MEXICO CITY: About 900 Central American migrants headed out of Mexico City on Friday to embark on the longest and most dangerous leg of their journey to the US border, while thousands more were waiting one more day at a massive improvised shelter.
The group that got a head start bundled their few possessions and started off, taking a subway to the north part of the city and then hiking down an expressway with a police escort.
For many, it was the first time they had ever been in a metro system, and they had little knowledge of the city or the 1,740 mile (2,800 kilometer) route to Tijuana that lay ahead of them.
Carlos Castanaza, a 29-year-old plumber from Guatemala City, wrapped himself from head to toe in a blanket against the cold and asked bystanders where the first toll booth was. When told it was in a town about 20 miles (30 kilometers) away, he carefully wrote the name of the town on his hand with a pen to remember where he was going.
Deported for driving without a license after a decade working in Connecticut, Castanaza was desperate to get back to his two US-born children. “I’ve been wanting to get back for more than a year, but I couldn’t until the caravan came through,” said Castanaza. “That’s why I joined the caravan.”
The advanced group hoped to reach the north-central city of Queretaro, about 105 miles (170 kilometers) to the northwest, by nightfall.
Meanwhile, at least 4,000 migrants milled around the massive shelter improvised at a Mexico City sports complex, impatient to leave.
Ninety percent of the remaining migrants will depart the stadium early Saturday on their long trek to Tijuana, first taking the subway to the northern exit from Mexico’s capital, according to Nashieli Ramirez, director of Mexico’s Human Rights Commission.
From there, they will pass through the Mexican cities of Queretaro, Guadalajara, Culiacan and Hermosillo on their way to the US border, Ramirez said, adding that 400 Mexicans had chosen to stay in Mexico City.
The governor of Queretaro state, Francisco Dominguez, said the migrants would stay at Corregidora stadium in the state’s capital and that authorities were ready to host 4,000 people.
Meanwhile, migrants in the stadium in southern Mexico City were getting impatient.
“Let’s go, let’s go!” shouted Eddy Rivera, 37, a rail-thin migrant from Honduras who said he couldn’t take staying in the camp any longer. “We are all sick, from the humidity and the cold,” said Rivera, who left behind four children and a wife in Honduras. “We have to get going, we have to get to Tijuana.”
Though he was unsure how an unskilled farmworker like himself would be allowed in the United States, he had a simple dream: earn enough money to build a little house for his family back in Puerto Cortes, Honduras.
Thousands of migrants have spent the past few days resting, receiving medical attention and debating how to proceed with their arduous trek through Central America and Mexico which began in mid-October. On Thursday, caravan representatives met with officials from the local United Nations office and demanded buses to take them to the border, saying the trek would be too hard and dangerous for walking and hitchhiking.
Caravan coordinator Milton Benitez said officials had offered them buses for women and children but organizers demanded that they be for everyone. By Friday, the migrants said they were so angry at the UN’s lack of help that they no longer wanted UN observers with the caravan.
The United Nations on Friday denied the offer, releasing a statement saying its agencies “are unable to provide the transportation demanded by some members of the caravan.”
The migrants made a big point of sticking together, their only form of self-protection.
Felix Rodriguez, 35, of Choluteca, Honduras had been at the Mexico City sports complex for more than a week.
“We all want to get moving,” he said. But he was waiting for the main group to leave Saturday, noting “it is better to leave in a group, because leaving in small bunches is dangerous.”
Mexico City is more than 600 miles from the nearest US border crossing at McAllen, Texas, but the area around the Mexican border cities of Reynosa, Matamoros and Nuevo Laredo is so rife with drug gangs that the migrants consider it too dangerous to risk.
A previous caravan in the spring opted for the longer route to Tijuana in the far northwest, across from San Diego. That caravan steadily dwindled to only about 200 people by the time it reached the border.
“California is the longest route but is the best border, while Texas is the closest but the worst” border, said Jose Luis Fuentes of the National Lawyers Guild.
Mexico has offered refuge, asylum or work visas to the migrants, and its government said 2,697 temporary visas had been issued to individuals and families to cover them while they wait for the 45-day application process for a more permanent status. On Wednesday, a bus left from Mexico City to return 37 people to their countries of origin.
But many want to continue on toward the United States.
Authorities say most have refused offers to stay in Mexico, and only a small number have agreed to return to their home countries. About 85 percent of the migrants are from Honduras, while others are from the Central American countries of Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua.
Hundreds of migrants leave Mexico City headed for border
Hundreds of migrants leave Mexico City headed for border
- Mexico has offered refuge, asylum or work visas to the migrants, and its government said 2,697 temporary visas had been issued to individuals and families
- The migrants made a big point of sticking together, their only form of self-protection
Judges to decide if UK can supply parts for Israeli warplanes
Israel has used the jets to devastating effect in its bombardment of Gaza, with both sides being accused of atrocities during a conflict that has killed tens of thousands — mostly Palestinian civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
The UK government suspended some export licenses for military equipment after concluding there was a risk Israel could be breaching international humanitarian law, but made an exemption for some parts for Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth jets.
In its claim to the High Court, rights group Al-Haq said the “carve out” was unlawful, alleging the government had misunderstood the applicable rules of international law — a claim denied by ministers.
The UK contributes components to an international defense program that produces and maintains the F-35s.
Defense Secretary John Healey said a suspension would impact the “whole F-35 program” and have a “profound impact on international peace and security.”
The London court is due to give its ruling at 0930 GMT.
Al-Haq, which is supported by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Oxfam and others in its case, is seeking a court order to stop the supply of UK-made parts for the US warplanes.
Lawyers for Al-Haq said the government had known there was a “clear risk” Israel would use the jet parts to commit violations of international law.
But government lawyer James Eadie said the UK’s trade department had acted lawfully.
He added the court was not placed to rule on the legality of Israel’s actions, and that attempting to do so could have a “potentially deleterious” effect on “foreign relations with a friendly state, namely Israel.”
In September 2024, the new Labour government announced it was suspending around 30 of 350 export licenses following a review of Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law.
But the partial ban did not cover British-made F-35 parts, which include refueling probes, laser targeting systems, tires and ejector seats, according to Oxfam.
Healey has previously said suspending F-35 licenses would “undermine US confidence in the UK and NATO” but lawyers for Al-Haq have described the exemption as a “loophole.”
UK-based NGO Campaign Against Arms Trade has said that licensing figures showed the government had made a “shocking increase in military exports to Israel” in the months after its September 2024 announcement of partial suspensions.
It said the figures showed the UK approved £127.6 million ($170 million) in military equipment to Israel in single-issue licenses from October to December 2024, saying this was more than for the period from 2020 to 2023 combined.
Most of the licenses were for military radars, components and software, as well as targeting equipment, according to the NGO, which was involved in the case against the government.
Azerbaijan cancels Russian events over the deaths of Azerbaijanis in Yekaterinburg
- According to Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry, Russian law enforcement raided homes of Azerbaijani residents in the industrial city in Russia’s Ural Mountains on Friday
- The Azerbaijani government also announced the cancelation of a planned visit by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk
Azerbaijan has canceled all cultural events planned by Russian state and private institutions in protest over the deaths of two Azerbaijanis after police raids in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, Azerbaijani officials said Sunday.
Azerbaijan’s Culture Ministry wrote on X that concerts, exhibitions, festivals and performances were canceled on account of “the demonstrative targeted and extrajudicial killings and acts of violence committed by Russian law enforcement agencies against Azerbaijanis on ethnic grounds in Yekaterinburg.”
According to Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry, Russian law enforcement raided homes of Azerbaijani residents in the industrial city in Russia’s Ural Mountains on Friday. Two Azerbaijanis were killed, it said, along with several others seriously injured and nine detained.
The ministry on Saturday summoned the Russian Embassy’s chargé d’affaires in Baku, Pyotr Volokovykh, demanding a full investigation and prosecution of those responsible.
The victims were identified as Ziyaddin and Huseyn Safarov, both around 60 years old. Their brother, Sayfaddin Huseynli, told Azerbaijani public broadcaster ITV that the men were tortured to death “without any trial or investigation, despite their innocence.” He described the raids as “savagery,” claiming that others were beaten and subjected to electric shocks.
“The so-called Russian law enforcement agencies broke into houses in the middle of the night, beat and took people away like animals,” Huseynli said.
The Azerbaijani government also announced the cancelation of a planned visit by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk. “The government of Azerbaijan does not consider it appropriate under the current circumstances for Overchuk or any other official representative of Russia to visit the country,” state media reported.
In a statement, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said it expected “that the matter will be investigated and all perpetrators of violence brought to justice as soon as possible.”
Without commenting on the reported deaths, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Saturday that the raids formed part of an investigation into previously committed crimes. Zakharova said raids and detentions targeted Russian citizens of Azerbaijani descent.
Ties between the two countries have been strained for months. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev declined an invitation to attend Russia’s Victory Day parade in Moscow in May. In contrast, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha visited Baku later that month, signaling closer ties between Baku and Kyiv.
Relations between Moscow and Baku cooled after an Azerbaijani airliner crashed in Kazakhstan in December, killing 38 of 67 people aboard. Aliyev said it was shot down over Russia, albeit unintentionally, and rendered uncontrollable by electronic warfare. He accused Russia of trying to “hush up” the incident for several days. Putin apologized to Aliyev for what he called a “tragic incident” but stopped short of acknowledging responsibility.
German FM visits Kyiv, pledges continued support for Ukraine
- Germany has been Ukraine’s second-largest military backer after the United States
KYIV: German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul made an unannounced visit to Kyiv on Monday, in a show of continuing support for Ukraine’s fight to repel Russia’s invasion as US-led international peace efforts fail to make progress.
Wadephul was due to meet with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.
Wadephul said in a statement that Germany will help Ukraine “continue to defend itself successfully — with modern air defense and other weapons, with humanitarian and economic aid.”
Germany has been Ukraine’s second-largest military backer after the United States, whose continuing support is in doubt.
However, Berlin has balked at granting Zelensky’s request to provide Ukraine with powerful German- and Swedish-made Taurus long-range missiles. That’s due to fears that such a move could enrage the Kremlin and end up drawing NATO into Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II.
Instead, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pledged in May to help Ukraine develop its own long-range missile systems that would be free of any Western-imposed limitations on their use and targets.
Wadephul was accompanied on his trip to Kyiv by German defense industry representatives.
Russia’s invasion shows no sign of letting up. Its grinding war of attrition along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line and long-range strikes on civilian areas of Ukraine have killed thousands of troops and civilians.
The Russian effort to capture more Ukrainian territory has been costly in terms of casualties and damaged armor. But Russian President Vladimir Putin has effectively rejected a ceasefire and hasn’t budged from his war goals.
Putin “doesn’t want negotiations, but (Ukrainian) capitulation,” Wadephul said in his statement.
Russia launched its biggest combined aerial attack against Ukraine at the weekend, Ukrainian officials said, in its escalating bombing campaign that has further dashed hopes for a breakthrough in peace efforts.
UN conference seeks boost for aid as US cuts bite
- UN sustainable development goals set for 2030 are slipping from reach just as the world’s wealthiest countries are withdrawing funding for development programs
SEVILLE: A UN conference aiming to rally fresh support for development aid began in Spain on Monday with the sector in crisis as US-led funding cuts jeopardize the fight against poverty.
At least 50 world leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron, Kenya’s William Ruto, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and UN head Antonio Guterres are gathering in the city of Seville for the June 30-July 3 meeting.
Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, Ecuador’s Daniel Noboa, Angolan leader Joao Lourenco and Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan also joined more than 4,000 delegates from businesses, civil society and financial institutions.
But the United States is snubbing the biggest such talks in a decade, underlining the erosion of international cooperation on combating hunger, disease and climate change.
A blistering heatwave that is scorching southern Europe welcomed the delegates to the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, an example of the extreme weather that scientists say human-driven climate change is fueling.
UN sustainable development goals set for 2030 are slipping from reach just as the world’s wealthiest countries are withdrawing funding for development programs.
US President Donald Trump’s gutting of his country’s development agency USAID is the standout example, but Germany, Britain and France are also making cuts as they boost spending in areas such as defense.
International charity Oxfam says the cuts to development aid are the largest since 1960 and the United Nations puts the growing gap in annual development finance at $4 trillion.
More than 800 million people live on less than $3 a day, according to the World Bank, with rising extreme poverty affecting sub-Saharan Africa in particular.
Disruption to global trade from Trump’s tariffs and ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine have dealt further blows to the diplomatic cohesion necessary for concentrating efforts on helping countries escape poverty.
Among the key topics up for discussion is reforming international finance to help poorer countries shrug off a growing debt burden that inhibits their capacity to achieve progress in health and education.
The total external debt of the group of least developed countries has more than tripled in 15 years, according to UN data.
Critics have singled out US-based bulwarks of the post-World War II international financial system, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, for reform to improve their representation of the Global South.
Painstaking talks in New York in June produced a common declaration to be adopted in Seville that only went ahead after the United States walked out.
The document reaffirms commitment to the UN development goals such as eliminating poverty and hunger, promoting gender equality, reforming tax systems and international financial institutions.
The text also calls on development banks to triple their lending capacity, urges lenders to ensure predictable finance for essential social spending and for more cooperation against tax evasion.
Coalitions of countries will seek to spearhead initiatives in addition to the so-called “Seville Commitment,” which is not legally binding.
But campaigners have criticized the text for lacking ambition and have rung alarm bells about rising global inequality.
“Global development is desperately failing because... the interests of a very wealthy few are put over those of everyone else,” said Amitabh Behar, executive director of Oxfam International.
Hundreds of demonstrators braved the sizzling heat in Seville on Sunday to demand change in international tax, debt and aid policies.
“Global south countries will never be able to decide how they want to do development if they are bound to the new colonial debt,” protester Ilan Henzler, 28, told AFP.
“We are here to fight for the abolition of this illegitimate debt.”
China defends diplomats after Taiwan VP car ramming claims
BEIJING: China defended its diplomats on Monday after Taiwan accused Beijing’s embassy staff of planning to ram its vice president’s car during an official visit to Europe.
“Chinese diplomats overseas always respect their host country’s laws and regulations,” Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.
Taiwan’s top China policy body, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), said on Friday that Hsiao Bi-khim’s motorcade was surveilled and followed in a ploy to be rammed during a visit to the Czech Republic in March 2024.
Czech military intelligence spokesman Jan Pejsek told AFP on Sunday that Hsiao was targeted by “persons legalized in diplomatic positions at the Chinese Embassy in Prague.”
He said they tailed her and sought information about Hsiao’s program and meetings with Czech officials.
China claims Taiwan as its territory and has ramped up the deployment of fighter jets and warships around the self-ruled island in recent years.
In response to the Czech claims, Beijing insisted on Monday that “Taiwan is a part of China and has no so-called vice president.”
“No matter how the DPP authorities try to change things up and seek independence from the outside, and drive a wedge in China’s diplomatic relationships, they will not be able to cover up their sinister plot and their attempt will not succeed,” Mao said, referring to Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party.
