
Argentina's Cabinet Chief Juan Manzur spent Christmas Day in Israel, where he arrived last Thursday at the invitation of Chief Rabbi David Baruch Lau.

Ecuadorian authorities have been placed on alert after a 1,500-meter column of steam, gas, and ash emanated Sunday from the Cotopaxi volcano, it was reported.

The cancellation of the Brize Norton/Falkland Islands airbridge service this week, the last before Christmas, triggered much frustration and complaints among Falkland Islanders, who will now have to wait for the flight departing on December 27.

The World Bank's Board of Directors Friday approved a US$ 500 million financing project for actions in Brazil linked to sustainability and the carbon credit market. The project was approved today (23), in Washington, by the World Bank Board of Directors. Joining the initiative to create a one-stop shop is Banco do Brasil (BB).

By Henrik Svedäng (*) – To slow and reverse the fastest loss of Earth’s living things since the dinosaurs, almost 200 countries have signed an agreement in Montreal, Canada, promising to live in harmony with nature by 2050. The Kunming-Montreal agreement is not legally binding but it will require signatories to report their progress towards meeting targets such as the protection of 30% of Earth’s surface by 2030 and the restoration of degraded habitats.

Argentina's Central Bank (BCRA) reserves went up this week after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreed to disburse nearly US$ 6 billion following a successful review of the South American country's third-quarter targets. Thus, the BCRA reserves went up from US$ 39.052 billion to US$ 43.263 billion in the last 24 hours.

The provincial Executive of Tierra del Fuego, extreme south of Argentina, signed into law the bill creating the Protected Natural Area, Peninsula Mitre, unanimously sanctioned in early December by the local Legislative Assembly and covering some 500.000 hectares, 300.000 on land and the rest at sea.

The UK economy heading for recession, contracted more than expected in the third quarter with GDP falling 0.3% against an estimated 0.2%, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Rishi Sunak, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, addressed the following message: Hello everybody! This has been an extraordinary year. From Stanley to Portsmouth, we honored those who fought to keep the Falklands free 40 years ago. We remembered those who lost their lives, we celebrated the moment when the Union Jack was raised at Government House once again, and we pledged our continued commitment to your self-determination.

While Ukraine's envoy to the United Nations Sergey Kyslytsya posted on Twitter an image of the United States flag turned blue and yellow to symbolize solidarity between the two countries, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova insisted Thursday it actually Kyiv's subordinate status.