Stories for February 2021

Thursday, February 4th 2021 - 09:07 UTC
COVAX publishes first interim vaccine distribution forecast

The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the World Health Organization, as co-leads of the COVAX initiative for equitable global access to COVID-19 vaccines, alongside key delivery partner UNICEF, are pleased to publish COVAX’s first interim distribution forecast.
Thursday, February 4th 2021 - 09:01 UTC
Falkland Islands approves changes to quarantine and visitor policies

The Falkland Islands Government Executive Council, ExCo, has done a review of policies, protocols and legislation referred to Covid-19, and announced decisions on quarantine regulations and visitor policies with a change of category for conservation and environmental specialists.
Thursday, February 4th 2021 - 08:54 UTC
Johnny rooks threatened in Argentine islands by deer and goats

Argentine scientists from the Austral Scientific Research Center (CADIC) in Ushuaia announced they have revealed the subsistence mystery of the striated Caracara prey bird, “carancho austral”, in the Isla de los Estados (*), during the winter months, which remained unknown until now.
Thursday, February 4th 2021 - 06:45 UTC
St Helena prepares to commemorate the bicentennial of Napoleon's death

By Nick Sundin – The United Kingdom commemorated in June 2015 the bicentenary of the Battle of Waterloo, marking the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte and the end of the Napoleonic Wars. In the months surrounding the bicentenary of 18th June 2015, battlefield visits abounded, with key sites in the vicinity of the battlefield and the town of Waterloo itself seeing large increases in tourism.
Wednesday, February 3rd 2021 - 09:30 UTC
Falklands strict conditions to ensure “clean” vessels operate in the 2021 fishing season

The Falkland Islands government issued a release on Tuesday announcing the “clean” conditions vessels entering territorial waters for the 2021 fishing season must meet, basically a minimum of two weeks quarantining at sea, no Covid-19 cases on board, and no crew members with Covid-19 symptoms.
Wednesday, February 3rd 2021 - 09:25 UTC
Russia's Sputnik V vaccine is 91,6% effective, The Lancet

The Russian Sputnik V vaccine is 91.6% effective against Covid 19 in its symptomatic manifestations, according to the medical journal The Lancet . “The trial results show a strong protective effect consistent across all age groups of participants,” the researchers explain.
Wednesday, February 3rd 2021 - 09:20 UTC
Cristina Kirchner political ally accused of human rights abuses in the province of Formosa

Members of the opposition, international NGO’s and several Catholic and Anglican clerics, have criticized Gildo Insfran, the governor of Formosa, and a close political ally of Cristina Kirchner, for treating those who test positive for the coronavirus and their close contacts in an “inhuman” way, forcing them into public isolation centers for over 20 days.
Wednesday, February 3rd 2021 - 09:20 UTC
Brazil industrial production down 4,5% last year, auto and clothing worst hit

Brazil’s industrial output plunged by 4.5% last year as the coronavirus pandemic battered Latin America’s largest economy, particularly the auto and clothing industries, the national statistics institute reported on Tuesday.
Wednesday, February 3rd 2021 - 09:03 UTC
Amazon Jeff Bezos to become executive chairman and Andy Jassy the next CEO

Jeff Bezos is stepping down as CEO of Amazon later this year, the company said on Tuesday, 30 years after holding that role. The online company said he'll be replaced in the fall of 2021 by Andy Jassy, who currently runs Amazon's cloud business.
Wednesday, February 3rd 2021 - 08:03 UTC
Russian dissident sentenced to 3,5 years in jail despite demands from Western countries

Russian dissident Alexei Navalny was sentenced to three and a half years in a penal colony after a Moscow court found him guilty of disobeying the terms of his probation over the 2014 money laundering case. In the Tuesday ruling, however, the court also took into account the time Navalny had spent under house arrest, meaning that the Kremlin critic would spend only two years and eight months behind bars.