2021-01-11: News Headlines

Peoples Dispatch (2021-01-11). Bloodshed continues in Colombia. peoplesdispatch.org The massacres and assassination of social leaders in Colombia did not end in 2020. The violence and humanitarian crisis continues into 2021. On January 10, human rights organizations denounced that two massacres took place and two social leaders were assassinated. | The first massacre of this year was registered in the Florencia municipality, in the Caquetá department. At around 2 am, two unidentified armed men entered a cockfighting pit in the Tres Esquinas sector and indiscriminately fired at those who were inside the premises. In the incident, three people were killed and seven others were wounded. Two of the…

RT (2021-01-11). Japan notifies WHO of new Covid-19 variant found in travelers arriving from Brazil. rt.com The World Health Organization (WHO) has said it was notified by Japan about the detection of a new Covid-19 variant there, as the government extends the state of emergency declared to control the virus in Tokyo to other areas. | WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday that the Japanese health authorities had informed the UN health agency of the new strain at the weekend, after it was detected in four travelers from Brazil's Amazonas state. | The variant has 12 mutations, one of which has been found in the strains discovered in South Africa and the UK. The Brazilian Health Ministry said t…

teleSUR (2021-01-11). Colombia's Antioquia Department Saw Its First Massacre in 2021. telesurenglish.net Colombia's Police Commander Jorge Cabra reported the first massacre of this year in the Antioquia department where three people were killed on Sunday. | RELATED: | The massacre occurred in Betania and was attributed to the Gulf Clan gang, which is considered by the Peace and Reconciliation Foundation (PRF) as the largest illegal armed group in the country. | Armed men murdered 23-year-old Jonathan Acevedo, his mother Maria Londoño, and his st…

Dustin Noga (2021-01-11). European Union drops fictional claim that Juan Guaidó is president of Venezuela. peoplesworld.org The European Union has de-recognized Juan Guaidó as the "Interim President" of Venezuela as of Wednesday, Jan. 6. The move came after Guaidó lost his position as the head of the Venezuelan National Assembly following the December 2020 parliamentary elections. The European Commission declared that this was the will of all EU governments. Commission spokesman …

teleSUR (2021-01-11). Over 14 Million People to Participate in Chile's Next Elections. telesurenglish.net Chile's Election Service (Servel) Monday reported that over 14 million people have registered to vote in the April 11 election that will decide new subnational authorities and the representatives for the Constitutional Convention. | RELATED: Chile: | Servel officials noted that 49 percent of the voters are men, while 51 percent are women. Likewise, over 1.2 million people represent Indigenous communities. | As of January 6, a total…

Paul Dobson (2021-01-11). Detention of Venezuelan Abortion Activist Prompts Continental Pressure Campaign. venezuelanalysis.com Vannesa Rosales is facing charges for counselling a pregnant 13-year-old rape victim.

teleSUR (2021-01-11). Brazilian Lab to Produce Sputnik V for Sale in Latam. telesurenglish.net The Russian Sputnik V vaccine developers informed that a Brazilian laboratory will launch the drug's production and distribution throughout Latin America as of January 15. | RELATED: | The Brazilian Chemical Union company confirmed the news by announcing that it will produce 8 million doses per month in the first semester of 2021. | "On Monday, a company delegation will travel to Russia to finish validating the manufac…

teleSUR (2021-01-11). Bolivia and Spain Re-Establish Diplomatic Relations. telesurenglish.net Bolivia's President Luis Arce on Monday received the credentials of Spain's Ambassador Francisco Gasso, thus putting an end to diplomatic tensions experienced since the U.S.-backed coup led by Jeanine Añez in 2019. | RELATED: | The appointment of the Spanish ambassador comes after several months without diplomatic relations between both countries as a result of the expulsion of the Charge d'Affaires and Consul officers in De…

teleSUR (2021-01-11). Ford Announces the Closure of Its Factories in Brazil. telesurenglish.net The measure should impact the company about $ 4.1 billion and affect about 5,000 workers, according to Bloomberg. "We know that these actions are very difficult, but necessary, to create a healthy and sustainable business," Ford President Jim Farley was quoted as saying in a company statement. | RELATED: | Production will cease "immediately" at the Camacari and Taubaté plants, although they will continue to supply p…

teleSUR (2021-01-11). Peru: Ex-President Fujimori Sued Over Forced Sterilizations. telesurenglish.net The Peruvian Attorney General's Office on Monday will present charges against former president Alberto Fujimori, his health ministers, and other former officials over the forced sterilizations of thousands of women from 1996 to 2000. | RELATED: | The hearing, which will be presided over by Judge Rafael Martin, will begin at 9h30 local time and will be broadcast on social networks through the Justicia TV account. | The for…

teleSUR (2021-01-11). Venezuela Accuses the US of Backing ExxonMobil in the Essequibo. telesurenglish.net Venezuela's Foreign Affairs Minister Jorge Arreaza on Sunday accused the United States of protecting ExxonMobil in the Essequibo, an area that has been in dispute between his country and Guyana since the 19th century. | RELATED: | "This is how the U.S. confesses its complicit participation in the conspiracy that intends to seize the territory of Guayana Esequiba from Venezuela. It protects the predatory interests of the tran…

Peoples Dispatch (2021-01-10). Communist youth mobilize across Italy demanding safety in schools. peoplesdispatch.org On Thursday, January 7, Communist Youth Front (FGC) organized demonstrations in several cities across Italy demanding safer classrooms. Schools across Italy were supposed to be reopened on that day but the government postponed the reopening to Monday. The FGC organized protests in the cities of Rome, Milan, Naples, Turin, Florence, Perugia, Catania, Padova, Salerno, Taranto, Cosenza, Gorizia and Ascoli. The protesters said that since the beginning of the pandemic, nothing substantial has been done to ensure safety in schools and respect for students' rights during online lessons. | FGC also gave a call for a nati…

RT (2021-01-10). New coronavirus variant with similarities to UK & South Africa strains discovered in Japan. rt.com The Japanese Health Ministry said it has tracked down yet another variant of Covid-19 partly similar to the UK and South Africa strains, which are believed to be more contagious and linked to a spike in infections in Britain. | The mutant strain was found in four people who flew into Japan from Brazil. The passengers tested positive for Covid-19 in airport quarantine, the ministry said. | One of them was a man in his 40s, who showed no symptoms on arrival, but was later hospitalized with breathing difficulties. Another was a woman in her 30s who reported having a headache. A male, aged between 10 and 19, had f…

Amy Booth (2021-01-09). [World Report] Argentina to legalise elective abortion. thelancet.com In a landmark vote for women in the region, Argentina's senate has passed a law allowing abortion in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy. Amy Booth reports from Buenos Aires.

teleSUR (2021-01-08). Bolivia Identifies 7 Suspects Related to Sacaba Massacre. telesurenglish.net Bolivia's Interior Ministry Thursday identified seven alleged perpetrators of the Sacaba massacre that took place in Cochabamba city in 2019. | RELATED: | The suspects must testify before the Public Prosecutor's Office of La Paz for the violent acts that followed the coup against former President Evo Morales. | "We identified the suspects after interviews with the military, police, and civilians involved," prosecutor Nur…

teleSUR (2021-01-08). Peru Identifies the First Case of the New Sars-Cov-2 Mutation. telesurenglish.net Peru's Ministry of Health confirmed on Friday its first case of the new SARS-CoV-2 mutation. The patient, a woman who had not traveled abroad but did receive a relative over Christmas, remains in quarantine at this home. | RELATED: | The scientists have warned that the new mutation has a contagion capacity 70 percent more than the COVID-19. Nonetheless, the authorities remarked that the patient had shown only "mild sympto…

teleSUR (2021-01-08). Hospitals in Ecuador and Peru Collapse Due to Lack of Beds. telesurenglish.net Health authorities in Peru and Ecuador on Thursday reported a surge in demand for Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds at their hospitals, which suggests that both countries are facing a COVID-19 rebound. | RELATED: | "We have started counting them on our fingers," Peru's Health Minister Pilar Mazzetti warned, reporting that a group of experts believe the country is experiencing a second wave of contagion. | Hospitals' situatio…

Ricardo Vaz (2021-01-08). Venezuela Rejects ICJ Ruling, Reaffirms Claim Over Essequibo Strip. venezuelanalysis.com The Maduro government called on the UN Secretary General to mediate the territorial conflict.

teleSUR (2021-01-08). Venezuela Reaffirms Its Sovereign Rights Over the Essequibo. telesurenglish.net Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro Thursday signed a presidential decree setting the country's maritime and territorial borders in order to protect national jurisdiction rights, especially on the disputed Essequibo territory. | RELATED: | He informed that the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was notified about his government rejections over the recent International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling…

teleSUR (2021-01-08). Argentina: Lawyer Asks Release of Dictatorship's Hidden Files. telesurenglish.net Argentina's lawmaker Myriam Bregman asked President Alberto Fernandez"s administration to declassify the dictatorship's secret documents to reveal more people involved in State terrorism. | RELATED: | "The secrets of horror are still hidden. There are military procedures or crimes still unknown, and new names to investigate," Bregman said and recalled that she has been trying to access these documents for years.

teleSUR (2021-01-08). The US and Guyana Begin Joint Maritime Patrol Operations. telesurenglish.net The Guyana Defense Force (GDF) announced that it will participate with the U.S. Coast Guard in a joint maritime patrol operation on Saturday. | RELATED: | "This exercise will take place off the coast of Guyana and will focus mainly on illegal and unregulated fishing," GDF said, adding that the U.S. Coast Guard vessel Cutter Stone has already arrived in the region. | These patrol exercises result from the "Shiprider Agr…