Latin America in Short: Afghans Refugees in Latin America and Qatar World Cup Controversy

Afghanistan remains the trending global politics topic this week. Attacks in Kabul and the arrival of the first refugees to Latin American countries have been the most relevant news. However, it is not all bad news: a giant coral was found this week in the Great Barrier Reef. On the other hand, many Latin American footballers could be left out of the qualifiyng matches for the World Cup in Qatar after a controversial rebellion by the clubs in Europe. All of this summarized here.

Kabul attack sets alarm bells for evacuation security

Two strong explosions near Kabul airport, the center of international evacuation operations, left more than 13 dead and dozens injured. One of the bombs was detonated by a suicide bomber who blew himself up in the middle of the crowd, while the second bomb exploded on the periphery. Among the wounded are US soldiers and Taliban militiamen. The perpetrators are still uncertain, but several terrorist groups currently operate in Afghanistan and Kabul, including a branch of the Islamic State that operates independently of the Taliban government.

As of this writing, there are more attacks in Kabul, so the numbers may vary.

Also read: Infographic: This is how the war in Afghanistan began, a problem of more than 40 years

Mexico receives the first group of Afghan refugees

Mexico received the first 125 Afghan refugees on Thursday who managed to escape before the Taliban takeover of Kabul. Among the newcomers are reporters and their families, five young Afghan women from an internationally awarded robotics team, and several people working alongside NATO forces.

Together with Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Costa Rica and Chile they have been the first Latin American countries to receive part of the Afghan refugees while the situation of each of them in the United States is resolved.

Colombia has little time to enter the Escazú Agreement

In total, there are 157 civil organizations that are urgently demanding that a project be filed for the country's entry into the Esczú Agreement, a Latin American and Caribbean treaty that seeks to protect environmental defenders in the region. Through a letter, the spokesmen of the organizations ask President Iván Duque to make this process a priority.

If the ratification is not accelerated for next August 31, the approval of the Agreement in its legislature, would be truncated again. Let us remember that in July of this year, the vote for the ratification of the country's signature did not take place because the time of the plenary session did not reach. Approval must be achieved in Congress before December 16 of this year.

Giant coral found in the Great Barrier Reef

A giant coral was recently discovered on the well-known Great Barrier Reef. It is estimated to be between 421 and 438 years old and measures 10.4 meters wide and 5.3 meters high. This was found near Orpheus Island, in Queensland, Australia, and was baptized with the name of Muga dhambi. So far it has been confirmed that 70% of the animal's structure is alive and it is believed that it has survived more than 80 cyclones, in addition to the constant human threat.

This discovery gives hope for the survival of the Great Barrier Reef, which is under constant threat from climate change and pollution caused by human hands.

85 players could miss out on qualifying for the Qatar World Cup

Clubs in Europe started a rebellion in which they decided not to give up their Latino players to play the Qatar qualifying matches. There are in total more than 80 footballers who would lose the opportunity to compete for a place with their teams. If things continue like this, they would have to rethink the dates of the qualifying rounds, as some teams would be so decimated that they could practically not participate. Among them, those of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay stand out.