 160 million, according to Forbes.

This list has “obsessed” Trump for years, who according to the article “has incessantly lied to the reporters (of the magazine) trying to position himself higher” in the ranking.. Thus, Forbes itself indicates that the most powerful asset that the former president has right now is his cash, about 426 million.

It is not the first time that Trump falls from the list. He accessed it in 1982, “convincing a reporter that he had a greater percentage of the fortune of Fred Trump, his father, than he actually had,” according to Forbes.. He abandoned it a few years later, in 1990, when his debts came to light, but he re-entered the ranking in 1996.. He was on it until he disappeared again in 2021, but returned to the list in 2022 after the announcement of his social network.

A fraud trial

These days Donald Trump is also facing civil proceedings in New York for fraud in the Trump Organization. This case jeopardizes his businesses and, according to the arguments of the Prosecutor's Office, the former president lied to banks and insurers by inflating his figures.

Before the process began, the businessman was already declared responsible for business fraud by the judge, who also canceled his operating licenses in the state.. In the ongoing trial he faces a fine for damages of up to $250 million and the possibility of a ban on his businesses.

The Twenty-seven have certified this Wednesday that there is a sufficient majority to establish their position on the key crisis mechanism in the reform of the asylum and migration policy of the European Union, thus overcoming the last obstacle open for governments and the European Parliament could resume negotiations with a view to closing the Migration Pact before the end of the European legislature in June of next year.

The adoption of the mandate on the mechanism took place in a meeting at the level of ambassadors in Brussels, as various diplomatic sources have informed Europa Press, after Germany and Italy have resolved the dispute that separated them regarding the situation of NGOs. who carry out rescue tasks in the Mediterranean.

Last week, the Interior Ministers already achieved an “unquestionable majority”, in the words of the Spanish Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, which allowed them to establish the red lines in the negotiation with Parliament after Berlin withdrew its reservations, but it was decided to give more time to Italy to explain the agreement within its tripartite government and thus also be able to count on the support of this country, one of the most affected by migratory pressure.

The new mechanism reserved for exceptional situations in which governments will be forced to support one or more Member States that are overwhelmed by migratory pressure at their borders, in practice dilutes the mandatory relocation quotas because it offers 'solidarity to the letter' with different forms of financial compensation to avoid this distribution of the burden of reception.

The renunciation of the entry countries to a system of mandatory quotas, however, remains unconvincing to Poland and Hungary, which flatly reject any responsibility in the migration management of other EU partners and remain against the agreement reached.

The recklessness of several drivers, who were participating in the 'Sardinia Supercar Experience' route, has caused two deaths in Sardinia.

At one point in the test, five luxury cars overtake other vehicles in a continuous line. Specifically, one of them, a blue Lamborghini, tries to pass a motorhome as the line continues and a red Ferrari appears on its left and performs the same maneuver and they collide, causing the heavy vehicle to overturn.

The fatal chain accident claimed two victims. They are a couple of Swiss tourists, aged 67 and 63, who died after their rented Ferrari, one of the cars involved in the accident, caught fire.

After the impact, the Lamborghini ended up off the road, on the right shoulder of the road, while the red vehicle overturned on the other side, where it caught fire and the occupants were trapped inside.

Pope Francis stated this Wednesday that “the world that welcomes us is falling apart and perhaps approaching a point from which there is no turning back” and harshly criticized a policy incapable of confronting, due to power and economic interests, the environmental crisis. , in his new apostolic exhortation.

This new writing by the pope addressed “to all people of good will on the climate crisis” is a continuation of his so-called “green encyclical”, “Laudato si”, published eight years ago, a period in which the lack of reaction by part of politics has made “the situation become even more urgent.”

The Pope once again confirms that beyond the possibility that there is no going back, “there is no doubt that the impact of climate change will increasingly harm the lives and families of many people.”. “We will feel its effects in the areas of health, sources of work, access to resources, housing, forced migrations, etc.,” he adds, and for this reason he launches an appeal to political leaders.

Against the deniers

In the exhortation, a letter from the pontiff addressed to the faithful, the pope attacks climate change deniers because “no matter how much they try to deny, hide, dissemble or relativize, the signs of climate change are there, increasingly evident.” .

“No one can ignore that in recent years we have witnessed extreme phenomena, frequent periods of unusual heat, drought and other complaints of the earth that are just some palpable expressions of a silent disease that affects us all,” he says.

Furthermore, he regretted that “to ridicule those who talk about global warming, they resort to the fact that extreme cold temperatures also occur.”. It is forgotten that this and other extraordinary symptoms are nothing more than diverse alternative expressions of the same cause: the global imbalance caused by global warming.”

Jobs lost and created

Francis also rejects the version of those who say that “reducing the use of fossil fuels and developing cleaner forms of energy will lead to a reduction in jobs.”.

“The transition to renewable forms of energy, well managed, as well as all efforts to adapt to the damage of climate change, are capable of generating countless jobs in different sectors,” he adds.

The Pope also strongly reiterates the responsibility of man in these global climate phenomena since “an overwhelming majority of scientists specialized in climate support this correlation and only a tiny percentage of them try to deny this evidence.”

“Interests” above the “common good”

Due to these responsibilities, the pontiff has stressed that the problem is that “international negotiations cannot advance significantly due to the positions of countries that privilege their national interests over the global common good.”. “The climate crisis is not exactly an issue that interests the great economic powers, concerned about the greatest possible return at the lowest cost and in the shortest time possible,” he stated.

“The climate crisis is not an issue that interests the great economic powers, concerned about the greatest possible return at the lowest cost and in the shortest time”

“Let's put an end once and for all to the irresponsible mockery that presents this issue as something only environmental, green, romantic, frequently ridiculed by economic interests,” he points out.

Francisco points out that although “the most effective solutions will not come only from individual efforts but above all from major decisions in national and international politics,” “everything adds up” and a change in the way of life and in the convictions of the people is also necessary. societies.

Broken agreements

Francisco reviews the failures of the last environmental summits with “agreements that have had a low level of implementation because adequate control mechanisms, periodic review and sanctions for non-compliance were not established.”

Regarding the next COP28, he urges that “it be historic and that it honors and ennobles us as human beings” and to do so he asks for three characteristics of these summits: “that they be efficient, that they are mandatory and that they can be easily monitored.”

“Only with this process could the credibility of international policy be recovered, because only in this concrete way will it be possible to significantly reduce carbon dioxide and avoid the worst evils in time.”

“Why do we want to preserve today a power that will be remembered for its inability to intervene when it was urgent and necessary to do so?”

He then launched an appeal: “I hope they show the nobility of politics and not its shame.”. To the powerful I dare to repeat this question: Why do we want to preserve today a power that will be remembered for its inability to intervene when it was urgent and necessary to do so?

About the controversies of activists

And in the face of the groups that demonstrate and protest during climate conferences and that are criticized as “radicalized”, the Pope defends them because “in reality they fill a void in the entire society, which should exert healthy pressure”, because ” It is up to each family to think that the future of their children is at stake.

Finally, he pointed out that “if we consider that per capita emissions in the United States are around double those of an inhabitant of China and close to seven times more than the average of the poorest countries, we can affirm that a generalized change in the irresponsible lifestyle linked to the Western model would have a significant long-term impact.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is preparing to announce this Wednesday the cancellation of the high-speed train project between Birmingham and Manchester (northern England), given the escalation in cost since it was designed more than a decade ago, according to reports the BBC.

The head of Government is expected to use the closing speech of the Conservative Party congress in Manchester to explain the abandonment of a project that in recent years has been considered the cornerstone of the Government's plans to improve territorial cohesion between the north and the south of the country.

Sunak thus challenges the conservative leaders of the affected regions, who fear that the decision will take its toll on them in the next general elections, scheduled for next year, in which the Labor opposition is the clear favorite in the polls.

The cost, more than double the estimated

The branch between London and Birmingham of the high-speed train, known as HS2, will continue, while the route to Manchester will be made through the existing conventional tracks, according to the British public broadcaster.

HS2 was first planned in 2010 at a cost of £33bn (€38bn), but latest estimates put it at around £71bn (€81bn).

In his speech today, Sunak will explain that he hopes to reinvest around £36 billion (€41.4 billion) he will save by canceling the project in other train lines and roads in central and northern England.

The name of this year's Nobel Prize winners in Chemistry could have been leaked by mistake hours before its announcement, although the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences assures that a final decision has not yet been made.

“The 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry distinguishes the discovery and development of quantum dots, nanoparticles that are so small that their size determines their properties,” is stated in a statement from that institution reproduced by several Swedish media, including Dagens Nyheter, the main newspaper of that Scandinavian country.

In the statement, three scientists are named as winners, Moungi Bawendi, Louis Brus and Alexei Ekimov, all of them linked to American universities.

“It's definitely a mistake”

“We are trying to understand what happened. We have not made any decision yet, the fact that a press release has been sent is definitely a mistake,” Heiner Linke, one of the experts on the Nobel Committee for Chemistry, told that newspaper.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has assured that the decision will be made during the last meeting of the committee, which was scheduled to begin at 7:30 local time (9:30 Spanish peninsular time), and that the announcement of the winner or winners will be made around 9:45 local time (11:45 Spanish peninsular time), as planned.

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry last year recognized the Americans Barry Sharpless and Carolyn Bertozzi and the Dane Morten Medal for the development of click chemistry, which has improved the targeting of pharmaceutical products against cancer.

Republican Kevin McCarthy this Tuesday became the first president of the United States House of Representatives to be impeached. McCarthy has been fired following a motion against him filed by a member of his own party in retaliation for concessions made to Democrats.

The US House has rejected the Republican leader in a very close vote: 208 votes in favor and 218 against. Among the votes that have facilitated the motion of censure to be debated are those of 207 Democrats and eleven Republicans, representatives of the most conservative core of the party and opposed to McCarthy.

The proposal has been brought to the table at the initiative of Florida Republican Representative Matt Gaetz, who accuses McCarthy of acting covertly in the service of the Democratic Party by facilitating a resolution to postpone the budget paralysis for 45 days, reports CNN.

During the House debate, Gaetz criticized McCarthy for what he believes is erratic leadership.. “Chaos is President McCarthy. Chaos is someone we cannot trust,” said the Florida representative from his seat.

President after 14 votes

Sources familiar with the matter have told the NBC news network that some Democratic representatives had received calls from Republicans asking them to vote against the motion of no confidence in McCarthy in order to save his position as president of the US House of Representatives.

Even former President Donald Trump has come forward to criticize his party colleagues and reproached them for being “always fighting among themselves.”. “Why don't you fight the radical left Democrats who are destroying our country?” Trump said on his social networks.

McCarthy's presidency has been marked by instability since its inception, since in January of this year he was elected to office after up to fourteen votes due to the refusal of this hard bloc of Republicans, among whom the aforementioned Gaetz stood out. .

The United States Department of the Treasury announced this Tuesday sanctions against 13 individuals and 12 Chinese entities for their relationship with the manufacturing and distribution of fentanyl, an extremely addictive opioid drug that has caused a growing wave of overdose deaths in the United States.

“Treasury has taken radical steps (…) to expose and dismantle a network responsible for manufacturing and distributing illicit drugs, including fentanyl and other substances that claim thousands of American lives each year,” the undersecretary said in a statement. of the Treasury, Wally Adeyemo.

Specifically, the sanctions affect companies, such as Jinhu Minsheng Pharmaceutical Machinery or Hanhong Pharmaceutical Technology, which have distributed tons of substances such as fentanyl, methamphetamine and MDMA, as well as xylazine, a sedative that is often mixed with other drugs.

The sanctions, which also affect two entities and one individual from Canada, come after Washington designated Beijing as a drug transit or production country, which places the Asian giant on a 'black list' along with countries like Colombia. , Afghanistan or Mexico.

In parallel, the Department of Justice has announced that eight companies and 12 Chinese citizens have been charged with attempting to send chemicals to the United States for the manufacture of fentanyl, methamphetamine and other drugs.