Politics

• Friday, March 12th 2021 - 09:06 UTC

  Brazilian congress passes US$ 8 billion bill to help millions of poor families

  

  Brazil's lower house of Congress approved the basic text of a bill on Thursday that revives a federal cash transfer program to help millions of poor families whose incomes have been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Friday, March 12th 2021 - 09:03 UTC

  Europe approves J&J single shot Covid-19 vaccine; some 200 million doses pledged by end of year

  

  Europe approved Johnson & Johnson's single-dose COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday and is expected to be delivered in a month. The COVID-19 shot is the fourth to be endorsed for use in the European Union after vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca-Oxford University, and Moderna, and is recommended for those over 18 years of age, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said.

• Friday, March 12th 2021 - 04:49 UTC

  RRS James Clark Ross skipper gratitude message to people of the Falklands

  

  Graham Chapman, Captain of RRS James Clark Ross sent a message of gratitude to the people of the Falklands when the polar research vessel left the Islands for the last time.

• Thursday, March 11th 2021 - 09:59 UTC

  Lula launches 2022 presidential campaign: “health, jobs and justice for Brazil”

  

  Former Brazilian President Lula da Silva launched on Wednesday the campaign for the 2022 presidential election, which is anticipated will be dominated by attacks on Jair Bolsonaro on the pandemic, a weak economy and deep political polarization.

• Thursday, March 11th 2021 - 09:52 UTC

  Falkland Islands Government publishes legal framework for Environment Trust

  

  The Falkland Islands Government this week published the legal framework to establish the Falkland Islands Environment Trust: a mechanism designed to collect funds and award grants to support persons engaged in “conservation, management, and enhancement of the environment.”

• Thursday, March 11th 2021 - 09:51 UTC

  UN human rights investigating the “La Vega massacre” in Caracas by Maduro police forces

  

  United Nations human rights are looking into allegations that Venezuelan police forces from president Nicolas Maduro's regime had killed 200 people this year and investigators raised concerns about possible summary executions in a neighborhood of Caracas.

• Thursday, March 11th 2021 - 09:44 UTC

  Mexico to join the club of countries that decriminalize cannabis

  

  Mexico's lower house of Congress on Wednesday approved a bill that would decriminalize cannabis for recreational, medical and scientific uses, bringing it a step closer to creating one of the world's largest markets for the plant.

• Thursday, March 11th 2021 - 09:44 UTC

  Rich countries block a Covid-19 vaccines patent rights waiver

  

  The rich members of the World Trade Organization blocked a push by over 80 developing countries on Wednesday to waive patent rights in an effort to boost the production of Covid-19 vaccines for poor nations.

• Thursday, March 11th 2021 - 09:36 UTC

  Spain expects to roll out vaccine “Digital Green Pass” by May 19 for FITUR tourism fair

  

  Spain could be ready to start rolling out coronavirus vaccine ‘passports’ by the end of May, paving the way to welcome back holidaymakers, Minister of tourism, María Reyes Maroto, said on Wednesday.

• Thursday, March 11th 2021 - 09:23 UTC

  Biden family dogs sent back to Wilmington following a “biting incident”

  

  US President Joe Biden has sent his two dogs back to his family home in Wilmington, Delaware, after the younger of the two German Shepherds was involved in a “biting incident” with a White House security agent, US media reported.