At least 30 people have been killed following a 7.6 magnitude earthquake in the Japanese Prefecture of Ishikawa. Around half the casualties were recorded in the town of Wajima, where a fire destroyed several houses. Japan Railways announced that high-speed trains between Tokyo and Ishikawa were interrupted.
Bolivian authorities have enacted an orange alert after eight rivers were determined to be at imminent risk of overflowing, which would affect eight departments nationwide, the National Meteorology and Hydrology Service (Senamhi) reported. The measure will be in force until Jan. 7.
In a year-ending interview with Le Monde Diplomatique's Ignacio Ramonet, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said his Guyanese counterpart Irfaan Ali was mocking his country and other regional multilateral organizations who sponsored the St Vincent and the Grenadines understanding whereby the dispute over the oil-rich Essequibo area would not escalate.
Argentine President Javier Milei will be traveling to Antarctica this coming Friday, Jan. 5, alongside Ministers Diana Mondino (Foreign Affairs) and Luis Petri (Defense), it was reported in Buenos Aires. The head of state intends to launch a pollution control, according to Casa Rosada sources.
After Brazil's statistics bureau IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) released the inflation for 2023 in the South American country (4.72%), Agencia Brasil delved into the possible reasons behind this achievement and determined that low food prices and high interest rates played a significant role.