International

At least 90 people died in a gas explosion that occurred on Friday at the Liushenyu mine, in Shanxi province (central China), Chinese state media reported.

Iran and the U.S. recognized this Saturday “encouraging progress” in their indirect negotiation to end the war. An extension of the sixty-day truce and a preliminary agreement would be within reach, according to the Pakistani mediators, who see a second meeting in Islamabad between the contenders possible within a week.

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has announced the deployment of 5,000 additional soldiers to Poland, thus reversing the Pentagon’s decision to suspend a military deployment amid its criticism of European allies for their stance on the war in Iran.

After nearly 70 years of Castroist rule in Cuba, the White House is sending strong signals that Washington is willing to do anything to bring the regime founded by the bearded men to its final stretch. In addition to economic and social pressure with the oil blockade, the United States seems to be preparing or arranging the elements to justify a potential military intervention on the island.

Ukraine has intensified security measures in the border regions with Belarus amid fears of a possible new Russian offensive from the north of the country. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) confirmed this Thursday the deployment of reinforced controls, inspections, and special operations in the border areas, after weeks of warning that Moscow could use Belarusian territory as a platform for new attacks.

The Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz, has proposed granting Ukraine the status of an “associate member” of the European Union (EU) as an intermediate step towards membership, since full membership will take time, according to a letter he wrote to community leaders in Brussels that Reuters and AFP agencies accessed this Thursday. This would allow Ukrainian leaders to participate in EU summits and ministerial meetings, although without voting rights.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, assured this Thursday that “everything points” to Israel deporting in the next few hours, via Turkey, the activists detained after the interception of the flotilla heading to Gaza with humanitarian aid. Among those arrested, there would be at least 44 Spaniards, although the Government admits that it still does not have an official final figure.

At 94 years old, Raúl Castro has to play hide and seek.

When China surpassed the U.S. in 2008 and became the leading country in terms of internet users, the tech sphere remained unfazed. This was mainly due to two fundamental facts: first, the internet penetration rate in China was only 23%, not even a third of the American rate; second, internet use was heavily focused on consumption, and all the main players in the different sectors were imitators of Western business innovations. Baidu is the Chinese Google, Tencent QQ is Messenger, Fanfou is the Chinese Twitter, Kaixin001 is the Chinese Myspace, and Zhihu is the Chinese LinkedIn. In short, the West set the trends, and China merely copied proven formulas and adapted them to the Chinese market.

The 430 members of the Global Sumud Flotilla intercepted on Monday off the coast of Cyprus by the Israeli navy have been transferred to Israel, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Tuesday night to Wednesday. “The 430 activists have been transferred aboard Israeli ships and are heading to Israel, where they will be able to meet with their consular representatives,” said a ministry spokesperson.