Tag Archives: caribbean

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Group of 72 Cubans Denied Entry to Russia, Being Flown Home

14ymedio, Havana — A first group of 44 Cubans out of 71 who were detained at the Vnukovo airport, in Russia, returned to the island this Saturday. “The citizens do not meet the requirements established by the Russian immigration authorities to enter their territory as tourists,” according to a post by the Cuban Consulate in Moscow.

The Foreign Ministry acknowledged that there is “a free visa agreement between the two countries,” although it argued that it must “verify the current requirements for entry into Russian territory.”

Last Friday the diplomatic headquarters listed on its social networks that among the requirements are to “present financial solvency to guarantee your stay, valid medical insurance in Russia with coverage of covid-19 and a PCR with a valid negative result.” To these requirements are added the accreditation of the purpose of the trip, presenting a valid passport, having a return ticket and having a lodging reservation for the time of stay.

The information was published a day after a group of Cubans announced that they were detained “for no reason” at the Vnukovo airport. Dailey Ponce Carmenates shared a video on the Facebook group ’Russia for Cubans’ , where one of the travelers is heard saying, “So that the world can see what they are doing with us. Díaz-Canel puts the dogs on us and here too.”

Ponce specified that they met the entry requirements. “We all have return tickets, money for lodging and the required documents.” This complaint was followed by that of Marisleisis Díaz, who arrived on December 3 at the same Russian airport from Varadero on flight ZF556, of the AZUR Airline company. “They detained us in migration having everything in order.”

Díaz mentioned that the saddest thing about the retention is that they had “more than 24 hours with only one meal, without blankets,, having to “sleep in the bathrooms to be able to cushion the cold.” The complainant assured that they offered  no answer to her situation and that “there were children” in the group.

After being detained for several days, the Foreign Ministry reported that the consul contacted them and “specified details for their safe return to Cuba as soon as possible.” And it was indicated that the return of the remainder of the travelers is already being coordinated jointly with the Russian authorities and the airline.

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WORLD VIEW: Biden-Putin Talk, New German Leader, Myanmar Democracy?, Rohingya Sue Facebook for $150B, More

Dec 08, 2021

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The Associated Press

The Rundown

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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin were still far apart after two hours of talks on the escalating crisis caused by Russia’s massing of tens of thousands of troops near its border with…Read More

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BERLIN (AP) — Olaf Scholz is set to take office Wednesday as Germany’s ninth post-World War II chancellor, succeeding Angela Merkel after her heralded 16-year tenure. …Read More

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BANGKOK (AP) — In sentencing Myanmar’s iconic democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi to prison, the country’s generals have effectively exiled her from electoral politics. But that doesn’t mean the Southeast Asi…Read More

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A company once owned by “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli will pay up to $40 million to settle allegations that it jacked up the price of a life-saving medication by roughly 4,000% after…Read More

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GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — The players race across the pitch on crutches, jostling for the soccer ball and passing it back and forth, their prosthetic legs lined up along the sidelines at a stadium in the…Read More

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HERAT, Afghanistan (AP) — Since the Taliban took over Afghanistan more than three and a half months ago amid a chaotic withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops, their fighters have …Read More

A major outage in Amazon’s cloud computing network Tuesday severely disrupted services at a wide range of U.S. companies for more than five hours, the latest sign of just how …Read More

LONDON (AP) — Rohingya refugees sued Facebook parent Meta Platforms for more than $150 billion over what they say was the company’s failure to stop hateful posts that incited …Read More

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jurors will be presented with starkly different views of the Minnesota police officer who killed Black motorist Daunte Wright during opening statements at …Read More

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Integrity Commission Building a Strong Democracy that Delivers, Says PM Harris

BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, December 7, 2021 (MMS-SKN) — Integrity Commission (IC) of St. Kitts and Nevis is joining the rest of the world in observing International Anti-Corruption Day on Thursday December 9 with a number of activities including a worship service on Sunday December 5, at the Antioch Baptist Church.

On behalf of the Integrity Commission, Chairperson, Retired High Court Judge, Justice Pearletta Lanns thanked lead Pastor Lincoln Connor, the Church Executive, and members for welcoming them and their invitees to worship at the church in Lime Kiln, West Basseterre.

The invitees included His Excellency the Governor General who was represented by the Governor General’s Deputy His Excellency Michael Morton who was accompanied by Mrs Cynthia Morton; Prime Minister, Dr the Hon Timothy Harris; Executive Director of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Mr Kevin Hope; and Deputy Commissioner of the Financial Services Regulatory Commission (FSRC), Ms Tevince Coker.

The Integrity Commission team was made up of Chairperson, Justice Pearletta Lanns, and two members, Chartered Accountant, Mrs Carol Boddie, and Consultant and Court Connected Mediator, Mr Dennis ‘Freddie’ Knight. The office management team comprised of former Director of Audit, Mr Albert Edwards, and former teacher and Librarian, Ms Virginia Browne.

“I want to commend Ms Lanns on this occasion, as the chair of the Commission, and of course to recognise the importance of their work in building a strong democracy that delivers for the people,” said Prime Minister Harris at the end of the worship service.

He added: “They are watchdogs in terms of matters to do with corruption, and St. Kitts and Nevis has a long-established support for international and hemispheric efforts to fight against corruption. I am happy that they have started this outreach which will make their work, and the strides that St. Kitts and Nevis have made in this regard, even better known.”

According to Justice Lanns, since the year 2005, the 9th day of December has been observed worldwide as International Anti-Corruption Day, for the purpose of raising awareness of corruption, and to promote the fight against corruption. The designation was made by the United Nations.

“The Integrity Commission has a mandate to join in raising public awareness, and to join in promoting the fight against corruption,” she noted. “The IC was established under the Integrity in Public Life (IPL) Act, which came into force in 2018. Our offices are located upstairs Delisle Walwyn & Company Ltd Building on Liverpool Row, Basseterre.”

She pointed out that given IC’s mandate under the Integrity in Public Life Act, the Commission decided to do its part in the country to raise awareness about the issue of corruption, and against that background the Commission planned some activities to commemorate International Anti-Corruption Day.

One event on the calendar of activities, talk to 5th and 6th Graders of selected schools, was however held on Tuesday November 16 because of the timeline for closure of school. Involved were the Cayon, Dr William Connor, and the Immaculate Conception Primary Schools on St. Kitts.

“We were well received – the children were enthusiastic and quite responsive,” said the Integrity Commission Chairperson. “You would be surprised to know some of the questions they asked, and some of the answers they gave to our questions.”

Other activities started with the church service on Sunday December 5, and a press conference was held on Monday December 6 at the CUNA Conference Centre, in West Basseterre. Activities will continue on Wednesday December 8 with a Panel Discussion on ZIZ Radio and TV, whose topic will be ‘Your right, Your Role: Say No to Corruption’.

“On Thursday, 9th December, Anti-Corruption Day, there will be a broadcast of the message from the UN Secretary General,” observed Justice Lanns. “Additionally, the Commission and Staff will be distributing promotional material like brochures, leaflets, and more. We look forward to your continued support of the domestic efforts of the global fight against corruption.”

In conclusion, she observed that an Essay Competition was also planned as part of the activities but had to be rescheduled for January 2022.

 

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Cuba’s Economic Reforms Allow Small Entrepreneurs to Dream Big

By

HAVANA, Dec 7 (Reuters) – Cuban entrepreneurs Henry and Yendri Garcia have long peddled home-made ice cream in their small town of Bauta outside the capital Havana, but now they are dreaming big.

Communist-run Cuba in August lifted a ban on private companies in place since 1968, a move that has Cubans scrambling for business opportunities. The Caribbean island’s state-dominated economy shrank 13% over the last two years during the coronavirus pandemic.

Thanks to that groundbreaking reform, the Garcia brothers, known as “ice cream guys” in Bauta, say they hope to move their small, home-based operation, cobbled together with patched up discarded equipment, to a larger facility and increase their workforce of 12 to perhaps 30 or more.

The government has already registered their “Helados Cid” operation as a private enterprise – one of around 900 small- and medium-sized businesses to have been incorporated since September, according to the Economy Ministry.

“We’ve been recognized as a company and this increases our reach,” Henry, one of the two brothers, told Reuters. “There will be opportunities that were previously unavailable.”

In one of the biggest economic transformations since Fidel Castro’s 1959 Revolution, Cuba is banking on the creation of hundreds – even thousands – of small businesses to help the economy rebound from the devastating impact of the pandemic, soaring inflation and crippling U.S. sanctions heaped atop the Cold War-era embargo. read more

The new rules, Henry said, mean they can now operate with foreign currency, obtain credit and sell ice cream to hotels, state-run shops and even online.

“My lifelong dream is to have an ice cream factory and an industrial-sized company,” Henry said.

There are still plenty of hoops to jump through, according to economists consulted by Reuters. Regulations require companies to go through the state to engage in foreign trade, prohibit entrepreneurs from owning more than one company, and cap individual firms at 100 employees.

“There are real shortcomings that I hope they will overcome quickly,” Cuban economist Ricardo Torres, a visiting professor at American University in Washington, said.

“But this is very positive. It marks a new era. You can begin to talk about a mixed economy,” he said.

SCORES OF NEW COMPANIES

Since the economy minister announced the measures as part of President Miguel Diaz-Canel’s economic reforms in August, scores of businesses have incorporated, allowing them to partake in the state wholesale system, ally with state-run firms, and seek loans and investors.

The businesses range in focus from construction, food processing, bakeries, and industrial repair to waterworks, online home delivery and software production.

According to the government, some 40 percent are new initiatives while the remainder were already operating, but in legal limbo and with far more limited rights as self-employed “cuentapropistas.”

The government has said it expects to approve thousands more small and medium-sized private businesses over the coming months, such as Cuba’s well-known private restaurants, bars and hostels.

Dforja is another small firm benefiting from the reforms. The Havana company of six swapped its focus from building restoration to making patio and indoors iron and wood furniture, with the hope of tapping the export market.

“The reforms have allowed us to mature and regularize the inflow of materials and sales of our product in coordination with state companies,” owner Luis Betancourt said outside his rustic workshop.

“Now we have to work hard and grow from a small to mid-sized company,” he said.

STATE SUPPORT

Betancourt’s enthusiasm and grit in the face of a major economic crisis that has imports down 40% and inflation soaring is shared by seven Cuban entrepreneurs consulted by Reuters, who say that for the first time they are experiencing state support.

But many stumbling blocks remain as Cuba’s nascent private sector takes root.

The pandemic, combined with the U.S. sanctions that limit Cuban access to goods and financing, have cut deeply into “convertible” currency flows needed to import from abroad, where the local peso has no value, said Oscar Fernandez from Deshidratados Habana, which processes dried fruits.

The predicament has forced both state and private enterprise to seek alternatives, and often more costly sources of funding. Larger loans, Fernandez said, are hard to come by.

“In our case, working with a state company set up to help small businesses, and a foreign financial services company, we managed to purchase machinery in Europe for a new small factory,” he said. “But I fear we are an exception.”

Reporting by Marc Frank, Nelson Acosta and Reuters television; editing by Dave Sherwood, Daniel Flynn and Aurora Ellis

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Bolsonaro Dismisses Vaccination Passport for Entry into Brazil

BRASILIA, Dec 7 (Reuters) – Brazil will require that unvaccinated travelers entering the country go on a five-day quarantine followed by a COVID-19 test, its health minister said on Tuesday, after its president said he opposed the use of a vaccine passport.

President Jair Bolsonaro criticized Brazil’s health regulator Anvisa for proposing the vaccination passport be required for arriving travelers to help prevent the spread of new coronavirus variants.

“Anvisa wants to close the country’s airspace now. Not again, damn it,” Bolsonaro, a vaccine skeptic, said at a business event in Brasilia.

Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga, speaking after a Cabinet meeting later on Tuesday, said Brazil would not discriminate against people who are not vaccinated by adopting the passport.

He said, however, that Brazil will require unvaccinated travelers entering the country to quarantine and have a COVID-19 test. He did not give details on how that would be implemented.

Anvisa last month proposed adopting a “vaccination passport” for entry into Brazil, but the government has not yet decided on the matter. Bolsonaro has repeatedly attacked the proposal.

Vaccine skepticism from Bolsonaro, who says he has not gotten a COVID-19 shot, has done little to dampen Brazilians’ eagerness to get immunized, with more than 85% of adults now fully vaccinated.

The Supreme Court on Monday gave 48 hours for the executive branch to explain why the vaccination passport had not yet been adopted.

Last week, at the suggestion of Anvisa, the government suspended flights from six countries in southern Africa, where the new, fast-spreading Omicron variant of the coronavirus was identified.

Bolsonaro repeated his criticism of COVID-19 vaccines on Tuesday, saying vaccinated people can still be infected, spread the coronavirus and die from COVID-19. He also minimized the new variant, saying there are “thousands of viruses” and the pandemic was ending.

While much is still not known about Omicron, unvaccinated people account for the vast majority of severe COVID-19 cases and deaths.

Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu Writing by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Bill Berkrot and Sandra Maler

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Chile: Same-Sex Marriage Law Overwhelmingly Approved by Parliament

BBC- Chile has approved a landmark law allowing same-sex marriage in a historically Catholic country.

The legislation, overwhelmingly approved by parliament, also enables gay couples to adopt children.

The bill was supported by President Sebastián Piñera, who has to sign it into law. But it has been criticised by members of his conservative coalition.

Chile’s LGBT community has long pushed for the law, which has been stalled by Congress since 2017.

The Latin American country approved civil unions between same-sex couples in 2015, allowing them to register for a Civil Union Agreement (AUC) that gives some legal benefits.

But the bill to legalise same-sex marriage has languished in Congress for four years after it was presented by former left-leaning President Michelle Bachelet.

On Tuesday, the bill was passed in the lower house of parliament – shortly after its passage in the Senate – by 82 votes to 20. There were two abstentions.

President Piñera had vowed to push the legislation through parliament during his annual State of the Union address in June this year.

In comments that stunned some of his conservative allies, he said in his address that Chile must “guarantee this freedom and dignity to all people”.

“I think we should deepen the value of freedom, including the freedom to love and to form a family with a loved one. Also the value of the dignity of all relationships of love and affection between two people,” the right-wing leader added.

The move had faced strong criticism from some of the president’s allies, including evangelical lawmaker Leonidas Romero of the National Renewal (RN) party.

Mr Romero had described the law change as “a tremendous betrayal for the Christian world”.

Chile joins a handful of Latin American countries to recognise marriage between same-sex couples. Others include Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Uruguay, and 18 states in Mexico and Mexico City.

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Colombia Gangs: ‘Surrender or We’ll Hunt You Down,’ Warns Govt. Minister

By Vanessa Buschschlüter
BBC News Online Latin America editor

The capture in October of drug lord Dairo Antonio Úsuga was described by the Colombian government as “the most important blow to drug trafficking since the fall of Pablo Escobar”.

While no one doubted that the arrest of Úsuga constituted a significant victory for the security forces, some in Colombia questioned whether the Gulf Clan he led could be compared to Pablo Escobar’s Medellín cartel and the immense power it wielded in the 1980s and 90s.

Some analysts also warned that the capture of Úsuga, who is better known under his alias of Otoniel, could lead to a spike in violence as other drug traffickers rush to fill the vacuum created by his arrest.

But in an interview with the BBC, Colombian Minster of Defence Diego Molano insisted that Otoniel’s arrest spelled “the end of the Gulf Clan”.

Headshot of Colombia's minister of Defense Diego Molano during a press conference were Colombia's minister of defense Diego Molano, Police Major General Jorge Luis Vargas, and army general Luis Fernando Navarro that 10 EX-FARC guerrilla dissidents were killed after several hours of combat between the remnants of the FARC guerrilla and the Colombian army. On September 28, 202
Diego Molano has been defence minister since February 2021

Mr Molano said that Otoniel had ruled the Gulf Clan – a transnational criminal organisation engaged in drug trafficking and other criminal activities such as extortion – with an iron fist and that his capture had left the organisation rudderless.

“I recently spoke to one of Otoniel’s men who has surrendered and he told me: ‘He [Otoniel] was in control of everything, he was like our father, he was the one in the know, the one who controlled everything’.”

Mr Molano said that, nevertheless, Colombia’s security forces had not let up the pressure since Otoniel’s arrest but were now on the hunt for his deputies, known as “Siopas” and “Evil Shorty”

And Otoniel’s men are not the only ones the Colombian military and police are after.

Five years after the implementation of a peace deal with Colombia’s largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), the country is by no means free of armed gangs.

According to Mr Molano, these gangs have 13,000 members, half of them armed and half acting as support.

There are dissident groups made up of former Farc rebels who objected to the peace deal, members of another Marxist guerrilla group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), as well as right-wing paramilitary groups and criminal gangs such as the Gulf Clan.

For all of them, Mr Molano has one message: “Surrender, or we’ll hunt you down.”

It is these groups, which finance themselves mainly through drug trafficking, that are behind much of the violence which continues to blight Colombia and has forced thousands of families to flee their homes.

Official figures suggest that in 2021, the number of displaced families jumped by 213% compared to 2020.

The number of children forcibly recruited by gangs also remains high, as does the murder rate of environmentalists and social activists, who defend land and human rights.

For Colombia’s defence minister, the key to bringing down the violence lies in tackling the drugs trade.

According to the United Nation’s Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Colombia remained the world’s largest producer of cocaine in 2020, even though it had managed to reduce the area planted with coca – the plant used to make cocaine – by 7%.

“Each hectare planted with coca means more deaths, more destruction of the environment, more murders of social activists,” Mr Molano told the BBC.

Mr Molano said that cocaine seizures had increased significantly in 2021 compared to the previous year and that the security forces had destroyed thousands of laboratories in which the base for cocaine is produced from coca leaves.

But while Colombia’s criminal gangs mainly finance themselves through drug trafficking, the government is also deeply worried about some of the gangs’ other criminal activities – such as illegal logging and illegal mining.

Government figures suggest that in 2020, deforestation rose by 8% compared to 2019, with nearly 64% of the deforestation taking place in Amazonian areas, which are havens of biodiversity.

Mr Molano thinks that combatting the criminal structures behind the cutting down of trees for the illicit trade in timber or to make way for coca plantations is key to protecting the Amazonian region.

He welcomed a move by the attorney-general’s office two weeks ago in which three leaders of break-away Farc groups had been charged with environmental crimes.

While the three – known as Gentil Duarte, Iván Mordisco and John 40 – are on the run, Mr Molano thinks that the charges send a strong signal that Colombia will go after those who engage in criminal activities that harm Colombia’s unique flora and fauna.

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Second Mural for Campaign Against Gender-Based Violence on Nevis Unveild

NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (December 07, 2021) — Artist Ms. Danielle Moore says a mural she created for the Department of Gender Affairs, as a permanent reminder of its continued fight against gender-based violence, was done in a style to draw attention to the department’s campaign.

The mural which was painted on the outer walls of the David Freeman Center of Excellence along the Island Main Road in Gingerland, was officially unveiled on November 25, 2021, in line with the observance of “16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence,” which runs from November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women to December 10, Human Rights Day.

“The piece that I created depicts both the half a face of a man and a woman and it utilises a lot of colours. Based on the theme “Break the Silence; End Gender Based Violence.” Most of the victims in a number of cases are unable to talk about the difficulties that they are going through, so the reason for creating my piece in this way is to utilise the colours to express the emotion, the distress and the difficulties they are going through in a bold way that will stand out, while at the same time making sure that their message is brought across.

“It utilises the theme colour for the 16 Days of Activism which is orange. The woman is painted on a background of orange. The guy is painted against the background of purple, so both of them are in a setting which would describe what kind of difficulties, struggles, they are going through while at the same time not being able to tell anyone. So that is the reason for creating my piece in this way,” she said.

Ms. Moore is actively engaged in the production of a second mural in the same area in Gingerland which is expected to be unveiled later this month. The first mural which was painted on a water dam in Camps Village at the intersection of the Island Main Road and Camps Road, was done in 2020 by Mr. Vaughn Anslyn.

Ms. Latoya Jeffers, Assistant Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Gender Affairs, was also present and spoke of the campaign.

“The Ministry of Health and Gender Affairs has been on this campaign, 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence. It is usually celebrated on November 25th through the 10th of December, and this year we are celebrating under the theme “Orange the World: End Violence against Women Now!”

“Now, we know that this thing is a taboo and we do not talk about it but our ministry is saying that we have to break the silence. We have to talk about it. We have to end the violence against not only women but against men now!” she said.

Also present was Mr. Mario Phillip, Gender Affairs Officer in the Department of Gender Affairs.

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Omicron Spreads More Easily, Less Severe, Spanish Medics Infected, World Stats, More

Omicron appears more transmissible and medics test positive after party

Early signs Omicron spreads more easily, No 10 says

Early signs suggest the Omicron variant is more transmissible than the current Delta strain, Downing Street has said. But the prime minister’s official spokesman added it was too early to draw conclusions – and any impact would also depend on whether it caused severe illness. There are now 437 confirmed cases of Omicron in the UK, up 101 on Monday. It comes as Welsh health minister Eluned Morgan warned a “significant wave” of Omicron is expected to affect residents, and Scotland said restrictions are to be reviewed on a daily basis due to a rapid increase in cases of the variant.

Woman in mask walks past Covid vaccination centre in LondonImage source, Getty Images

Short presentational grey line

Nearly 70 Spanish medics test positive after Christmas party

Almost 70 medics who attended a large Christmas party in southern Spain have since tested positive for Covid, local authorities said. Most of the 68 infected are doctors and nurses working in the intensive care unit at Málaga’s regional hospital. All of the party guests – around 170 people – returned negative antigen tests before the event but more than half are now isolating.

Healthcare workers stand at the front entrance of the Malaga Regional University HospitalImage source, Reuters
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Fauci: Omicron appears to be less severe

 

© Julia Nikhinson

Top infectious diseases doctor Anthony Fauci said Tuesday that the omicron variant of the coronavirus seems to be less severe than delta, but he cautioned it will take more time to get a fuller picture.

“It’s too early to be able to determine the precise severity of disease but inklings that we are getting, and we must remember these are still in the form of anecdotal … but it appears that with the cases that are seen, we are not seeing a very severe profile of disease,” Fauci said during a White House briefing.

“In fact, it might be and I underscore might be, less severe as shown by the ratio of hospitalizations per number of new cases,” Fauci added.

Caveat: He said the low hospitalizations could be influenced by the fact that younger people are the ones getting infected, since they are less likely to be hospitalized.

Fauci, the White House’s chief medical adviser, noted that the virus also appears more transmissible, but offered the same caveat that it’s still early.

“Real-world evidence is accumulating rapidly, literally on a daily basis, to allow us to determine increase in cases, possible increase in reproductive number and the rapid replacement of delta by omicron in certain situations,” he said.

Fauci also said data about the effectiveness of vaccines on the variant could start to be ready by the middle of next week.

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Italy mandates Super Green Pass for access to public venues


Italy has ramped up its COVID-19 measures, banning people without a Super Green Pass from many public activities, starting from Monday through mid-January. The pass confirms proof of vaccination or recovery from the virus within the past six months, and cannot be obtained with only a negative test result like previous passes. The move will bar unvaccinated people from many venues, like theaters, cinemas, music venues, sports events, restaurants and bars. Italy has seen a spike in coronavirus cases since October and is trying to curb the spread of the new omicron variant.

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US INVESTING $315M IN VACCINE DELIVERY

The Biden administration is investing an additional $315 million to help deliver COVID-19 vaccines in low- and middle-income countries as the omicron variant of the coronavirus highlights the need to vaccinate the world.

United States Agency for International Development Administrator Samantha Power made the announcement during a global COVID-19 meeting on Monday, saying the world is at an “inflection point” in the fight against the virus.

The new funds are part of an increased focus on getting shots actually into arms around the world, not just delivering the vaccines themselves, Power said.

“The appeal from our partner nations has expanded,” she said. “They are not just asking for doses; they are urging us to provide support that will allow them to administer those doses.”

The $315 million in new funds will help with cold storage and other logistics, as well as in launching mobile vaccination sites and deploying health workers, USAID said.

Advocates push for more: “After millions of COVID-19 deaths, the United States’ global response to combatting the pandemic has mainly consisted of drips and drabs,” said Steve Knievel, an advocate at the progressive group Public Citizen’s access to medicines program.

“A few hundred million dollars to support global vaccine delivery is welcome, but significantly bolder, urgent action is needed to bring the pandemic under control,” he added.

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WORLD STATS

Coronavirus Cases:

267,480,680

Deaths:

5,289,062

Recovered:

240,942,277
Highlighted in green
= all cases have recovered from the infection
Highlighted in grey
= all cases have had an outcome (there are no active cases)

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Latest News

December 8 (GMT)

Updates

  • 30,752 new cases and 1,179 new deaths in Russia [source]

 

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Brazil’s Rio Cancels New Year Celebration as Pandemic Rages On

SAO PAULO, Dec 4 (Reuters) – The mayor of Rio de Janeiro canceled New Year’s Eve celebrations after Brazil confirmed the first known cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant in Latin America’s biggest country.

Eduardo Paes tweeted on Saturday that he would follow the recommendations of Rio de Janeiro state to cancel the celebrations, despite the city’s own view to the contrary.

“We respect science,” Paes tweeted, saying there are dissenting opinions between scientific committees in the city and the state, but he would rather stick with the most restrictive one. “The city’s committee says it can go ahead and the state’s says no. So it can’t take place. Let’s cancel the official New Year’s Eve celebration in Rio,” the tweet said.

The cancellation of the party, which attracts millions of residents and tourists to the world-famous Copacabana beach to watch the fireworks, does not come as a surprise.

“I am very sad as mayor and personally. The New Year’s Eve celebration in Rio is one of the most incredible and incomparable parties in the world,” Paes told a press conference.

In Brazil, the pandemic has claimed more than 615,000 lives, the second highest total in the world after the United States.

Paes said no additional restrictions would be imposed, stressing that vaccinated tourists are welcome in Rio de Janeiro as the city has recorded a drop in deaths and cases, and a high level of vaccination.

The cancellation was supported by health experts, through a tweet by Rio de Janeiro Governor Claudio Castro after Paes’ announcement left room for a potential reversal.

Castro said Paes and him agreed to hold a meeting next week with state and municipal health authorities “to make a final decision” on the matter.

Reporting by Ana Mano and Rodrigo Viga in Rio de Janeiro; editing by Diane Craft

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