The president of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, and the former president of the Spanish Government Mariano Rajoy gave the same speech this Friday in two pre-recorded interventions, in a forum organized by the Freedom and Democracy Foundation in Buenos Aires and in which center-right Ibero-American leaders participated.

“Dear presidents and friends: everyone receives a very cordial greeting.. Please know that as a founding member of the Libertad y Democracia group I understand and understand the importance of this second meeting in Buenos Aires. The times that our region is experiencing, threatened by the dangers of populism, demagoguery, corruption and drug trafficking, need us stronger and more united than ever,” Rajoy said at the beginning of a short speech lasting just over a minute.

After his pre-recorded intervention, it was Lasso's turn, who, after apologizing for his absence due to his participation in the United Nations General Assembly, assured: “Know that as a founding member of the group Libertad y Democracia I understand and understand the importance of this second meeting in Buenos Aires. “The times that our region is experiencing, threatened by populism, demagoguery, corruption and drug trafficking, need us stronger and more united than ever.”

Sitting in an office, the former head of the Spanish Government stressed that “the delicate situation that some nations are experiencing is not new, there have been years in which drug trafficking has advanced faster than the laws themselves and the measures to combat it.”. Drug trafficking must be confronted decisively and unambiguously, because as all medical and scientific societies have ratified time and time again: drugs kill, drugs destroy lives, families and dreams.. “Drugs cause pain, suffering and darken the prosperous future of our continent.”

And just a minute later, Lasso's voice pronounced: “The delicate situation that some nations are experiencing is not new, there have been years in which drug trafficking has advanced faster than the laws and measures to combat it.”. Drug trafficking must be confronted decisively and unambiguously, because as all medical and scientific societies have ratified time and time again: drugs destroy lives, families and dreams.. “Drugs cause pain, suffering and darken the prosperous future of our continent.”

Both also agreed that drug trafficking and criminal organizations “seek to take away our freedoms and democracy,” in a speech where only several single words pronounced here and there by the speakers marked any differentiating element.

“Some believe this is a lost battle and are ready to give up.”. But let me tell you that our group of presidents and former presidents will never give up,” Rajoy said shortly before Lasso assured: “Some believe that this is a lost battle and are willing to give up.. But let me tell you, our group of presidents and former presidents will not do it.”

The American president, Joe Biden, assured his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, that his Government will supply him with long-range ATACMS missiles, NBC reported this Friday.

Ukraine has been insistently demanding these missiles for months, but the United States had been reluctant about it for fear of provoking an escalation of war with Russia.

Three congressional sources confirmed this Friday to NBC that in the meeting between Biden and Zelensky at the White House on Thursday, the US president told him that the US will provide Ukraine with “a small amount” of ATACMS missiles.

These sources did not specify when the official announcement will be made public or when shipping is planned.

The White House this Friday refused to confirm that news and limited itself to reiterating that the United States will help Ukraine “as long as necessary.”

According to presidential spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre in a press conference, Thursday's meeting between the two leaders “sent a strong signal to the world” that Washington will continue to support Kiev.

Biden mentioned during the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, last July that they were considering sending ATACMS missiles to Ukraine, but at that time his focus was on sending artillery, since that is what is being used the most in the battlefield.

Ukraine has since increased its insistence, arguing that ATACMS, with a range of about 300 kilometers, would be particularly effective in neutralizing Russian missile launchers in Crimea, from where Odessa is often attacked.

In the aid package to Ukraine announced on Thursday by Biden and valued at $325 million, the shipment of these missiles was not mentioned.

That package did contain weapons to strengthen Ukraine's air defenses against Russian attacks, both currently and during the upcoming winter season, when Russia could again attack critical infrastructure such as the electricity supply needed to keep homes heated.

Specifically, it includes another HAWK anti-aircraft defense battery, which can shoot down aircraft, as well as systems capable of intercepting missiles in order to protect the civilian population.

The ATACMS have a range of about 300 kilometers, about 64 kilometers more than the French SCALP missiles and the English Storm Shadow, which both countries have already authorized to send to Ukraine.. The United States had already sent HIMARS rockets to Ukraine, but their range is around 80 kilometers.

The former president of Italy, Giorgio Napolitano, died this Friday afternoon at the age of 98 at the Salvator Mundi hospital, located in Rome, reports the AdnKronos agency.

Napolitano served as president of Italy between 2006 and 2015, replacing Carlo Azeglio Ciampo and was re-elected on April 20, 2013, becoming the oldest head of state, as he was around 90 years old when he left office.

He had previously served as Minister of the Interior (1996-1998) in the Government of Prime Minister Romano Prodi and as President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies (1992-1994).

Reactions

The current president of Italy, Sergio Mattarella, has sent a message, which is collected by the Italian news agency Ansa, remembering Napolitano's great career: “Elected to the highest magistrates of the State, President of the Chamber, Senator for life, President of the Republic for two terms, he has faithfully interpreted the Constitution.”

For her part, the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, has sent her condolences on behalf of the Italian government.

Pope Francis has also dedicated a few words to the death of the former president: “It has caused in me feelings of shock and at the same time of recognition for this statesman who, during the development of his high institutional responsibilities, has manifested great gifts of intellect. and sincere passion for Italian political life”.

India and Canada, two G-20 nations with increasingly more global projection, are in the midst of a diplomatic crisis. It was last Monday when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau revealed that the country's intelligence services implicated Indian authorities in the murder on Canadian soil of a leader of the Sikh community.. “It is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty,” he said in the Lower House of the Canadian Parliament.

Following Trudeau's statement, the Foreign Minister announced the expulsion of a “key diplomat” from India, responsible for Indian intelligence in the country.. It only took New Delhi a few hours to respond and it did so by announcing the expulsion of a senior diplomatic official from Canada.

The origin of the crisis is the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, which occurred last June in the town of Surrey, in western Canada.. He was shot by unknown assailants in the parking lot of a Sikh temple.

“In the strongest possible manner, I recommend that the Government of India work with Canada to get to the bottom of this matter.”

Singh Nijjar had been accused of terrorism by the Indian authorities for advocating the creation in the state of Punjab of an independent country, Khalistan, for the Sikh minority.. According to Indian media, he was organizing an unofficial “referendum” to consult the community on its support for an independent Sikh nation.

Diplomatic escalation

During the last G-20 summit, held in India on September 9 and 10, Trudeau already asked his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, for explanations.. “In the strongest possible way, I recommend that the Government of India collaborate with Canada to get to the bottom of this matter,” the Canadian president said on Monday, describing what happened as “extremely serious.”

Far from moderating his position, Modi went further and ordered the suspension of visas for Canadians indefinitely.. The Indian leader, who has elections in 2024, accuses Canada of serving as a “paradise for terrorism.” They are the same terms he uses to refer to Pakistan, his great enemy.

The Indian Foreign Minister has asked Canada to reduce its diplomatic mission in the Asian country. “Their staff here is much more than ours in Canada,” a spokesperson said Thursday.. “I assume there will be a reduction on the Canadian side,” he added.

More than 700,000 Sikhs in Canada

Already on September 1, the Canadian Government announced the suspension of talks with India for the signing of a free trade agreement, without explaining the reasons.. Canada has also canceled a trade mission to India that should have taken place in October.

New Delhi criticizes Ottawa for tolerating anti-India separatist activity on Canadian soil. They refer to the separatist sentiments promoted by part of the Sikh minority in Canada, a large part of the Indian diaspora. This minority defends the formation of Khalistan, a nation for the Sikhs in a territory that belongs to India and which is at the same time the origin of this monotheistic religion.

About 1.8 million people of Indian origin live in Canada, of which about 770,000 are Sikhs.. The leader of the social democratic New Democratic Party (NPD), Jagmeet Singh, the fourth party in the Canadian Parliament, is Sikh.

Sikhs want to be a nation again

The Sikhs or Sikhs are the followers of Sikhism, a religion founded by Guru Nanak, which developed in the context of the conflict between the doctrines of Hinduism and Islam during the 16th and 17th centuries in the region of Punjab (then the Mughal Empire).. It is one of the four religions of Indian origin and the sixth in the world by number of believers (just over 30 million).

The Sikhs ruled a confederation of kingdoms known as the Sikh Empire, which disappeared after two wars with the British.. The Sikh territory was thus incorporated into the British colony of India. India's independence in 1947 did not change that status.

It would not be until 1980 when the independence movements seeking the creation of a sovereign Sikh state declared the independence of Khalistan.. But New Delhi was not willing. To dislodge a group of Sikh rebels, Prime Minister Indira Gandh sent the Army to occupy the Golden Temple of Amritsar (a sacred place of the Sikhs).. From the occupation the building was bombed: there were more than 500 dead.

It is one of the four religions of Indian origin and the sixth in the world by number of believers (just over 30 million).

In revenge for entering a sacred place, the Sikhs assassinated Gandhi (they were his own Sikh bodyguards). The murder sparked the anti-Sikh riots of 1984.. Various attacks against the Sikhs left several thousand dead.

The Sikh community in India represents approximately 1.5% of the population and the largest is in the state of Punjab. The Sikhs want to be an independent nation because they already were, but also because they accuse India of discriminating against them: arbitrary arrests, sexual abuse against Sikh women and girls, beatings, disappearances, etc.. In any case, Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India until May 2014, was a Sikh.

2024, elections in India (Bharat)

The Indian attitude in the crisis with Canada must be seen in light of the calendar: in 2024 there will be presidential elections. Modi seeks re-election and does so using all the nationalist tricks at his disposal. Part of that strategy is changing the country's name.

It is expected that during a special session of Parliament (scheduled for September 18-22), the Government will present a resolution to change the official name of India to Bharat. It is already Bharat for the natives of that country, as stated in the Constitution, but they want it to be like that for the rest of the world.

The dispute over the country's name has gained ground since opposition parties announced in July a new alliance, called INDIA, to overthrow Modi and defeat his party at the polls.. The acronym stands for Indian National Alliance for Inclusive Development.

The name change follows other measures proposed in August, when the Indian Government submitted a series of laws to Parliament with the aim of replacing the justice system of the British colonial period and, specifically, the Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedures and the Act of 1872.

The progressive disappearance that affects bees around the world due to the loss of their habitat and invasive species also affects Switzerland, where an expert has warned that all insect colonies in this country are sick and could disappear in one or two years if no action is taken.

According to Peter Neumann, a zoologist and expert on these insects who works for the University of Bern, all bees in the country are infected with the varroa mite and other viruses that have weakened the chronically affected colonies.

“Even viruses that are not usually dangerous for them are now a danger, due to how weakened the colonies are,” said the expert in an interview with several Swiss media, including the newspaper Le Temps.

To combat this problem, which according to Neumann has been neglected for 30 years, it is necessary to “raise awareness among beekeepers and consumers, develop colony protection methods and, in the case of honey bees, research into a lasting strategy against the varroa mite,” he claimed.

It also recommends stopping the use of insecticides and pesticides that are harmful to bees, another factor that has contributed to the fact that these animals, exploited by man for millennia, have become part of the lists of threatened species.

The discovery of a man who faked his suicide ten years ago, located in Greece by a program on Italian public television (RAI), has caused surprise in Italy, where the divorce proceedings initiated by his ex-wife were the key to finding him.

“He is not a man, nor a father. “He has been a grandfather and he doesn't even know it,” said his ex-wife on the RAI program Quien has seen it, after the images were broadcast in which the individual asked the television team that had found him to leave and to They said they had not seen him.

Adamo Guerra, a 55-year-old household goods representative, had left several farewell letters in 2013 – one for his parents, another for a co-worker and another for his ex-wife – in which he announced his suicide.. He asked his parents to help his ex-wife and his two daughters, who were 12 and 16 at the time: “Now is the time to finish. “I will try to do this last step well to save you the pain of a funeral,” he wrote.

According to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, the three letters stated: “I never wanted to hurt you, but unfortunately the time has come to end this.”. Guerra, from Romagna, went on to say that “he had contracted a debt with dangerous people, but things went badly for him.”

And although his body was not found, his family assumed he was dead: his car appeared in the port of Ancona (center) and after a police investigation without results they assumed that he drowned in the sea and that is why his remains were never found. recuperate.

The reality was very different, since Guerra had taken a boat to the Greek town of Patras, where he had resided since his disappearance and where he was located after his ex-wife began divorce proceedings.

“The lawyer called me and told me that my husband was not a missing person,” said the woman, explaining that a certain Adamo Guerra had requested in 2022 to be registered as an Italian citizen residing in Greece and that at first she thought that It was a case of identity theft.

The woman turned to a RAI program that searches for missing people to understand what had happened and found reality, after Guerra confirmed that it was him to the RAI team and then asked them to act as if they had not heard. found.

“He is not a man, not a father, there are no words to describe this,” the ex-wife said, perplexed when she saw his reaction.

A man died during the party prior to his wedding celebration after being shot in the air in Maan (Jordan). The events occurred on August 31 and his massive funeral, attended by thousands of people – according to the local press – took place on September 1.. However, the video of the terrible moment has recently come to light and has gone viral.

The victim, identified as Hamzeh Al Fanatseh, was a member of the Jordanian Police, who on his social networks shared a message of pain over the tragic event and images of the burial.

According to the local newspaper Jordan Times, the young groom was killed by a stray bullet on his wedding day.. The shooter was arrested and is under investigation, according to the Public Security Directorate (PSD).

WARNING: THESE IMAGES MAY HURT YOUR SENSITIVITY

The PSD issued a statement mourning the loss of Fanatseh, who was a police officer, and urging citizens to end shooting in the air during celebrations, a tradition it called a “deadly habit.”

According to the aforementioned media, the Jordanian Police added that “anyone who has ever fired a gun during a celebration, claiming it as an act of manhood or a manifestation of joy, has helped promote this deadly habit and is complicit in the murder of Fanatseh. “.

The events have shocked the country and the words of support and encouragement for the bride on social networks have been multiple.. “My heart aches for this young man, even though I don't know him…. When will this terrible tradition end?” wrote Facebook user Jumana Murad. “I am overwhelmed with sadness for this young man… I can't imagine what his mother or his girlfriend must be feeling,” added Jamal Zu'bi on the same social network.

The president of the United States, Joe Biden, announced this Thursday another 325 million dollars (305 million euros) in aid for Ukraine – the third package since the start of the war – and announced that the first Abrams tanks announced in January will arrive to Ukraine next week.

Biden made this announcement at the beginning of a meeting at the White House between members of his Government and the Ukrainian Government, headed by President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“I have approved the next delivery of US security aid to Ukraine, which includes more artillery, ammunition and anti-tank weapons. In addition, next week the first Abrams tanks from the United States will be delivered to Ukraine,” the US president said.

The new aid package does not include the long-range ATACMS missiles, which Ukraine has been insistently demanding for months and which the United States has refused to provide for fear of provoking an escalation of war with Russia.

According to Biden, this new aid package “will protect Ukraine, Ukraine's grain silos, hospitals, schools and power plants.”. “It will help save Ukrainian lives,” he said, according to the NBC news network.

The package does contain weaponry to strengthen Ukraine's air defenses against Russian attacks, both now and during the upcoming winter season, when Russia could again attack critical infrastructure such as the electricity supply needed to keep homes heated.

Specifically, it will include another HAWK anti-aircraft defense battery, which can shoot down aircraft, as well as systems capable of intercepting missiles in order to protect the civilian population.. According to the American newspaper The Washington Post, the package also includes “50-caliber machine guns that can be used against Russian drones that have terrorized Ukrainian cities and towns in recent months.”

The United States will also send artillery munitions and cluster bombs to Ukraine, as Biden announced in July despite criticism from organizations such as Human Rights Watch (HWR), which are concerned about the impact of this weaponry on the civilian population.

Package details

According to the Pentagon statement, the package consists of the following weapons:

The American president has reiterated once again that “Russia is the only one that stands in the way of peace,” and has denounced that “what they have done to the children” of Ukrainians “is simply criminal.”

Zelensky, for his part, thanked the new American shipment. “All these days they are with us, with the Ukrainians, with the ordinary people,” said a Ukrainian head of state who described the meeting with Biden as “productive.”

Conference in autumn

Likewise, the United States announced this Thursday that in the fall it will organize a conference in which it will bring together the American defense industry with Ukrainian businessmen, as well as officials from both governments, to study possible options for joint companies and arms co-production.

The meeting, which the White House reported in a statement, was agreed upon by the president of the United States, Joe Biden, together with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, after holding a meeting in the Oval Office in which the American president reiterated his commitment to a “just” and “lasting” peace for Ukraine.

Russia claimed to have intercepted a missile and two other Ukrainian drones this morning off the western coast of the annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, in what was the second attack in a few hours against this territory.. “At approximately 10:30 Moscow time, an attempt by Kiev to carry out a terrorist attack with guided missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles against objects on the territory of the Russian Federation was stopped,” the Russian Ministry of Defense reported in its Telegram channel. He indicated that air defense systems off the western coast of the Crimean Peninsula detected and destroyed a Ukrainian guided missile and two drones.

The Google platform was sued this Tuesday by an American family that blames its Google Maps application for having provided erroneous directions to its father, who died after falling from a half-destroyed bridge to which that navigation system had directed him.

As published this Thursday by CNN, which had access to the complaint filed two days ago, Philip Paxson activated Google Maps to return home in September 2022 after his daughter's ninth birthday party.

It was night and Google Maps told him to head towards a bridge that had partially collapsed years before and was not properly marked or repaired.. The man fell off that structure with his vehicle and ended up dying.

According to CNN, residents of the area in Hickory, North Carolina, had repeatedly asked for it to be fixed or barriers put up before someone was injured or lost their life, but their requests had not been heeded.

The family's attorney, Robert Zimmerman, said in a statement released by the network that for years Google Maps had directed motorists like Paxson to that route, despite having received complaints about it.

In addition to Google, the family is also suing its parent company, Alphabet, and two local companies that it considers responsible for the maintenance of the land and the bridge, for negligence.

Paxson was married and had two daughters, ages 9 and 7.. In a statement received by CNN, Google expressed its condolences to the family, noted that it is reviewing the lawsuit and that its goal is to provide correct information on its maps.