Latest news with #Cepeda
Morocco World
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Morocco World
Colombian Congress Recommits to Supporting Morocco's Territorial Integrity
Doha – Colombian lawmakers have firmly recommitted to backing Morocco's territorial integrity, openly defying their government's stance on the Western Sahara issue. During the 3rd South-South Parliamentary Dialogue Forum held Monday in Rabat, Colombian Congress President Efraín José Cepeda Sarabia made his position clear. 'I want to reaffirm that Parliament, as the legitimate representative of the Colombian people, supports Morocco's sovereignty and territorial integrity and rejects the ill-advised position of the Colombian government,' Cepeda declared at the forum hosted by Morocco's Chamber of Counselors. The congress president explicitly rejected his government's recognition of the Polisario Front, noting that Colombia's senate had already adopted two motions affirming Morocco's legitimate and sovereign right over its Sahara region. Cepeda, who also serves as first vice-president of the Christian Democratic Organization of America, pledged continued legislative support for Morocco, which he described as Colombia's 'ally.' He recalled the establishment of a Morocco-Colombia parliamentary friendship group in the senate, designed to strengthen 'strategic' cooperation between both countries' legislative bodies. Colombia's congressional resistance began in October 2022, when President Gustavo Petro made the controversial decision in August to revive a 1985 joint statement with the separatist group. Shortly after, 62 out of 108 senators voted against restoring diplomatic ties with Polisario. The trend of legislative support strengthened in November 2023, when 65 out of 105 senators approved a motion backing Morocco's territorial integrity. In that document, senators categorically distanced themselves from President Petro's position, affirming it 'in no way represents the position of Colombians towards Morocco.' This latest stance reinforces a position Colombian lawmakers have maintained since last February, when Cepeda met with Moroccan Ambassador Farida Loudaya. During that encounter, he revealed that President Gustavo Petro's recognition of the separatist group faced overwhelming opposition. 'That recognition was rejected by more than seventy percent of the Senate of the Republic,' Cepeda stated at the February meeting. Colombian political leaders are increasingly viewing Morocco as a strategic partner in Africa and the Arab world, with many pointing to the detrimental impact of the diplomatic rift on cooperation in crucial sectors like agriculture, renewable energy, and tourism. The parliamentary pushback reflects broader regional diplomatic shifts, as several South American nations have withdrawn support for the separatist group. Ecuador suspended recognition of the self-proclaimed 'SADR' in October 2024, with Panama following suit the next month. Meanwhile, bilateral trade between Morocco and Colombia reached $350 million in 2022, with Colombia exporting coal, coffee, and chemical products while Morocco supplied fertilizers and agricultural products to the Colombian market. The two-day forum in Rabat serves as a platform to showcase investment opportunities and promote South-South cooperation to enhance regional integration and expand trade possibilities. Tags: Moroccan Territorial IntegrityMorocco ColombiaWestern sahara
Irish Times
23-04-2025
- Health
- Irish Times
‘It's irritating when you hear about there being an explosion of autism and ADHD', says Dublin teacher
'It's a little bit irritating when you hear about there being an explosion of autism and ADHD,' says Audrey Cepeda, a Dublin based secondary school teacher who works with support group DCA Warriors. 'There isn't. It's just people are being diagnosed now.' Not quickly enough, either, she says, after speaking at the TUI conference on Wednesday in Wexford where she called for teachers to ensure their work helping to deliver the educational element of the Assessment of Need (AON) is not allowed to be used in place of that of more qualified professionals. 'We need the correct people to come in to do this work,' she says. 'There are parts of the AON assessment that teachers are the right people fill it out but not for complex cases and they're being used even for the complex cases. 'A teacher should be allowed to say, 'I don't feel I can fill this out', but they're being pressured to do it and some are doing it under duress.' READ MORE Ms Cepeda was one of those backing motions on the issue at the conference. One highlighted the importance of the AON process in enabling students to achieve their full potential but said teachers are commonly being required to complete the educational component when the High Court had indicated they should only be asked to assist. 'I know that there's a huge lack of psychologists. I know the National Council for Special Education are under pressure. I understand that. But they shouldn't be passing that pressure on to teachers. It should be going upwards. They should be saying: 'We need more money. We need more psychologists.'' Ms Cepeda said students, their families and the teachers themselves are all being let down by this way of doing things and the motion from her branch of the union, Dublin City, called on its leadership to get legal advice on what she believes is a conflict between the judgment in the Dawson High Court case on the issue and the circular issued last year by the Department of Education setting out the basis for teachers' involvement in the process. 'The current situation is really not helping the student because, in some cases, things are being missed and that is actually delaying them getting the help they need while the teachers are being put through a kind of guilt trip.' [ Helen McEntee announces 'largest national conversation on education in the State's history' Opens in new window ] Asked about the issue during the visit to the conference, Minister for Education Helen McEntee said the Government is working to ensure more qualified professionals are available to conduct assessments. 'Teachers should never be asked to do the work of what is a qualified professional,' she said. 'What they'll be asked for is a certain part of an assessment that's required based on their experience within their classroom and their knowledge of the child. 'But I think we all agree we need to be quicker at doing the Assessment of Need. And we need to make changes so that can happen.'
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Yahoo
Suspects in separate homicides charged with intimidating witnesses
Apr. 23—HAZLETON — Two men facing criminal homicide trials in Luzerne County Court for separate murders are facing allegations they intimidated witnesses through jailhouse phone calls. Police in Hazleton City charged Frangel Garcia Andujar, 23, and Reymer Gonzales, 19, with intimidating witnesses to provide misleading testimony and criminal conspiracy. The allegations involve Andujar's criminal homicide case involving the fatal shooting of Stanley Jimson, 17, and injuring four others during a party at a house on South Wyoming Street, Hazleton, on March 6, 2022. In March, Luzerne County Judge Michael T. Vough continued Andujar's homicide trial after Assistant District Attorney James L. McMonagle announced an investigation of witnesses being allegedly contacted by Andujar and others. Investigators allege they uncovered the alleged plot to intimidate witnesses by Andujar's phone calls from the county correctional facility. Andujar's case has involved contentious court proceedings, including Andujar's preliminary hearing held in May 2022, when two people were ejected from the courtroom, a witness calling an attorney "stupid," a perceived threat toward a witness, and another witness who allegedly displayed gang signs from the witness stand. Gonzales is facing criminal homicide charges filed by the Pennsylvania State Police at Hazleton for his alleged role in the fatal shooting of Rolando K. Cepeda, 18, outside Performance Auto Repair on West 23rd St., Hazle Township, on April 14, 2023. Gonzales allegedly bragged about Cepeda's death during live streams on the social media platforms Snapchat and Instagram, according to court records and testimony during court proceedings. A co-defendant in Cepeda's death, Ismael Valdez Batista, 19, pled guilty to criminal attempt to commit criminal homicide for his alleged role in the deadly shooting. The plea agreement with Batista calls for a sentence of 12 to 24 years in state prison. A third suspect in Cepeda's murder, Eliezer Santana, 18, remains at-large.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Yahoo
Philadelphia man found with fentanyl bundles on Pennsylvania Turnpike: Troopers
BEDFORD COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — A Philadelphia man who was allegedly on his way to Pittsburgh via the Pennsylvania Turnpike was arrested in Bedford County for having bundles of fentanyl. Fray Jeanderi Paniagua Cepeda, 21, was arrested and charged with possession with intent to deliver after he was traveling through Bedford County with two others March 26 at around 10:16 a.m. According to charging documents, troopers were conducting speed enforcement in East Providence Township, just before the Breezewood exit in the area of mile marker 161.9. At the time, a red minivan was clocked traveling at 95 miles per hour with a posted speed limit of 70. When approaching the van, troopers said the windows were down and a strong smell of burnt marijuana was coming from inside. Cepeda was in the passenger seat and allegedly had a tray at his feet with marijuana and ashes in plain view, the criminal complaint reads. Driver charged after crash kills woman and unborn child on I-99 According to troopers, the driver refused to let them search the van. A search was conducted of all three men as the van was being towed to get a search warrant. Troopers noted the second row passenger had $7,000 in cash on him and claimed they were traveling to Pittsburgh to buy a used Cadillac. A search of the van revealed bundles of suspected fentanyl in a bag in the back, bundles that were tied up with rubber bands. According to the complaint, Cepeda claimed it was all his and the other two had nothing to do with the was placed in Bedford County Prison with bail set at $1 million. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 2. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Morocco World
14-02-2025
- Business
- Morocco World
Colombian Congress Rallies Behind Morocco's Western Sahara Position
Doha – Colombian Congress President Efraín Cepeda has reinforced his legislature's backing for Morocco's Western Sahara position, expressing strong disagreement with President Gustavo Petro's support for the Polisario Front during a meeting with Moroccan Ambassador Farida Loudaya on Thursday. The congressional opposition to Petro's position has been consistent since the president's initial decision in August 2022, when sixty-two out of 108 senators voted against restoring diplomatic ties with Polisario. The petition, read by Senate Secretary General Gregorio Eljach Pacheco in October 2022, explicitly rejected the Ministry of Foreign Relations' decision to revive a 1985 joint statement with the separatist group. Cepeda blazoned that Petro's recognition of the separatist group was rejected by over 70% of the Colombian Senate, exposing the significant divide between the executive and legislative branches on this issue. 'That recognition was rejected by more than seventy percent of the Senate of the Republic,' Cepeda stated during the meeting. The Congress president also elevated the importance of strengthening bilateral relations with Morocco, pointing to substantial trade ties between the two countries. Official data shows that bilateral trade reached $350 million in 2022, with Colombia exporting coal, coffee, and chemical products while Morocco increased its supply of fertilizers and agricultural products to the Colombian market. Cepeda questioned the impact of the Colombian government's stance on its stated goal of strengthening ties with Africa. 'When the President has said that he wants to strengthen relations with Africa, with this treatment to the Kingdom of Morocco, what happens is that it tarnishes that future,' the congressman remarked, calling on the executive to 'reconsider' its position. The congressional support for Morocco reflects a broader shift in South American diplomacy, with several countries moving away from supporting the separatist group. Recent examples include Ecuador's suspension of recognition of the self-proclaimed 'SADR' in October 2024, followed by Panama's similar decision in November 2024. This latest development comes amid strained diplomatic relations between Bogota and Rabat since Petro's decision to recognize the Polisario Front in 2022. The tension has led to a suspension of bilateral dialogue, with Moroccan diplomatic sources confirming that 'everything has been frozen' since then. The meeting was attended by key figures including Senators German Alcides Blanco Alvarez, president of the Colombia-Morocco Friendship Group, and Paola Andrea Holguin Moreno, member of the Foreign Relations Commission. Both senators are among the 65 out of 105 Colombian senators who signed motions supporting Morocco's territorial integrity in November 2023. At the time, the senators expressed deep frustration with the executive branch, stating that 'the government has once again turned a deaf ear not only to our motion of October 19, 2022, signed by 63 Senators representing nine political parties but also to our numerous calls for respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Morocco.' The motion specifically denounced the government's 'ill-advised decision' to establish relations with Polisario's self-proclaimed SADR, stressing that it 'in no way represents the position of Colombians towards Morocco.' At this latest meeting, Cepeda concluded, 'All support for the Kingdom of Morocco. We must continue strengthening these commercial relations that have been so important for both nations. Hopefully this government will reconsider,' reinforcing the legislature's position on maintaining strong ties with Morocco despite current executive policy. Tags: Colombia-Morocco RelationsTerritorial IntegrityWestern sahara
