tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23435602652449714282024-03-12T17:27:18.451-07:00Cempaka South AmericaGeneral news or articles related to South America,Central America & CaribbeanUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1894125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343560265244971428.post-51184040825923102852023-02-16T12:41:00.001-08:002023-02-16T12:41:03.301-08:00Passports and war driving pregnant Russians to give birth in Argentina<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://uk.news.yahoo.com/passports-war-driving-pregnant-russians-150720773.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, Philippe BERNES-LASSERRE, 16 February
2023</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxk36gEh9LjxNkBuxcw8L69nSdJciD2UBTAS89KpA2JM5Y1FY8dm9WZpoCBo9pV4Jg8D_-8x5K88ItuJSl-MMfZhGuo0yZiss4aQVxt2ua52_QQrymGv9xTCMgWRjcc3g47lcmPWhmvV6NduxcB0LHPmgOm_VWBogDzVZTRM9Qxr_1d_qrXZH5k6Vn/s768/d269b044bc9934dcb3a0be4db8b61377.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxk36gEh9LjxNkBuxcw8L69nSdJciD2UBTAS89KpA2JM5Y1FY8dm9WZpoCBo9pV4Jg8D_-8x5K88ItuJSl-MMfZhGuo0yZiss4aQVxt2ua52_QQrymGv9xTCMgWRjcc3g47lcmPWhmvV6NduxcB0LHPmgOm_VWBogDzVZTRM9Qxr_1d_qrXZH5k6Vn/w400-h266/d269b044bc9934dcb3a0be4db8b61377.webp" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">When migration officials detained six pregnant Russian
women at a Buenos Aires airport last week, they exposed a phenomenon that has
been growing in the country for a year: Russian birthing tourism.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">As Russia's President Vladimir Putin wages war in
Ukraine, Argentina has gradually become the destination of choice for Russian
expectant parents fleeing the threat of conscription and seeking new passports
in the South American country.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Pregnant Russian women and couples with a newborn baby
have become increasingly visible in Buenos Aires over the last year, whether in
cafes, parks, or buses, but especially in private clinics.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The case of the six detained women sent alarm bells
ringing at the Directorate of Migrations, worried that something underhand was
afoot.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The six heavily-pregnant women -- who traveled
separately and were detained for only a few hours over two days -- had tourist
visas but no return tickets and were unable to give any details about what they
planned to visit.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Authorities were worried criminal gangs were involved
but in truth, the Russians just wanted to give birth in the country.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Argentina's quality medical facilities and the ease
with which nationality is obtained are part of the draw.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">'I want my son to live'</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">But many are driven by fear that one day their
children could be conscripted into the army and sent to wage a bloody war, like
Putin is doing in Ukraine with the current generation.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">"Some 90 percent of the women who come are
looking for a better future," interpreter Elena Shkitenkova, who has lived
in Argentina for 20 years and helps expectant mothers in their administrative
processes, told AFP.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">"There have been cases of women that when they
have discovered they are expecting a boy, they decided to come to
Argentina."</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The South American country bestows nationality on
anyone born in Argentina, meaning those Russian boys born here would be able to
avoid any eventual conscription when they become men.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">"They tell me: 'I want my son to live, I want peace
for my son, I want a better future'," added Shkitenkova.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The parents too are desperate to escape the war.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">"The war in Ukraine influenced our decision to
come to Argentina, although that was not the only reason," Elena, 32, a
mother of three girls who did not give her surname, told AFP.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">"It is certain that if we had stayed in Russia,
my husband probably would have been conscripted," she added.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The parents of Argentine babies are afforded residency
rights and an accelerated process to apply for citizenship.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Elena's youngest daughter, Severina, was born in
Buenos Aires in May.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">"We want to stay here and assimilate. Our
residency application is in progress," she said.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">At the Sanatorio Finochietto clinic, there is a
noticeable presence of Russian families and pregnant women.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Guillermo Capuya, who is in charge of the clinic's
institutional relations, says the arrival of pregnant Russians "began very
slowly" about a year ago, around the start of Russia's invasion of
Ukraine.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">"We did not imagine it would become a phenomenon,
but in the last quarter it started to increase exponentially" to the point
that in December a quarter of the 200 births in the clinic were to Russian
mothers.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">'It's an avalanche'</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Most of the Russians do not speak Spanish and almost
none have ever visited Argentina before.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">But what is happening now "is an avalanche,"
said Florencia Carignano, the migration agency director.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">They mostly arrive on flights from Amsterdam, Istanbul
and Addis Ababa.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Carignano says there are 14 or 15 pregnant Russians on
each of those flights.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">More than 5,800 have arrived in the last three months.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">There is nothing new about Russians seeking dual
nationality for their children, a man who created an agency to help expectant
parents in Argentina told AFP under condition of anonymity.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Before, the preferred destination was the United
States.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The "package" deal for giving birth in
Argentina can cost up to $15,000, he said.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">"If you have a bit of money and are able to have
your child born outside Russia, you will do it. It's easy to acquire Argentine
citizenship and you get treated a lot better than with the red Russian
passport," he said.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">According to the federal police, some networks charge
up to $35,000 for birthing tourism.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Authorities are worried mafia organizations could be
trying to get access to Argentine passports.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Police conducted a raid in Buenos Aires last week,
seizing telephones, documents and several currencies, although no arrests were
made.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The Argentine passport allows you to travel to 175
countries without a visa, around 50 more than with a Russian passport.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343560265244971428.post-26333192591685735452022-09-26T11:56:00.003-07:002022-09-26T11:56:31.756-07:00Cuban voters back liberalized family code<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/cuban-voters-back-liberalized-family-123041228.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, September 26, 2022</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyVqUBu68vU1nbEbsIH_t96cYS4amw1v0wvYNGPP6P6WBUgGjfxHOKEJeS4BGbwkzY04gqS6s4RVQkeLIslL_C4lGVMbwnbELQyf-yci_KTXirdYaAxJq2XkdyxY9mom1HauDZcy8dDNglu0JJvaHAnhuqEOGWR7ilMoHADw3-FAE4DKBQP3w4IBQk/s705/a950882c5e08fd7f9cbf419acb88113a.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="705" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyVqUBu68vU1nbEbsIH_t96cYS4amw1v0wvYNGPP6P6WBUgGjfxHOKEJeS4BGbwkzY04gqS6s4RVQkeLIslL_C4lGVMbwnbELQyf-yci_KTXirdYaAxJq2XkdyxY9mom1HauDZcy8dDNglu0JJvaHAnhuqEOGWR7ilMoHADw3-FAE4DKBQP3w4IBQk/w400-h266/a950882c5e08fd7f9cbf419acb88113a.webp" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Cubans voted to legalize same-sex marriage and
adoption as well as surrogate pregnancies in a referendum over the weekend, the
communist country's electoral officials said Monday.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Preliminary results indicate an "irreversible
trend," with 66 percent of votes counted so far in favor of the
government-backed change, electoral council president Alina Balseiro said on
state television.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"The Family Code has been ratified by the
people," she said.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The updated code represents a major shift in a country
where machismo is strong and where the authorities sent LGBTQ people to
militarized labor camps in the 1960s and 1970s.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Official attitudes have since evolved, and the
government conducted an intense media campaign in favor of the overhaul, which
will replace the country's 1975 Family Code.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The new code permits surrogate pregnancies, as long as
no money changes hands, while boosting the rights of children, the elderly and
the disabled.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">It defines marriage as the union between two people,
rather than that of a man and a woman.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">According to the National Electoral Council, about 68
percent of Cuba's 8.4 million eligible voters had cast a ballot by 5:00 pm
(2100 GMT) Sunday night.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The law required 50 percent voter approval to be
adopted.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The referendum came amid the country's worst economic
crisis in 30 years and some predicted the vote could provide an opportunity to
voice opposition to the government, with dissidents calling on citizens to
reject the code or to abstain.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343560265244971428.post-71694371151788591352022-08-10T13:23:00.004-07:002022-08-10T13:25:15.148-07:00Tourists return but Easter Islanders draw lessons from Covid isolation<p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="font-family: arial;"><a href="https://today.rtl.lu/news/science-and-environment/a/1951902.html" target="_blank">RTL – AFP</a>, 10 August 2022</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQXK8FzmkACgi3xTXKZehaq6-fN7MWtHkaUXcPrqqLRoSLKzw_zoySMv4RtYq6qQbKoWji3TCyGgqz0ODq85UuV6w_ncIioqnqVffERZ9UQMZ5gPYN2KZqvy71QjREE02ME16P6kdjq_RMjeRmy6ElzVsWYOsWpMw5j33ZzCaYqadEheRzSpQzKCYm/s768/d36acb776b61def0b0a7ced68f201caf.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQXK8FzmkACgi3xTXKZehaq6-fN7MWtHkaUXcPrqqLRoSLKzw_zoySMv4RtYq6qQbKoWji3TCyGgqz0ODq85UuV6w_ncIioqnqVffERZ9UQMZ5gPYN2KZqvy71QjREE02ME16P6kdjq_RMjeRmy6ElzVsWYOsWpMw5j33ZzCaYqadEheRzSpQzKCYm/w400-h266/d36acb776b61def0b0a7ced68f201caf.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">E<span style="font-size: x-small;">aster Island's giant human moai statues were carved by the indigneous <br />Rapa Nui people some time between 1200 and 1500 AD / © AFP</span></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">During more than two years of the coronavirus
pandemic, Easter Island was closed to tourism -- forcing inhabitants to turn to
a more sustainable way of life and relearn forgotten skills.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Now that the island's borders are open once again,
local people, including the Rapa Nui indigenous population, want to resist the
temptation to return to their pre-pandemic lifestyle.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"The time has come that the ancients
predicted," Julio Hotus, a member of the Easter Island council of elders,
told AFP.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Hotus said the Rapa Nui people's ancestors had warned
about the importance of maintaining food independence because of the risk the
island faced of one day becoming isolated, but that recent generations had
ignored the warnings.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Before the pandemic, the island's food supply was
almost exclusively provided by Chile.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Easter Island lies 3,500 kilometers (2,100 miles) off
the west coast of Chile and is world renown for its monumental statues of human
figures with giant heads, called moai.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">With a population of just 8,000, it used to attract
160,000 tourists a year -- "an avalanche" according to Hotus -- but
in March 2020 Easter Island closed its borders over Covid.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><b>No tourists, no income</b></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Olga Ickapakarati used to sell small stone moai
figurines to tourists but once she was left without an income, she turned to
agriculture and fishing to survive, just as her ancestors had lived before
contact with European explorers.</span><span style="font-family: arial; text-align: center;"> </span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUcTD2ox5Ldj4LU1hyKLT1IDAqUvsYE0_vONFcF-MjK9qvNJ88-AO4BqdMspHJVna9T0-Hm6JFvihLGIjkgvVkOWZbghsf5LEvZ8RlDya63EtZJMV_5-YWhBrFpR5IuQ6x5mjkQURUOUKxgTXis81SRY3ItNgYmLzzhkJ7s-Ux4vzK9sBGqWQHnqhL/s768/1761985f244e436c1ecf1e3a3c5b4de7.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUcTD2ox5Ldj4LU1hyKLT1IDAqUvsYE0_vONFcF-MjK9qvNJ88-AO4BqdMspHJVna9T0-Hm6JFvihLGIjkgvVkOWZbghsf5LEvZ8RlDya63EtZJMV_5-YWhBrFpR5IuQ6x5mjkQURUOUKxgTXis81SRY3ItNgYmLzzhkJ7s-Ux4vzK9sBGqWQHnqhL/w400-h266/1761985f244e436c1ecf1e3a3c5b4de7.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Easter Islanders pay their respects to the Mother Earth outside the island's <br />airport ahead of the arrival of the first tourists in 28 months / © AFP</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">"We were all left with nothing, we were left in
the wind .... but we began planting," Ickapakarati told AFP.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">She took advantage of a program that delivered seeds
before the island was shut off from the outside world.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Ickapakarati planted spinach, beets, cilantro, chard,
celery, basil, pineapple, oregano and tomatoes.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">What she didn't eat, she shared with neighbors, just
as many families did in creating an island-wide support network.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"All the islanders are like this. They have good
hearts. If I see that I have a surplus of something, I give it to another
family," said Ickapakarati, who lives with her children and grandchildren.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">This new focus on sustainable living does not mean an
end to tourism on Easter Island.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Last week, the first airplane of tourists for 28
months landed on the island, to much excitement from the locals desperate to
see new faces.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">But there will be no immediate return to the two
flights a day of yesteryear. There will be just two a week for now, although
the number will gradually increase.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Large hotel chains have decided to stay closed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif">"We will continue with tourists, but I hope that
the pandemic has taught a lesson that we can apply for the future," said
Hotus.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">'Archeological heritage at risk'</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Another thing the pandemic did was to create awareness
of the necessity to look after natural resources affected by climate change,
such as water and energy. And also the emblematic moais.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-align: center;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixhS4jxfg7NJs1nUoULC0-v94KqWk1ghwpFfHAvQP2yUkAPfygd77OsZE2a1N1yCH1jHVwQTXds54XFHEH_drm3enHXnT4oGrfwQSCNfVE5CQEWHqzKU6gHQOfrv6QnytThIuzt9jGZRFeMDs4Yq-_lXn3dUFYYGmZ-r8NOJgVY68skB0SK8_wFJsf/s768/c62e2cecff29b77268652f80fe932e65.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="768" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixhS4jxfg7NJs1nUoULC0-v94KqWk1ghwpFfHAvQP2yUkAPfygd77OsZE2a1N1yCH1jHVwQTXds54XFHEH_drm3enHXnT4oGrfwQSCNfVE5CQEWHqzKU6gHQOfrv6QnytThIuzt9jGZRFeMDs4Yq-_lXn3dUFYYGmZ-r8NOJgVY68skB0SK8_wFJsf/w400-h225/c62e2cecff29b77268652f80fe932e65.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Local Easter Island inhabitants like Olga Ickapakarati took to growing their own<br /> food during the pandemic as their tourism based income disappeared due to <br />the islands' borders being closed / © AFP</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">Carved from volcanic rock by the Polynesian Rapa Nui
people between 1200 and 1500, there are more than 900 on the island, which
measures 24 kilometers by 12 kilometers.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The statues can measure up to 20 meters in height and
weigh more than 80 tons.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Most remain at the quarry where they were originally
carved but many others were carted to coastal areas to look inland, presumably
for ceremonial purposes.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The moais have been damaged by heavy rainfall, strong
winds and the ocean waves crashing against the statues and their bases, leading
to fears for their future.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"Climate change, with its extreme events, is
putting our archeological heritage at risk," said Vairoa Ika, the local
environment director.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"The stone is degrading" and needs to be
protected.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"The problem with the moais is that they are very
fragile," added Pedro Edmunds Paoa, the island's mayor, who says the
statues' worth is "incalculable."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Hv2Q6w26jM5nLNUpCO8U523o2vPryJOR8u6emLwTZMKiybDNq-oDumG2i9IfYE5ZaHTKgorSAxoWUPKYG1_ZWVQo8Q119ZbmjmHIsXeL9S4ZXtwoXOScFJcaLWwvG1os_M4pnTP0XgdBYm9rITtZa9e5xbFthzJSX50u9AzsFg1iGrJ-5cWh-HuZ/s768/5c20cf476bbf62bc62013ffd5642cd6a.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Hv2Q6w26jM5nLNUpCO8U523o2vPryJOR8u6emLwTZMKiybDNq-oDumG2i9IfYE5ZaHTKgorSAxoWUPKYG1_ZWVQo8Q119ZbmjmHIsXeL9S4ZXtwoXOScFJcaLWwvG1os_M4pnTP0XgdBYm9rITtZa9e5xbFthzJSX50u9AzsFg1iGrJ-5cWh-HuZ/w400-h266/5c20cf476bbf62bc62013ffd5642cd6a.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">The iconic moais have turned Easter Island into a tourist destination but these <br />stone sculptures are at risk from the elements / © AFP</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif">He said that authorities need to "forget about
the tourist" vision and take protective measures, even if that means
covering the statues "with glass domes", which would ruin not just
the authentic view but also tourists' photographs.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">He also wants inhabitants to make maximum use of
natural resources and to prioritize locals in employment, while resurrecting
the ancestral practise of fostering community solidarity.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"From now on the tourist must become a friend of
the place, whereas before they were visiting foreigners," said Edmunds
Paoa.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343560265244971428.post-63086649338002258112022-08-03T13:19:00.003-07:002022-08-03T13:19:14.592-07:00Sinkhole larger than tennis court has Chile perplexed<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/sinkhole-larger-tennis-court-chile-230136257.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, August 3, 2022</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Q1p5zWr3tKRB_VAhk9cHWxPo-kP0Hchf9OVNvB1WDc0KznPt9n62OoqS2LjlZCntOJ3R1tg-h5HyvXVjRamc1VONOqWz4_g4_PLzaIfNEQXqQAeMHu4868bMc0W2SlHgTAPQlwHMzJHARHJZDmElzrfwsYl2CfQRA_qy5kaKIQOAxKg51FfDoxiY/s705/2cc4e9674e08c1cdc2244792e3e66f30.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="397" data-original-width="705" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Q1p5zWr3tKRB_VAhk9cHWxPo-kP0Hchf9OVNvB1WDc0KznPt9n62OoqS2LjlZCntOJ3R1tg-h5HyvXVjRamc1VONOqWz4_g4_PLzaIfNEQXqQAeMHu4868bMc0W2SlHgTAPQlwHMzJHARHJZDmElzrfwsYl2CfQRA_qy5kaKIQOAxKg51FfDoxiY/w400-h225/2cc4e9674e08c1cdc2244792e3e66f30.webp" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Experts in Chile on Tuesday were investigating the
appearance of an enormous sinkhole, bigger than a tennis court, that has
appeared near a copper mine in the Atacama desert.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Experts were dispatched to examine the hole, some 32
meters (104 feet) across and twice as deep, which appeared in an area about 800
kilometers (nearly 500 miles) north of Santiago over the weekend, the National
Geology and Mining Service (Sernageomin) said in a statement.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">A 100-meter security perimeter has been erected around
the hole in the Tierra Amarilla municipality, near the Alcaparrosa mine
operated by Canadian firm Lundin Mining.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The company said in a statement there had been
"no impact to personnel, equipment or infrastructure," and the
sinkhole has remained stable since its detection.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">As a preventive measure, "development work in an
area of the Alcaparrosa underground mine has been temporarily suspended,"
the company said.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPu47y8Luyd02zPEJOkyB6NOdii7eeDSDKgdDhoNaKM4fOdVAo-xfAAjlhrzyFFOAcRd4lVyJk8nQeBM1Om937SE1UYgFkzEgPOAalP65NnMbNEH6tHvt42K7z9Hxiyjts8we1YKrQqwuHDeR_lzzPQmo8vMUfGO14hxdxwPekk8YVKQEsnHyVIYVw/s705/51dcac7da0bf049ed53f0a99b5a2d7aa.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="397" data-original-width="705" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPu47y8Luyd02zPEJOkyB6NOdii7eeDSDKgdDhoNaKM4fOdVAo-xfAAjlhrzyFFOAcRd4lVyJk8nQeBM1Om937SE1UYgFkzEgPOAalP65NnMbNEH6tHvt42K7z9Hxiyjts8we1YKrQqwuHDeR_lzzPQmo8vMUfGO14hxdxwPekk8YVKQEsnHyVIYVw/w400-h225/51dcac7da0bf049ed53f0a99b5a2d7aa.webp" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Sernageomin director David Montenegro said experts
would seek to determine the cause of the collapse and "ensure that all
safety measures are taken to safeguard the lives of workers and communities
close to the site."</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Cristian Zuniga, mayor of the Tierra Amarilla
municipality of some 13,000 inhabitants, told journalists the sinkhole was
unprecedented.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"We ask that the cause be clarified: whether the
collapse is the product of mining activity or something else," he said.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Chile is the world's largest copper producer,
responsible for a quarter of global supply.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343560265244971428.post-30456751264826658542022-03-27T14:02:00.007-07:002022-03-27T14:05:40.258-07:00Prince William says people in ex-colonies must decide monarchy's role<p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><a href="https://www.msn.com/en-xl/lifestyle/celebs/prince-william-says-people-in-ex-colonies-must-decide-monarchy-s-role/ar-AAVxIFH?li=BB12Iwkd&srcref=rss" target="_blank">MSN – AFP</a>, 27 March 2022</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-align: center;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTBzOPbV_L7KiiDXpzCJny3I6LWYrnxMWApbPz1p2O3PdTMQ5GOTlSIRSJiqj4gGMxONZ-UPM-73lup1PrbIYeOtk-C0aQkrpWNWS5DwYVPKqoEnQ-ZO1Ib1D_VI6s-FogYO9eROVfJ70UEB8fJxmGwq1UhGB5TqeBm-_cvfsDJrQ0-J9FyU9B9yJM/s768/AAVxBcN.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTBzOPbV_L7KiiDXpzCJny3I6LWYrnxMWApbPz1p2O3PdTMQ5GOTlSIRSJiqj4gGMxONZ-UPM-73lup1PrbIYeOtk-C0aQkrpWNWS5DwYVPKqoEnQ-ZO1Ib1D_VI6s-FogYO9eROVfJ70UEB8fJxmGwq1UhGB5TqeBm-_cvfsDJrQ0-J9FyU9B9yJM/w400-h266/AAVxBcN.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">© CHANDAN KHANNA Prince William has said that the Caribbean's former British <br />colonies must decide whether to scrap the monarchy's role in their countries</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">Prince William ended a turbulent tour of the Caribbean
by starkly admitting this weekend that the region's former British colonies
must decide whether to scrap the monarchy's role in their countries.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The 39-year-old Duke of Cambridge also hinted that a
British royal may in future no longer head the club of 54 Commonwealth
countries as the political association of ex-colonies evolves.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The unusually candid comments, which were splashed on
the front of several British newspapers Sunday, followed a rocky three-country
Caribbean tour over the last week which drew both protests and criticism.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">William and his wife Catherine, 40, faced calls to
apologise for the slave trade that helped make past British royals' fortunes,
and accusations of appearing "tone deaf" over elements of the visit.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">They were also forced to confront the issue of former
colonies considering whether to follow Barbados' lead and ditch the queen as
their head of state.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Barbados formally declared itself a republic in
November.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Belize, Jamaica and The Bahamas -- all stops on the
royal tour -- are each said to be mulling such a move.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness pointedly told
William in front of television cameras that the nation was "moving
on" as an independent country.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"I know that this tour has brought into even
sharper focus questions about the past and the future," the Duke of
Cambridge said in an end-of-tour statement Saturday.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"In Belize, Jamaica and The Bahamas, that future
is for the people to decide upon."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">William added he and his wife "are committed to
service" and that meant "not telling people what to do" but
instead "serving and supporting them".</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">'On my mind'</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The Commonwealth, a grouping of 54 mainly former
British colonies, is headed by Queen Elizabeth II.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">In 2018, its leaders formally announced that her son
and heir Prince Charles would inherit the role when he becomes king.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">But William, second-in-line to the throne, said that
"who the Commonwealth chooses to lead its family in the future isn't what
is on my mind".</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"What matters to us is the potential the
Commonwealth family has to create a better future for the people who form it,
and our commitment to serve and support as best we can," he added.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The couple's Caribbean trip was intended to help
Commonwealth countries where his 95-year-old grandmother is also head of state
celebrate her record-breaking 70 years on the throne.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">But what were designed to be carefully choreographed
photocalls and public appearances for Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee did
not go entirely to plan.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">In Belize, they angered some locals after failing to
consult on parts of their itinerary, while they then prompted placard-bearing
protests in Jamaica.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Demonstrators demanded the monarchy pay reparations
and apologize for its role in the slave trade that brought hundreds of
thousands of Africans to the island to toil under inhumane conditions.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Meanwhile, some of the optics of the tour drew
criticism for evoking colonial rule, including the couple greeting kids through
metal chain-link fences and William parading in an open-topped jeep in military
uniform.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343560265244971428.post-26609156954128662242022-03-10T12:30:00.003-08:002022-03-10T12:32:46.947-08:00Sealed with a kiss: Chile celebrates first same-sex weddings<p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/sealed-kiss-chile-celebrates-first-164913531.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, March 10, 2022</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-align: center;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjp0njznIPTsLWAqsKhMPtSFFbcHmpIjUIMu-sNOu5t4MOvY2ywhtBc1IKdLon6m1wuirtc4vgwFxUyUP9XO1cbmAy7UUjm21FctsPIG-Mhvg7pQR34EXimtyN7kC4hCKIOq-rRM81UuiVw-JWjxUkw119V6rzCyScPb2ok3OrW5c0PKWH7W-KTfjHG=s705" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="441" data-original-width="705" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjp0njznIPTsLWAqsKhMPtSFFbcHmpIjUIMu-sNOu5t4MOvY2ywhtBc1IKdLon6m1wuirtc4vgwFxUyUP9XO1cbmAy7UUjm21FctsPIG-Mhvg7pQR34EXimtyN7kC4hCKIOq-rRM81UuiVw-JWjxUkw119V6rzCyScPb2ok3OrW5c0PKWH7W-KTfjHG=w400-h250" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Jaime Nazar (L) and Javier Silva became the firs same-sex couple to legally <br />tie the knot in Chile (AFP/CLAUDIO REYES)</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">Two same-sex couples became the first Thursday to
legally tie the knot in Chile, which joined a handful of countries in majority
Catholic Latin America to allow LGBTQ couples to marry.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Under a law approved by Congress in December and
signed by outgoing President Sebastian Pinera, they can also now adopt
children.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"We never imagined we would experience this
moment in Chile," Jaime Nazar, 39, declared proudly after marrying his
partner of seven years Javier Silva, 38, in a Santiago suburb.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The pair's two young children were there for the
historic event.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"Now, yes, we can say we are a family," said
Silva.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"Our children have the same conditions (as those
of straight couples) and will have a better future without discrimination for
having two dads who love each other," he added.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Silva carried the couple's 18-month-old son in his arms,
while Nazar bore their daughter of four months.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The children are the product of surrogate pregnancies
abroad that used the sperm of one of the couple. Until now, they had only one
legally recognized father -- the biological donor.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">'Super proud'</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">From 2015 until Thursday, same-sex couples wishing to
formalize their relationship had only the option of civil union agreements,
which confer most of the same rights that marriage does, but without the
possibility of legal adoption.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg7rQpZ-78vO8ZwcaUJtuOnkZa8wIn674XLGUiOgMPnHMWsEP9niEVUq1A4bjnOgWxdNbJ40iv3-uLueKOvYyo8DdA-3LL_srd6-YJsr7MOU0yZSyxmKPpcR6GK4ePloIediAG7BhrOc9YQjyEg28JEgMhXC3Ndm88LLxyt-_7fzP0LNKYFDArFT7hj=s705" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="705" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg7rQpZ-78vO8ZwcaUJtuOnkZa8wIn674XLGUiOgMPnHMWsEP9niEVUq1A4bjnOgWxdNbJ40iv3-uLueKOvYyo8DdA-3LL_srd6-YJsr7MOU0yZSyxmKPpcR6GK4ePloIediAG7BhrOc9YQjyEg28JEgMhXC3Ndm88LLxyt-_7fzP0LNKYFDArFT7hj=w400-h266" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Jaime Nazar (L) and Javier Silva became the firs same-sex couple to legally tie <br />the knot in Chile (AFP/CLAUDIO REYES)</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">"This is a very important step for the country.
We feel super proud, privileged to be here," said Nazar, who is a dentist.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Consuelo Morales and Pabla Heuser, both 38, said they
decided to get married mainly for their two-year-old daughter Josefa.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"Today Josefa ceases to be an illegitimate
daughter," said Morales. Heuser, who carried the child in her womb, had
been the girl's sole legal parent until now.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">In total, three same-sex weddings took place in Chile
Thursday -- the day the law took effect.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">It came on the eve of the swearing-in of leftist
Gabriel Boric as Chile's youngest-ever president.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Chile had been awaiting the passage of the marriage
bill since then-president Michelle Bachelet sent it to Congress in 2017.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">In a surprise move, her conservative successor Pinera
announced last year he would seek the urgent passage of the bill -- supported
by a majority of Chileans -- through Congress.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Pinera signed it into law just two days after
lawmakers gave the green light ahead of presidential elections in which Boric
and his far-right rival Jose Antonio Kast polled neck-and neck.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Kast vehemently opposed broadening access to marriage
rights, unlike Boric who supported the move.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Chile is now one of 30 countries in the world that
allow same-sex marriage, and seven in Latin America along with Argentina,
Uruguay, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and some states in Mexico.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343560265244971428.post-70484869649591734912021-12-07T11:52:00.006-08:002021-12-07T11:52:41.559-08:00Chile congress approves same-sex marriage bill<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20211207-chile-congress-approves-same-sex-marriage-bill" target="_blank">France24–AFP</a>, 7 December 2021</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OfuYV_BR4M8/Ya-7UmzNJFI/AAAAAAACU48/mmSNxOarRh4ov4llZujc8bpXvKWCMuY4QCNcBGAsYHQ/s1024/b75058aeb08cd742343f5d4422fccadbfe5ecc23.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OfuYV_BR4M8/Ya-7UmzNJFI/AAAAAAACU48/mmSNxOarRh4ov4llZujc8bpXvKWCMuY4QCNcBGAsYHQ/w400-h225/b75058aeb08cd742343f5d4422fccadbfe5ecc23.webp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">A demonstrator raises a clenched fist during a protest for abortion rights in<br />Santiago de Chile in September 2021 Pablo VERA AFP/File</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: left;"> </span></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Valparaíso (Chile) (AFP) – Chile's congress on Tuesday
approved a long-awaited bill to legalize same-sex marriage, joining just a
handful of countries in majority Catholic Latin America with similar laws.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The measure has the support of President Sebastian
Pinera, who must sign it into law, and will also enable married same-sex
couples to adopt children.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The bill got the green light from the upper house of
congress, or senate, Tuesday, and was immediately given the final stamp of
approval by the lower Chamber of Deputies with 82 votes to 20.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">There were two abstentions.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">In Latin America, same-sex couples could until now get
married only in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina
and in 14 of Mexico's 32 states.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The country legalized same-sex civil unions in 2015,
and has been eagerly awaiting the legalization of gay marriage since
then-president Michelle Bachelet sent a bill to Congress in 2017.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">In a surprise move, her conservative successor,
Pinera, announced in June he would seek the urgent passage of the bill -- which
has the backing of a majority of Chileans -- through Congress.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The project has been consistently opposed by the most
conservative bloc of Chile's ruling right wing, but has nevertheless obtained a
majority "yes" vote at every step of the process in an
opposition-dominated congress.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The issue deeply divides the two candidates headed for
a presidential run-off on December 19.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Gabriel Boric, 35, who represents a leftist alliance
that includes the Communist Party, supported the bill and voted "yes"
in his capacity as lawmaker.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">But 55-year-old, far-right candidate Jose Antonio
Kast, who won 28 percent of first-round votes compared to Boric's 26 percent,
campaigned against it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343560265244971428.post-82633076972965173812021-11-30T12:58:00.004-08:002021-11-30T12:58:39.690-08:00New republic Barbados names 'Diamond' Rihanna national hero<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://uk.news.yahoo.com/republic-barbados-names-diamond-rihanna-085750130.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, 30 November 2021</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><o:p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-34RbYaCgLyI/YaaO7yblAJI/AAAAAAACU30/5h-_62Qjf8A981YNRtnYvDvysGvFhgilgCLcBGAsYHQ/s768/c359d79527369573f08e3324a9eb65e2.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-34RbYaCgLyI/YaaO7yblAJI/AAAAAAACU30/5h-_62Qjf8A981YNRtnYvDvysGvFhgilgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/c359d79527369573f08e3324a9eb65e2.webp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Rihanna (with President Sandra Mason, L) was declared a national hero of <br />Barbados minutes after the island became the world's newst republic (AFP/WPA POOL.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">As Barbados became the world's newest republic, its
prime minister's first act was to officially declare the island's most famous
citizen, Rihanna, a national hero.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Barbados had already conferred the title of ambassador
extraordinary and plenipotentiary on the billionaire multiple Grammy-winning
singer and businesswoman in 2018 and tasked her with encouraging education and
tourism.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The "Umbrella" songstress commanded
"the imagination of the world through the pursuit of excellence with her
creativity, her discipline, and above all else, her extraordinary commitment to
the land of her birth," Prime Minister Mia Mottley told the assembled
dignitaries at the "Pride of Nationhood" celebrations on Tuesday.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"On behalf of a grateful nation, but an even
prouder people, we therefore present to you the designee for national hero of
Barbados, Ambassador Robyn Rihanna Fenty," Mottley said, inviting the
singer up to stand alongside her.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"May you continue to shine like a diamond and
bring honor to your nation by your words, by your actions, and to do credit,
wherever you shall go," she said, with a nod to the singer's hit
"Diamonds."</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Mottley paid tribute to the humble origins of Rihanna,
who was born in Saint Michael and raised in the capital Bridgetown.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sZs_ZJcmGCg/YaaP5aiYDDI/AAAAAAACU38/GC5a9hV5KE4CNbrZiRSzdZ9cJT1SjAjHQCLcBGAsYHQ/s768/52acfd6eef48b67ee5419ebfcbf41f85.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="577" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sZs_ZJcmGCg/YaaP5aiYDDI/AAAAAAACU38/GC5a9hV5KE4CNbrZiRSzdZ9cJT1SjAjHQCLcBGAsYHQ/w300-h400/52acfd6eef48b67ee5419ebfcbf41f85.webp" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Garfield Sobers, regarding as one of the greatest crickters of a<br />ll time, hugs fellow national hero Rihanna (AFP/JEFF J MITCHELL)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Rihanna, 33, grew up in a troubled home in Barbados
and was propelled to fame after American producer Evan Rogers recognized her
talents.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The star parlayed her musical success into a make-up
and fashion empire, with earnings that now dwarf those of other megastars such
as Madonna and Beyonce.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Forbes in August estimated she was worth $1.7 billion,
around $1.4 billion of which comes from the value of her cosmetics company
Fenty Beauty, a partnership with French fashion giant LVMH.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Mottley said the government chose to honor Rihanna as
the first national hero designated by the new republic as a "signal to the
world."</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Rihanna joins a select group of 10 other Barbadians
including Garfield Sobers, regarded as one of the greatest cricketers of all
time and the only other living national hero.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Sobers was also at the ceremony and hugged Rihanna.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The title would be conferred on her Wednesday morning,
the prime minister said.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Rihanna was among many nominations for national hero
submitted by the people of Barbados and Mottley said others would be named by
National Heroes Day next year.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The independence ceremony was closed to the general
public amid a pandemic curfew, which was relaxed to allow Barbadians to enjoy
festivities including fireworks displays.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The guest of honor was Britain's Prince Charles, who
acknowledged the "appalling atrocity of slavery" the island suffered
under colonial rule.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343560265244971428.post-11739982435462326122021-07-26T13:16:00.005-07:002021-07-26T13:17:53.283-07:00Pollution turns Argentina lake bright pink<p><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/pollution-turns-argentina-lake-bright-210112998.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall" target="_blank">Yahoo –AFP</a>, July 25, 2021</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="text-align: center;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j-FJ122d6ng/YP8W3Kp15QI/AAAAAAACUvE/D6w-PUfBwLoT00BaIJTlpcijqHot8EhVACLcBGAsYHQ/s704/d8b997ebb3f42cbce80dea3a33d3a571.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="396" data-original-width="704" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j-FJ122d6ng/YP8W3Kp15QI/AAAAAAACUvE/D6w-PUfBwLoT00BaIJTlpcijqHot8EhVACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h225/d8b997ebb3f42cbce80dea3a33d3a571.webp" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">An Argentina lagoon turned a bright pink color caused by sodium sulfite, <br />an anti-bacterial product used in fish factories</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">A lagoon in Argentina's southern Patagonia region has
turned bright pink in a striking, but frightful phenomenon experts and
activists blame on pollution by a chemical used to preserve prawns for export.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The color is caused by sodium sulfite, an
anti-bacterial product used in fish factories, whose waste is blamed for
contaminating the Chubut river that feeds the Corfo lagoon and other water
sources in the region, according to activists.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Residents have long complained of foul smells and
other environmental issues around the river and lagoon.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"Those who should be in control are the ones who
authorize the poisoning of people," environmental activist Pablo Lada told
AFP, blaming the government for the mess.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The lagoon turned pink last week and remained the
abnormal color on Sunday, said Lada, who lives in the city of Trelew, not far
from the lagoon and some 870 miles (1,400 kilometers) south of Buenos Aires.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Environmental engineer and virologist Federico Restrepo
told AFP the coloration was due to sodium sulfite in fish waste, which by law,
should be treated before being dumped.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The lagoon, which is not used for recreation, receives
runoff from the Trelew industrial park and has turned the color of fuchsia before.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RHRyteDwyoE/YP8Xk9h5LsI/AAAAAAACUvM/w3fWvi_wSH8s3bDWa0BzhpOD0FGo3WgUQCLcBGAsYHQ/s704/5d882da700793be41def801e62c10a0a.webp" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="396" data-original-width="704" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RHRyteDwyoE/YP8Xk9h5LsI/AAAAAAACUvM/w3fWvi_wSH8s3bDWa0BzhpOD0FGo3WgUQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h225/5d882da700793be41def801e62c10a0a.webp" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">The Corfo lagoon in Patagonia, which is not used for recreation, receives runoff <br />from the Trelew industrial park, and it is not the first time it has turned this unnatura; color</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><p></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" lang="EN-US">But residents of the area are fed up.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">In recent weeks, residents of Rawson, neighboring
Trelew, blocked roads used by trucks carrying processed fish waste through
their streets to treatment plants on the city's outskirts.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"We get dozens of trucks daily, the residents are
getting tired of it," said Lada.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">With Rawson off limits due to the protest, provincial
authorities granted authorization for factories to dump their waste instead in
the Corfo lagoon.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"The reddish color does not cause damage and will
disappear in a few days," environmental control chief for Chubut province,
Juan Micheloud, told AFP last week.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Sebastian de la Vallina, planning secretary for the
city of Trelew disagreed: "It is not possible to minimize something so
serious."</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Plants that process fish for export, mainly prawns and
hake, generate thousands of jobs for Chubut province, home to some 600,000
people.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Dozens of foreign fishing companies operate in the
area in waters under Argentina's Atlantic jurisdiction.</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"Fish processing generates work... it's true. But
these are multi-million-dollar profit companies that don't want to pay freight
to take the waste to a treatment plant that already exists in Puerto Madryn, 35
miles away, or build a plant closer," said Lada.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343560265244971428.post-28402268855501876152021-06-09T13:28:00.008-07:002021-06-09T13:28:44.821-07:00El Salvador first country to approve bitcoin as legal tender<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/el-salvador-first-country-approve-091655155.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, Nayib Bukele, June 9, 2021</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-US"><o:p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-REyiTiXWRpI/YMEkA0pOSbI/AAAAAAACTqo/wiSSth03bxwN_eqbPZbYmPIOkkGOurOhgCLcBGAsYHQ/s704/b6856047c109ad4a0f5955ecd5050c14.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="492" data-original-width="704" height="280" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-REyiTiXWRpI/YMEkA0pOSbI/AAAAAAACTqo/wiSSth03bxwN_eqbPZbYmPIOkkGOurOhgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h280/b6856047c109ad4a0f5955ecd5050c14.webp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">The bitcoin law passed with the support of Bukele's allies despite minority <br />opposition parties -- which criticised the speed of the vote -- refusing to back it</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Bitcoin is to become legal tender in El Salvador, the
country's president said, making it the first nation to adopt a cryptocurrency
for everyday use.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Lawmakers in the Central American nation's Congress
passed a bill late Tuesday that will eventually allow the famously volatile
digital currency to be used for many aspects of daily life, from property
purchases to tax contributions.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"The #BitcoinLaw has just been approved by a
qualified majority" in the legislative assembly, President Nayib Bukele
tweeted after the vote late Tuesday.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"History!" the president added.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The 39-year-old leader said a majority of 62 out of 84
lawmakers approved the bill, which he proposed just last week.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The law passed with the support of Bukele's allies
despite minority opposition parties -- who had criticised the speed of the vote
-- refusing to back it.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Cryptocurrencies have soared in popularity due to
their use as a store of value, the relative anonymity they offer users and wild
price fluctuations that present opportunities for greater profits than
investing on the regular stock exchanges of the world.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The volatility of bitcoin -- currently priced at
$33,814 -- and its murky legal status have raised questions about whether it
could ever replace traditional currency in day-to-day transactions.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">But El Salvador -- a small nation where four out of 10
people live in poverty -- has turned to the top crypto asset that has been
backed by billionaires like Elon Musk and large financial companies such as
PayPal in a bid to boost its remittance-reliant economy.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">El Salvador's main currency is the US dollar and it
remains unclear how the country plans to implement bitcoin as a functioning
currency.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o9Dx4qShTrg/YMEkUYAr2uI/AAAAAAACTqw/rAqJsAbhwWop9F-pX0llGT_dJBbcHOkdACLcBGAsYHQ/s705/2cefe3b799d4df961d72c7b3f2fdeae4.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="468" data-original-width="705" height="265" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o9Dx4qShTrg/YMEkUYAr2uI/AAAAAAACTqw/rAqJsAbhwWop9F-pX0llGT_dJBbcHOkdACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h265/2cefe3b799d4df961d72c7b3f2fdeae4.webp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">El Salvador -- a small nation where four out of 10
people live in poverty -- <br /></span></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: small;">has turned to the top crypto asset to boost its
remittance-reliant economy</span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Yet the Salvadoran leader has hailed the virtual
currency as "the fastest growing way to transfer" billions of dollars
in remittances and to prevent millions from being lost to intermediaries.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Remittances from Salvadorans working overseas
represent a major chunk of the economy -- equivalent to roughly 22 percent of
Gross Domestic Product.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">In 2020, remittances to the country totaled $5.9
billion, according to official reports.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">'On the world's radar'</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Before the vote, Bukele said adopting the
cryptocurrency would bring "financial inclusion, investment, tourism,
innovation and economic development" to the country.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"This is a law that will put El Salvador on the
world's radar, we will be more attractive for foreign investment," Romeo
Auerbach, deputy of the Grand Alliance for National Unity party, an ally of
Bukele, said.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The cryptocurrency market grew to more than $2.5
trillion by the middle of last month, according to the Coinmarketcap page,
driven by interest from increasingly serious investors from Wall Street to
Silicon Valley.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Between the beginning of 2020 and a peak in mid-April
of $64,870, the price of bitcoin gained nearly 800 percent.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">But since then, the cryptocurrency has fallen in value
by more than 50 percent.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Its price has fallen sharply towards a symbolic
$30,000 threshold it has not crossed since January, dragging other
cryptocurrencies in its wake.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">After Tuesday's vote, the price jumped more than five
percent.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343560265244971428.post-3416876820260693982021-04-19T12:25:00.001-07:002021-04-19T12:25:37.055-07:00Cuba gets new leader as last Castro retires<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/cuba-gets-leader-last-castro-155225233.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, Leticia PINEDA, April 19, 2021</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><o:p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7zN7JGUaHpU/YH3W84iYVwI/AAAAAAACThQ/we1oPoa3FxMSVeOdAn6OYxOUVlR7nlfqACLcBGAsYHQ/s705/010ab1b7f005309db9639b1402c52497.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="705" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7zN7JGUaHpU/YH3W84iYVwI/AAAAAAACThQ/we1oPoa3FxMSVeOdAn6OYxOUVlR7nlfqACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/010ab1b7f005309db9639b1402c52497.webp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Raul Castro, 89, is stepping down, ending a six-decade family hold on <br />power that started in 1959</span></td></tr></tbody></table></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><br />Cuba marked the end of an era Monday with the transfer
of power from the Castro clan, in charge for six decades, to the communist
country's first-ever civilian leader, Miguel Diaz-Canel.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">As Raul Castro, 89, enters retirement, he handed the
all-powerful position of first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba to
Diaz-Canel, 60, already Cuba's president since 2018.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"April 19, an historic day," tweeted the new
leader, lauding the all-powerful PCC's "founding and guiding"
generation for handing over the reins.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Diaz-Canel's election at a party congress, though
pre-determined, marks a watershed for the country of 11.2 million people, many
of whom have known no leader other than a Castro.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Fidel Castro, still revered as the country's father
and savior, led the country from 1959 to 2006, when he fell ill and his brother
Raul took over. Fidel Castro died in 2016.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Diaz-Canel and some other members of the new PCC
executive were born after the revolution led by the Castro siblings in the
1950s, leading in 1959 to the overthrow of dictator Fulgencio Batista.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dOQ6SApAwJM/YH3XuRxw_YI/AAAAAAACThY/Ia6zwt9unGUEDEdh6KkBqguWR-WO7m8RQCLcBGAsYHQ/s705/7316fada2e307f3232cabc61c0706605.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="458" data-original-width="705" height="260" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dOQ6SApAwJM/YH3XuRxw_YI/AAAAAAACThY/Ia6zwt9unGUEDEdh6KkBqguWR-WO7m8RQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h260/7316fada2e307f3232cabc61c0706605.webp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Cuba is Battling its worst economic crisis in 30 years, sky-high inflation, biting <br />food shortages, long lines for basic necessities and growing</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The PCC congress was held 60 years after Fidel Castro
declared Cuba a socialist state, setting up decades of conflict with the United
States, which has had sanctions against the country since 1962.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">It also marked six decades since the failed Bay of
Pigs invasion by anti-revolutionary Cuban exiles, backed by the CIA.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">'Irrevocable' socialism</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The change at the top is not expected to yield any
major policy shifts.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Diaz-Canel, a suit-and-tie wearing, tech-savvy Beatles
fan, remains a staunch party disciple.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">And a new constitution passed in May 2019 made it
clear that the country's commitment to socialism was "irrevocable."</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">In his final address to the party last Friday, Castro
affirmed a "willingness to conduct a respectful dialogue and build a new
kind of relationship with the United States."</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j7ovdhZZfNI/YH3YfNg45qI/AAAAAAACThg/trHgFH7H5OYAmKuMtBg11Cb-tNcppW3LACLcBGAsYHQ/s705/db936593fc4089c26ea54f18b3f42fd1.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="447" data-original-width="705" height="254" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j7ovdhZZfNI/YH3YfNg45qI/AAAAAAACThg/trHgFH7H5OYAmKuMtBg11Cb-tNcppW3LACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h254/db936593fc4089c26ea54f18b3f42fd1.webp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Miguel Diaz-Canel, a suit-and-tie wearing, tech-savvy
Beatles fan, is a <br />staunch party disciple<o:p></o:p></span></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">But he stressed the country would not renounced
"the principles of the revolution and socialism" as he urged the new
generation to "zealously protect" the one-party dogma.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"There are limits that cannot be crossed,"
warned Castro, who wore a military uniform.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The leadership change comes as Cuba battles its worst
economic crisis in 30 years, sky-high inflation, biting food shortages, long
lines for basic necessities and growing disgruntlement over limited freedoms.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Cuba, one of just five communist countries along with
China, Vietnam, Laos and North Korea, faces constant shortages and imports 80
percent of what it consumes for lack of sufficient local production.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"Since I was born, I have only known one
party," said Miguel Gainza, a 58-year-old in Havana.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"And no one dies of hunger, it's true," he
adds. But today, "we are a little stuck, and it's a shame that Fidel is
dead because he solved all our problems".</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tX2Qo7x9kMc/YH3Y1OFBrnI/AAAAAAACTho/xkoD5o310sAC9Lqjp-fNskpaBIwDpYoxQCLcBGAsYHQ/s705/2a32d45c4a01ae23cbba7549b8a15c07.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="536" data-original-width="705" height="304" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tX2Qo7x9kMc/YH3Y1OFBrnI/AAAAAAACTho/xkoD5o310sAC9Lqjp-fNskpaBIwDpYoxQCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h304/2a32d45c4a01ae23cbba7549b8a15c07.webp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Ten key dates Cuba's Castros</span></td></tr></tbody></table><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><br />Internet drives change</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The Internet, which arrived on mobile phones the
island in 2018, has been an engine of social change, even used to organize
protest, previously unheard of in the country.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Young Cubans, many of whom go overseas each year for
lack of opportunities at home, are increasingly venting their frustrations on
social media.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Slamming social networks for "subversion"
and what he called fake news, Castro said the platforms spread "a virtual
image of Cuba as a dying society with no future, on the point of collapse,
giving out under a social explosion."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The PCC had pledged to tackle the issue of online
"political and ideological subversion" at its congress.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Ties with the United States, after a historic but
temporary easing of tensions under president Barack Obama between 2014 and
2016, worsened under Donald Trump, who reinforced sanctions.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Friday the
United States was not planning any immediate change in its policy toward Cuba.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"Support for democracy and human rights will be
at the core of our efforts," she said.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343560265244971428.post-77624232146986422092020-12-30T14:16:00.001-08:002020-12-30T14:16:10.023-08:00Argentines celebrate approval of landmark abortion law<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/polarized-argentine-senate-set-vote-063511014.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, Daniel MEROLLA, December 29, 2020</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><o:p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zv-XrKwqgCg/X-z6_lRaE3I/AAAAAAACTYw/CHlpKgJLlQsp4quFtejvGossLG1rANjpACLcBGAsYHQ/s705/7d805824626596c8cb3bb975ab99bb31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="705" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zv-XrKwqgCg/X-z6_lRaE3I/AAAAAAACTYw/CHlpKgJLlQsp4quFtejvGossLG1rANjpACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/7d805824626596c8cb3bb975ab99bb31.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Argentina's Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner (R) opens <br />the session at the Senate to decide whether to legalize abortion</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Pro-choice activists celebrated on the streets on
Wednesday as Argentina joined a handful of South American nations to legalize
abortion, a landmark decision in a country where the Catholic Church has long
held sway.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Senate president Cristina Kirchner confirmed the vote
after more than twelve hours of debate that began Tuesday, sparking scenes of
jubilation in the capital Buenos Aires.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"Safe, legal and free abortion is law ... Now
we're a better society that is increasing women's rights and safeguarding
public health," President Alberto Fernandez, who sponsored the original
bill, wrote on Twitter.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Hundreds of thousands of illegal terminations are
carried out every year in Argentina with at least 3,000 women dying after
backstreet abortions since the 1980s, said Fernandez, who is Catholic.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Before the vote he said the law was necessary "to
legislate for everyone."</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"After so many attempts and years of struggle
that cost us blood and lives, today we finally made history," protester
Sandra Lujan, a 41-year-old psychologist, said after the vote in the pre-dawn
hours of Wednesday.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"Today we leave a better place for our sons and
daughters."</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The bill in the country of 44 million succeeded
despite strong opposition from Evangelical Christians and traditional Roman
Catholics -- with Pope Francis tweeting his tacit disapproval of change ahead
of the vote.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Human Rights Watch Americas Director Jose Miguel
Vivanco hailed the decision as historic, and hoped it would energize other
governments in the region to follow in the footsteps of one of Latin America's
largest nations.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"The criminalization of abortion has failed. It's
time to end it," he tweeted.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The new legislation will allow voluntary terminations
up to 14 weeks of pregnancy, and was approved 38 to 29 with one abstention.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The vote overturns a similar one in 2018 which --
although also passed the lower house -- ultimately foundered in the Senate by
38 votes to 31.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Only Uruguay, Cuba and Guyana allow voluntary
terminations in South America, which has some of the most restrictive abortion
laws in the world.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">In El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, it is banned,
and women can be sentenced to jail even for having a miscarriage.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">In Argentina, terminations were previously allowed in
only two instances: rape, and danger to the mother's life.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BX7YT1CU9cE/X-z7949gDnI/AAAAAAACTY4/O5uWbMqCXz0gHsiHd45gzKsvlkkviYdWACLcBGAsYHQ/s705/01a05b3eb687e6b2fbfe57605447107c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="705" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BX7YT1CU9cE/X-z7949gDnI/AAAAAAACTY4/O5uWbMqCXz0gHsiHd45gzKsvlkkviYdWACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/01a05b3eb687e6b2fbfe57605447107c.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2228; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: x-small;">Thousands of pro-choice activists celebrated the vote on the streets <br />of capital Buenos Aires</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><b>'Gift of life'</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The bill passed the Chamber of Deputies on December
11.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Francis, who is Argentine, has not commented directly
on the vote but many felt he indirectly addressed the issue in a speech on
Wednesday morning.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">"Christians, as all believers, bless God for the
gift of life. To live is above all to have received," he said in his last
speech before the New Year.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"All of us are born because someone wanted us to
have life."</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">More than 60 percent of Argentines call themselves
Catholic, according to a 2019 survey by the National Council for Scientific and
Technical Research (Conicet).</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Another Conicet survey this year found more than half
of Argentina's Catholics supported abortion only in limited circumstances --
with around 22 percent supporting it, and roughly 17 percent rejecting it in
all cases.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"The interruption of a pregnancy is a tragedy. It
abruptly ends another developing life," said Ines Blas, a senator from the
ruling coalition.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">However, Senator Silvina Garcia Larraburu, from the
same coalition, had said she would vote for the bill this time despite being
against it in 2018.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">'Centuries of regression'</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Despite measures to prevent the spread of the
coronavirus pandemic, thousands of pro-choice and anti-abortion demonstrators
had gathered outside parliament ahead of the vote, following the debate on
giant screens.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Pro-choice activists have campaigned for years to
change the abortion laws that date from 1921, adopting a green scarf as their
symbol.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Anti-abortion activists, who recently started wearing
light blue scarves, expressed sadness after the vote passed.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The alliance of evangelical churches issued a
statement calling it "a sad day."</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"Today Argentina regressed centuries in terms of
civilization and respect for the supreme right to life," said the
alliance.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Social law changes have always been slow in Argentina:
divorce was legalized only in 1987, sex education introduced in 2006, gay
marriage approved in 2010 and a gender identity law passed in 2012.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343560265244971428.post-1691140603518817222020-10-28T14:50:00.009-07:002020-10-28T14:50:54.371-07:00Chileans begin work on roadmap to new constitution<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20201028-chileans-begin-work-on-roadmap-to-new-constitution" target="_blank">France24 – AFP</a>, 28 October 2020</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><o:p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D1b0IE_vzeY/X5nnisc8ckI/AAAAAAACTRg/4MXFjxaATvsFU5sCDPy3m-kn0p9Ev2DIgCLcBGAsYHQ/s980/7da91c7a643b7cc17d81201b6ad86b8e3804938f.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="551" data-original-width="980" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D1b0IE_vzeY/X5nnisc8ckI/AAAAAAACTRg/4MXFjxaATvsFU5sCDPy3m-kn0p9Ev2DIgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h225/7da91c7a643b7cc17d81201b6ad86b8e3804938f.webp" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Demonstrators supporting the reform of the Chilean constitution celebrate while <br />waiting for the referendum official results at Plaza Italia square in Santiago <br />on October 25, 2020 Pedro Ugarte AFP</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Santiago (AFP) - Chile pressed ahead with the task of
creating a roadmap to a new constitution Tuesday as Congress debated rules for
choosing the body tasked with drafting the new charter.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Citizens of the South American country voted by a
landslide in a referendum Sunday to throw out their dictatorship-era
constitution, blamed for the jarring economic and social inequalities that led
to months of violent protests.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Much of the path ahead is already clear, with the
election of a constitutional convention, which will draft the new charter,
slated for April 11.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">However, independent candidates face an uphill battle
in the race for seats on the convention, as they aim to limit the influence of
the traditional parties.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Congress on Tuesday discussed removing one of the
roadblocks to political independents playing a full part in the process.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Under current rules they need a minimum of signatures
equal to 0.4 percent of voters in their electoral district, a tough task amid
Chile's coronavirus epidemic.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Prospective independent candidates say the threshold
is too high and want it halved.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><b>Overwhelming rejection</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Citizens overwhelmingly rejected an option in the
referendum for lawmakers to take part in the drafting of the new constitution,
handing that role instead to a new body whose members will be elected from
scratch.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Several Chilean artists and celebrities have signaled
their intention to run for the convention.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Sitting members of Congress are banned from
participating, but independents fear the traditional parties -- seen as
administrators of the dictatorship-era constitution for decades -- are
preparing to stack the new body with their members anyhow.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Some of President Sebastian Pinera's advisors have
expressed an interest in running. The president's daughter Magdalena Pinera is
reportedly aiming to represent his conservative National Renewal party, part of
his ruling Vamos coalition.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Also signaling her intention to run is Francisca
Desbordes, daughter of Chile's defense minister Mario Desbordes.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">There is lively debate on the number of seats that
should be set aside in the new body for the Mapuche people, Chile's largest
ethnic group.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"The task of the parliament is to ensure reserved
seats for the indigenous people, so that this new constitution contains all the
views and cultures there are in Chile," said Mapuche lawmaker Emilia
Nuyado.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The constitutional convention will be composed of 155
members, who will be elected in a vote on April 11 that coincides with Chile's
local elections.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Anybody can put themselves forward, but those involved
in organizations and unions must renounce their positions if they are to
participate.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Similarly, civil servants will also have to resign to
participate and all 155 members will have to renounce running for public office
for one year after its work is completed.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Members of the new body will receive a monthly salary
equivalent to $3,200, around a third the amount earned by members of Congress.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><b>'Two-thirds' confusion</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The new constitution must be approved by two-thirds of
its members.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">However, "it's not clear whether each provision
must be approved by two-thirds or if it is only the constitution as a whole, a
difference of interpretation that could have important consequences with
respect to what's agreed upon," constitutional lawyer Sebastian Zarate
told AFP.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">It remains possible the convention will alter this
provision once it sits, said Zarate.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"However it's interpreted, the last word will go
to the constituent body," said Zarate.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Once established, the convention will have nine months
to draft and adopt the new constitution. If required, that timeframe can be
extended once, for three months.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The text will be put to the electorate in a new
referendum in 2022.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Failure to approve it will mean dictator Augusto
Pinochet's 1980 constitution will remain in force.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343560265244971428.post-8468163612442079882020-10-20T13:57:00.007-07:002020-10-20T13:57:56.394-07:00Arrest warrants issued for founders of Panama Papers firm: report<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/arrest-warrants-issued-founders-panama-052343724.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, October 20, 2020</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><o:p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ruH8LVMpzNI/X49PCfb9d2I/AAAAAAACTN8/DzYOZsDgYhUMoGRMLbo8VqZS_TOL2rMwACLcBGAsYHQ/s768/0a687fbe9d898351c8d01040d99a62f1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ruH8LVMpzNI/X49PCfb9d2I/AAAAAAACTN8/DzYOZsDgYhUMoGRMLbo8VqZS_TOL2rMwACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/0a687fbe9d898351c8d01040d99a62f1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Mossack Fonseca's founders, suspected of tax evasion and associating <br />with criminals, will be arrested if they enter the EU, according to reports</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Germany has issued international arrest warrants for
the two founders of the firm at the centre of the tax haven scandal exposed by
the Panama Papers data leak, German media reported.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Mossack Fonseca founders Juergen Mossack and Ramon
Fonseca, suspected of tax evasion and associating with criminals, will be
arrested if they enter the European Union, German newspaper Sueddeutsche
Zeitung reported late Monday.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">A spokesman for the Cologne public prosecutor's office
confirmed that two international arrest warrants had been issued in connection
with ongoing investigations, but did not identify those involved.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Mossack and Fonesca hold Panamanian passports and are
currently in the Caribbean archipelago, which does not have any extradition
treaties, the newspaper said.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">However investigators hope that Mossack, who has
family in Germany, may surrender to officials in order to negotiate a reduced
sentence and avoid US charges.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The Panama Papers, a massive data leak in April 2016,
exposed widespread tax avoidance and evasion using complex structures of
offshore shell companies and caused an international outcry.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">At least 150 investigations have been opened in 79
countries to examine potential tax evasion or money laundering, according to
the American Center for Public Integrity.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">In 2018, Mossack Fonseca said it would close due to
"irreparable damage" to its reputation. Panama's government meanwhile
continues to petition the international community to remove it from several tax
haven blacklists.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343560265244971428.post-82447736772572763432020-10-13T12:50:00.001-07:002020-10-13T12:50:24.902-07:00Peru's Machu Picchu reopens... for one Japanese tourist<p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/perus-machu-picchu-reopens-one-035623348.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, October 13, 2020</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1XIulJW-iDA/X4YExlV0t0I/AAAAAAACTLk/k7XyVRPop6o-LBuVR6Tj6-0Qnaw-QBJJgCLcBGAsYHQ/s768/660701fa56c4eb96ec14837b54773153.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="442" data-original-width="768" height="230" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1XIulJW-iDA/X4YExlV0t0I/AAAAAAACTLk/k7XyVRPop6o-LBuVR6Tj6-0Qnaw-QBJJgCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h230/660701fa56c4eb96ec14837b54773153.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Machu Picchu has reopened for a single lucky visitor, a Japanese man <br />stranded in the country by the pandemic</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Peru's best-known tourist site Machu Picchu has opened
after months of coronavirus closure, but for just a single visitor -- a
Japanese man stranded in the country by the pandemic.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"The first person on Earth who went to Machu
Picchu since the lockdown is meeeeeee," Jesse Katayama posted on his
Instagram account alongside pictures of himself at the deserted site.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"This is truly amazing! Thank you," he added
in a video posted on the Facebook pages of the local tourism authority in
Cusco, where the famed site is located.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Katayama spoke against the backdrop of the majestic
mountaintop dotted with ancient ruins that once attracted thousands of tourists
a day but has been closed since March because of the coronavirus.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The Japanese boxing instructor, identified by local
media as a 26-year-old from Nara, has been stuck in Peru since March, when he
bought a ticket for the tourist site just days before the country declared a
health emergency.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">He told a Peruvian newspaper he had only planned to
spend three days in the area, but with flights cancelled and movement limited
by the virus, he found himself stuck there for months.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Eventually, his plight reached the local tourism
authority, which agreed to give him special permission to visit the Inca city,
reopening the site just for him.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">"I thought that I wouldn't be able to go, but
thanks to all of you who pleaded with the mayor and the government, I was given
this super special opportunity," he wrote in Japanese on his Instagram
account.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Machu Picchu is the most enduring legacy of the Inca
empire that ruled a large swathe of western South America for 100 years before
the Spanish conquest in the 16th century.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">The ruins of the Inca settlement were rediscovered in
1911 by the American explorer Hiram Bingham, and in 1983, UNESCO declared Machu
Picchu a World Heritage Site.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">It was originally scheduled to reopen to visitors in
July, but that has now been pushed back to November.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Just 675 tourists a day will be allowed in, 30 percent
of the number allowed before the pandemic, with visitors expected to maintain
social distancing.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Since it first opened to tourists in 1948, it has been
closed just once before, for two months in 2010 when a flood destroyed the
railway tracks connecting it to Cusco.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343560265244971428.post-38741999221972130682020-08-31T13:44:00.003-07:002020-08-31T13:44:34.844-07:00Brazil indigenous chief Raoni set for hospital release<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/brazil-indigenous-chief-raoni-set-hospital-release-015544962.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, July 21, 2020</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CaZBKTB1FHY/X01hBYHdsuI/AAAAAAACTD4/1Fmvkdzz2VkCg64h3WYRdbhioILMS9YmgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/d9239f364a01a7ac53e526f7908a53f52172cdcd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="511" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CaZBKTB1FHY/X01hBYHdsuI/AAAAAAACTD4/1Fmvkdzz2VkCg64h3WYRdbhioILMS9YmgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/d9239f364a01a7ac53e526f7908a53f52172cdcd.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Raoni Metuktire, a chief of the Kayapo people in northern Brazil, is an iconic <br />defender of the Amazon rainforest who is in his 90s (AFP Photo/CARL DE SOUZA)</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Rio de Janeiro (AFP) - Brazil's best-known indigenous
leader, chief Raoni Metuktire, is improving and expected to be released soon
from hospital after a health scare, doctors said Monday.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Raoni, an iconic defender of the Amazon rainforest who
is in his 90s, has been diagnosed with two gastric ulcers and an intestinal
infection, his medical team at the Dois Pinheiros hospital in the state of Mato
Grosso said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But "his clinical condition is improving,"
they said in their latest update.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"He is expected to be released from the hospital
soon."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Raoni, a chief of the Kayapo people in northern
Brazil, was hospitalized Thursday for weakness, shortness of breath and
diarrhea.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He was first taken to a hospital in the small town of
Colider before being transferred Saturday to Dois Pinheiros, a larger hospital
in the city of Sinop, when his condition deteriorated.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Raoni's health began to decline after he lost his wife
of more than 60 years, Bekwyjka, who died in June after a stroke.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Known for his colorful feather headdresses and the
large disc inserted in his lower lip, Raoni has traveled the world raising
awareness of the threat posed by destruction of the Amazon.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Doctor Fernanda Quinelato said he had received two
blood transfusions.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"His general health is good, he is lucid, with
controlled blood pressure and no fever," she said in the statement.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A test for the new coronavirus came back negative.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The virus has hit Brazil's indigenous communities
hard. It claimed the life of another top indigenous leader, Paulinho Paiakan,
last month.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Another of Brazil's best-known indigenous leaders,
chief Aritana Yawalapiti, 71, is in serious condition with suspected COVID-19,
his son told AFP Monday.</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343560265244971428.post-64920381028003607892020-08-22T13:48:00.001-07:002020-08-22T13:48:50.329-07:00El Salvador children, priest launch initiatives to stave off hunger<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/el-salvador-children-priest-launch-062728320.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, Carlos Mario MARQUEZ, August 22, 2020</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gWEPcvuWJWc/X0GDgQdTp6I/AAAAAAACS9g/9OGeB_ELN-UOYqH9SUYNDKb3fJlR_GlJgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/f0ab725256ae6e10875f39c54eef0ca7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gWEPcvuWJWc/X0GDgQdTp6I/AAAAAAACS9g/9OGeB_ELN-UOYqH9SUYNDKb3fJlR_GlJgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/f0ab725256ae6e10875f39c54eef0ca7.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Priest Moises Rutilio Moran checks the water filters in a pond where he <br />breeds fish at his church in Santa Ana, El Salvador</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Priest Moises Rutilio Moran didn't sit twiddling his
thumbs when the coronavirus pandemic struck and his church emptied -- like many
Salvadorans, he got creative helping combat the country's COVID-induced lack of
food.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Determined that his church in the city of Santa Ana
"shouldn't be a burden on the community," Moran and his staff dug a
pond and started selling affordable fish to the local community.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Some 50 kilometers (30 miles) east in El Chaparral, a
village of 107 families, children began rolling up their sleeves, cultivating a
vegetable garden that is providing food for the community.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The pandemic and its economic woes have sent the price
of fruit and vegetables soaring, and left Salvadorans scheming plans to feed
themselves.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"I know how to preach, teach the catechism,
manage groups, but launching a tilapias project, never," the 41-year-old
priest told AFP..</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After churches were closed to prevent the spread of
the coronavirus, Moran started collecting groceries to help 1,700 families,
"not just poor people with houses made of (metal) sheets" but also
lawyers and engineers who lost their jobs.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">However, he soon realized he no longer had the means
to pay for the electricity, water, telephone and internet at his church, Our
Lady of Rosario.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WJPzsgl3Hl0/X0GD9g1svJI/AAAAAAACS9o/O8NnD5QekvcKYbzXp8CPr97bMDrtIBc6ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/ac56fcd4d61e6ab05177b38af6b5ceb5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="509" data-original-width="768" height="263" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WJPzsgl3Hl0/X0GD9g1svJI/AAAAAAACS9o/O8NnD5QekvcKYbzXp8CPr97bMDrtIBc6ACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/ac56fcd4d61e6ab05177b38af6b5ceb5.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Church caretaker Roberto Rivas prepares fish bred in a
pond to be sold to </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">parishioners and visitors in Santa Ana, El Salvador<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Thus his project was born: provide cheap fish to the
community whose payments would keep the church running "in a reciprocal
manner."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On a makeshift table next to the pond, 65-year-old
church caretaker Roberto Rivas is in charge of gutting the fish.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While the work is rewarding, Rivas told AFP he hopes
the church "opens soon because in these worrying times the faithful need
us to accompany them."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After five months of closure, churches are tentatively
hoping to reopen their doors on August 30.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">While many parish priests laid off their employees due
to a lack of resources, Moran's new enterprise means he's actually hired new
staff.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">William Hernandez, 42, was left unemployed after the
pharmacy he worked in for 16 years closed due to the crisis.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now he wields a net and catches fish "chosen by
the customer" while Omar Blanco, 29, serves as one of two workers making
deliveries by motorcycle.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GZ7EBhYukIk/X0GEKsj9jKI/AAAAAAACS9s/RDy47f6c4B87q8-fRSNVCWvxUphzVTUAQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/0da06d675854c69adb9d08c21b5064e8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="768" height="265" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GZ7EBhYukIk/X0GEKsj9jKI/AAAAAAACS9s/RDy47f6c4B87q8-fRSNVCWvxUphzVTUAQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/0da06d675854c69adb9d08c21b5064e8.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A girl holds a bundle of radishes in the community vegetable garden in El Chaparral</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"It's an excellent initiative discovering sources
of work in the midst of a difficult situation in which we have to reinvent
methods (of generating income) for the church," priest Oscar Lagos told
AFP as he arrived with a cooler to buy some fish.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>'Getting children involved'</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the village of El Chaparral radishes, peppers,
cabbages, tomatoes, spinach, blackberries and watermelons grown by the children
are a welcome boost.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"It's an initiative in our El Chaparral community
aimed at getting children and young people involved," said Victorina
Alvarenga, a 32-year-old mother who joins her nine-year-old daughter Sheyla in
the garden.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The vegetable patch is divided into plots named after
the child in charge. One part of the garden is dedicated to providing food for
the elderly.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"We're teaching children the value of solidarity
so that when they're adults, they'll be good people," said Alvarenga.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A month after planting seeds, the first harvest
produced huge radishes that were enthusiastically "ripped up" by the
children.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6hbugN06Jts/X0GEhRDZTeI/AAAAAAACS-A/3ew1bsSbvHUfyab2BZyl8Jof9qx75-oHwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/cf9eedcde0dbb7bb605a7f51601e8e9e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="768" height="265" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6hbugN06Jts/X0GEhRDZTeI/AAAAAAACS-A/3ew1bsSbvHUfyab2BZyl8Jof9qx75-oHwCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/cf9eedcde0dbb7bb605a7f51601e8e9e.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A boy collects radishes in the El Chaparral community
garden<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"I'm delighted because I'm bringing fresh food to
my family," said Sheyla proudly.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"I don't have any money but I bring healthy
food."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The idea has caught on and in the neighboring village
of Dimas Rodrigues a score of children have started another community garden.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"We want to produce our own food so we're not
dependent on the market," said the group's leader, Pedro Diaz, 22.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Felicia Mijango, in charge of a union of rural
communes, says the idea has its roots in the confinement of 10,000 Salvadoran
refugees who fled to Ocotepeque in Honduras as civil war raged a decade ago.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The refugees couldn't leave their UN camp that was
surrounded by barbed wire so they started growing their own fruit and
vegetables.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Mijango says her union actively supports around 100
family and community allotments with help from American and Canadian NGOs.</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343560265244971428.post-13171154811383644402020-08-20T12:58:00.002-07:002020-08-20T12:58:44.955-07:00Amazon indigenous protesters vow indefinite roadblock<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/amazon-indigenous-protesters-vow-indefinite-172559689.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, Joao Laet, </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">August 20, 2020</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5UIG4Tsfm4Y/Xz7VySLF7WI/AAAAAAACS8U/rNwYsbhfEV0kSLW180Rbg2O_urDjc6zeACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/5de74c0dbc7be52e4829e7af282314fc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5UIG4Tsfm4Y/Xz7VySLF7WI/AAAAAAACS8U/rNwYsbhfEV0kSLW180Rbg2O_urDjc6zeACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/5de74c0dbc7be52e4829e7af282314fc.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Members of the Kayapo indigenous tribe are blocking a highway through the Brazilian <br />Amazon demanding help against the new coronavirus and an end to illegal mining <br />and deforestation</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Armed with spears and bows, dozens of indigenous
protesters in Brazil vowed Thursday to maintain a roadblock on a key highway
until the authorities listen to their demands for help fighting COVID-19 and
deforestation.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Members of the Kayapo Mekranoti ethnic group have been
blocking highway BR-163 through the Amazon since Monday outside the northern
town of Novo Progresso.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But they vowed that they would no longer lift their
blockade periodically to let truckers through, as they had done for the past
two days.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"We're going to stay right here until the
government sends its representatives to talk with us," one protest leader,
Mudjere Kayapo, told AFP.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The highway is the main artery to ship corn and
soybeans, two of Brazil's main exports, from the country's central-western
agricultural heartland.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A federal judge has ordered the protesters to stand
down, citing the economic damage they are inflicting.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">She rejected an appeal Wednesday, and has ordered the
federal police to remove the protesters if they do not comply.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Kayapo Mekranoti warned that would lead to
violence.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"We do not want to fight. But we will not accept
the army or police coming here and removing us by force. If that happens, there
will be blood spilled on the asphalt," they said in a letter to the
government's indigenous affairs office, FUNAI.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Wearing feather headdresses and body paint, the
protesters burned a letter from FUNAI rejecting some of their demands and
calling for patience on others.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Kayapo Mekranoti are demanding far-right President
Jair Bolsonaro's government release funds they say they are owed for
environmental damage the highway caused to their land.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">They also want help fighting illegal mining,
deforestation and the new coronavirus, which has hit especially hard among
indigenous people in the region.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In Brazil, the country with the second-biggest
COVID-19 death toll worldwide after the United States, 26,000 indigenous people
have been infected and 690 have died in the pandemic, according to the
Brazilian Indigenous Peoples' Association (APIB).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Our rights are being violated," the
protesters said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Indigenous health is growing more fragile by the
day... We are here to defend the Amazon and protect our territory. But the
government wants to open indigenous lands to illegal projects, including
mining, logging and ranching."</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343560265244971428.post-51447780889167824802020-08-08T13:39:00.003-07:002020-08-08T13:39:42.538-07:00Bishop who defended indigenous people dies in Brazil aged 92<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/bishop-defended-indigenous-people-dies-165449838.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, August 8, 2020</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sx5rKMyvdoA/Xy8NUImzXAI/AAAAAAACS0I/DlCDaOTRshwWvuJusMuIEleKFMVbIWxlQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/e6713fc798b7c38eaa31fd89caff022d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="431" data-original-width="768" height="221" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sx5rKMyvdoA/Xy8NUImzXAI/AAAAAAACS0I/DlCDaOTRshwWvuJusMuIEleKFMVbIWxlQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/e6713fc798b7c38eaa31fd89caff022d.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Spanish bishop Pedro Casaldaliga, shown here speaking to actor Eduard <br />Fernandes in an undated photo released by Minoria Absoluta Productions,<br />has died aged 92 in Brazil</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The Spanish bishop Pedro Casaldaliga, a fervent
defender of the indigenous people of the Amazon, died Saturday at the age of 92
in Brazil, where he had been living since 1968, his office said.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Prelature of Sao Felix do Araguaia, in the
central-western state of Mato Grosso, where Casaldaliga was bishop emeritus,
announced in a statement that he passed away in the morning at hospital in
Batatais, near Sao Paulo.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He had been in intensive care due to respiratory
problems and was suffering from Parkinson's disease. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Our land, our people are losing today an example
of generous living for a better world; we will miss him very much," former
left-wing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva tweeted.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Born in 1928 in Balsareny, Catalonia, and ordained a
priest in 1952, he went on mission to Sao Felix do Araguaia, in the heart of
the Brazilian Amazon, in 1968, while the country was under a military
dictatorship.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He opposed the regime, the wealthy landowning class,
and even the Vatican, defending the landless peasants and the indigenous
people. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"In this land, it is easy to be born and die, but
difficult to live," the prelate told AFP in 2012, as a TV series about his
life was released -- "Barefoot on Red Soil," from the book of the
same name by Catalan writer Francesc Escribano. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Living under the constant threat of hired killers in
the pay of large landowners, he was one of the founders of the Pastoral Land
Commission (CPT) and the Indigenous Missionary Council (CIMI), two key bodies
in the struggle for agrarian reform. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In 1998 Bishop Casaldaliga was called to Rome, where
he underwent a tough interrogation by the then Prefect of the Congregation for
the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who seven years later
became Pope Benedict XVI. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At the end of last month, he and 150 other Brazilian
bishops signed an open letter criticizing the extreme right-wing president Jair
Bolsonaro, castigating his "incompetence" and his
"inability" to manage the coronavirus health crisis, which has caused
nearly 100,000 deaths in Brazil -- including several hundred indigenous people.</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343560265244971428.post-54304371862626067942020-07-25T12:52:00.000-07:002020-07-25T12:52:05.994-07:00Brazil's indigenous chief Raoni leaves hospital<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/brazils-indigenous-chief-raoni-leaves-hospital-164638603.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, July 25, 2020</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DDXnQjpDyhg/XxyNQ9Fot6I/AAAAAAACSqk/AuJtou6Gk_sSH8e_-v8LLWfuiqmWNV-8gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/ae95b310b032739bf7472587be79e074d589ecde.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DDXnQjpDyhg/XxyNQ9Fot6I/AAAAAAACSqk/AuJtou6Gk_sSH8e_-v8LLWfuiqmWNV-8gCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/ae95b310b032739bf7472587be79e074d589ecde.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A photo released by the Hospital Dois Pinheiros shows indigenous leader Raoni <br />Metuktire at a press conference at the hospital after being released by his doctors <br />in Sinop, Mato Grosso State, Brazil, on July 25, 2020 (AFP Photo/Diego OLIVEIRA)</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Brasília (AFP) - Brazil's best-known indigenous
leader, chief Raoni Metuktire, was released from hospital Saturday after a
health scare and gave thanks for all the support he received during his
convalescence.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"I want to thank everyone who supported me, who
heard about me every day, about my health. I thank you, now I am healed,"
said Raoni, an iconic defender of the Amazon rainforest, in a brief statement
as he left the hospital.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In a wheelchair and visibly emaciated, the 90-year-old
chief appeared at a press conference at Dois Pinheiros hospital in Sinop, Mato
Grosso state, where he spent one week being treated for gastric ulcers, an
inflamed colon and an intestinal infection.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">His statement was translated by his grandson Paxton
Metuktire.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"He is still a little weak because he is
finishing recovering, but he is strong enough to continue leading his
people," said Dr. Douglas Yanai, part of the team of eight specialists who
treated him.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Raoni was to return by plane around 1:00 pm local time
(1600 GMT) to his home of Metuktire, in the Xingu indigenous territory, the
hospital reported.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Doctors said the "deep sadness" he felt on
the death of his wife Bekwyjka, his companion for 60 years, on June 23
contributed to his condition.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Known for his colorful feather headdresses and the
large disc inserted in his lower lip, Raoni, a chief of the Kayapo people, has
traveled the world raising awareness of the threat posed by destruction of the
Amazon.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In his brief statement, Raoni called for people to
respect one another, because ill health can come "any day."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US">"Let's love, let's respect each other, because we
don't know if tomorrow our friends are going to get sick. </span>We have to be together," he said.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343560265244971428.post-66000250369320057282020-06-23T13:06:00.003-07:002020-06-23T13:06:41.012-07:00Judge orders Brazil's Bolsonaro to wear mask<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/judge-orders-brazils-bolsonaro-wear-mask-164200601.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>,
June 23, 2020</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qDiXS7dsIDA/XvJgp2moXtI/AAAAAAACSUs/_h1erzsnQpA4i7py4EEfaTAs15UUignCwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/d985491e60ec9a3bfe2313ac9b8b3abd6bc0c843.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qDiXS7dsIDA/XvJgp2moXtI/AAAAAAACSUs/_h1erzsnQpA4i7py4EEfaTAs15UUignCwCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/d985491e60ec9a3bfe2313ac9b8b3abd6bc0c843.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">In this file photo taken on May 12, 2020 Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro wears a<br />face mask as he arrives at a flag-raising ceremony at the Alvorada Palace in <br />Brasilia (AFP Photo/EVARISTO SA)</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Brasília
(AFP) - A federal judge in Brazil ordered President Jair Bolsonaro to wear a
face mask in public, after the far-right leader repeatedly flouted the
coronavirus containment measures in place in Brasilia.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Judge
Renato Borelli ordered Bolsonaro, who has famously compared the new coronavirus
to a "little flu," to stop ignoring the capital city's mask decree,
or face a fine of 2,000 reals ($390).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"The
president has a constitutional obligation to follow the laws in force in the
country, as well as to promote the general welfare of the people, which means
taking the necessary measures to protect citizens' right to health," the
judge wrote in his ruling Monday.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The
decision also applies to Bolsonaro's cabinet and staff.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The case
was brought by a lawyer who said the president should be held to account for
his "irresponsible behavior."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Masks have
been mandatory in public in Brasilia since April to curb the spread of the
virus.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bolsonaro
regularly breaks the social distancing measures in place in the capital, giving
handshakes and hugs at rallies by his supporters, hosting barbecues, hitting
the shooting range and going out for hotdogs, generally without a mask.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">His former
education minister Abraham Weintraub was fined 2,000 reals last week for
attending a pro-Bolsonaro rally in Brasilia without a mask.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Brazil has
the second-highest COVID-19 death toll in the world, after the United States,
at more than 51,000.</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343560265244971428.post-21731915816551348602020-06-20T14:51:00.004-07:002020-06-20T14:52:13.381-07:00Chile reports more than 7,000 virus deaths under new counting method<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/chile-reports-more-7-000-virus-deaths-under-175457680.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>, June
20, 2020</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x8beK9Dko_4/Xu6Etp8H7yI/AAAAAAACSS4/wUYsPIn774Y3glIHslyjryJNTKl8qDNugCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/94e572eff8328e82c5f46e573c3fdb2188a13e36.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="457" data-original-width="768" height="237" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-x8beK9Dko_4/Xu6Etp8H7yI/AAAAAAACSS4/wUYsPIn774Y3glIHslyjryJNTKl8qDNugCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/94e572eff8328e82c5f46e573c3fdb2188a13e36.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The toll thus increased by 3,069, officials said; pictured are health care staff <br />transferring a patient with symptoms of COVID-19 to San Jose Hospital, <br />in Santiago, on June 18, 2020 (AFP Photo/MARTIN BERNETTI)</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Santiago
(AFP) - Chile nearly doubled its coronavirus death toll Saturday to more than
7,000 under a new tallying method that includes probable fatalities from
COVID-19.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The toll
thus increased by 3,069, Rafael Araos of the heath ministry said as he revealed
officially for the first time the new government counting methodology.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The
revelation of this tallying method last week by CIPER, an investigative news
organization, prompted the resignation of health minister Jaime Manalich.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Until now
the death toll from confirmed coronavirus cases in the South American country
was 4,075.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Infections
have risen steadily in Chile even though it began taking emergency measures in
February -- including widespread testing and the closure of borders and schools
-- making it one of the first Latin American countries to do so.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The capital
Santiago and its seven million people were placed under lockdown more than a
month ago, followed recently by the cities of Valparaiso and Vina del Mar.</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343560265244971428.post-51102683464396576962020-05-26T13:41:00.003-07:002020-05-26T13:41:26.377-07:00Costa Rica legalises same-sex marriage in first for Central America<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/costa-rica-legalises-same-sex-marriage-first-central-083813854.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>,
Marco SIBAJA, May 26, 2020</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g3DfY8BSdTg/Xs1-b4_5WyI/AAAAAAACSHU/pmYQ8G5oH-kBEAKMGdu2ktirOxxTgdLrwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/76291e9781adc24ebff844ce2451021ac928c6ea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="424" data-original-width="768" height="218" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g3DfY8BSdTg/Xs1-b4_5WyI/AAAAAAACSHU/pmYQ8G5oH-kBEAKMGdu2ktirOxxTgdLrwCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/76291e9781adc24ebff844ce2451021ac928c6ea.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Costa Rica is the first Central American country to legalise same-sex marriage <br />(AFP Photo/Ezequiel BECERRA)</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">San José
(AFP) - Costa Rica legalised same-sex marriage on Tuesday, becoming the first
Central American country to do so and sparking an emotional response from
rights campaigners as the first weddings were held overnight.</span><br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Celebrations
were cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic, but a special program about
LGBT rights was broadcast on public television and online after a court ruling
came into force at midnight.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"This
change will bring about a significant social and cultural transformation,
allowing thousands of people to marry," said President Carlos Alvarado in
the program.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Costa Rica
is the eighth country in the Americas to recognise same-sex marriage -- a group
that includes Brazil, Ecuador and Argentina, as well as Canada and the US.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Supreme
Court in August 2018 ruled that a ban on gay marriage was unconstitutional and
gave parliament 18 months to amend the laws. It failed to do that, so the
provision was automatically annulled.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"Costa
Rica is celebrating today: marriage equality has become a reality in the
country -- the first one in Central America," tweeted the International
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA)..<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"We
rejoice with you: congratulations to all those who worked so hard to make it
happen!"<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xcvQaLWjzsA/Xs1-1REpGEI/AAAAAAACSHc/krkLwQBUgXcfm5DsbLXqbRVG1PsSirkSQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/a74ff9b72f7b764b8ec5cc1bd91c046db8d2f6c4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="602" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xcvQaLWjzsA/Xs1-1REpGEI/AAAAAAACSHc/krkLwQBUgXcfm5DsbLXqbRVG1PsSirkSQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/a74ff9b72f7b764b8ec5cc1bd91c046db8d2f6c4.jpg" width="313" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Gay rights activists have long campaigned for the right to<br />marry in Costa Rica (AFP Photo/Ezequiel BECERRA)</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Victor
Madrigal-Borloz, the UN's Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender
Identity, called the change "an extraordinary moment of celebration"
in a tweet posted on Monday.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Strong
Catholic tradition</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He
expressed "gratitude to the work of so many activists, and of quiet
reflection of the lives of those who lived without seeing this moment".<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Moments
after midnight, Dunia Araya and Alexandra Quiros tied the knot in a town
northwest of the capital, San Jose. The young women, both dressed in white,
took their vows before a notary wearing a face mask as part of measures to stop
the spread of coronavirus.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Costa Rica
has a strong Catholic tradition and has also seen a proliferation of
evangelical churches in recent decades. Many followers of those denominations
are opposed to gay marriage.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Alvarado, a
centrist, was elected to the presidency in April 2018 by comfortably seeing off
a challenge from evangelical preacher Fabricio Alvarado, who campaigned against
same-sex marriage.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Supreme
Court decision complied with an opinion given by the Inter-American Court of
Human Rights, declaring that homosexual couples have the same rights to marry
as heterosexual ones.</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343560265244971428.post-75859428042258076262020-05-23T13:31:00.003-07:002020-05-23T13:31:44.122-07:00Sao Paulo mayor: cancer survivor, COVID fighter<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/sao-paulo-mayor-cancer-survivor-covid-fighter-173636569.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>,
Paula RAMON,, May 23, 2020</span><br />
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8JEjnczxwwU/XsmH9Lz6z_I/AAAAAAACRu4/p0KPBYtkM5oZiwVklXDHQy9zUhUKEKd5QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/ac9fa57c273285d3d32128bcf5db4f1c04d3d3a6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8JEjnczxwwU/XsmH9Lz6z_I/AAAAAAACRu4/p0KPBYtkM5oZiwVklXDHQy9zUhUKEKd5QCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/ac9fa57c273285d3d32128bcf5db4f1c04d3d3a6.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Sao Paulo Mayor Bruno Covas has barely left city hall, where he has a bed in his <br />office, since he implemented the most aggressive stay-at-home policies in Brazil <br />(AFP Photo/NELSON ALMEIDA)</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Sao Paulo
(AFP) - Isolated in his office at city hall, Sao Paulo Mayor Bruno Covas is
waging a war on two fronts: the cancer survivor is also leading the fight
against coronavirus at its epicenter in Latin America.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's safe
to say February 26, 2020 is a day the 40-year-old mayor won't forget anytime
soon: just as he was starting immunotherapy for lymphoma -- his third cancer in
as many months -- he got the news that Latin America's first case of the new
coronavirus had been confirmed in his city.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Covas had
already beaten his two previous tumors into remission with chemotherapy -- one
in his upper stomach, one in his liver -- and he reacted to the arrival of the
coronavirus pandemic with the same grit.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"I
never considered stepping down," he told AFP in an interview at his
offices, wearing a tight-fitting face mask that matched his black outfit.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"The
doctors never said I needed to."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bald and
gaunt from his chemo, Covas bears the physical signs of the battles he has waged.
But he is working virtually around the clock to run the pandemic response in
the hardest-hit city in Latin America, with 40,000 infections and more than
3,000 deaths so far.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Together
with Sao Paulo state Governor Joao Doria, Covas implemented the most aggressive
stay-at-home policies in Brazil, ordering the closure of schools and
non-essential businesses on March 24.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That flew
in the face of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, who condemned the
"hysteria" around the virus and accused state and local authorities
of needlessly hurting the economy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Covas says
his biggest battle is getting citizens in Brazil's biggest city to respect the
stay-at-home.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sao Paulo
is Brazil's economic capital, and the bustle of business and the street is what
the city is all about.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Monitoring
based on cell phone location data indicates that only about half its 12 million
residents are respecting the stay-at-home -- a source of frustration for Covas.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"But
at the same time, it's rewarding to see that six million people are respecting
it," he said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"We've
been in quarantine for almost two months, so each day that passes we're asking
people to make an extra sacrifice."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The mayor,
who took office in April 2018, is leading by example.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Since the
stay-at-home started, he has barely left city hall, where he has installed a
bed in his office.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Aside from
occasional hospital visits or meetings with officials, Covas remains inside his
15-storey headquarters.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A divorced
father of one, he receives visits a few times a week from his 14-year-old son.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Other than
that, he mainly spends his time working. He says he wants to be available 24
hours a day for the people of Sao Paulo.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">With Brazil
emerging as the latest flashpoint in the pandemic, with more than 21,000
deaths, and the situation not expected to peak here until June, Covas' stay at
city hall probably won't be over soon.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Not about
ideology</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Covas, who
hails from the center-right Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), is the
grandson of a longtime Sao Paulo political bigwig, Mario Covas.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A lawyer by
training, he was elected a state lawmaker at 26, then became deputy mayor under
Doria. When his mentor stepped down to run for governor, Covas took over at
city hall.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Covas
acknowledged the challenges his administration has faced handling the pandemic,
but defended its response.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"We're
getting through the crisis in better shape than other major capitals," he
said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Local
hospitals are near the breaking point, with 88 percent of intensive care beds
full, but Covas said he was proud they had not been forced to turn anyone away.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He and his
team are racing to reinforce the health care system. They have opened field
hospitals that are caring for 2,500 COVID-19 patients and added hundreds of
additional beds to existing hospitals.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">He openly
discusses the frustrations of watching Bolsonaro downplay the pandemic even as
his city is being ravaged.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"The
president doesn't care about medical protocols. That is doing a lot of
damage," he said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"This
isn't a left-wing virus or a right-wing virus," he added.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"It's
a scientific reality, and we have to confront it."</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2343560265244971428.post-45386159063708735072020-05-10T13:07:00.000-07:002020-05-10T13:07:06.075-07:00Brazil tops 10,000 deaths from COVID-19<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://news.yahoo.com/brazil-tops-10-000-deaths-covid-19-023556552.html" target="_blank">Yahoo – AFP</a>,
Pascale TROUILLAUD, May 10, 2020</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v8PzHuyxAes/XrhdpXW9RqI/AAAAAAACQQc/95XKe2NrPqkI1rsOdsB-PnCi44BsOoA1QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/ca66ae1f29615c7e108d31ca842e7f5793390048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="528" data-original-width="768" height="275" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v8PzHuyxAes/XrhdpXW9RqI/AAAAAAACQQc/95XKe2NrPqkI1rsOdsB-PnCi44BsOoA1QCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/ca66ae1f29615c7e108d31ca842e7f5793390048.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A funeral worker wearing protective clothing as a preventive measure against the <br />coronavirus walks through Caju Cemetary in Rio de Janeiro on May 9 (AFP Photo/<br />Carl DE SOUZA)</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rio de
Janeiro (AFP) - Brazil, the hardest-hit Latin American country in the
coronavirus pandemic, has surpassed 10,000 deaths, according to figures
released Saturday by the Ministry of Health.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While
Brazil's numbers are high -- 10,627 deaths and 155,939 confirmed cases --
scientists think the real figures could be 15 or even 20 times worse, given the
country's inability to carry out widespread testing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Congress
and the Supreme Court decreed an official mourning period of three days and
lawmakers asked Brazilians to follow health authorities' recommendations to
reduce infection rates while the country prepares for "a safe and
definitive return back to normal."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Meanwhile
President Jair Bolsonaro, who opposes stay-at-home measures due to their impact
on the country's economy, was seen jet skiing on Lake Paranoa in Brasilia,
according to the Metropoles news website.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AacTgfinJBs/XrheTolEa7I/AAAAAAACQQk/Gb6Zd3gbte4c1cv6C5ZuippxHmf_RTNXgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/5533d63695a4d0e404a85890b8d4f2e23abe2c30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="551" data-original-width="768" height="286" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AacTgfinJBs/XrheTolEa7I/AAAAAAACQQk/Gb6Zd3gbte4c1cv6C5ZuippxHmf_RTNXgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/5533d63695a4d0e404a85890b8d4f2e23abe2c30.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Cemetary workers place the coffin of a coronavirus victim in a grave cubicle at Caju <br />Cemetary in Rio de Janeiro on May 9 (AFP Photo/Carl DE SOUZA)</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Officials
told AFP he did not plan to make a statement on the country reaching 10,000
deaths.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the last
24 hours alone, the nation saw 10,611 new cases and 730 fatalities, Brazil's
second-highest daily death toll, after a record set on Friday (751 deaths).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>'Situation is dire'</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Resisting
pressure from Bolsonaro, the governors of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro states
have said they will extend the partial quarantine measures in force since March
until the end of May.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
pandemic has given rise to ongoing governmental clashes, pitting the president
against governors and mayors who have implemented social distancing and
confinement measures to contain the virus' spread -- efforts supported by the
country's Supreme Court.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EOu-GVdNjDM/Xrhegy8OOzI/AAAAAAACQQo/yyG9jhL-1fAdRaI2y_R0o22hOlGu-ihjQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/8069d1f6df709ab36385f4e9a78b7fd6b2f92618.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="504" data-original-width="768" height="262" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EOu-GVdNjDM/Xrhegy8OOzI/AAAAAAACQQo/yyG9jhL-1fAdRaI2y_R0o22hOlGu-ihjQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/8069d1f6df709ab36385f4e9a78b7fd6b2f92618.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Satere-mawe
indigenous men navigate the Ariau River during the coronavirus </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">pandemic at the
Sahu-Ape community located some 80 kilometers from Manaus </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">in Amazonas State on
May 5 (AFP Photo/RICARDO OLIVEIRA)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In
announcing that his state's lockdown would be prolonged, Sao Paulo Governor
Joao Doria said Friday: "We are at the height of this pandemic. The
situation is dire."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">His
southeastern state of almost 46 million inhabitants has seen more than 3,600
deaths and over 44,400 cases.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Neighboring
Rio de Janeiro state, home to more than 16 million people, follows with 1,653
deaths and 16,929 infections. Less populated states such as Ceara, Pernambuco
and Amazonas already have around a thousand dead each.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Amazonas,
home to a number of indigenous tribes that are extremely vulnerable to the
virus, has recorded 232 deaths per million inhabitants, almost three times the
rate in Sao Paulo state.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PtuTgRVz4K4/Xrhev5zOKnI/AAAAAAACQQw/KsDPJGuJ78wntn7y6oXNMKKkGr2dj41rQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/84faae2f1af41ef2d74f7f5e2ae125131f50aaa6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PtuTgRVz4K4/Xrhev5zOKnI/AAAAAAACQQw/KsDPJGuJ78wntn7y6oXNMKKkGr2dj41rQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/84faae2f1af41ef2d74f7f5e2ae125131f50aaa6.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Workers dig
graves at Nossa Senhora Cemetery in Manaus, Brazil on May 8 </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">amid the
coronavirus pandemic (AFP Photo/MICHAEL DANTAS)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While
Brazil's coronavirus peak is not expected for several more weeks, seven states
have already seen their intensive care units fill to 90 percent capacity.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bolsonaro,
who has compared the coronavirus to a "little flu," tweeted Saturday
that the country's "army of unemployed continues to grow" in
reference to a factory closure in the northeast, before asking "is chaos
coming?"<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On Thursday
the country's economy minister, Paulo Guedes, said Brazil could face
"economic collapse" in a month's time due to stay-at-home measures.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">According
to the IMF, Brazil risks a 5.3 percent contraction in GDP this year.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Worldwide the virus has claimed more than
277,000 lives and the number of coronavirus cases has surpassed four million,
according to an AFP tally.</span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0