News of world

Brazil again pushes for loosening of Mercosur trade deal rules

Yesterdat 08:21 Bolsonaro set to visit Buenos Aires for trade bloc’s next summit; Brazilian foreign minister accuses ‘interest groups’ using the environment as ‘pretext’ to block ratification of EU-Mercosur deal.

The Internet is at its most basic element a human network, maintained by machines but structured and utilised by and for humans.

SEARCH FOR A DIGITAL MANIFESTO

News in the age of the Internet

Yesterdat 07:51 At stake is the health of our information ecosystem, and therefore the robustness of democracy. This is the time for everyone with a vested interest in a strong field of journalistic production to act.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

US pharma giant accused of “bullying” Latin American governments in Covid vaccine negotiations, even asking Argentina and Brazil to put up sovereign assets as guarantees against any future legal costs.

CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

‘Held to ransom’: Pfizer demands governments gamble with state assets to secure vaccine deal

Yesterdat 07:41 US pharma giant accused of “bullying” Latin American governments in Covid vaccine negotiations, even asking Argentina and Brazil to put up sovereign assets as guarantees against any future legal costs.

by MADLEN DAVIES, IVÁN RUIZ, JILL LANGOIS & ROSA FURNEAUX, The Bureau of Investigative Journalism

A health worker holds a box with five doses of the Sputnik V vaccine against Covid-19, before vaccination health and education workers in a school in Bernal on February 18, 2021.

Coronavirus vaccines

Laboratory agrees deal to produce Sputnik V vaccine in Argentina

26-02-2021 14:08 Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine to be produced and manufactured in Argentina by local firm Laboratorios Richmond.

US President Joe Biden boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on February 26, 2021. President Biden travels to Texas to visit a food bank and emergency operations center after a winter storm left millions without electricity and clean water for days.US President Joe Biden boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on February 26, 2021. President Biden travels to Texas to visit a food bank and emergency operations center after a winter storm left millions without electricity and clean water for days.

AIRSTRIKES IN SYRIA

Biden launches first military action, striking Syria militias

26-02-2021 13:22 US carried out airstrikes in eastern Syria on sites connected to Iranian-backed groups believed to be involved in recent attacks in Iraq, first overt use of military force under President Joe Biden.

Officials applaud after the arrival of an Aerolíneas Argentinas plane carrying more than 900,000 doses of the Chinese laboratory Sinopharm's coronavirus vaccine, at Ezeiza international airport.

Coronavirus pandemic

Shipment of 900,000 Sinopharm vaccine doses arrives in Argentina

26-02-2021 01:35 Cabinet Chief Santiago Cafiero, Health Minister Carla Vizzotti, Foreign Minister Felipe Solá and China's Ambassador to Argentina Zou Xiaol were on runway to witness vaccine flight’s arrival.

Israel recently took a step towards normalcy, re-opening a raft of businesses and services from pandemic lockdowns, but with some only available to fully vaccinated

Global Pandemic

Ticket to ride: Vaccine passports divide world

25-02-2021 15:27 Vaccine passports: the new normal or drivers of inequality? While some countries and private sector entities believe they could be a ticket to return to pre-pandemic activities, others claim they could be divisive and discriminatory.

Handout photo released by the Venezuelan Presidency showing President Nicolás Maduro, during a televised announcement in Caracas, on November 8, 2020.

CRISIS IN VENEZUELA

Venezuela expels EU ambassador over fresh sanctions

24-02-2021 16:38 Venezuela on Wednesday expelled the European Union's ambassador to Caracas in response to new sanctions, giving the Portuguese envoy 72 hours to leave the country and raising the bloc's renewed ire.

'BOMBA ARGENTINA'

Report: 'Argentine Firecracker' Fanne Foxe dead at 84

24-02-2021 16:35 Fanne Foxe, an exotic dancer known as the "Argentine Firecracker" who was at the centre of one of the US capital's most notorious sex scandals, has died aged 84.

In 100 economies worldwide, there are no laws mandating that men and women receive equal pay for the same job.

Bloomberg

World Bank: Women on average have just 76% of men’s legal rights worldwide

24-02-2021 09:00 World Bank warns coronavirus pandemic is reinforcing gender inequality in many countries, with women on average having roughly three-quarters of the legal rights of men.

Syrian defendant Eyad al-Gharib, accused of crimes against humanity in the first trial of its kind to emerge from the Syrian conflict, hides his face as he arrives to hear the verdict in the court room on February 24, 2021 in Koblenz, western Germany.

HUMAN RIGHTS

Germany convicts Syrian in landmark torture trial

24-02-2021 08:52 German court convicts former Syrian intelligence service agent for complicity in crimes against humanity, in the first court case worldwide over state-sponsored torture by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government.

Sports journalists Andrea Guerrero from Colombia and Juan José Buscaglia from Argentina present the draw of the Copa América 2020 football tournament at the Convention Centre in Cartagena, Colombia, on December 3, 2019. The Copa América 2020 football tournament will be hosted jointly by Argentina and Colombia next year, from June 12 to July 12. Asian champions Qatar and previous winner Australia will participate as invited guest teams.

International football

Australia, Qatar pull out of 2021 Copa América

23-02-2021 21:01 Australia and Qatar have pulled out of the 2021 Copa América starting in June, South American football's governing body CONMEBOL confirms.

A paramedic displays a vial of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine before being administered at the Qalandia checkpoint on the crossing between the West Bank city of Ramallah and Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, on February 23, 2021.

Global pandemic

Waiving IP rights will not boost vaccine production, says pharma group

23-02-2021 15:00 Exempting Covid-19 vaccines from intellectual property rights will not speed up production or distribution of the jabs, a pharmaceutical industry association argued Tuesday.

Delays in deliveries have sent countries that relied heavily on particular vaccines, such as Mexico and Colombia, running to ink last-minute contracts with competitors. Argentina is trying to produce more locally.

Global pandemic

Vaccine delays threaten economies hardest hit by pandemic

23-02-2021 12:24 Latin America and the Caribbean, the region where the coronavirus caused the worst economic destruction and more than a quarter of the world’s deaths, is now falling victim to a slow inoculation campaign.

A nurse prepares a dose of the vaccine developed by Sinopharm of China against Covid-19 during a health workers vaccination campaign amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, in Ate, a district in Lima, on February 19, 2021.

COVID-19 VACCINES

Vizzotti: 1 million doses of Sinopharm vaccine due ‘in next few days’

22-02-2021 21:39 Argentina hopes to receive one million doses of China’s Sinopharm vaccine against Covid-19 "in the next few days," Health Minister Carla Vizzotti said Monday.

Global pandemic

All over by summer? UK eyes return to normal by end of June

22-02-2021 13:50 British PM Boris Johnson outlines a "gradual and cautious" approach to lifting curbs in England, starting with the return of students to schools from March 8, and non-essential retail from April 12.

GLOBAL PANDEMIC

Wealthy nations up Covax funding amid ‘vaccine hoarding’ claims

20-02-2021 05:54 G7 commits 7.5 billion euros to Covax scheme, just two days after UN warned of global vaccine equities.

View of a vial of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19.

COVID-19 VACCINES

BioNTech-Pfizer say vaccine can stand warmer temperatures

19-02-2021 14:32 Tests on BioNTech-Pfizer shot have shown that the vaccine can stand warmer temperatures than initially thought, potentially simplifying the jab's cold-chain logistics.

A smartphone displays route information from the App for ride-sharing cab service Uber in London.

APPS & WORK

UK top court shakes up gig economy with ruling against Uber

19-02-2021 14:19 UK's Supreme Court rules Uber drivers are entitled to breaks, holiday pay and minimum wage, in what has been described as "another nail in the coffin" for the gig economy.

Protesters march with a picture of Spanish rapper Pablo Hasel reading

EUROPEAN POLITICS

Strains test Spain's leftist coalition government

19-02-2021 13:53 Tensions once again surface between Socialists and Podemos, sparked by protests against the arrest of famous rapper Pablo Hasel for controversial tweets.

Antarctica, Earth's southernmost continent.

ENVIRONMENT

Scientists reveal impact of climate change on Antarctic phytoplankton

18-02-2021 23:52 Argentine scientists reveal that rising temperatures and diminished salinity have altered phytoplankton in the Antarctic.

NUCLEAR DEAL

US says it’s willing to meet with Iran to restore nuclear deal

18-02-2021 23:34 Joe Biden's administration offers to attend talks with Iran led by European allies, reverses two largely symbolic steps against Tehran imposed by Donald Trump.

This photo shows the first images from NASA’s Perseverance rover as it landed on the surface of Mars on February 18, 2021.

LIFE ON MARS?

Touchdown: NASA's Perseverance rover ready to search for life on Mars

18-02-2021 23:22 After seven months in space, NASA's Perseverance rover lands on Mars, ready to embark on its mission to search for signs of past life.

India's Ambassador in Argentina Dinesh Bhatia (left) stands next to Health minister Ginés González García as he speaks after the arrival of doses of Covishield, the Indian-made Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine against Covid-19, at Ezeiza International Airport, on February 17, 2021.

Covid-19 vaccine

Shipment of 580,000 vaccine doses arrives from India

17-02-2021 15:26 A shipment of 580,000 Covid-19 vaccines from India's Serum Institute arrives in Argentina to bolster government's immunisation campaign.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu gives a elbow bump to the 4,000,000th person to be vaccinated at Leumit Health Care Services vaccination facility in Jerusalem on February 16, 2021.

Global pandemic

Israel's 'green badge' plan to open services to vaccinated stirs concern

17-02-2021 14:36 Israel unveils "green badge" plan to re-open services to those fully inoculated, stirring controversy about unequal access for those who opt out of the jabs.

A worker moves a shipping container carrying doses of Covishield, the Indian-made Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine against Covid-19, at Ezeiza International Airport in Buenos Aires, on February 17, 2021.

Coronavirus pandemic

Covid-19 shots on the market or in development

17-02-2021 13:56 With several Covid-19 vaccines either being rolled out or under trial, here is a rundown of the various stages of their development.

The United Nations on February 17, 2021 led calls for a coordinated global effort to vaccinate against Covid-19, warning that gaping inequities in initial efforts put the whole planet at risk.

Global pandemic

UN urges global Covid vaccine plan, warns of dangerous inequity

17-02-2021 13:42 Secretary-General António Guterres sounds alarm that just 10 nations have administered 75% of Covid-19 vaccine doses so far – and 130 countries have had none at all.

Director General of IAEA Rafael Grossi sits for an interview with AP

IRAN NUCLEAR DISPUTE

UN nuclear watchdog proposes Iran visit as deadline looms

16-02-2021 18:18 IAEA chief Rafael Grossi offers to visit Iran to find a solution to a looming stand-off over inspections agreed under the 2015 nuclear deal.

A video billboard calling for the conviction of former US president Donald Trump plays near the US Capitol, on the fourth day of Trump's second impeachment trial in Washington DC.

UNITED STATES

Trump lawyers demand acquittal in impeachment trial

13-02-2021 09:43 Democratic impeachment managers rested their case Thursday after two days of hearings. Trump's lawyers wrapped up their case after just three hours.

Covid-19 vaccine

Argentina approves Indian Covishield coronavirus vaccine

10-02-2021 10:46 Argentina announces it has approved the emergency use of the Indian-made Covishield jab, as Peru begins vaccination programme.

Argentine-born banker

JP Morgan's Aguzin named Hong Kong stock exchange's CEO

09-02-2021 16:54 Argentine-born banker Nicolás Aguzin appointed Hong Kong Stock Exchange's new chief executive, at a time when Beijing is clashing with Western powers over its campaign to stamp out dissent in the financial hub.

CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

Alberto Fernández and Vladimir Putin share call

06-02-2021 10:16 President Alberto Fernández spoke Tuesday with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, with the latter saying that production of the Sputnik V vaccine had been stepped up in order to meet Argentina’s requirements.

President Alberto Fernandez talking to President Macron.

DIPLOMACY

Fernández, Macron on same page regarding Covid-19 vaccines

06-02-2021 10:12 Argentine and French leaders call for Covid-19 vaccines to be treated as ‘universal good,’ free from intellectual property restrictions.

President Alberto Fernández meets with new Ambassador to Russia Eduardo Zuain on Thursday, three days after the new envoy’s appointment.

DIPLOMACY

Envoy: Argentina to develop ‘strategic coordination’ with Russia

06-02-2021 10:08 Eduardo Zuain, deputy foreign minister during Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s second term in power, eyes closer ties between two nations.

CORONAVIRUS VACCINE

Sputnik V: a scientific and political win for Russia

06-02-2021 10:02 First greeted with scepticism, experts have since been convinced of the effectiveness of Russia’s coronavirus vaccine, securing a major political victory for Vladimir Putin.

PRESS FREEDOM

Russian media denounce police crackdown, jailing of editor

06-02-2021 09:56 Sergei Smirnov, chief editor of Mediazona, ordered to serve 25 days in jail for retweeting a joke that included the time of a protest rally; Russian newspapers denounce police crackdown.

‘ISABELITA’ TURNS 90

‘Isabelita’ Perón turns 90, ostracised in Madrid

06-02-2021 09:46 Former president, who lead nation for less than 21 months, has 90th birthday in Madrid, where she has lived for the last four decades.

PROFILE

Alexei Navalny: Putin’s most prominent critic

06-02-2021 08:49 Poisoned and now imprisoned, 44-year-old Yale-educated anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny is the biggest thorn in Russian president’s side.

RUSSIA

‘Low point’ – Russia expels EU envoys over Navalny protests

06-02-2021 08:43 Ties between EU and Moscow plunge to new ‘low point’ as Russia expels three European diplomats over protests led by Kremlin and Putin critic Alexey Navalny.

A woman being vaccinated at a health center.

CORONAVIRUS VACCINE

Local labs in talks to produce Sputnik V vaccine

06-02-2021 08:24 Government’s decision to go all-in on Russia's Sputnik V vaccine pays off, as analysis published in 'The Lancet' concludes jab is 91.6% effective.

EU-MERCOSUR DEAL

France says won't ratify Mercosur trade deal in 'current form'

04-02-2021 17:01 France says it will not ratify trade deal between the European Union and the Mercosur bloc "in its current form."

CRISIS IN VENEZUELA

Biden team sees no contact 'anytime soon' with Venezuela's Maduro

03-02-2021 23:32 United States says it had no plans to open direct contacts with Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro, who has called for improved relations after Donald Trump's exit from the White House.

The unfinished Trump Tower Punta del Este in Uruguay.

BLOOMBERG

Trump tower in Uruguay tests tarnished brand's foreign appeal

03-02-2021 17:38 The gilded Trump name may no longer sell New York real estate. But, 5,000 miles away in Punta del Este, investors are raising millions in a bet that the former US president’s brand retains its international cachet.

British Ambassador Mark Kent hosts a group of Harry Potter fans at the British Embassy last year.

UK IN ARGENTINA

British Embassy takes annual Harry Potter Book Night online

03-02-2021 09:33 The British Embassy in Argentina is taking this year's incarnation of their popular annual Harry Potter Book Night online, with a live stream on YouTube at 7.30pm this Thursday.

In this file photo taken on April 16, 2020, British World War II veteran Captain Tom Moore poses doing a lap of his garden in the village of Marston Moretaine, 50 miles north of London, on April 16, 2020.

UNITED KINGDOM

Tributes paid after death of British lockdown hero 'Captain Tom'

02-02-2021 17:32 Tributes flooded in from across Britain and beyond on Tuesday following the death of Captain Sir Tom Moore, the 100-year-old military veteran who won hearts with his fundraising during the pandemic.

Picture of vials of the Sputnik V vaccine seen at the Centenario Hospital in Rosario, Santa Fe Province.

Coronavirus vaccine

Russia's Sputnik V vaccine 91.6% effective, says new study

02-02-2021 09:38 Russia's Sputnik V vaccine is 91.6 percent effective against symptomatic Covid-19, according to a new analysis published in The Lancet on Tuesday.

Biodiversity

Economic growth has 'devastating cost to nature', review finds

02-02-2021 09:17 Humanity's unbridled growth in recent decades has come at a "devastating cost to nature" according a wide-ranging international review on the vital economic role played by our living planet.

A health worker shows a vial of the Sputnik V vaccine at the Centenario Hospital in Rosario, Santa Fe Province,

Coronavirus vaccine

Argentina seeking agreement with Russia to produce Sputnik V vaccine

01-02-2021 23:21 Newly appointed ambassador to Russia, Eduardo Zuain, says government is seeking a deal with Russia to manufacture Sputnik V vaccine in Argentina.

Passengers of regular flights arrive at Ezeiza airport on March 17, 2020.

Coronavirus pandemic

Government extends border closures until end of February

01-02-2021 23:04 Argentina’s government has extended the closure of its borders, extending a decree that prohibits non-resident foreigners from entering the country until the end of this month without special dispensation.

This picture obtained from the Twitter account @VegasBoyAHM shows people lined up at an ATM outside a closed branch of KBZ Bank in Yangon on February 1, 2021, following the military's move to detain the country's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the country's president in a coup.

MILITARY COUP IN MYANMAR

Anger and confusion in Myanmar as coup sweeps away democratic hopes

01-02-2021 17:45 A putsch had been expected for days, yet when it came it left Myanmar stunned.

Soldiers stand guard on a blockaded road to Myanmar's parliament in Naypyidaw on February 1, 2021, after the military detained the country's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the country's president in a coup.

MILITARY COUP IN MYANMAR

Myanmar's military stages coup, detains Aung San Suu Kyi

01-02-2021 16:59 Myanmar's military seizes power in a bloodless coup, detaining democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and imposing a one-year state of emergency.

People walk next to the Sule Pagoda on an empty road in central Yangon on February 1, 2021, as Myanmar's military detained the country's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the country's president in a coup.

MILITARY COUP IN MYANMAR

Myanmar: Diverse nation dominated by long arm of military rule

01-02-2021 16:58 After only a decade of civilian rule, Myanmar's junta have grabbed power again, arresting elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi Monday after alleging fraud in her party's landslide election win in November.

GLOBAL PANDEMIC

UK faces up to painful lessons after 100,000 Covid deaths

30-01-2021 09:20 Britain this week became the first European country to pass 100,000 Covid deaths, in a grim milestone nearly one year since its first case of the disease.

The agreements, alliances and networks woven by cities in recent years provide Biden with a platform to revitalise US global relationships.

GUEST VOICE

Cities, central to Biden’s agenda

30-01-2021 09:15 The agreements, alliances and networks woven by cities in recent years provide Biden with a platform to revitalise US global relationships.

by Fernando Straface

UNITED STATES

Biden talks the talk – but can he deliver?

30-01-2021 09:10 What will happen when US president’s slickly run messaging operation hits harsh reality?

PRAISE AT DAVOS

Oxfam hails Argentina’s ‘wealth tax’ as law takes effect

30-01-2021 08:21 Charity calls on other nation states to raise taxes on their richest citizens, citing government’s new law as an example.

ECONOMIC FORECAST

IMF cuts Argentina’s 2021 growth estimate to 4.5%

30-01-2021 08:16 Fund predicts strong economic rebound across the globe, but trims forecast for local economy by 0.4%.

CLIMATE CHANGE

Teenagers are the most convinced there’s a climate emergency

29-01-2021 12:17 Teenagers in some of the world’s top polluting nations are the strongest believers that global warming is an emergency, according to the largest-ever climate opinion poll.

Aerolineas Argentinas aeroplane at an airport apron.

Coronavirus Pandemic

Argentina to reduce flights to and from Brazil, Mexico, Europe, US

27-01-2021 14:57 National aviation officials instruct airlines to reduce number of flights to Brazil, Mexico, the US and a handful European countries by between 30% and 50%.

Coronavirus vaccine

Government: Delivery of Russian vaccine to Argentina delayed

26-01-2021 17:56 The scheduled delivery to Argentina this week of doses of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine has been delayed indefinitely, a government source said Tuesday.

Economic forecasts

IMF boosts world growth outlook as vaccines outweigh risks

26-01-2021 12:32 IMF improves forecast for global growth this year to 5.5%, betting the rollout of coronavirus vaccines and more fiscal stimulus will offset the immediate challenge posed by the resurgent pandemic.

Newspaper layout designers work in the newsroom of the El Universal newspaper in Mexico City, on January 11, 2021.

MEDIA

Latin American newspapers bet on digital subscriptions

26-01-2021 08:52 Latin America's newspapers, affected financially by the migration of readers to the Internet, are betting on subscription modes to secure their future.

The freezing of electricity costs by the Fernández administration may harm clean energy growth.

BLOOMBERG

World's first wind tax leaves green developers scratching heads

25-01-2021 07:23 Puerto Madryn wants to tax the megawatts of energy sold by wind farms, drawning scorn from clean-energy companies, who say the move threatens climate-change goals.

Health care workers tend to a Covid-19 patient in a Covid-19 holding pod at Providence St Mary Medical Center in Apple Valley, California.

UNITED STATES

New US president gets to work rolling back Trump-era policies

23-01-2021 09:54 Biden issues flurry of executive orders, warns that Covid-19 is expected to kill "well over 600,000" in the United States.

BLOOMBERG

Professionalism returns to the White House with Biden

23-01-2021 09:43 Policy expertise and political savvy are already on display. That’s a welcome contrast to Trump, but no guarantee of success.

Former President Trump writing a letter to Joe Biden.

BIDEN INAUGURATION

Biden says Trump wrote him 'very generous letter'

23-01-2021 09:37 US President Joe Biden said Wednesday that Donald Trump had left him a "very generous" letter in the Oval Office, in keeping with tradition.

BIDEN INAUGURATION

Biden, facing historic challenges, vows to end ‘uncivil war’

23-01-2021 09:32 Trump era finally draws to close as Joseph Biden is sworn-in as 46th president of United States, two weeks after deadly attack on US Capitol.

UNIQUE HANDOVER IN WASHINGTON

Insurrection, impeachment, infamy, inauguration

23-01-2021 09:11 On a strange, security-heavy inauguration day in Washington, Joe Biden vows to unite a country in the face a series of unprecedented crises.

by Julia Logue

Former President Trump getting on Air Force One.

UNITED STATES

Trump impeachment heads to Senate Monday, triggering trial

23-01-2021 09:03 Article of impeachment against former President Donald Trump will be delivered to the Senate on Monday, triggering the start of his unprecedented second trial in the chamber.

President Biden and Vice President Harris.

US-LATIN AMERICAN RELATIONS

Biden to adopt ‘dramatically different’ approach to Latin America

23-01-2021 08:57 With President Joe Biden now in the White House, three respected experts offer their opinions on what lies ahead for US-Latin American relations over the next four years.

by Jennifer Heiman