Chile's Health Minister Ximena Aguilera launched an appeal to the citizenry to update their vaccination schedules given the appearance of the JN.1 variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, also known as Pirola, of which an outbreak is feared after the strain was detected in over 40 countries.
One day before the first anniversary of the Jan. 8, 2023, riots in Brasilia, when the headquarters of all three branches of government were stormed by anti-government groups, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Sunday insisted his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro was behind it all.
The consequences of increased tourism and pollution in Antarctica, are two of the tasks the Royal Navy Ice Patrol HMS Protector will be checking during this month in the frozen continent. For this purpose it has invited two scientists from the University of Portsmouth, Professor Fay Couceiro and Dr. Clare Boston.
The Argentine government, through the Federal Fisheries Council has officially opened the Illex squid season south of parallel 49. The two main fisheries chambers, CAIPA and CEPA had requested that the season begin 10 January south of parallel 44, but the Council in early December denied the request based on a scientific report from INIDEP, the National Institute of Fisheries Research and Development.
Lawmakers from both major parties have reached a deal to avoid a US government shutdown in 2024, Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson announced Sunday in Washington DC.
Deforestation alerts in the Amazon fell by 50% in 2023, according to a report from the Deter system released Friday by Brazil's National Space Research Institute (INPE), with data collected until Dec. 29 in an area of 5,152 km². It was the lowest rate since 2018, it also explained. In 2022, the alerts had registered 10,278 km² of deforested areas, the highest level ever.
Health authorities in the Argentine province of Corrientes (northeast) Friday confirmed the death of a patient who had tested positive for dengue, thus increasing the number of fatalities to three this summer.
Argentine President Javier Milei landed at around 8.30 pm Friday in Río Gallegos to stay the night before flying on to the Marambio Base in Antarctica. Traveling with the head of state were Ministers Diana Mondino (Foreign Affairs), Guillermo Francos (Interior), and Luis Petri (Defense) as well as Presidential Secretary Karina Milei, among other officials making up the entourage of 23.
Contradicting reports in Buenos Aires Friday concurred that Sergio Pikholtz was no longer Vice President of the Delegation of Argentine-Israeli Associations (DAIA) after posting on social media that there were no innocents in Gaza.
A wide ranging alliance of US government officials, cattle farmers and beef organizations gathered to strongly oppose the purchase and import of fresh beef from Paraguay, but a final ruling from the US Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service decided in favor of the Mercosur country member. The decision became effective last December 14 and opens the doors to the Paraguayan produce.