Stories for December 22nd 2021

Wednesday, December 22nd 2021 - 23:05 UTC
Uruguay, EU agree on reciprocity regarding digital vaccination certificates

Uruguay Tuesday became the fifth country to join the European Union's covid-19 certificate program. It is also South America's first.
Wednesday, December 22nd 2021 - 22:59 UTC
Leaders of Venezuela, Turkey reaffirm mutual cooperation

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro Tuesday said he had discussed in a telephone conversation a series of bilateral issues with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Wednesday, December 22nd 2021 - 22:32 UTC
Colombia's proposed security law violates human rights, opposition claims

Opposition parties in Colombia have raised their voices Wednesday against the Security bill passed Tuesday by the Senate because while it claims to guarantee citizen security, it violates the Constitution, criminalizes social protest, and hands out licenses to kill. The bill is now up to President Iván Duque for enactment.
Wednesday, December 22nd 2021 - 19:10 UTC
Brazil: Deforestation in protected areas up 79% under Bolsonaro

A report by the Socioenvironmental Institute (ISA) released Wednesday has shown a 138% increase in degradation in indigenous lands and 130% in Conservation Units, (CUs) compared to three years before President Jair Bolsonaro took office.
Wednesday, December 22nd 2021 - 13:01 UTC
Biden outlines new COVID-19 situation in the US amid Omicron

US President Joseph Biden Tuesday said the new Omicron variant of SARS-Cov-2 was something “we should all be concerned about,” but it was nothing to panic for those fully vaccinated. ”If you got your booster shot, you’re highly protected,” he added.
Wednesday, December 22nd 2021 - 12:04 UTC
Japan carries out three executions in one day

Japanese judicial authorities Tuesday hanged three death row inmates in the first executions since Dec. 26, 2019 -when a Chinese citizen convicted in the 2003 killing of a family of four in Fukuoka was put to death-, and the first under Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Justice Minister Yoshihisa Furukawa said he gave the order to resume capital punishment.
Wednesday, December 22nd 2021 - 11:36 UTC
Argentine peso needs devaluing, Goldman Sachs report says

A macroeconomic report from Wall Street operators Goldman Sachs released Tuesday has warned that “without fiscal or monetary anchors” the country is up for strong “headwinds” in 2022 and 2023 and, therefore, “the peso needs to be devalued.”
Wednesday, December 22nd 2021 - 11:29 UTC
Áñez's daughter seeks help from Bachelet regarding her mother's arrest

Carolina Ribera, daughter of Bolivia's former interim President Jeanine Áñez, Tuesday sought assistance from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, to help put an end to the “torture” her mother is allegedly enduring while incarcerated pending trial.
Wednesday, December 22nd 2021 - 10:35 UTC
Former GACH expert against Uruguay's easing on COVID-19 measures

Uruguayan COVID-19 expert Rafael Radi, a former coordinator of the Honorary Scientific Advisory Group (GACH), has said in an interview that eliminating the second PCR test for those arriving into his country was a “somewhat bold” measure he would have not recommended.
Wednesday, December 22nd 2021 - 08:33 UTC
France's First Lady to sue those who say she is a transgender woman

France's First Lady Brigitte Macron Tuesday said she would sue all those who have spread fake news about her being in fact a transgender woman, who has allegedly changed her sex and birth name of Jean-Michel Trogneux.