The former president of the United States, Donald Trump, is considering appearing in person at the civil fraud trial that begins this Monday in New York, several sources close to the US media confirmed.

According to several “sources familiar with the planning” of the trial, CNN notes, the former president is making plans to appear in person, although he has not officially confirmed that he will do so.

Trump spokesman Steven Cheung told CNN he “hasn't made a final decision yet.”. According to this television channel, the former president flew to New York City on Sunday night after a campaign event in Ottumwa, Iowa, and spent the night at Trump Tower in Manhattan.

The NYPD and the court have been making security preparations for Trump's possible appearance this Monday and perhaps Tuesday as well.

On September 28, a New York appeals court decided to maintain the start date of the civil trial against Trump for fraud in the Trump Organization for Monday, October 2.

Trump's defense tried to delay the date of the procedure with a complaint of abuse of authority against Judge Arthur Engoron, after which an appeals court ordered on September 14 to paralyze the case before ruling.

In that complaint, Trump accused the judge of having acted negligently in rejecting a request from his defense, in which he asked him to dismiss most of the case because it was supposedly outside the statute of limitations.

However, in a brief decision issued last Thursday, the court decided to reject that appeal and lift the pause imposed on the process, allowing the planned schedule to be resumed.

The Prosecutor's Office had already warned that delaying the civil trial could have consequences on other pending litigation against the former president, including the four criminal cases against him.

Engoron has estimated that this trial will last about three months, although he said this before resolving a few days ago, summarily and at the request of the Prosecutor's Office, the main charge, by declaring Trump, two of his children, his company and two partners (which could shorten the entire process).

Trump, his children Donald Jr. and Eric, the Trump Organization and two former executives were found liable for ongoing fraud for inflating the value of the company's assets for years to gain financial advantage.

The judge also ordered the defendants' permits to operate businesses in New York state be canceled.

The remaining six charges set to be tried starting Monday relate to “persistent illegalities” at the company, including falsifying corporate documents, issuing false financial statements and committing insurance fraud.

The New York Prosecutor's Office demands compensation of 250 million dollars, which will also be determined in the process. Both sides have submitted their lists of potential witnesses, which include the defendants.

This civil lawsuit against the former president is not related to the four criminal proceedings facing the first former president in the history of the United States who has been indicted.

In Georgia he faces a case for alleged interference in the 2020 elections; in New York, the process for irregular payments he made during the 2016 campaign to silence porn actress Stormy Daniels for an “affair” they had had in the past.

In Florida he faces justice for having taken classified papers to his mansion in Mar-a-Lago when he left the White House in January 2021 and, finally, he must respond in Washington to the assault on the Capitol in 2021, in which his Supporters attempted to disrupt the legislative process to certify Biden's 2020 victory.

The roof of a church in Tamaulipas collapsed this Sunday. Local authorities have confirmed that more than 40 people participating in a baptism were at the venue when the accident occurred and that at least three people were killed.

Bishop José Ángel Álvarez Cano has shared a video in which he thanked the authorities and citizens for their support. “Today we are experiencing a very difficult moment in our diocese of Tampico, the roof of the Church of the Holy Cross has collapsed while we were celebrating the Eucharist, the necessary work is being done to remove the people who are still underneath. of the rubble,” Álvarez Cano shared in a recording.

The American president, Joe Biden, has expressed his fatigue with the “politics on the brink” practiced by the Republican Party with the threat of budget paralysis averted at the last minute on Saturday with an agreement supported by the Democratic Party and has reminded the opposition its commitment to supporting the financing of the war in Ukraine.

“I am sick and tired of this politics on the brink of the abyss. So are the American people,” Biden declared from the White House.. That is why he has called on Congress to avoid reaching last-minute agreements in the new process that is being opened to avoid budget paralysis before November 17.

For Biden, this is a “manufactured crisis” that has threatened to cause “unnecessary harm” to Americans.. “The truth is that we should not have reached this point. “We shouldn't have come this far,” he said, visibly upset.

Saturday's last-minute agreement left out financing for the war effort in Ukraine and that is why Biden has called on Republicans to fulfill their commitments when a proposal is presented to approve spending for Ukraine in a separate project.

“I hope my friends on the other side keep their word about supporting Ukraine. They said that we are going to support Ukraine in a separate vote (…). “We cannot allow US support for Ukraine to be interrupted under any circumstances,” he said.

In particular, he referred to the president of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, whom he hopes that the last few days have helped him achieve a “personal revelation.”

There is just over a year left for the presidential elections in the United States, and although everything indicates that it is going to be a duel of veterans between Joe Biden for the Democrats and Donald Trump for the Republicans, there could be a third party in contention.

Robert F.. Kennedy Jr, son of Robert Kennedy and nephew of JFK, could be considering running for office as an independent. Until now, Kennedy Jr had run as an alternative to Biden within the Democratic Party.

But now, as reported by the TMZ.com portal, Kennedy Jr unleashed the rumors this Friday saying that on the 9th he is going to make a big announcement. That day he will give a speech in Philadelphia, and some sources suggest that he will distance himself from the Democrats and Republicans and follow his own path.

Kennedy Jr. is apparently at odds with the Democratic National Committee, which he accuses of ignoring his candidacy.. For this reason, he is willing to overshadow Biden as an independent.

Some analysts believe that this could seriously harm the current president, because it would divide the Democratic votes, something that not even Bernie Sanders dared to do.

However, analysts believe that the candidacy of Robert F. Kennedy Jr could also harm Trump, because JFK's nephew, who sparked some controversy for being anti-vaccine, enjoys great popularity among large Republican sectors.

Russia began this Sunday the second call of 2023 for compulsory military service in which it plans to recruit 130,000 citizens between 18 and 27 years of age and which for the first time includes the annexed Ukrainian regions of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Lugansk.

Along with the beginning of the call-up campaign, which will last until December 31, a law came into force that multiplied by ten, up to 30,000 rubles (a little more than 300 dollars), the fine for not appearing at the enlistment offices.

The Russian authorities have assured that the recruits will not be sent to the zone of military actions in Ukraine or to units located in the “new regions”, as those annexed a year ago in Kherson, Zaporizhia, Donetsk and Lugansk are called in Russia, despite not to control all of their territories.

Rear Admiral Vladimir Tsimlyansky, head of Organization and Mobilization of the Russian General Staff, stated this Friday that the number of “volunteers to participate in the special military operation (the war in Ukraine) is sufficient to fulfill the assigned tasks.”

According to the sailor, the high command has no plans for “additional mobilization actions” for the military campaign in Ukraine.

Last August, the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, promulgated a law that extended the maximum age for compulsory military service by three years, to 30, and which will come into force on January 1, 2024.

The initiative to increase the age of military service was proposed at the end of 2022 by the Russian Minister of Defense, Sergei Shoigu, after hundreds of thousands of men of military age left Russia following the mobilization decreed by Putin in September 2022. .

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has stated on the occasion of the celebration, for the first time, of Defenders' Day on October 1, that no one will be able to end the resilience of the Ukrainian people.

“Difficult times have made us strong. And the strong bring victorious times closer. Step by Step. Today, tomorrow, every day, every minute. Neither in a planned way, nor by chance, no one can or will be able to 'turn off' our resilience, resistance, strength, courage,” Zelensky said in a video from the Golden Gate of Kiev.

Thus, he has also maintained that they will not stop fighting: “They have no expiration date, deadline or end point after which we would stop resisting and fighting, except for one thing: our victory.”. Every day, getting closer, we say: 'We will fight as long as it takes!'

“We were doing it in the first minutes of February 24, we have been doing it for all these 585 days and we will continue doing it,” he stressed.

In this way, he indicated that Ukraine thanks all those who remained, remain and will continue to stand firm, as well as all those who were the first to take on the difficult battle.

“And I, our people and our country are now, in some sense of the word, at the crossroads of history, on the path towards a turning point, where, with the memory of the past, we create the present and write a new page of our destiny”, something especially clear and visible on this day, he added.

Likewise, he emphasized that the objective of this day is to honor the courage and heroism of the defenders of the independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine, the military traditions and victories of the Ukrainian people.

The grand prize of the US Powerball lottery has already crossed the billion line with an estimated reward of 1,040 billion dollars (about 982,000 million euros), which will be played in this Monday's draw after There would be no winner in this Saturday's draw.

If someone gets it right this Monday, they will be able to choose between an annual prize worth an estimated $1.04 billion or a one-time payment estimated at $478.2 billion.. If the winner chooses the annuity option, they will receive an immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments increasing by 5% each year.

The winning numbers from the last drawing were 19, 30, 37, 44 and 46, with a Powerball of 22. It produced more than 2.5 million winning tickets nationwide, including five tickets (two in Florida, one in Maryland, one in Michigan and one in Pennsylvania) who matched all five white balls to win prizes of one million dollars (944,600 euros).

Two other tickets, sold in Indiana and North Carolina, matched all five white balls and won prizes of two million dollars (around 1,889,200 euros) by including the prize multiplier feature, Power Play.

The Powerball prize was won on July 19, when a ticket in California matched the five white balls and the red Powerball with which he won $1.08 billion.. Since then, there have been 32 consecutive drawings without a jackpot winner, making it the second-highest of the year and fourth in the history of the drawing.

Goodbye to glitter. The European Commission (EC) has decided – after several years of studying it – to ban the sale of this decorative product that is used in all types of areas: from the little ones in manual work in class, to young people in makeup for festival looks or designers and fashion professionals in their clothing collections.

This is because its composition is based on microplastics, plastic particles of less than five millimeters that are insoluble and cannot degrade quickly, which is why they are harmful to the environment.

mid october

The ban on the sale of powder glitter was settled last Monday, September 25 and will be implemented from October 17. The first measures against its distribution will begin to be applied when the restriction comes into force, within 20 days.

Even so, the Community Executive has reported in a statement that exceptions and transition periods will be applied so that those affected adapt to the new rules, in the event that these are “duly justified.”

42,000 tons

This restriction has been approved by the European Commission and adopted in the Regulation on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemical Substances (REACH). In general terms, this regulation's main objective is to “improve the protection of human health and the environment against the risk that the manufacturing, marketing and use of chemical substances and mixtures may entail,” it states in its official report.

Among these substances are microplastics, “particles of synthetic polymers smaller than five millimeters that are organic, insoluble and resistant to degradation,” defines the EC, of which it is estimated that 42,000 tons are released in the European Union each. anus. These are “intentionally added to products”, so the new standards adopted “will prevent the release of approximately half a million tons of microplastics into the environment.”

Furthermore, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) asked the EC to assess the risk posed by microplastics intentionally added to products so that certain restrictions could be adopted.. “The ECHA scientific committees analyzed the case and concluded that microplastics are released into the environment in an uncontrolled manner” which is why they recommended restricting them, they point out in the statement.

The marine ecosystem is the most damaged

Microplastics are a cause of concern in the environment since they do not biodegrade and, therefore, cannot be eliminated. Animals, among which marine species stand out—such as sponges, corals and even some whales and sharks—are the ones that accumulate the most microplastics because they ingest them without realizing it.. The plastic product mixes with the phytoplankton that many of them feed on and enters their digestive system.

But microplastics are not only found in the marine ecosystem, but also in “freshwater ecosystems and terrestrial ecosystems, as well as in food and drinking water,” says the statement, which explains, in turn, that this release contributes to “the permanent contamination of ecosystems and food chains.”

Therefore, the microplastics that animals collect in their bodies also reach humans and are distributed throughout the organs, tissues and liquids, especially the lungs, blood and breast milk.

This is why exposure to microplastics in laboratory studies has been linked, in short, to a “series of negative (eco)toxic and physical effects on living organisms.”

Reduce emissions by 30%

The goal of this measure is to “reduce intentional microplastic emissions from as many products as possible”. This proposal is included in the report of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agreed upon by the member countries of the European Commission and is also included in the European Green Deal and the new Action Plan for the Circular Economy.

In the 'Zero Pollution Action Plan' – within the Action Plan for the Circular Economy – (2021) the Commission established the objective of reducing microplastic pollution by 30% “by 2030”.

“As part of these efforts, the Commission is working to reduce microplastic pollution from plastic waste and litter, accidental and unintentional releases (e.g. loss of pellets, tire degradation or release from clothing), as well as as intentional uses in products,” they detail in the report.

Cosmetics, detergents…. also prohibited

Apart from glitter powder, there is a list of products that contain microplastics in their chemical composition and, therefore, are affected by this ban.. These are:

However, its sales ban will apply after a longer transitional period than that of glitter, “in order to give interested parties time to adapt to the new rules and look for alternatives,” explains the European institution.

For example, in the case of cosmetics that do not contain microspheres, the ban on their sale will apply after a period of 4 to 12 years, as detailed in the report.. This will depend on “the complexity of the product, the need for reformulation and the availability of suitable alternatives”. Regarding granular filler material in synthetic sports surfaces, the EC reports that its ban “will apply after a period of eight years in order to give the owners and managers of playing fields the necessary time to change to other alternatives and allow the majority of existing sports grounds to reach the end of their useful life.

For the other products, the approximate time it will take to ban them is not yet known, so we will have to wait for the subsequent communications that the European Commission publishes in reference to this, and which, as they have detailed, will do so “before the end of 2023”.

Products that are not affected

The prohibition on the sale of products that contain microplastics in their composition does not apply to:

Even if they remain outside the ban, their manufacturers will have to notify the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) each year of the estimated emissions of microplastics from these products and devise different procedures on how to use and dispose of the product. product to reduce this transmission.

Years of debate

This decision has not arisen nor has it been thought of from one day to the next. In May 2021, the Commission already adopted the 'Zero Pollution Action Plan', with which it set the goal of reducing microplastic pollution by 30% by 2030.

Furthermore, ECHA presented this restriction dossier to the European institution on three occasions through a call for data in 2018, the consultation on the Annex XV restriction dossier in 2019 and the consultation on the draft opinion of the Socio-economic Analysis Committee in 2020 (July-August).

For this reason, the EC prepared this restriction proposal that has already been approved by the EU countries and has successfully passed the control of the European Parliament and the Council before its adoption.

The alternative: biodegradable glitter

Although the ban on glitter has worried a large part of the population, who have shared their sadness and even indignation through social networks, all is not lost. And there are alternatives to this 'brilli-brilli' that can be used, since they are not harmful to the environment.

One of them is the one distributed by the Bilbao troupe group Pinpilinpauxa. This musical group distributed more than 100 kilograms of its own biodegradable glitter at the last celebration of Aste Nagusia (the Semana Grande de Bilbao), reports El Correo. The change required a significant financial effort because the price is higher, but it was necessary. We are very aware of conserving the environment,” they explained to the aforementioned media, stating that they agree with the decision of the ban, which is harmful: “We are very close to the estuary and we were worried about contaminating it.”

This glitter is usually composed of materials of plant origin, among which cellulose crystals stand out.. In fact, a team of scientists from the University of Cambridge already designed this product in 2021. Defined as a “sustainable, non-toxic, vegan and biodegradable glitter”, the particles it is made of are designed to reflect light, so that they generate a shine similar to that of glitter, but without having to use microplastics to do so. includes the study shared in the journal Nature Materials.

In addition, the crystals come from seaweed and mineral pigments, so this type of glitter does not contaminate the environment, it is biodegradable and, if it reaches the sea, it would be returning to its place of origin.

Wagner group mercenaries are back in Ukraine. Vladimir Putin has been in charge of rebuilding that corporation of paid soldiers, whose future was in question after the death of its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, last August in a dark plane accident.. They are the same mercenaries, but now they are directed by the Kremlin and they no longer use Wagner's name or his insignia.

The Russian president has not wanted to make the same mistakes as in the past and, to avoid rebellions like the one led by Prigozhin himself in July, the renewed Wagner has been restored with men loyal to the Kremlin and under the strict supervision of the omnipresent services of Russian intelligence.

“Russian military intelligence, the GRU, is taking the Wagner group under its control and is directing it in the shadows. It has focused above all on controlling the high command because Prigozhin was a loose verse and Dmitri Utkin, who was the head member of the group and died in the same plane accident, he was a lieutenant colonel of the GRU, but he acted a little on his own,” an expert in military strategy from the Spanish Army explains to 20 Minutos.

“Prigozhin was often a problem for the Kremlin due to his public statements or his videos on Telegram, where he was very active.. Now they have put in people they trust, people from the intelligence services,” he adds.

At the head of the renewed group of ex-Wagnerites is the figure of Andrei Troshev, former colonel of the Russian army and one of the senior commanders of the mercenary company that remained loyal to Putin during the Prigozhin rebellion.. Theirs is the mission of reorganizing the group, purging dissidents against Putin and recruiting new volunteers to fight in Ukraine, as was evident after the meeting held this Wednesday in the Kremlin with the Russian president and Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-Bek Evkurov. .

Control of Wagner's remains is essential for Putin because Russia cannot afford to lose that combat force at a decisive moment in the war in Ukraine, when Kiev's counteroffensive is taking the initiative, as the strategist points out. of the Spanish Armed Forces: “The Russian army has problems covering casualties. He was recruiting about 20,000 troops a month, but that figure does not cover casualties on the battlefield or those who end their contract.. In fact, it is already planning a new mobilization of reservists, although it has not yet been announced.”

And he emphasizes that Wagner's mercenaries undoubtedly help to alleviate this lack of soldiers: “We do not know exactly how many troops the Wagner group had, but it is estimated that between 20,000 and 50,000. In addition, it has been gathering very specialized people because many of its mercenaries come from the Russian Special Forces.. “They are human resources that Putin cannot give up.”

They are already fighting in Bakhmut

The reactivation of Wagner, whose mercenaries moved en masse to Belarus after the Prigozhin rebellion, has been rapid because Putin needs them. The Russian president did not want to waste time and has already sent units to the Bakhmut front, which had become a mousetrap for Russian troops.

“In Bakhmut Wagner's mercenaries were replaced by airborne units and elite troops of the Russian army, but they suffered many casualties and the Ukrainians were enveloping them a bit on the southern flank.. By sending Wagner units, Moscow is trying to stabilize that front a little,” explains the Army's high command.

“The Wagners are troops that have a lot of experience in Bakhmut because they spent 13 months fighting in that area and they are also very experienced in urban combat. Putin has sent them to their previous theater of operations to stabilize the situation a little,” he points out.

It is estimated that some 500 mercenaries from Wagner are already fighting in Bakhmut and many of them are now affiliated with the Redut company, another paramilitary company paid by the Kremlin that has been operating in Ukraine for some time under the orders of the Russian GRU.

Maintains the 'private company' sign

The Kremlin has shorted the remains of the Wagner and no longer even tries to hide or disguise its relationship with the mercenaries, as was evident in the meeting held this Wednesday between Putin and Troshev, in the presence of Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-Bek. Evkurov.

But despite being a more than public relationship, the structure of the new group of mercenaries is officially maintained as that of a private company: “It has an advantage for Moscow and that is that they are not soldiers of the Russian Army, but contractors, thus “You can use them anywhere in the world without saying that there is direct Russian involvement.”

“Moscow usually justifies their presence by claiming that they have been hired by the government of whatever country is. It is very good for the Kremlin to keep them as a private force, especially when they have to act in Africa,” says the Spanish military expert.

The US House of Representatives has approved by 335 votes in favor and 91 against a budget resolution that postpones for 45 days the budget paralysis scheduled for midnight from Saturday to Sunday.

The initiative, presented as a consensus proposal by the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, has been supported by all Democratic representatives, except Mike Quigley, of Illinois, as well as by many Republicans.. The initiative now goes to the Senate, controlled by the Democratic Party.

This last-minute proposal is a “continuity resolution” that includes aid for areas affected by natural disasters, but not the additional funding for Ukraine that Democrats were asking for.. It also does not include changes to border policy rejected by Democrats.

To succeed, the initiative needed the support of two-thirds of the Chamber, since it has been processed urgently, resorting to a mechanism known as “suspension of the rules.”

McCarthy announced the proposal after a meeting of almost two hours behind closed doors. “We are going to vote on a 'patch' for financing so that the State continues functioning for 45 days and so that the House and Senate can do their work,” he explained to the press.

Additionally, it includes funding for “the Florida disasters, the horrible Hawaii fire and also the California and Vermont disasters.”. “We are going to keep the State open while we continue working to put an end to waste and progress and, most importantly, to guarantee the security of our border,” he argued.