Politics

• 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

  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.

• Wednesday, March 3rd 2021 - 08:38 UTC

  Louise De Sousa is the new British Ambassador to Chile

  

  Ambassador Mrs. Louise De Sousa will lead the British Embassy’s efforts further strengthening ties and co-operation between the United Kingdom and Chile. Ambassador De Sousa’s priorities will focus on UK and Chile co-operation responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and a clean, resilient global economic recovery; promoting meaningful action to tackle climate change in the lead-up to the COP26 climate conference; and further strengthening trade and prosperity between the UK and Chile. The ambassador’s work will also include defence and security co-operation, science and innovation, educational and cultural links, and gender equality, reflecting UK global priorities.

• Wednesday, March 3rd 2021 - 08:26 UTC

  World leaders congratulate Gorbachev on his 90th birthday; most Russians not convinced with his reforms

  

  Mikhail Gorbachev turned 90 on Tuesday, with several world leaders sending well-wishes to the former leader of the Soviet Union. The ex-leader of the Soviet Union and secretary-general of the Communist Party is considered by some as one of the greatest reformers of the 20th century — but remains a controversial figure at home.

• Wednesday, March 3rd 2021 - 08:18 UTC

  Scottish leaders' quarrel: Conservatives call for the resignation of First Minister Sturgeon

  

  Scotland's first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, should resign, the main opposition party said on Tuesday amid a dispute involving her predecessor that threatens to damage the independence movement.