*** The regional coordinator of the National Urban Transportation Fund (Fontur) in the state of Zulia, Roger Hernández, informed this Saturday that the General Rafael Urdaneta bridge will remain closed next Monday, January 30 for medium and heavy load vehicles due to major maintenance works in the viaduct that crosses the Maracaibo Lake. The statement was issued in a press release by the Ministry of Transportation, where it is stated that the repairs will begin at 6:00 a.m. with a duration of "18 continuous hours". Hernandez explained that access to light load automobiles will be allowed "under strict supervision, surveillance, security and speed control measures".
*** NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday called on South Korea to increase military aid to Ukraine, suggesting that it reconsider its policy of not exporting arms to countries in conflict. Stoltenberg is in Seoul as part of the first stop on his Asia tour, which will also take him to Japan. His aim is to strengthen ties with democratic allies in the region in the face of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and growing competition from China. In meeting with senior South Korean officials this Sunday and Monday, he urged South Korea to do more to help Kiev, given the "urgent need for more ammunition."
*** The Federation of Coffee Growers and Farmers of Peru announced Sunday a national strike starting Monday demanding an end to repression and the resignation of President-designate Dina Boluarte. The farmers, who also demand the closure of Congress and the call for a new Constitution, said that the strike will be indefinite. Peruvians began a series of social protests since last December 7, when Pedro Castillo -elected as president for a five-year term that had begun in 2021- was removed from office by the Parliament, which appointed Boluarte, who was serving as vice-president, in his place.
*** US actress Lisa Loring, famous for her role as Merlina (also known as Wednesday) in the series 'Los Locos Addams' ('The Addams Family', in English), died at the age of 64, her close friend Laurie Jacobson reported this Sunday on social networks. Jacobson detailed that Loring "suffered a massive stroke brought on by smoking and hypertension" four days ago. "He had been on life support for three days. Yesterday, his family made the difficult decision to remove it and he passed away last night," he said.
*** The police in the Dutch city of The Hague reported having detained 768 activists, two are still in custody, during the protest against state subsidies for the extraction of natural resources that took place on Saturday, January 28, reported the web portal Sputnik. It is worth recalling that hundreds of environmental activists blocked the A12 highway in The Hague in both directions to protest against state subsidies for the extraction of fuels such as oil and gas. The demonstration was also organized by the Extinction Rebellion movement. Another source said that the movement called on citizens to mobilize in The Hague to protest against state subsidies to projects requiring oil, coal and gas, both through direct aid, tax benefits and price support to energy companies.
*** The president of the Russian Duma (Lower House), Vyacheslav Volodin, denounced on Sunday that the United States is supplying heavy weapons to Ukraine with the intention of perpetuating its influence there and preserving its control as a colony. Through his account in the social network Telegram, Volodin expressed that in Ukraine "there are now instructors and mercenaries (from the USA)", and that this fact, as well as the delivery of heavy weaponry to Kiev to confront Russia, confirm the direct involvement of the White House in the hostilities. The legislator pointed out that the main reason for this behavior lies in the US fear of losing its colonial control over Ukraine, which became its testing ground for new weapons and testing of new forms.
*** Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said on Sunday, quoted by Reuters, that no U.S. military force was involved in the drone strike on Iran's strategic facilities on Saturday night, refusing to provide further details. Earlier, Al Arabiya had reported that the U.S. Air Force and that of "another country" were involved in an attack on a ballistic missile depot in Iranian territory. According to his information, Tehran received messages that it will not be allowed to produce ballistic missiles. Also, an anonymous U.S. official told Reuters that Israel was apparently involved in the explosions in several Iranian cities.
*** Spain's year-on-year inflation unexpectedly rose in January, breaking a streak of five consecutive months of declines, due to higher fuel prices as government fuel subsidies were reduced, MarketWatch reports. This month, the country's Consumer Price Index (CPI) stood at 5.8%, up one-tenth of a percent from last December (5.7%), preliminary data released Monday by Spain's National Statistics Institute (INE) show. The INE attributed the rise to higher fuel prices and a smaller decline in the prices of clothing and footwear.
*** Foreign priests ordained in the Managua Seminary have asked to leave for their countries, which "undermines" the work of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua, Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes said Sunday. "The priests who have left the Seminary, the catechumens ordained here, have wanted to return to their countries," Brenes said in his homily at Sunday Mass in the Managua Cathedral, a day after he ordained 11 new religious. "If they are ordained, but want to return to serve [in their countries], they are free and I will give them excardination" (the license to go to other dioceses), because "the important thing is to serve" and "I am not the owner of their vocation", added the archbishop of Managua.
*** U.S. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene said Sunday that Russia, by being the target of numerous Western sanctions, demonstrates that it needs neither the dollar nor good relations with Washington for its well-being. "Because of our own arrogance and our 'fight to save democracy' in non-NATO Ukraine, heavily sanctioned Russia is demonstrating to the world that it needs neither the US dollar nor its friendship to trade and prosper," Taylor Greene wrote on her Twitter account. According to the politician, the conflict in Ukraine "will only continue to hurt the U.S. and many innocent people around the world." "It's draining our military resources, driving inflation, hurting global trade, and Americans don't support it," he stressed. He also noted that the conflict "could cause the dollar to cease to be the world's currency."