Chile congress approves same-sex marriage bill

France24–AFP, 7 December 2021

A demonstrator raises a clenched fist during a protest for abortion rights in
Santiago de Chile in September 2021 Pablo VERA AFP/File 

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. 

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. 

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. 

There were two abstentions. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

The issue deeply divides the two candidates headed for a presidential run-off on December 19. 

Gabriel Boric, 35, who represents a leftist alliance that includes the Communist Party, supported the bill and voted "yes" in his capacity as lawmaker. 

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.

New republic Barbados names 'Diamond' Rihanna national hero

Yahoo – AFP, 30 November 2021 

Rihanna (with President Sandra Mason, L) was declared a national hero of
Barbados minutes after the island became the world's newst republic (AFP/WPA POOL.

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. 

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. 

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. 

"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. 

"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." 

Mottley paid tribute to the humble origins of Rihanna, who was born in Saint Michael and raised in the capital Bridgetown. 

Garfield Sobers, regarding as one of the greatest crickters of a
ll time, hugs fellow national hero Rihanna (AFP/JEFF J MITCHELL)

Rihanna, 33, grew up in a troubled home in Barbados and was propelled to fame after American producer Evan Rogers recognized her talents. 

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. 

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. 

Mottley said the government chose to honor Rihanna as the first national hero designated by the new republic as a "signal to the world." 

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. 

Sobers was also at the ceremony and hugged Rihanna. 

The title would be conferred on her Wednesday morning, the prime minister said. 

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. 

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. 

The guest of honor was Britain's Prince Charles, who acknowledged the "appalling atrocity of slavery" the island suffered under colonial rule.

Pollution turns Argentina lake bright pink

Yahoo –AFP, July 25, 2021 

An Argentina lagoon turned a bright pink color caused by sodium sulfite,
an anti-bacterial product used in fish factories

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. 

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. 

Residents have long complained of foul smells and other environmental issues around the river and lagoon. 

"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. 

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. 

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. 

The lagoon, which is not used for recreation, receives runoff from the Trelew industrial park and has turned the color of fuchsia before. 

The Corfo lagoon in Patagonia, which is not used for recreation, receives runoff
from the Trelew industrial park, and it is not the first time it has turned this unnatura; color

But residents of the area are fed up. 

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. 

"We get dozens of trucks daily, the residents are getting tired of it," said Lada. 

With Rawson off limits due to the protest, provincial authorities granted authorization for factories to dump their waste instead in the Corfo lagoon. 

"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. 

Sebastian de la Vallina, planning secretary for the city of Trelew disagreed: "It is not possible to minimize something so serious." 

Plants that process fish for export, mainly prawns and hake, generate thousands of jobs for Chubut province, home to some 600,000 people. 

Dozens of foreign fishing companies operate in the area in waters under Argentina's Atlantic jurisdiction. 

"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.

El Salvador first country to approve bitcoin as legal tender

Yahoo – AFP, Nayib Bukele, June 9, 2021 

The bitcoin law passed with the support of Bukele's allies despite minority
opposition parties -- which criticised the speed of the vote -- refusing to back it

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. 

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. 

"The #BitcoinLaw has just been approved by a qualified majority" in the legislative assembly, President Nayib Bukele tweeted after the vote late Tuesday. 

"History!" the president added. 

The 39-year-old leader said a majority of 62 out of 84 lawmakers approved the bill, which he proposed just last week. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

El Salvador's main currency is the US dollar and it remains unclear how the country plans to implement bitcoin as a functioning currency. 

El Salvador -- a small nation where four out of 10 people live in poverty -- 
has turned to the top crypto asset to boost its remittance-reliant economy

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. 

Remittances from Salvadorans working overseas represent a major chunk of the economy -- equivalent to roughly 22 percent of Gross Domestic Product. 

In 2020, remittances to the country totaled $5.9 billion, according to official reports. 

'On the world's radar' 

Before the vote, Bukele said adopting the cryptocurrency would bring "financial inclusion, investment, tourism, innovation and economic development" to the country. 

"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. 

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. 

Between the beginning of 2020 and a peak in mid-April of $64,870, the price of bitcoin gained nearly 800 percent. 

But since then, the cryptocurrency has fallen in value by more than 50 percent. 

Its price has fallen sharply towards a symbolic $30,000 threshold it has not crossed since January, dragging other cryptocurrencies in its wake. 

After Tuesday's vote, the price jumped more than five percent.

Cuba gets new leader as last Castro retires

Yahoo – AFP, Leticia PINEDA, April 19, 2021 

Raul Castro, 89, is stepping down, ending a six-decade family hold on
power that started in 1959

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. 

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. 

"April 19, an historic day," tweeted the new leader, lauding the all-powerful PCC's "founding and guiding" generation for handing over the reins. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

Cuba is Battling its worst economic crisis in 30 years, sky-high inflation, biting
food shortages, long lines for basic necessities and growing

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. 

It also marked six decades since the failed Bay of Pigs invasion by anti-revolutionary Cuban exiles, backed by the CIA. 

'Irrevocable' socialism 

The change at the top is not expected to yield any major policy shifts. 

Diaz-Canel, a suit-and-tie wearing, tech-savvy Beatles fan, remains a staunch party disciple.

And a new constitution passed in May 2019 made it clear that the country's commitment to socialism was "irrevocable." 

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." 

Miguel Diaz-Canel, a suit-and-tie wearing, tech-savvy Beatles fan, is a
staunch party disciple

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. 

"There are limits that cannot be crossed," warned Castro, who wore a military uniform. 

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. 

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. 

"Since I was born, I have only known one party," said Miguel Gainza, a 58-year-old in Havana. 

"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". 

Ten key dates Cuba's Castros

Internet drives change

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. 

Young Cubans, many of whom go overseas each year for lack of opportunities at home, are increasingly venting their frustrations on social media. 

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."

 The PCC had pledged to tackle the issue of online "political and ideological subversion" at its congress. 

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. 

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Friday the United States was not planning any immediate change in its policy toward Cuba. 

"Support for democracy and human rights will be at the core of our efforts," she said.