- The Guardian
- Issue #2046
HONDURAS: The President of Honduras has announced that the country will seek to establish diplomatic relations with mainland China instead of Taiwan. The Foreign Minister was instructed “to manage the opening of official relations with the People’s Republic of China” to join the rest of the world in “expanding the borders with freedom.”
USA: About 1.5 million litres of radioactive water has leaked from a nuclear plant in Monticello, and the US state of Minnesota. The Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) said that the state agencies are monitoring Xcel Energy’s efforts to clean up “a release of water contaminated with tritium” detected at the nuclear-generating plant. Xcel Energy reported the leak in November 2022, and the four-month delay in making the leak public has sparked concerns about public safety and transparency. Tritium is a by-product in the generation of electricity by nuclear power plants.
FRANCE: The Paris mayor’s office reported that more than 10,000 tons of garbage have piled up in the streets of Paris due to a strike by street cleaners protesting against the government’s pension cuts. The authorities have been warning about the health risks for residents and the spread of various diseases. However, the mayor of Paris, Anna Hidalgo, has rejected the government’s request to resort to administrative measures to force garbage collectors and street cleaners to return to work. According to the Mayor, the workers have the right to protest and the only acceptable course of action would be to initiate a public dialogue.
PERU: The Boluarte government has a disapproval rate of 76 per cent, and 51 per cent of Peruvians consider that the Congress staged a coup against President Pedro Castillo. Since the President’s dismissal, over 60 people have died and about 1300 people have been injured in anti-government demonstrations in Peru. The Peruvian National Police dismissed eight generals who ordered the repression of protests against President Dina Boluarte.
MEXICO, COLUMBIA, and CUBA are planning to form the Regional Medical Devices Agency. This proposal seeks to boost the Latin American production of medicines raw materials and equipment. Cuban President Migual Diaz-Canel strongly backed this initiative, stressing that the convergence of health regulations and standards in the region is indispensable to counteract the effects of the post-COVID crisis together. Currently, Latin America has seven out of the 15 countries in the world with the highest COVID-19 mortality rates per 100,000 inhabitants. As of 15th March, the region had registered 68,163,526 COVID-19 cases and 1,351,596 related deaths.
