UN Commission urges Latin America to diversify markets to confront Trump's tariffs
"Rather than replacing imports, I would use the word diversify," Salazar, executive secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, told Reuters in an interview Thursday evening. He said the organization is recommending that its members renew alliances both inside and outside the region, since diversification would require a long-term commitment.
Salazar cited a trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union that was finalized by negotiators in December after two decades of talks and is expected to get legislative approval soon.
He also called for exploring trade and investment channels with Asian and African countries, and for deepening regional integration in Latin America.
The United Nations commission supports economic development in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Salazar, a Costa Rican economist, was in Mexico to attend a regional conference on women. He said progress has been made regarding women's inclusion in Latin American economies, but more still needs to be done to close the gap in labor market participation.
Salazar also said that, due to aging populations and declining fertility rates in Latin America, the demand for care for older adults will increase. The commission has asked its members to allocate up to 4.7% of their GDP to invest in elder care infrastructure by 2035.
He said such spending could create up to 31 million jobs over the next decade in 23 countries in the region.
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Daily Mirror
44 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Two-month-old baby girl and parents killed by Israel airstrike in Gaza while living in tent
The two-month old girl and her parents were killed during an Israeli airstrike on the area with neighbours speaking of their horror as Palestinians gathered to pray over their bodies A baby girl and her parents have been killed in Gaza after an Israeli airstrike on Saturday, hospital officials and witnesses said. The baby, who is said to have been two months old, was wrapped in blue as she was placed on top of her parents after the bombing as Palestinians stood over them and prayed. Motasem al-Batta, his wife, and the girl were all killed in their tent in the crowded Muwasi area. "Two and a half months, what has she done?" neighbour Fathi Shubeir asked. "They are civilians in an area designated safe." It comes as Israel's military said it is dismantling Hamas ' military capabilities and is taking precautions not to harm civilians. The country said it will not be commenting on the strike without more details. Muwasi is one of the most heavily populated areas in Gaza and is where Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the country plans to widen its military offensive. The mobilisation of the country's forces is expected to take weeks, and Israel may be using the threat to pressure Hamas into releasing more hostages from the October 7, 2023, attack which sparked the war. Families of the hostages have said they fear the offensive further endangers the 50 remaining people in Gaza, just 20 of them thought to be alive. They, and other Israelis, were horrified when they saw the recent videos showing the hostages, speaking under duress, pleading for help and food. A group representing the families of the hostages in Gaza held by Hamas has urged the people of Israel into the streets on Sunday. The group said in a statement: "Across the country, hundreds of citizen-led initiatives will pause daily life and join the most just and moral struggle: the struggle to bring all 50 hostages home." The United Nations has warned that levels of starvation and malnutrition in Gaza are now at their highest since the war began with Palestinians drinking contaminated water as disease spreads. A further 11 deaths linked to malnutrition have occurred in the last 24 hours, Gaza's Health Ministry said on Saturday, with one child among the 11. The total malnutrition-related deaths during the war has now reached 251. The UN and partners said getting aid into the territory of two million people, and then onto distribution points, continues to be highly challenging with Israeli restrictions and pressure from crowds of hungry people. At least 1,760 people were killed seeking aid between May 27 and August 13, the UN human rights office said. 766 are said to have been killed along routes of supply convoys and 994 in the vicinity of "non-UN militarised sites" - a term used to reference the Israeli-backed and US supported Gaza Humanitarian Foundation which has been the primary distributor of aid in Gaza since May. The Hamas-led attack in 2023 killed around 1,200 people in Israel. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed 61,897 people in Gaza, according to the Health Ministry, which does not specify how many were fighters or civilians but says around half were women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The U.N. and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on casualties. Israel disputes its figures but has not provided its own.
Western Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Western Telegraph
Baby girl killed with her parents in Gaza airstrike
The baby's body, wrapped in blue, was placed on those of her parents as Palestinians prayed over them. Motasem al-Batta, his wife and the child were believed to have been killed in their tent in the crowded Muwasi area. 'Two and a half months, what has she done?' neighbour Fathi Shubeir said. 'They are civilians in an area designated safe.' Israel's military said it is dismantling Hamas's military capabilities and takes precautions not to harm civilians. It said it could not comment on the strike without more details. A Palestinian man carries the body of his seven-year-old nephew who, according to the family, was killed in an Israeli army airstrike on Friday night (Jehad Alshrafi/AP) Muwasi is one of the heavily populated areas in Gaza where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel plans to widen its coming military offensive. The mobilisation of forces is expected to take weeks, and Israel may be using the threat to pressure Hamas into releasing more hostages taken in its October 7 2023 attack that sparked the war. Families of hostages fear the coming offensive further endangers the 50 hostages remaining in Gaza, just 20 of them thought to be alive. They and other Israelis were horrified by the recent release of videos showing emaciated hostages, speaking under duress, pleading for help and food. A group representing the families has urged Israelis onto the streets on Sunday. 'Across the country, hundreds of citizen-led initiatives will pause daily life and join the most just and moral struggle: the struggle to bring all 50 hostages home,' it said in a statement. Palestinian and Israeli activists took part in a protest against the killing of journalists in Gaza as they gathered in the West Bank town of Beit Jala on Friday (Mahmoud Illean/AP) The United Nations is warning that levels of starvation and malnutrition in Gaza are at their highest since the war began. Palestinians are drinking contaminated water as diseases spread, while some Israeli leaders continue to talk openly about the mass relocation of people from Gaza. Another 11 malnutrition-related deaths occurred in Gaza over the past 24 hours, the territory's health ministry said on Saturday, with one child among them. That brings malnutrition-related deaths during the war to 251. The UN and partners say getting aid into the territory of more than two million people, and then on to distribution points, remains highly challenging with Israeli restrictions and pressure from crowds of hungry Palestinians. The UN human rights office says at least 1,760 people were killed while seeking aid between May 27 and Wednesday. It says 766 were killed along routes of supply convoys and 994 in the vicinity of 'non-UN militarised sites', a reference to the Israeli-backed and US-supported Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which since May has been the primary distributor of aid in Gaza. The Hamas-led attack in 2023 killed around 1,200 people in Israel. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed 61,897 people in Gaza, according to the health ministry, which does not specify how many were fighters or civilians but says around half were women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The UN and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on casualties. Israel disputes its figures but has not provided its own.
Scottish Sun
8 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Truth behind North Korea's Benidorm resort exposed with ‘slave brigades' working 21-hour days & women sexually assaulted
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) IT'S the showpiece beach resort at the heart of Kim Jong-un's plans for a holiday empire – but the 'North Korean Benidorm' hides a dark secret. The Wonsan-Kalma resort reportedly got its nickname after dictator Kim sent a fact-finding mission to Spain's Costa Blanca in 2017. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 12 North Korean tyrant Kim Jong Un opens Wonsan-Kalma pet project beach resort Credit: Reuters 12 The strip running along Wonsan before it was officially opened Credit: AFP 12 The resort has opened for its first guests Credit: East2West But unlike its Mediterranean rival, Wonsan-Kalma has a history filled with forced labour, human rights abuses – and poo. The horrors began right at the start of the project, when the regime press-ganged teenage schoolkids into 'shock brigades' of builders. Pyongyang propaganda bragged that these youths were building the resort's hotels at the rate of a storey per day in a December 2019 report. But by then two deadlines to finish the job had already passed, and with a third looming, builders were made to work almost round the clock in icy temperatures. Read more on North Korea COSTA DEL KIM First tourists visit North Korea's 'Benidorm' where 'minders' follow visitors Party chiefs mobilised workers 'in the bitter cold of January, February, and March, allowing them to sleep for only three hours a day,' a source told the Daily NK newspaper. And though the regime called the youths 'volunteers', really they had no real choice. People are forced into 'shock brigades' with the threat of arrest and detention in labour camps, according to a UN report about forced labour in North Korea. Recruits get a monthly wage that is 'only enough to buy two packs of cigarettes', the report added, and are fed so little that malnutrition is widespread. Workers at Wonsan lived off 'foul-smelling seaweed soup, salted radishes and yellow corn rice,' according to Daily NK. Female workers faced an added peril. First tourists visit North Korea's ghostly 'Benidorm' resort where 'minders' follow visitors & phones are 'bugged' One woman quoted by the UN recalled how shock brigade chiefs 'harassed' them and said 'many women were sexually abused'. North Korea expert Michael Madden described the backbreaking toil faced by 'volunteers' at Wonsan. He said: 'Youth Shock Brigades would be involved in digging foundations, framing, painting, paving, and moving materials and supplies. 'Pay for brigade members is minimal. 'In the past, the brigade members were not provided adequate food supplies and stole from local populations.' Today the resort welcomes Russian visitors and members of the North Korean elite. But guests may be surprised to learn that they're not the first to stay in the brand-new hotels. When the third deadline for finishing the resort passed in April 2020, the site lay almost abandoned for months as Covid-19 spread around the world. 12 The sea did not look particularly inviting for the first batch of visitors Credit: AFP 12 Kim shows his daughter Kim Ju Ae around the inside of one of the hotels Credit: Reuters 12 Kim waved to adoring fans at an opening ceremony at the end of June Credit: AFP Soon reports emerged that homeless wanderers – known as kkotjebi in North Korea – had moved in to the skeletal hotels. 'The buildings are no different from toilets, with bowel movements left behind by the kkotjebi everywhere,' a source told Daily NK. 'Now they're full of human waste and soot from fires.' The same report also revealed that the resort's planning chief and site manager had been sacked in 2019 amid mounting delays. It's a punishment with potentially fatal consequences. Mr Madden, the founder of North Korea Leadership Watch, and a fellow of the Stimson Center in Washington DC, said nothing had been heard of either of them since. If they were blamed for inefficiencies or incompetence, he said, they probably faced demotion, intensive indoctrination, and a manual labour assignment. 'On the other hand if there was malfeasance or some type of corruption, then both of these people have, at the least, faced a lengthy incarceration,' he continued. 'If these individuals had a habit of corrupt activities on Wonsan-Kalma and any previous projects, then one or both project managers faced the firing squad.' 12 Kim Jong Un opens Wonsan-Kalma pet project beach resort Credit: East2West 12 Kim Jong Un and his daughter Ju Ae inspecting a hotel during a visit to the resort Credit: AFP 12 Before it was a holiday destination, Wonsan was a missile launch site. Indeed the rockets continued blasting off even as the hotels took shape. And ultimately, that's how money spent by tourists will be used. Greg Scarlatoiu, executive director of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, warned holidaymakers not to fund Kim's 'tools of death'. He said: 'The money coming from tourists, mostly Russians at the moment, will go to the areas that the regime regards as critical to its survival. 'These are: keeping the Kim family rich, and the key elites happy, as well as developing nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles, and other tools of death.' The North Korean tourism push, which seeks to raise foreign currency, has also seen the regime open the Masikryong Ski Resort, and Yangdok hot springs resort. 12 A North Korean man makes the most of the water park at Wonsan after it opened Credit: AFP 12 The resort can accommodate up to 20,000 people, according to reports Credit: East2West
