Ollanta Humala Sworn-in As Peru’s President
Peruvian nationalist leader Ollanta Humala was sworn in as president today, almost 11 years after coming to the fore in a symbolic bloodless military rebellion.
The former army lieutenant colonel, who led a handful of soldiers and reservists in a rebellion in the southern region of Moquegua in 2000, begins his five-year mandate amid high expectations, both at home and abroad.
Anticipation over the changes he has promised for more social inclusion was reflected in the flurry of news media speculation over his inaugural speech.
Without the military uniform that made him famous when he rebelled to demand the resignation of former President Alberto Fujimori, Humala outlined his administration’s program over the next few years.
Observers say that Humala is now more mature and experienced, and is stirring expectations across Latin America, home of growing and diverse progressive trends. Those expectations were expressed in the presence of 14 heads of state, including the majority of leaders of the member countries of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR).
After the inauguration ceremony, the new Peruvian president hosted a UNASUR summit meeting, and another of the Andean Community of Nations — priorities in a new foreign policy emphasizing Latin American integration without political or ideological conditions.
Israel Raids Palestinian Children’s Theater
In the Occupied Territories, witnesses say Israeli troops have raided a popular theater for Palestinian children in the West Bank town of Jenin.
Israeli troops reportedly broke windows and arrested the theater’s director, as well as a member of its board of directors.
The Freedom Theater has helped Palestinian youths deal with the hardships of life under Israeli occupation by expressing themselves through the arts.
The mere existence of the children’s theater is apparently seen as a threat to Tel Aviv’s continued occupation of Palestinian territories. The theater’s founder, Juliano Mer-Khamis, was killed in April by masked gunmen.
United Nations Begins Emergency Aid Airlifts in Somalia
The United Nations has carried out its first emergency airlift of aid to Somalia since a famine was declared there last week.
The aid consists of a nutritional paste expected to treat 3,500 malnourished children for one month.
World Food Program spokesperson David Orr said the shipments will continue over the coming days. Orr told reporters: “We’ve got 14 tons on that aircraft and we’ll be bringing in a total of a hundred tons within the next few days.” The spokesman for the UN agency said that 80 tons of the aid would be going to Mogadishu where it will be distributed to supplementary feeding centers to malnourished children in the Somali capital.
German police raid right winger’s homes
German police have confiscated weapons and ammunition in a raid on suspected right-wing extremists in Germany’s southern state of Baden-Württemberg, the prosecutor’s office in Stuttgart says.
Some 140 police officers raided the homes of 18 people linked with a group known as “Standarte Württemberg,” seizing arms, ammunition, drugs and computers on Wednesday.
The prosecutor’s office said the extremist group, which advocates expelling all foreigners from Germany, has been under investigation since March.
The office added that the investigations were not related to last week’s bombing and shooting attacks by a far-right extremist in Norway.
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