
Argentina is holding the pro tempore rotating chair of Mercosur during the next six months and three are its main objectives during that period according to foreign ministry sources in Buenos Aires. They include Bolivia, the Falklands/Malvinas claim and trade accords and negotiations with other countries.

The Uruguayan parliament passed a bill limiting the constitutional right of assembly and closing the borders, both temporarily as part of a package of measures to help contain a spiked of the coronavirus virus.

Argentina and Chile announced late Sunday that they are suspending flights from the UK after health officials in Britain confirmed that a new variant of the coronavirus was rapidly spreading in the country.

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock warned the new mutant strain of the coronavirus is “out of control” and suggested parts of England will be stuck in the new highest tier of restrictions until a vaccine is rolled out.

The French Mayor Frederic Couvillier, of the city of Boulogne-sur-Mer, has threatened the UK with a “Falklands War” pertaining the dispute over the fishing waters with the European Union. Furthermore, the mayor warned of the threat of an armed conflict in light of the looming Brexit deadline.

Following are details of a new coronavirus variant that has been identified in the United Kingdom, given at a news conference by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Patrick Vallance, Britain's chief scientific adviser, and Chris Whitty, the chief medical adviser:

Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Germans to avoid visiting family members over Christmas and to use video calls instead for greetings, the way service members stationed abroad do, as the country battles COVID-19.

Some thirty countries have now joined the Global Ocean Alliance championing an international commitment for a minimum 30% of the global ocean to be protected through Marine Protected Areas by 2030.

Argentina and Portugal foreign ministers agreed on a fluid dialogue and standing contact during the next six months to address bilateral issues, the Mercosur/European Union trade deal and the Falklands/Malvinas question.

Moderna Inc's coronavirus vaccine on Friday became the second to receive emergency use authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, welcome news to a nation with a staggering COVID-19 death toll of over 307,000 lives lost.