Stories for January 2021

Thursday, January 14th 2021 - 09:00 UTC
Ruling coalition in Italy loses majority in the midst of the worst recession since WW2

Italy's former premier Matteo Renzi pulled his small party out of government on Wednesday, stripping the ruling coalition of its parliamentary majority and triggering political chaos even as the nation battles a resurgent COVID-19.
Thursday, January 14th 2021 - 08:57 UTC
Chile: Crucial electoral year to rewrite a new constitution takes off

The Chilean Electoral Service registered 2,223 hopeful candidates for selection to the commission that will rewrite Chile's dictatorship-era constitution. The 14 million Chilean eligible are scheduled to elect on April 11 the 155 members of the Constituent Assembly that will rewrite the constitution, which dates from the rule of military dictator Augusto Pinochet (1973-90).
Thursday, January 14th 2021 - 08:45 UTC
Opinion polls blame Trump for the violence, while his approval ratings drop to historic lows

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – With the Congress in the process to impeach him for the second time, outgoing President Donald Trump on Wednesday urged his supporters to shun violence as the National Guard prepared to deploy thousands of troops in Washington for the Jan. 20 swearing-in of his successor Joe Biden.
Thursday, January 14th 2021 - 08:44 UTC
Britain trying to contain the coronavirus Brazil variant from reaching UK

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Wednesday the government was looking at ways to stop a variant of the novel coronavirus found in Brazil from entering Britain.
Thursday, January 14th 2021 - 08:39 UTC
New sanitary rules in UK to help overcrowded hospitals discharge patients

Britain on Wednesday altered its rules to allow coronavirus patients who have completed 14 days of isolation without showing symptoms of Covid-19 to move directly into care homes from hospitals without being re-tested for the disease.
Thursday, January 14th 2021 - 08:35 UTC
Bolsonaro accuses Ford of closing its plants because “they want subsidies”

Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro attributed Ford Motor Co.’s decision to close its three plants in Brazil to the end of multibillion-dollar subsidies from the government.
Wednesday, January 13th 2021 - 18:40 UTC
According to Maduro, extreme poverty in Venezuela reaches 4%; experts place it at 79.3%

After greeting his cabinet, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Tuesday “we are back” to the legislative body that he did not attend in 4 years, a period in which the opposition-controlled the National Assembly. In a special session of a parliament now controlled by chavismo, Maduro offered his first annual message in four years. Among the figures he gave during his speech, the poverty indicators managed by the State standout: 4% of extreme poverty and 17% of “general” poverty.
Wednesday, January 13th 2021 - 09:33 UTC
Premier Oil becomes Harbor Energy; merges with Chrysaor to make North Sea's largest oil and gas producer

Premier Oil announced on Tuesday that shareholders voted in favor of a reverse takeover of private equity-backed Chrysaor to create the British North Sea’s biggest oil and gas producer in which Premier shareholders will hold about 5.5%.
Wednesday, January 13th 2021 - 09:20 UTC
China's Sinovac vaccine is 50,38% effective according to leading Brazilian research center

Trials in Brazil show the Chinese COVID-19 vaccine Sinovac to be 50.38% effective, nearly 30 percentage points below the initial results released last week. The Instituto Butantan, the São Paulo-based research institute responsible for developing the vaccine and conducting trials in the country, announced last week the vaccine had a 78% overall efficacy, with total protection against severe cases.
Wednesday, January 13th 2021 - 09:18 UTC
US tightens sanitary ring: arriving air travelers will need to present a negative coronavirus test

All air travelers arriving in the United States will need to present a negative coronavirus test, according to the latest announcement. Under the rules taking effect Jan. 26, travelers including U.S. citizens must show a negative test within three days of departure or documentation of recovery from COVID-19, under an order signed by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield.