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Nasry Asfura, a conservative businessman backed by US President Donald Trump, was declared winner of the Honduran presidential vote on Wednesday, weeks after a razor-thin election marred by delays and allegations of fraud.The national electoral council CNE said the 67-year-old son of Palestinian immigrants defeated fellow conservative TV personality Salvador Nasralla by less than one percentage pointAsfura's victory marks the return of the right-wing to power in one of Latin America's poorest countries after four years of leftist Xiomara Castro's presidency.It also aligns Honduras with a rise of conservative governments in the region following shifts in Chile, Bolivia, Peru and Argentina.’Honduras: I'm ready to govern. I won't let you down,’ Asfura posted to X after the win was declared, thanking election officials for validating his victory.Asfura, who takes office on January 27, prevailed with 40.1% of the vote, narrowly beating Nasralla at 39.5%, according to the official results.Rixi Moncada, a lawyer from the leftist Libre Party, which currently runs the government, trailed in third with 19.2%.Within minutes of the result declaration, the United States welcomed the election of Asfura, saying that it would help stop illegal immigration.’We look forward to working with his incoming administration to advance our bilateral and regional security cooperation, end illegal immigration to the United States, and strengthen the economic ties between our two countries,’ Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.Following the lengthy counting process in the Central American country's election, Rubio called on all sides to ‘respect the confirmed results so that Honduran authorities may swiftly ensure a peaceful transition of authority”.Argentina's President Javier Milei, a Trump ally, said on X that the Honduras vote amounted to ‘a resounding defeat of narco-socialism”.The result was announced more than three weeks after the November 30 election.The wait for the outcome has caused tensions among Hondurans, and the sluggish count has been accompanied by claims of irregularities and voter fraud.Nasralla had demanded a full recount due to alleged irregularities, and has not recognised Asfura's victory.’I will not accept a result based on omissions. Democracy does not shut down because of exhaustion, nor because today is the 24th – this is the saddest Christmas for the Honduran people,’ Nasralla said at a press conference in the capital Tegucigalpa on Tuesday afternoon.This is his third unsuccessful bid for the Honduran presidency.The head of the Honduran Congress also rejected the results.’This is completely outside the law. It has no value,’ Congress President Luis Redondo, of the ruling LIBRE party, wrote on X.The recount of nearly 2,800 tally sheets with suspected inconsistencies was pored over by hundreds of electoral staff and political delegates to decide the race.The CNE had until December 30 to declare a winner.Last week, thousands of supporters of the outgoing president's leftist Libre Party staged a demonstration in the capital Tegucigalpa to protest what they consider ‘fraud’ in the vote.On the eve of the election, Trump in a surprise move pardoned former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez, a member of Asfura's party who was serving a 45-year prison sentence in the United States for drug trafficking.Extradited by Honduras to face justice in the United States, Hernandez insists that he had been set up by the previous administration of US president Joe Biden because of his conservative policies.The pardon was widely seen as contradicting Trump's crackdown on alleged drug traffickers in Latin America.Trump also endorsed Asfura, suggesting they could ‘work together to fight the narcocommunists’ and warned ‘there will be hell to pay’ if the conservative candidate's razor-thin lead was overturned in the count.On Wednesday Hernandez took to X to congratulate Honduran voters, saying that the country ‘closes a cycle and opens a new era with hope, commitment and responsibility”.Asfura faces major challenges.He has pledged to attract foreign investment to the nation of 11mn people and re-establish ties with Taiwan – after his predecessor warmed to China in 2023.Asfura ran on a broad pro-business platform saying private investment was necessary to move the country forward, while his political agenda focused on jobs, education and security.He will govern a more polarised country amid lingering doubts about the elections, which Castro said was under ‘serious question’ due to a lack of transparency, coercion of voters by gang members, and ‘threats’ from Trump.Honduras is also plagued by violence and the crime of drug traffickers and major gangs, which Castro has struggled to combat despite declaring a state of emergency.Although murders have declined, Honduras remains one of the region's most violent countries, with some 27 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in 2024. Source link
People queue to vote in the municipal elections meant to pave the way for the east African country’s first direct national polls in more than half…
The White House has ordered US military forces to focus almost exclusively on enforcing a ‘quarantine’ of Venezuelan oil for at least the next two months, a US official told Reuters, indicating that Washington is currently more interested in using economic rather than military means to pressure Caracas.’While military options still exist, the focus is to first use economic pressure by enforcing sanctions to reach the outcome the White House is looking (for),’ the official said on Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity.While President Donald Trump has been publicly coy about his precise aims regarding Venezuela, he has privately pressured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to flee the nation, Reuters has reported.Trump said on Monday that it would be smart for Maduro to leave power.’The efforts so far have put tremendous pressure on Maduro, and the belief is that by late January, Venezuela will be facing an economic calamity unless it agrees to make significant concessions to the US,’ the official said.Trump has accused the South American country of flooding the US with drugs, and his administration has for months been bombing boats originating in South America that it alleges were carrying drugs.Many nations have condemned the attacks as extrajudicial killings.Trump has also frequently threatened to start bombing drug infrastructure on land, and has authorised covert Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) activity directed at Caracas.So far this month, the US Coast Guard has intercepted two tankers in the Caribbean Sea, both fully loaded with Venezuelan crude.The comments by the White House official on Wednesday come after Reuters reported that the Coast Guard was waiting for additional forces to carry out a third seizure, first attempted on Sunday, against an empty sanctioned vessel known as the Bella-1.Venezuela's UN ambassador Samuel Moncada said on Tuesday: ‘The threat is not Venezuela. The threat is the US government.’The White House official did not elaborate on precisely what it meant for the military to focus ‘almost exclusively’ on interdicting Venezuelan oil.The US military's footprint sprawls across the globe, and most missions and capabilities are unrelated to maritime interdiction.The Pentagon has amassed a huge military presence in the Caribbean with more than 15,000 troops.That includes an aircraft carrier, 11 other warships and more than a dozen F-35 aircraft.While many assets can be used to help with enforcing sanctions, many others, like fighter jets, are not well-suited for that task.On Tuesday, the United States told the United Nations that it will impose and enforce sanctions ‘to the maximum extent’ to deprive Maduro of resources.Earlier this month, Trump ordered a ‘blockade’ of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela, but the White House official's use instead of the word ‘quarantine’ appears to echo language used during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, when the administration of US president John F Kennedy wanted to avoid an escalation.Robert McNamara, Kennedy's defence secretary at the time, said in 2002: ‘We called it a quarantine because blockade is a word of war.’On Wednesday UN experts condemned the blockade, saying that such a use of force is recognised ‘as illegal armed aggression’. Source link
Santa Claus drove his reindeer-powered sleigh over rooftops around the world on Wednesday, delivering gifts to millions of children in a magic Christmas Eve ritual that North American air defence officials say they began tracking 70 years ago.Still, despite its devotion to a tradition dating back to the Cold War era of 1955, the North American Aerospace Defence Command, or NORAD, possesses limited intelligence about the direction that Santa will take in any given year.Santa is not required to file a flight plan.So the only thing NORAD knows for sure in advance is that the red-suited jolly old elf, also known as Kris Kringle or Saint Nicholas, takes off every Christmas Eve from his home base at the North Pole.’NORAD tracks Santa, but only Santa knows his route, which means we cannot predict where or when he will arrive at your house,’ a senior NORAD official said in a press statement.NORAD, a joint US-Canadian military command at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado, has provided images and updates on Santa's worldwide journey for seven decades, along with its main task of monitoring air defences and issuing aerospace and maritime warnings.The Santa tracker tradition originated from a 1955 misprint in a Colorado Springs newspaper of the telephone number of a department store for children to call and speak with Santa.The listed number went to what was then known as the Continental Air Defence Command.An understanding officer took the youngsters' calls and assured them that Santa was airborne and on schedule to deliver presents to good girls and boys – at least those who believe in him – flying aboard his reindeer-powered sleigh.According to its website, NORAD detects Santa's liftoff with its polar radar network, then follows his journey with the same satellites used to warn of any possible missile launches aimed at North America.As soon as Santa's lead reindeer, Rudolph, switches on his shiny red nose, military personnel can zero in on his location using the satellites' infrared sensors.US President Donald Trump appeared to be following NORAD's Santa tracker on Wednesday as he sat by a Christmas tree at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida, fielding telephone calls from children around the country.As he spoke to one youngster from Pennsylvania, Trump said: ‘So Santa right now is in Copenhagen, Denmark, but he's heading toward our country. What would you like from Santa?’Speaking to another caller, Trump jokingly explained the rationale for tracking Santa in terms of national security, saying: ‘We want to make sure he's not infiltrated, that we're not infiltrating into our country a bad Santa.’ Source link
Launch of Simandou iron ore mega-mine seen as major milestoneWest African regional bloc pursuing warmer ties despite coupGuinea coup leader Mamady Doumbouya is expected to coast to victory in a presidential election on Sunday, buoyed by the launch of a long-awaited iron ore mega-mine and weak competition from a fragmented field of challengers.Four years ago, Doumbouya, then a special forces commander, ousted President Alpha Conde in one of nine coups that have roiled West and Central Africa since 2020.He initially vowed not to run for office, but a new constitution approved in September removed language that would have barred him and extended the presidential term from five to seven years.Conde and longtime opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo are in exile and other potential challengers were disqualified for failing to submit required documents. That leaves eight challengers who are unlikely to give Doumbouya much trouble.”Let’s not kid ourselves: there can be no other opponent who can challenge him,” said Guinean political analyst Bella Bah. “But that’s not the most important thing. (After the election) the president needs to take a step back and realise that he now has to exercise power,” Bah added, urging Doumbouya to engage in dialogue with actors beyond the military.Political debate has been limited under Doumbouya, and civil society groups accuse his government of banning protests, curbing press freedom and restricting opposition activity.MINING MILESTONEGuinea holds the world’s largest reserves of bauxite and the richest untapped iron ore deposit at Simandou, which was officially launched last month.Production at Simandou, originally scheduled for 1997, had been long delayed. Doumbouya’s junta ordered development to be paused in 2022, saying it wanted to review how national interests would be safeguarded once it came online.Simandou is central to Doumbouya’s vision for Guinea: the country’s national development strategy is called Simandou 2040.Annual production at the 75% Chinese-owned project is expected to peak at some 120mn metric tons, and supporters say Doumbouya will ensure Guinea gets its share of the proceeds.”Dear Guineans, Guinea is no longer for sale,” government spokesperson Ousmane Gaoual Diallo declared at a campaign event this month. “Guinea is no longer up for grabs, Guinea is standing tall.”Doumbouya’s transitional government also revoked EGA subsidiary Guinea Alumina Corporation’s license after a refinery dispute, transferring its assets to a state-owned firm.The turn towards resource nationalism — also seen in other countries in the region with military rulers, including Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger — has bolstered Doumbouya’s popularity.”The way politics was done before and now is different. We no longer have violent campaigns, but there is enthusiasm,” said Conakry resident Mohamed Keita, 65.”People are out in the field, everyone expresses their opinions without violence.”WARMING REGIONAL TIESThe campaign has unfolded peacefully, though Doumbouya’s tight grip means it is hardly a level playing field, said Gilles Yabi, founder of West African think tank WATHI.”This is obviously a context that doesn’t allow for any hope of a free and fair presidential election,” Yabi said.”The mere fact of holding a presidential election will not change the reality of power, which will remain primarily in the hands of the military.”Despite such concerns, the West African regional bloc Ecowas is sending observers, a sign of “growing rapprochement” even though Guinea has been formally suspended since the 2021 coup, consultancy Signal Risk said in a note.About 6.7mn people are registered to vote, with provisional results expected within 48 hours of polls closing. Related Story Source link
Firefighters work at the site after a gas explosion caused a partial building collapse at the Silver Lake Nursing Home in Bristol, Pennsylvania, US. A pair of explosions and a fire, apparently sparked by leaking gas, ripped through a nursing home near Philadelphia, killing a female employee and a resident, and injuring 20 people, officials said.All residents and staff of the Silver Lake Nursing Home in Bristol Township, about 33km northeast of Philadelphia, have now been accounted for and the injured taken to local hospitals, police chief Charles Winik said.Winik said people had been feared missing for a number of hours as flames and blasts gutted the nursing home. Fire Marshal Kevin Dippolito said numerous patients and staff were initially trapped inside a demolished portion of the building.Dippolito said the first firefighters arriving on the scene, some from a fire-and-rescue station across the street, encountered “a major structural collapse,” with part of the building’s first floor crumbling into the basement below.He said numerous victims were extricated from debris, blocked stairwells and stuck elevators, while firefighters ventured into the collapsed basement zone and pulled at least two more people to safety before retreating amid lingering gas fumes.”We got everyone out that we could, that we could find, that we could see, and we exited the building,” Dippolito said. “Within approximately 15 to 30 seconds of us exiting the building, knowing there was a heavy odour of natural gas around us, there was another explosion and fire.”The front of the structure appeared to have been blasted away from the inside, but the majority of the facility remained standing, though most of its windows were shattered, according to a Reuters photographer on the scene.News footage from WPVI-TV, an ABC News affiliate, showed roaring flames and smoke billowing from the crippled building shortly after the first explosion.The precise number of patients and staff inside at the time was not immediately known. The nursing home is certified for up to 174 beds, according to an official Medicare provider site.More than 50 patients, ranging in age from 50 to 95, are typically in the building at any one time, WCAU-TV reported, citing a nurse employed by the facility who arrived on the scene after the blast. About five hours later, nursing home officials had informed authorities that all patients had been accounted for, Dippolito said. Related…
Fourteen countries, including France, Britain, Canada, and Germany, condemned the Israeli entity’s plan to establish new settlements in the occupied West Bank. In a joint statement revealed on Wednesday by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the countries called on the Israeli entity to abandon the establishment of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, in addition to halting settlement expansion. The statement revealed that the representatives of Germany, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Spain, France, Italy, Ireland, Iceland, Japan, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom, condemn the approval by the Israeli government’s Security Cabinet of the establishment of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank. It reiterated opposition to any form of annexation and any expansion of the settlement policy, stressing that such unilateral actions, within the framework of a broader intensification of settlement policies in the WestBank, not only violate international law but also fuel instability. The signatory states called on the Israeli occupation to reverse this decision and cease settlement expansion, in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2234. The statement affirmed that the participating states are determined to support the Palestinian right to self-determination and to achieve a just, comprehensive, and viable peace based on the two-state solution.”The Israeli Security Cabinet had approved the establishment of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank, bringing the total number of settlements approved in the last three years to 69. Source link
US President Donald Trump arrives to announce the US Navy’s new Golden Fleet initiative, unveiling a new class of warships, at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida,…
India's space agency launched its heaviest ever payload on Wednesday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling the deployment ‘a significant stride’ for the space sector.The LVM3-M6 rocket launched the US-built AST SpaceMobile communications satellite into low-Earth orbit.The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said it was the ‘heaviest payload to be launched from Indian soil’.The launch is a boost for India's ambitious low-cost space programme, with plans for an uncrewed orbital mission and human spaceflight in the coming years.The satellite, weighing 6,100 kilograms (13,448 pounds), was launched on a modified version of a rocket that India plans to use for its future space missions.India is vying for a larger slice of the booming commercial satellite business as phone, internet and other companies seek expanded and more high-end communications.Modi said the launch marked ‘a proud milestone in India's space journey’.’It strengthens India's heavy-lift launch capability and reinforces our growing role in the global commercial launch market,’ he said in a statement.Earlier this year, ISRO launched the CMS-03 communication satellite, which weighs about 4,410 kilograms.For these heavy launches, India has deployed an upgraded version of the rocket it used to send an unmanned craft to the Moon in August 2023.The world's most populous nation has flexed its spacefaring ambitions in the last decade with its space programme growing considerably, and rivalling the achievements of established powers at a much cheaper price tag.It has said it plans to launch an uncrewed orbital mission before its first human spaceflight in 2027.Modi has also announced plans to send an astronaut to the Moon by 2040. Source link
FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: View of a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) passenger plane, taken through a glass panel, at Islamabad International Airport, Pakistan October 3, 2023.…