Mexico elects Claudia Sheinbaum as its first woman president
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s projected election winner Claudia Sheinbaum will become the first woman president in the country’s 200-year history. The climate scientist and former Mexico City mayor said Sunday night that her two competitors had called her and conceded her victory. She said Sunday had demonstrated that Mexico is a democratic country with peaceful elections. The National Electoral Institute’s president said Sheinbaum had between 58.3% and 60.7% of the vote, according to a statistical sample. Opposition candidate Xóchitl Gálvez had between 26.6% and 28.6%. The governing party candidate campaigned on continuing the political course set by her political mentor President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who quickly congratulated her.
The first woman elected to lead Mexico faces pressing gender-related issues
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Claudia Sheinbaum’s name will go down in Mexican history. The governing party candidate has won Mexico’s presidential election, a turning point in a mostly conservative nation that for over two centuries has been exclusively ruled by men. Elsewhere in Latin America, women have presided over Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Nicaragua, Honduras, Ecuador, El Salvador, Panama, Haiti and Costa Rica. Mexican women won the right to vote in 1953. No law prevented female candidates from holding office, but sexism and “macho” culture continues to permeate the country of 129 million people. Among the issues that Mexican women face are femicide, a gender employment gap and a lack of adequate policies guaranteeing sexual and reproductive rights.
The Latest | Israeli strikes in central Gaza kill at least 11 as the US pushes a cease-fire plan
Palestinian health officials said Israeli strikes killed 11 people overnight into Monday, including a woman and three children, in central Gaza. Earlier Monday, the Israeli military said that the body of a man presumed to be a hostage was found in a community near the Gaza border that Hamas militants attacked on Oct. 7. Israeli forces are expanding their offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, once the main hub of humanitarian aid operations, as the country faces growing international criticism for the huge cost in civilian lives and the widespread destruction caused by its nearly 8-month-old war against Hamas.
Jury selection is beginning in gun case against President Joe Biden’s son
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Jury selection is set to begin this week in the federal gun case against President Joe Biden’s son after a deal with prosecutors fell apart that would have avoided the spectacle of a trial so close to the 2024 election. Hunter Biden has been charged with lying on federal gun-purchase forms when he said he wasn’t a drug addict. He has pleaded not guilty and has argued he’s being unfairly targeted by his father’s Justice Department, after Republicans decried the now-defunct deal as special treatment. Hunter Biden is also facing a separate trial in California in September on charges of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes.
Zelenskyy in Philippines to promote peace summit he says China and Russia are trying to undermine
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in the Philippines on a rare Asian trip to urge regional leaders to attend a Swiss-organized peace summit on the war in Ukraine that he accuses Russia, with China’s help, of trying to undermine. Zelenskyy arrived unannounced and under heavy security in Manila late Sunday after speaking over the weekend at the Shangri-La defense forum in Singapore. Zelenskyy had planned but failed to meet with Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Singapore so he decided to fly to Manila to personally invite Marcos to attend the summit in Switzerland. He was given a red-carpet welcome with military honors Monday at the presidential palace in Manila.
India’s election concludes with the votes being counted Tuesday. Here’s what to know
NEW DELHI (AP) — The world’s largest election could also be one of its most consequential. India’s general election pits avowed Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi against a broad opposition alliance that is struggling to play catch up. Over his 10 years in office, he has fused religion with politics in a formula that has attracted wide support from the majority Hindu population. India has risen as a global power, but his rule has also been marked by rising unemployment, attacks against minorities, particularly Muslims, and a shrinking space for dissent. The votes will be counted Tuesday.
After crackdown on Hong Kong, overseas communities carry the torch to keep Tiananmen memories alive
HONG KONG (AP) — China has quashed large-scale commemorations of Tuesday’s 35th anniversary of Beijing’s Tiananmen Square crackdown within its borders. But outside the country, commemorative events have grown increasingly crucial for preserving memories of the 1989 bloodletting, in which government troops opened fire on pro-democracy protesters resulting in hundreds, if not thousands, dead. Over the past few years, talks, rallies, exhibitions and plays have emerged in the U.S., Britain, Canada, Australia and Taiwan. These activities foster hope and counteract efforts to erase reminders of one of the darkest chapters in modern China’s history. Hong Kong’s decades-old annual vigil that mourned those who died has vanished after enactment of a China-imposed security law.
Remembering D-Day, RAF veteran Gilbert Clarke recalls the thrill of planes overhead
LONDON (AP) — Gilbert Clarke leans back on the seat of his mobility scooter, cranes his neck and gazes into the bright blue skies over East London, remembering the moment 80 years ago when he knew the invasion of France was under way. Clarke, then an 18-year-old Royal Air Force volunteer from Jamaica, was still a trainee learning about the intricacies of radar systems when the roar of aircraft engines forced him to look to the heavens on June 6, 1944. Clarke, now 98, is one of more than 3 million men and women from South Asia, Africa and the Caribbean who served in the British military during World War II.
President Milei’s surprising devotion to Judaism and Israel provokes tension in Argentina and beyond
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — President Javier Milei of Argentina, who owns four clones of his dead dog Conan, has never been the most conventional occupant of Argentina’s highest office. Even so, his passion for Judaism has stood out. Seeking common ground between his vision of radical libertarianism and the prophecy of the Torah, Milei’s interest in Judaism morphed into a religious practice. Breaking decades of policy precedent, Milei has also gone further in his support of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government than any other world leader as Israel faces growing isolation over its campaign in Gaza. But Milei’s stance has generated fears and exposed fissures within Latin America’s biggest Jewish community and sparked diplomatic rows with Argentina’s left-wing neighbors.
Sally Buzbee steps down as executive editor of The Washington Post
NEW YORK (AP) — Sally Buzbee has stepped down after three years as executive editor of The Washington Post, one of journalism’s most storied brands. No reason was given for her departure. The paper recently hired a new publisher, Will Lewis, who has said the newspaper must take steps to correct a dramatic drop in digital subscriptions over the past few years. Lewis said Matt Murray, former editor in chief of The Wall Street Journal, will run the Post’s newsroom through the election this fall. After that, Robert Winnett, who is currently deputy editor of the Telegraph Media Group, will take over as the newspaper’s editor.
