#Rally de Argentina

[crosscountryrally]

Luciano Benavides gana la Etapa 2 del Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, Adrien van Beveren toma el liderato de la general

El piloto argentino Luciano Benavides sigue prendido en el inicio de la temporada del Mundial de Rally Raid FIM W2RC y después de ganar tres etapas en el Dakar 2023, consiguió su primer éxito del Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge al ganar la Etapa 2 de este evento en Emiratos Árabes. Luciano marcó un tiempo de 3 horas y 24 minutos para los 257 kilómetros de dunas que tuvo el día. Con ello superó por 1 minuto y 17 segundos a Nacho Cornejo y 1 minuto y 44 segundos a Skyler Howes. 

“Hoy fue un día muy agradable. Las dunas eran más lentas, más técnicas, pero así es como lo prefiero. El día fue agotador y el terreno demostró ser realmente físico, especialmente porque estaba presionando mucho de principio a fin. Sin embargo, todo valió la pena y pude obtener mi primera victoria de etapa de la carrera de este año. Mi ritmo fue bueno hoy y mi confianza es alta. Mañana abriré la pista, así que espero poder hacer un buen trabajo sin perder demasiado tiempo con los que están detrás. Descansaré un poco ahora y lo daré todo de nuevo mañana” declaró Luciano Benavides en el bivouac.

Con un quinto lugar, Adrien van Beveren es el nuevo líder de la general. El piloto francés tomó la tarea de abrir ruta temprano en el día y fue el que más bonificaciones acumuló en el día, lo que sin dudas lo apoyó a conseguir la posición de privilegio por delante de Pablo Quintanilla, que terminó noveno. Van Beveren tiene una ventaja de 1 minuto y 30 segundos sobre Quintanilla con Luciano Benavides tercero a 3:27. Después de dos sólidos días, Nacho Cornejo ha escalado a la cuarta posición de la general a 3 minutos y 28 segundos. Un segundo fue suficiente para que Benavides privara a Honda de un perfecto podio provisional.

Mañana están programados 266 kilómetros en rulo en torno a Qasr Al Sarab.

Clasificación General (Etapa 2 de 5)

Adrien van Beveren (Honda) 7:10:30

Pablo Quintanilla (Honda) +1:30

Luciano Benavides (Husqvarna) +3:27

Nacho Cornejo (Honda) +3:28

Ross Branch (Hero) +3:54

Toby Price (KTM) +3:59

Ricky Brabec (Honda) +5:07

Skyler Howes (Husqvarna) +5:49

Mason Klein (KTM) +11:30

Paolo Lucci (KTM) +28:55

Imagen: Prensa Husqvarna Motorcycles

[reasonsforhope]

— Recent giant anteater sightings in Rio Grande do Sul state indicate the species has returned to southern Brazil, where it had been considered extinct for more than a century.

— Experts concluded that the giant anteater ventured across the border from the Iberá Park in northeastern Argentina where a rewilding project has released around 110 individuals back into the habitat.

— The sightings emphasize the importance of rewilding projects, both to restore animal populations in specific regions and help ecosystems farther afield.

— Organizations across Brazil are working to protect and maintain current giant anteater populations, including rallying for safer highways to prevent wildlife-vehicle collisions that cause local extinctions.

Playing back hours of footage from a camera trap set in Espinilho State Park in the south of Brazil in August 2023, Fábio Mazim and his team banked on possible sightings of the maned wolf or the Pantanal deer and had their fingers crossed for a glimpse of a Pampas cat (Leopardus pajeros), one of the most threatened felines in the world.

What they didn’t expect to see was an animal long presumed extinct in the region. To their surprise, the unmistakable long snout and bushy tail of a giant anteater ambled into shot.

"We shouted and cried when we saw it,” the ecologist from the nonprofit Pró-Carnívoros Institute told Mongabay. “It took a few days to grasp the importance of this record. A sighting of a giant anteater was never, ever expected.”

Last seen alive in the southwest of the Rio Grande do Sul state in 1890, the giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) has since been spotted 11 times since August 2023, although the scientists are unsure whether it’s the same one or different individuals. However, the sightings confirm one clear fact: The giant anteater is back.

It's a huge win for the environment. Giant anteaters play an important role in their ecosystems, helping to control insect numbers, create watering holes through digging and are prey for big cats such as jaguars and pumas.

The habitat of the giant anteater stretches from Central America toward the south cone of Latin America.

Its conservation status is “vulnerable,” although it is considered extinct in several countries, including El Salvador, Guatemala and Uruguay, as well as specific regions such as the states of Rio de Janeiro, Espirito Santo, Santa Catarina and (until now) Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil and the Cordoba and Entre Rios regions in Argentina.

‍In the last six months, the giant anteater was spotted on camera 11 times in the Espinilho State Park in the state of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil. It was the first time in 130 years that the species has been seen alive there.

Yet not only is it a triumph for conservationists to see these animals returning to Brazilian biomes, it’s also a surprising mark of success for a rewilding program about 150 kilometers (93 miles) away in neighboring Argentina.

‍Rewilding Argentina’s biomes

‍Iberá National Park in Corrientes province in northeastern Argentina is a 758,000-hectare (1.9 million-acre) expanse of protected land comprising a part of the Iberá wetlands with its swaths of grasslands, marshes, lagoons and forests. The region was once home to just a handful of giant anteaters after habitat loss, hunting and vehicle collisions decimated the population.

Since 2007, the NGO Rewilding Argentina, an offspring of the nonprofit Tompkins Conservation, has been reintroducing the species back to the area, most individuals being orphaned pups rescued from vehicle collisions or poaching.

So far, they have released 110 giant anteaters back into the wild. Nowadays, several generations inhabit the park, transforming it from “a place of massive defaunation to abundance,” Sebastián Di Martino, director of conservation for Rewilding Argentina, was quoted as saying in an official statement.

The project has been so successful that the giant anteaters appear to be venturing farther afield and moving to new territories beyond national borders, such as Espinilho State Park in Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul region...

Experts now hope that a giant anteater population can reestablish itself naturally in Espinilho State Park without the need for human intervention.

“The giant anteater returning to Rio Grande do Sul shows the success of the work done in Argentina and how it’s viable, possible and important to do rewilding and fauna reintroduction projects,” Mazim said. “It is also an indication that the management of conservation units and also the agricultural areas of the ecosystems are working,” he added. “Because if large mammals are coming from one region and settling in another, it is because there is a support capacity for them. It is an indication of the health of the environment.”

-via GoodGoodGood, via May 25, 2024

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Bolsonaro’s Trump-loving son is being groomed for power in Brazil

As President ‘Lula’ da Silva recovers from surgery, Eduardo Bolsonaro hopes to steer his country back to the right in the place of his banned father

On Monday night, the president of Brazil began to feel unwell. Two months earlier, he had fallen in the bathroom of his official residence in Brasilia, the Alvorada Palace, hitting his head hard enough that stitches were required. But Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, better known as Lula, had caused more damage than initially thought. After complaining about a worsening headache, last week he was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery on a suspected brain haemorrhage.

On Thursday, the left-wing politician was brought in for a second procedure to address bleeding on the surface of his brain, leaving the vice-president, Geraldo Alckmin, to carry out the functions of state. A day later, 79-year-old Lula left intensive care and is expected to be discharged on Monday or Tuesday.

Given the surgeries, and Lula’s status as Brazil’s oldest president, questions have begun to swirl about his future in politics and whether he will be fit enough to contest the next general election, just two years away. Meanwhile, the former president, Jair Bolsonaro, is rumoured to be grooming his son, the congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro, for the presidency. Bolsonaro Sr is banned by the Supreme Court from standing for re-election until 2030, after he was found to have abused his powers and spread “appalling lies” during the 2022 ballot, leading to an attempted insurrection by rioters in January last year. He has always denied any wrongdoing.

The former president retains an avid following, however. Driving along Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Gabriel Luis, a taxi driver, pulled over and opened up his phone. On the screen was an image supposedly comparing a sparsely attended rally for Lula in the lead-up to the election with a packed-out parade in support of Bolsonaro. “This proves it,” said Luis, 57. “How can Lula have won the election? Clearly it was robbed. Bolsonaro should be the president.”

The scene is reminiscent of the US in 2020, when supporters of Donald Trump falsely claimed that the election was stolen by Joe Biden and the Democratic establishment.

Indeed, Trump looms large in the Bolsonaro story: the former president is often called the “Trump of the Tropics” due to his flamboyant use of social media, anti-immigrant stance and populist attacks on political correctness — and he has taken heart from Trump’s incredible political comeback.

“Trump is back, and it’s a sign we’ll be back too,” Bolsonaro told The Wall Street Journal last week, before Lula was admitted to hospital. He recently suggested that Trump could bring in economic sanctions against the Brazilian government to overturn the ban on him standing for re-election.

Members of Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party also said the Trump administration could revoke the US visa of Alexandre de Moraes, the Supreme Court judge who has been at the forefront of criminal investigations into Bolsonaro.

But Andreza de Souza Santos, director of King’s Brazil Institute at King’s College London, said: “Right now, it is not likely or possible that Jair Bolsonaro could stand again in 2026. It is unlikely that any tariffs imposed by the Trump administration would have the desired effect of reversing the ban on Bolsonaro.”

Instead, his son has been floated as a likely successor — by Bolsonaro Jr himself. “Plan A is [Jair] Bolsonaro. I can be Plan B,” the 40-year-old said during a speech to the conservative political action conference (CPac) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Thursday.

Continue reading.

[orfeolookback]

¡Hola!

¿Hay recursos que recomiendes para leer y aprender más sobre que esta occuriendo en argentina? He leido su post de fascismo en su país, y, como un estadounidense, quiero ayudar, pero no sé exactamente qué esta occuriendo en más detalle o qué puedo hacer para ayudar.

(puede responder en ingles o español, este mensaje es en español porque trato communicar más en español, lo siento si hay errores)

I'll answer in English since the post was in English. Thank you for reaching out!

Unlike many other crisis, we don't have a place for donations. You can help by organizing in your own country, being anti-capitalist and making sure the right doesn't spread elsewhere. If you live in the USA you can join strikes, rallies and protests, and anti fascist groups locally. Unionize. Demand rights. Reject US intervention. When Musk buys shit, boycott him, organize against him. Support Indigenous people's fight for Land Back and make sure no billionaire buys their land In your own country first. When you hear the people in power talking about Argentina (or any country!) as 'an important asset' make sure there's outrage.

I won't share sources that are easily digestible. If you really want to be educated, you can read about Operación Cóndor, read The Open Veins of Latin America by Eduardo Galeano, watch 1985 (a movie about the last dictatorship's aftermath) and read through the comments of my post, lots of people linked articles. Most sources will be in Spanish.

If you really REALLY want to immediately support Argentina financially, support Argentinian businesses. If you commission artists often, consider us. If there's an Argentinian band you like, buy their stuff. I won't pretend like this will do much but a single dollar is 1000 Argentinian pesos, so you might change someone's month just with 10 dollars. I make a living through my art, personally.

Thank you for the interest, have a nice weekend

[motorsportverso]

Novidades rally de Erechim 2024

Hyundai: o atual campeão Fabrizio Zaldivar vai correr novamente com o I20 N Rally 2 em 2024

Toyota: o modelo GR Yaris Rally 2 que vem correndo etapas do WRC 2 e ERC Rally , estarápresente com o Paraguaio  Alejandro Galanti com a equipe da Toyota Gazzo Racing Paraguay.

Volksvaguen: Polo GTI R5 vem em grande numero com pilotos Paraguaios e o Brasileiro Adroaldo Weisheismeier (que esteve no rally dos Sertões com Toyota) e Armando Miranda.

Citroen: terá a estreia do C3 Rally 2, com o Boliviano Sebastiam Franco.

Skoda: Varios modelos Fabia Rally 2 Evo\R5 e o Miguel Zaldivar com o modelo novo Fabia RS Rally 2 que ele compete no WRC 2. , o 3x campeão do rally dos Sertões,Cristian Baugart  fará sua estreia no rally de velocidade com um Skoda Fabia R5.

Rally 3: a categoria rally 3 vai estrear no Brasil já que uma dupla da Bolivia vai correr com um Ford Fiesta Rally 3

Peugeot : 3 modelos do 208 Rally 4 de com duas duplas do Uruguai e uma da Argentina

Renault: a estreia do Clio RS Rally 4 com a dupla Brasileira Leandro Brustolin e Andrey Kapirsky

Copa UTV

A Copa UTV está de volta em 2024, com os modelos Can-am e Polaris , inclusive com o novo Maverick R , com a participação do campeão do rally dos Sertões nos UTVs , Rodrigo Varela.

Cross Country

Uma outra novidade foi a adesão do campeonato Brasileiro de Cross country nos carros e UTVS CBA. 

O Cross country fara as especiais junto com o velocidade menos o super prime.

[automundoarg]

Carlos Sainz ausente del Desafío Ruta 40

Pese a que pelea por el campeonato, desistió correr en la prueba que se realizará por caminos de las provincias de Córdoba, La Rioja y San Juan.

El español Carlos Sainz, último ganador del Rally Dakar, confirmó que no estará presente en el Desafío Ruta 40, cuarta fecha del Mundial de Rally Raid (W2RC) que se realizará del 1 al 7 de junio en la Argentina. La ausencia del Matador de la prueba que se realizará por caminos de las provincias de Córdoba, La Rioja y San Juan lo dejan prácticamente fuera de la lucha por el título. Sainz comenzó…

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 2.20 (before 1940)

1339 – The Milanese army and the St. George's (San Giorgio) Mercenaries of Lodrisio Visconti clash in the Battle of Parabiago; Visconti is defeated. 1472 – Orkney and Shetland are pawned by Norway to Scotland in lieu of a dowry for Margaret of Denmark. 1521 – Juan Ponce de León sets out from Spain for Florida with about 200 prospective colonists. 1547 – Edward VI of England is crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey. 1685 – René-Robert Cavelier establishes Fort St. Louis at Matagorda Bay thus forming the basis for France's claim to Texas. 1792 – The Postal Service Act, establishing the United States Post Office Department, is signed by United States President George Washington. 1798 – Louis-Alexandre Berthier removes Pope Pius VI from power. 1813 – Manuel Belgrano defeats the royalist army of Pío de Tristán during the Battle of Salta. 1816 – Rossini's opera The Barber of Seville premieres at the Teatro Argentina in Rome. 1824 – William Buckland formally announces the name Megalosaurus, the first scientifically validly named non-avian dinosaur species. 1835 – The 1835 Concepción earthquake destroys Concepción, Chile. 1846 – Polish insurgents lead an uprising in Kraków to incite a fight for national independence. 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Olustee: The largest battle fought in Florida during the war. 1865 – End of the Uruguayan War, with a peace agreement between President Tomás Villalba and rebel leader Venancio Flores, setting the scene for the destructive War of the Triple Alliance. 1872 – The Metropolitan Museum of Art opens in New York City. 1877 – Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake receives its premiere at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. 1901 – The legislature of Hawaii Territory convenes for the first time. 1905 – The U.S. Supreme Court upholds the constitutionality of Massachusetts's mandatory smallpox vaccination program in Jacobson v. Massachusetts. 1909 – Publication of the Futurist Manifesto in the French journal Le Figaro. 1913 – King O'Malley drives in the first survey peg to mark commencement of work on the construction of Canberra. 1920 – An earthquake kills between 114 and 130 in Georgia and heavily damages the town of Gori. 1931 – The U.S. Congress approves the construction of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge by the state of California. 1931 – An anarchist uprising in Encarnación, Paraguay briefly transforms the city into a revolutionary commune. 1933 – The U.S. Congress approves the Blaine Act to repeal federal Prohibition in the United States, sending the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution to state ratifying conventions for approval. 1933 – Adolf Hitler secretly meets with German industrialists to arrange for financing of the Nazi Party's upcoming election campaign. 1935 – Caroline Mikkelsen becomes the first woman to set foot in Antarctica. 1939 – Madison Square Garden Nazi rally: The largest ever pro-Nazi rally in United States history is convened in Madison Square Garden, New York City, with 20,000 members and sympathizers of the German American Bund present.

[piquira]

Young fans really don’t know shit lol. Pique is nothing compared to the de la Rua stuff. If Antonio’s father being president when an entire country’s economy collapsed (and people literally died in the resulting rioting) did nothing to ruin her popularity in Argentina and Latin America generally than nothing is going to touch her. When she and Antonio first got together there was a huge feeding frenzy in the Latin American press. They were like Barbie and Ken. In any case, she’s as popular as ever in Spain, even with the tax garbage and the nasty breakup. Three #1 songs in a row.

For real!! I can’t say I followed in real time when the whole Argentina drama unfolded, but I remember watching a documentary where they discussed everything that went down, and the backlash was way more intense and dramatic during that time. Especially because Shakira’s career wasn’t completely solidified and most importantly, the drama revolved around politics. DLR president was exiled from the country and Shakira was rumored to have helped the family escape (my memory may be wrong here sorry) and so a lot of Argentina media outlets were pushing to boycott Shakira’s music at the time as a protest. Her fans rallied for her and supported her all the way, but the backlash from the media at the time was no joke. Looking back, it really could have damaged her reputation and career in Argentina, but luckily it didn’t. The debate on whether she should stop singing about her ex now, is baby drama compared to what she went through during the exile of her ex father in law😂. If anything, the consistent reports over the tax scandal is way more damaging to her reputation than any criticism of the session 53, petty tiktoks, etc. But here she is, stronger and more popular than ever so 💁🏼‍♀️

[newstfionline]

Saturday, February 1, 2025

Around the world, an anti-red-tape revolution is taking hold (Economist) He brandished a chainsaw at campaign rallies, to signify his eagerness to clear-cut the thickets of bureaucracy and regulation impeding the economy’s progress. In November Javier Milei, the president of Argentina, told The Economist he had already taken 800 steps to reduce red tape and planned 3,200 more such “structural reforms”. He is not alone. Politicians around the world, on both the right and the left, are embracing deregulation. Donald Trump has created a “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) headed by Elon Musk, to shrink government and slash red tape. Last year New Zealand set up a “ministry for regulation��, to which citizens can report any “red-tape issue”. On January 29th the European Commission pledged to cut corporate reporting requirements by 25%, and by 35% for small firms. François Bayrou, France’s prime minister, promises “a strong movement of de-bureaucratisation”. Vietnam plans to abolish a quarter of government agencies. India’s bureaucracy, a byword for Dickensian obstruction, is slimming down. The world is not short of red tape to cut. According to the Regulatory Studies Centre at George Washington University, federal regulations in America now exceed 180,000 pages, up from 20,000 in the early 1960s. Official figures suggest that the federal government imposes 12bn hours of paperwork on Americans each year, or about 35 hours per person, up from 27 hours per person in 2001. The complete text of all German laws has 60% more words than in the mid-1990s.

Donald Trump talks so much that even his White House stenographers are struggling to keep up (AP) The White House stenographers have a problem. Donald Trump is talking so much, the people responsible for transcribing his public remarks are struggling to keep up with all the words. There were more than 22,000 on Inauguration Day, then another 17,000 when Trump visited disaster sites in North Carolina and California. It’s enough to strain the ears and fingers of even the most dedicated stenographer, especially after four years of Joe Biden’s relative quiet. Now there are discussions about hiring additional staff to keep up with the workload, according to people with knowledge of the conversations who insisted on anonymity to discuss internal matters. Biden, a Democrat, spent 2 hours and 36 minutes talking on camera and used 24,259 words in his first week in office four years ago, according to numbers generated by Factba.se. Trump’s comparable stats: nearly 7 hours and 44 minutes and 81,235 words last week. That’s longer than watching the original “Star Wars” trilogy back-to-back-to-back, and more words than “Macbeth,” “Hamlet” and “Richard III” combined.

Even Progressives Now Worry About the Federal Debt (NYT) The 119th Congress began, as it so often has in recent years, with calls from Republican politicians for wrestling down the national debt, which is near a record level relative to the size of the economy. But this time, the G.O.P. had company: Progressive economists and budget wonks, who have often dismissed finger-wagging about debt levels as a pretext for slashing spending on programs for the poor, are starting to ring alarm bells as well. What’s changed? In large part, long-term interest rates look unlikely to recede as quickly as had been hoped, forcing the federal government to make larger interest payments. And the Trump administration has promised to extend and expand its 2017 tax cuts, which will cost trillions if not matched by spending reductions. To be clear, conservative warnings on the debt have generally been met with little action over the past two decades. A paper by two political scientists and an economist recently concluded that after at least trying to constrain borrowing in the 1980s and 1990s, Republicans have “given up the pretense” of meaningful deficit reduction. Democrats and Republicans alike tend to express more concerns about fiscal responsibility when their party is out of power.

Road closures (Bloomberg) Crucial road links in the US are becoming a costly problem due to climate change. Large stretches of California’s Highway One—one of America’s most popular roadways due its breathtaking views—have been closed since 2023. That year, a series of atmospheric rivers pummeled the state with rain, triggering landslides and rockslides that the thoroughfare wasn’t built to withstand. North Carolina’s also battling persistent road closures in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. In Wyoming, increased rainfall washed away a large chunk of Highway 22 last summer. The cost of maintaining roads in the US will increase by $100 billion a year by 2050 due to climate change.

As Trump shakes up global politics, Mexico could be most affected (Washington Post) Every minute, about $1.5 million in goods cross the U.S.-Mexico border. Trucks loaded with strawberries, Corona Light and washing machines chug north from Mexico. Going south are U.S. corn and spark plugs, nuclear reactors and Pop-Tarts. The neighbors’ economies have never been more intertwined. As President Donald Trump rolls out his “America First” policies, few countries have more to lose than Mexico. About 80 percent of its exports go to its neighbor. Mexicans make up the biggest group of immigrants living illegally in the United States, making them a prime target of the new “mass deportation” program. And Trump is so incensed by the smuggling of fentanyl from Mexico that he has floated the idea of a military operation. But his policies raise the possibility of a deep fracture in America’s relations with its neighbors. And the U.S. tactics could wind up backfiring. If they weaken the Mexican economy or leave the country more unstable, migration could surge and criminal activity could intensify at the border, analysts say. Shannon O’Neill, senior vice president at the Council on Foreign Relations, commented: “The problems in Mexico don’t stay there.”

Clams Control This Polish City’s Water Supply (Kottke) In the city of Poznań, Poland, a group of eight clams controls the local water supply through a clever bio-monitoring system. These biological systems are comprised of eight mussels with sensors hot-glued to their shells. They work together with a network of computers and have been given control over the city’s water supply. If the waters are clean, these mussels stay open and happy. But when water quality drops too low, they close off and shut the water supply of millions of people with them. According to The Economist, more than 50 such systems are now deployed in Poland and Russia to help protect water supplies. Each worker mussel spends three months on duty—after that, they become too accustomed to their new surroundings and are no longer sensitive enough to properly monitor the water. For retirement, they are gently tossed back where they came from.

North Korean Troops No Longer Seen on Front Lines Fighting Ukraine (NYT) North Korean soldiers who joined their Russian allies in battle against Ukrainian forces have been pulled off the front lines after suffering heavy casualties, according to Ukrainian and U.S. officials. The North Korean troops, sent to bolster Russian forces trying to push back a Ukrainian offensive inside Russia’s borders, have not been seen at the front for about two weeks, the officials said after requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive military and intelligence matters. The arrival of around 11,000 North Korean troops in Russia in November caused alarm in Ukraine and among its allies in the West, who feared their deployment signaled a significant escalation in the nearly three-year-old war. But in just three months, the North Korean ranks have diminished by half, according to Gen. Oleksandr Syrsky, Ukraine’s top military commander.

Myanmar’s military government extends state of emergency by 6 months (AP) Myanmar’s military government on Friday announced another six-month extension of its mandate to rule in preparation for elections it has said will be held this year, as the country enters its fifth year of crisis. However, it did not announce an exact date for the polls. Tom Andrews, a special rapporteur with the U.N. Human Rights Office, said in a statement on Thursday that four years of military oppression, violence and incompetence have cast Myanmar into an abyss. The United Nations has estimated that more than 3.5 million people have been displaced by the conflict. “Junta forces have slaughtered thousands of civilians, bombed and burned villages, and displaced millions of people. More than 20,000 political prisoners remain behind bars. The economy and public services have collapsed. Famine and starvation loom over large parts of the population,” he said.

China builds huge wartime military command centre in Beijing (Financial Times) China’s military is building a massive complex in western Beijing that US intelligence believes will serve as a wartime command centre far larger than the Pentagon, according to current and former American officials. Satellite images obtained by the Financial Times that are being examined by US intelligence show a roughly 1,500-acre construction site 30km south-west of Beijing with deep holes that military experts assess will house large, hardened bunkers to protect Chinese military leaders during any conflict—including potentially a nuclear war. Several current and former US officials said the intelligence community was closely monitoring the site, which would be the world’s largest military command centre—and at least 10 times the size of the Pentagon.

After the initial ecstasy of freedom, released hostages face a long road to recovery (AP) When Ilana Gritzewsky returned to Israel after being held captive in Gaza for 55 days in November 2023, she had so much adrenaline coursing through her body she couldn’t sleep for two days. “You don’t understand that it’s really over,” Gritzewsky recalled. “You don’t know who you are or even what your name is.” More than a year later, Gritzewsky has lingering health issues. She hasn’t regained all of the weight that she lost, she’s prediabetic, and has lingering pain issues from the kidnapping, when her pelvis and jaw were broken and her leg was burned from the motorcycle exhaust. “You’re used to hostage conditions, so whenever you get food you put some to the side. You ask if you can go to the bathroom, if you can sleep,” she said. The leadup to her release was traumatic. Gritzewsky said she was told four times she was being released, only to be brought to a different location. Each time her transfer didn’t lead to freedom. The husband of one release hostage said that the physical issues can be treated quickly, but “It’s going to take a long time to repair the wounds of the soul.”

Uganda announces Ebola outbreak after one patient dies (Washington Post) Uganda announced Thursday that a nurse, 32, had died of Ebola in the capital, Kampala, amid a new outbreak of the deadly virus there—the first in two years. The country has activated emergency response procedures, officials said. Uganda registered 164 cases and 55 confirmed deaths from Ebola over four months in late 2022. That outbreak ended early the following year.

Rwanda-backed rebels in eastern Congo say they plan to take their fight to the capital (AP) Rwanda-backed rebels who captured eastern Congo’s largest city said Thursday they want to take their fight to the far-off capital, Kinshasa, while Congo’s president called for a massive military mobilization to resist the rebellion and his defense minister rejected calls for talks. In a video message, Congo’s Defense Minister Guy Kabombo Muadiamvita said he has directed plans for any dialogue with the rebels to “be completely burned immediately.” At a briefing where they sought to assert their control over the eastern city of Goma and surrounding territory in the neighboring South Kivu province, the M23 rebels said they would be open to dialogue with the government, also proposed by the east African regional bloc of which Rwanda is a member. Their motive, however, is to gain political power, Corneille Nangaa, one of the political leaders of M23, said during the briefing. “We want to go to Kinshasa, take power and lead the country,” Nangaa said. He did not indicate how the rebels planned to advance on the capital, more than 1,500 kilometers (nearly 1,000 miles) away.

[rasmasandra]

Traveling in South America Argentina

Cordoba on the Suquia River A city in the South American country of Argentina Argentina’s second-largest city is Cordoba. The city sits on the Suquia River. The people of the city are known as Cordobesas and are fun-loving people who enjoy Cuarteto music and rally car racing. This beautiful city offers visitors a mix of the old and the new. Plaza de St. Martin is the central square in Cordoba…

[mx-zone]

NEWS: FANTIC MOTO DESEMBARCA EN ARGENTINA.

NEWS: FANTIC MOTO DESEMBARCA EN ARGENTINA. Fantic Moto de Italia desembarca en Argentina de la mano de la firma Racing Experience SA, una empresa de la Familia ZEN y con más de 20 años de experiencia en la industria. En una primera etapa se comercializarán los modelos de MX, Enduro, rally y los emblemáticos modelos de la línea Caballero.Estaran disponibles en sus diversas motorizaciones, 125…

[crosscountryrally]

Bahrain Raid Xtreme se saltará el Desafío Ruta 40 y surgen dudas de la continuidad del proyecto

Se ha conocido esta semana que Bahrain Raid Xtreme (Prodrive) no estará presente en el Desafío Ruta 40 en Argentina este mes de agosto y que se enfocará en el Rally de Marruecos como preparación al Dakar, con lo que Sebastien Loeb perderá la opción de luchar el título del Mundial de Rally Raid FIA W2RC con Nasser Al-Attiyah.

Según los reportes que vienen desde Francia y España, el auspicio de Bahrein ha terminado, lo que pone en duda la continuidad del proyecto hasta sumar un nuevo socio para Prodrive. Si bien el BRX Hunter ha mostrado competitividad, también ha tenido gran cantidad de problemas mecánicos y mala suerte en las tres ediciones del Dakar que ha disputado. Otro tanto ha sucedido en el Mundial, donde, por ejemplo, llegaban de líderes con Loeb al Sonora Rally en México hasta que un accidente los dejó fuera de carrera y bien lejos de Nasser.

Una posibilidad que se ha comenzado a escuchar es que Renault estaría en conversaciones con Prodrive para su proyecto bajo la insignia de Dacia. Todo indica que el año de lanzamiento para ese prototipo sería en 2025.

Imagen: Kin Marcin / Red Bull Content Pool

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Uh oh… Am I next?

Former U.S. President Donald Trump, running for the presidency once more, was the victim of an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last weekend. He escaped with a wounded right ear, and has later publicly appeared with it bandaged. 

Such violence is not unique to the U.S., though. Over the last couple of years, we have seen several, equally risky occurrences, including the assassination of Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, and attempts to assassinate former Argentina VP Cristina Kirchner, and Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo and his running mate Karin Herrera. 

It doesn’t end there. In fact, it gets worse. Within the first half of 2024, Brazil has recorded 187 episodes of political violence. Notably, in the past, many political figures of high influence have suffered serious violence. You no doubt remember the life-threatening stabbing of former President Jair Bolsonaro during a 2018 campaign rally. And Rio de Janeiro city councilwoman Marielle Franco was assassinated in 2018.

Continue reading.

[uniquetyphoonmiracle]

Lo tenía Ganado CARLOS SAINZ..solo tenía PARA GANAR EL MUNDIAL DE RALLYS que ir de PASEO y acabar el RALLY pero a 200 mts de la META en un sitio ENCHARCADO se les para el TOYOTA COROLLA [pequeña corona en LATIN] el coche más vendido de la historia..: "TRATA DE ARRANCARLO CARLO, POR DIOS..ME CAGO EN SU PUTA MADRE"

En cambio creo que TUVO SUERTE cuando se cayó por un PRECIPICIO abandonando el RALLY DAKAR [aunque disputado en SUDAMERICA en 2017] entre SAN SALVADOR de JUJUY [desde donde fui a TILCARA donde en su PUCARA grabó SODA STEREO el video de CUANDO PASE EL TEMBLOR ..te besare , será un buen momento..del CD NADA PERSONAL coincidiendo con el Gran TERREMOTO DE MEXICO del 85] a TUPIZA [BOLIVIA] donde me subí a SU SAGRADO CORAZON en una parada DE UNA HORA que hizo el TREN desde EL SALAR DE UYUNI hasta la FRONTERA con ARGENTINA [VILLAZON_LA QUIACA] y el cual casi PIERDO con TODAS MIS COSAS DENTRO pues tuve que SALIR CORRIENDO CUANDO COMIA al escuchar su SILBATO y menos mal que solo iba a 20 KM/HR por lo que tardo como 12 HR en hacer 250 KM..y lo atrape ya en MARCHA

[motorsportverso]

Dakar rally results etapa 10

Cars

O Nani Roma voltou a vencer uma etapa após jejum 10 anos , sua ultima vitória de etapa foi em 2015 com Mini, é foi a primeira vitória de etapa da Ford.

1-227-Nani Roma\Alex Haro-Ford Raptor T1+-Ford M-Sport-T1+-2:06:34

2-203-Lucas Moraes\Armand Leon-Toyota GR Hylux T1+-Toyota Gazzo Racing-T1+-2:06:52

3-214-Baragwanath\Cremer-Century CR7 T1+-Century Racing Factory-T1+-2:04:14

4-242-DANIEL SCHRÖDER\Henry Carl-VW Amarock WCT T1+-PS LASER Racing-T1+-2:11:45

5-216-Juan Yacopiani\Daniel Oliveiras-Toyota GR Hylux T1+-Over Drive Racing-T1+-2:11:52

6-212-Cristina Guttierrez\Pablo Moreno-Dacia Sandririder T1+-Dacia-T1+-2:12:19

7-217-Krotov\Zhiltstov-Mini Cooper 3.0 T1+-X-Raid Mini-T1+-2:13:10

8-204-Seth Quinteiro\Dennis Zenz-Toyota GR Hylux T1+-Toyota Gazzo Racing-T1+-2:13:41

9-234-Koloc\Delauday-Red Lined Revo T1+-Buggyra ZM Racing-T1+-2:14:21

10-209-Serradori\Minaudier-Century CR7 T1+-Century Racing Factory-T1+-2:15:52

Na geral Hank Lategan voltou a liderança porque Yazeed All Raghi perdeu 18 minutos na etapa de hoje.

UTVs Challenger

1-305-Dania Akeel\Sthephanie Duple-Taurus T3 Max-Team BBR-T3.1-2:08:14

2-304-Pau Navarro\Lizandro Herrera-Taurus T3 Max-Team BBR-T3.1-2:11:18

3-319-Gonzaçalo Guerreiro\Cadu Sachs-Taurus T3 Max-Red Bull Off Road JR Team BY BFG-T3.1-2:14:02

4-312-Oscar Ral\Xavier Blanco-Taurus T3 Max-Buggy Masters Team-T3.1-2:14:03

5-325-Leverton\Perry-Taurus T3 Max-Red Bull Off Road Jr Team By BFG-T3.1-2:14:19

6-301-Nicolas Vagliasso\Valentina Pertagrini-Taurus T3 Max-Team BBR-T3.1-2:16:00

7-326-Khalid All Attyah\Bruno Jacoby-Taurus T3 Max-Nasser Racing-T3.1-2:16:58

8-327-Antoine Meo\Guilhem Alves-Apache APH-01-T3.U-Apache-T3.U-2:17:27

9-302-Puck Klassen\Chare Moore-G Rally OT3-G Rally Team-T3.1-2:19:02

10-308-David Zille\Sebastiam Cesana-Taurus T3 Max-Zille Rally-T3.1-2:19:24

Na geral a dupla Argentina Nicolas Cavigliasso e Valentina Pertagrini com uma vantagem de 26 minutos para o Portugues Gonçalo Guerreiro e o navegador Brasileiro Cadu Sachs.

[automundoarg]

Nicolás Cavigliaso y Valentina Pertegarini reescriben la historia del Dakar

El Rally Dakar 2025 quedará grabado en los libros de historia como una edición especial. Y la Argentina tiene mucho que ver en eso gracias a la hazaña de Nicolás Cavigliasso y Valentina Pertegarini, el matrimonio cordobés que logró conquistar la categoría Challenger. Así nuestro país celebró su undécimo touareg tras los ganados en la mítica carrera que se disputó en Arabia Saudita. Con un Taurus…