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London, Jul 6 (Prensa Latina) The British Chancellor, David Lammy, announced today the reestablishment of diplomatic relations with Syria during a historic visit to Damascus, in a turn in Western foreign policy towards this Arab country after more than a decade of conflict.

According to the Sky News portal, this is the first visit by a British minister to Syria in 14 years, following the removal in March of the Syrian Central Bank and 23 entities in the Arab nation from Western sanctions lists.

The UK has maintained a tacit recognition of the current Syrian government following the departure of Bashar al-Asad in 2023.

Lammy justified the move by pointing out that it contributes to stabilizing the region, will facilitate the fight against terrorism and will enable irregular migration to be controlled.

The UK is expected to appoint an ambassador to Damascus in the coming months and Syria is expected to gradually access international funding.

La Paz, Jul 2 (Prensa Latina) Bolivians support today the rejection expressed by President Luis Arce to a memorandum of the chief executive of the United States, Donald Trump, aimed at strengthening the economic, commercial and financial blockade against Cuba.

“We join the request of the majority of the countries of the world, expressed on repeated occasions in the United Nations General Assembly and which the United States does not consider, which demand the immediate and unconditional lifting of the blockade (...)”, Arce wrote on social networks.

Referring to the memorandum, the South American head of state criticizes that it represents a new act of aggression against the Cuban people and government in what constitutes an explicit disregard for the principles of self-determination of peoples and non-interference.

The President adds that this document “(...) reinforces the violation of the human rights of a population that has resisted for more than six decades a criminal and obsolete economic, financial and commercial blockade by Yankee imperialism”.

“(...) All our solidarity with brother president @DiazCanelB and the brave people of Cuba,” concluded the Bolivian dignitary in his X account.

Referring to the issue in the newspaper El Mamoré, journalist Marco Santivañez, warns that Trump's new reprisals, including banning his fellow citizens from traveling to Cuba, constitute not only an inhumane act, but deeply cynical because it deepens the blockade.

“It is a policy of strangulation, of systematic asphyxiation, typical of the most rancid fascism (...)”, expresses the director of that press outlet.

He adds that Cuba is not alone because it does not kneel and resists.

He points out that this “criminal encirclement” will last for a long time.

Referring to the issue in the newspaper El Mamoré, journalist Marco Santivañez warns that Trump's new reprisals, which include the prohibition of his fellow citizens from traveling to Cuba, constitute not only an inhumane act, but also a deeply cynical one because it deepens the blockade.

“It is a policy of strangulation, of systematic asphyxiation, typical of the most rancid fascism (...)”, expresses the director of that press outlet.

He adds that Cuba is not alone because it does not kneel and resists.

He points out that this “criminal encirclement” has lasted for 60 years and includes years of deprivations, isolation attempts, dirty campaigns, blockades to medicines, technology and trade.

However, he maintains, Cuba is still there. Not as a nation that has been bent, but as a beacon of dignity for Latin America and the world.

Santiváñez points out that Trump's new tightening of the blockade is nothing more than the deepening of an economic war declared against a sovereign country.

“(...) And what is Cuba's crime? What crime justifies these measures? Is it being in solidarity? Is it having doctors in the most forgotten corners of the world? Is it not surrendering?” he asks.

He warns that the people do not forget that in the hardest hours, when the great centers of power hide vaccines, medicines, Cuban doctors arrive with their white coats to offer the only thing they have: life.

"Cuba does not give what it has to spare, it gives what it has. Cuba shares without calculation, without usury, without demands. And that profoundly human, profoundly revolutionary generosity is what the empire will never be able to understand," the letter concludes.

The bill allocates $75 billion to ICE and border operations, $45 billion to detain immigrants (including minors), and $69 billion for border wall construction. The U.S. House of Representatives narrowly approved President Trump’s controversial $1.3 trillion fiscal package, with a 218-214 vote after intense overnight negotiations. The bill redistributes wealth toward billionaires while cutting food aid for 5 million vulnerable Americans and stripping healthcare from 12 million.

House Speaker Mike Johnson faced a Republican rebellion, led by the conservative Freedom Caucus, which demanded guarantees on future amendments. A procedural vote was extended for hours as leaders negotiated with holdouts. Trump personally intervened, holding urgent meetings with dissenting lawmakers.

Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries staged a historic 8-hour, 44-minute filibuster to protest the bill, setting a new House record. Despite his efforts, the legislation passed, marking a key political victory for Trump ahead of his self-imposed July 4 deadline.

The bill makes Trump’s 2017 tax cuts permanent and adds new breaks, eliminating taxes on tips, overtime, and Social Security benefits. However, it slashes food assistance for nearly 5 million people and reduces elder care services, disproportionately impacting low-income families.

Medicaid reforms impose work requirements and cut federal cost-sharing, projected to leave 12 million uninsured over the next decade. Meanwhile, the plan adds $3.25 trillion to the national debt while granting $1.3 trillion in tax cuts to billionaires.

It allocates $75 billion to ICE and border operations, $45 billion to detain immigrants (including minors), and $69 billion for border wall construction. The bill also eases regulations on firearm silencers, drawing criticism from public safety advocates.

A temporary raise of the state/local tax deduction cap to $40,000 (reverting to $10,000 after five years) was included, along with a $5 trillion debt ceiling increase. Johnson hinted at a second reconciliation package later in 2025, signaling a broader fiscal strategy.

Only two Republicans joined Democrats in opposing the bill. Trump plans to sign it by July 4, enacting one of the most polarizing fiscal overhauls in recent U.S. history. The White House claims deficit reduction, but critics dismiss these projections as unfounded.