Stories for March 2021

Thursday, March 4th 2021 - 08:54 UTC
US Capitol locked down after intelligence identifies a potential attack

US intelligence have identified a militant group planning a potential attack on the US Capitol. The finding comes nearly two months after Trump supporters tried to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden's victory.
Thursday, March 4th 2021 - 08:47 UTC
White House financial support for Merck and Johnson & Johnson to speed vaccine production

White House senior adviser Andy Slavitt told reporters on Tuesday that the federal government is planning to spend US$100 million to help the joint partnership between Merck & Co and rival Johnson & Johnson accelerate vaccine production.
Thursday, March 4th 2021 - 08:41 UTC
Venezuela's Guaidó willing to support an independent new electoral council

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido said on Wednesday that he would support naming a new electoral council but cautioned its members should not be chosen unilaterally by the National Assembly currently held by the ruling socialist party of President Nicolas Maduro.
Thursday, March 4th 2021 - 08:34 UTC
Elimination of masks, “Neanderthal thinking”, Biden tell state governors

US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that decisions to end the required wearing of masks, as is happening in several states, including Texas, amounted to “Neanderthal thinking” given the rising death toll from the coronavirus pandemic.
Thursday, March 4th 2021 - 08:00 UTC
France bans extreme right group which incited hatred, violence and attacks immigrants

France agreed on Wednesday to ban the far-right group Generation Identity. Interior minister Gerald Darmanin said it took into account the group's “structure and military organization,” adding that GI can be regarded “as having the character of a private militia.”
Thursday, March 4th 2021 - 07:07 UTC
Argentina and the IMF: Another Default in the Works?

By Arturo Porzecanski (*) The following was published in the Americas Quarterly, a contribution from a leading emerging-market economist writes. The seeds for the latest chapter in Argentina’s long history of confrontations with the International Monetary Fund were planted about a year ago, on the eve of the global pandemic.
Wednesday, March 3rd 2021 - 09:56 UTC
Uruguayan president addresses Congress and anticipates a year of structural reforms

Uruguayan president Luis Lacalle Pou addressed Congress on Tuesday to report on his first year and one day in office, underlining the extraordinary 2020 pandemic year which surprised the world, and Uruguay, but he also made several announcements referred to future activities and investments.
Wednesday, March 3rd 2021 - 08:56 UTC
Argentina again forced to ramp LNG imports , as domestic gas production falls

Argentina forced to quickly ramp up LNG imports in the coming winter months to meet its heating season, as domestic gas production dwindles and Bolivian pipeline imports slow.
Wednesday, March 3rd 2021 - 08:56 UTC
Merck & Co to the rescue of Johnson & Johnson single shot Covid-19 vaccine

Merck & Co will help make rival Johnson & Johnson's single-shot Covid-19 vaccine in a partnership set to be announced on Tuesday by US President Joe Biden, a White House official said. J&J's vaccine production has been slower than promised.
Wednesday, March 3rd 2021 - 08:40 UTC
Brazil's currency losing ground: central bank chief says it is not justified by economic fundamentals

With public finances threatened, Brazil’s Real has suffered as investors adjust to changing liquidity conditions globally, but some of it has not been justified by economic fundamentals, central bank President Roberto Campos Neto said on Tuesday.