International
Brazil green-lights Pfizer vaccine for kids 12 and up
AFP/Editor
Brazil’s health regulator approved the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine Friday for use in children aged 12 and up, though they will likely have to wait months in line for older age groups to be vaccinated first.
Hit hard by the pandemic, Brazil joins countries including the United States, Uruguay and Chile in extending vaccination to minors.
However, supply issues mean the move is mainly symbolic for now.
Brazil’s Covid-19 vaccination drive, which began in January, has been hit by shortages and delays.
Around 11 percent of the country’s 212 million people have been fully vaccinated so far.
Cities such as Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro have only recently finished vaccinating priority groups such as health workers and the elderly.
They are now vaccinating the general population in descending order by age, and are currently immunizing people in their 50s.
The health regulator, Anvisa, said the approval was based on studies by Pfizer that “indicated the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness for this age group.”
In addition to the US pharmaceutical giant’s vaccine, developed with German firm BioNTech, Brazil is currently using the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine and Chinese-developed CoronaVac.
Regulators have also approved the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, but the government has not yet reached a deal to purchase it.
Brazil has struggled to source enough vaccine doses.
Far-right President Jair Bolsonaro faces criticism for refusing offers of vaccines last year, including from Pfizer, and instead pushing the ineffective medication chloroquine against Covid-19.
The pandemic has claimed more than 480,000 lives in Brazil, second only to the United States.
International
Judge declares Donald Trump not guilty in Stormy Daniels case
Judge Juan Merchan acquitted U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in the case involving former porn actress Stormy Daniels.
“At this moment, I am issuing this verdict to cover all 34 charges,” Merchan stated. The judge also wished Trump good luck in his second term as president.
Trump will now become the first criminal president.
Merchan declined to impose any punishment. This decision strengthens Trump’s acquittal and clears the way for his return to the White House without the threat of prison or a fine.
“Never before has this court faced such a unique and remarkable set of circumstances,” Judge Merchan said.
International
Canada imposes sanctions on 14 venezuelan officials for human rights violations
Canada imposed sanctions on 14 high-ranking officials of the Venezuelan “regime” this Friday, including prominent members of the Military Counterintelligence Directorate (DGCIM), for their involvement in human rights violations in Venezuela.
Among those sanctioned are DGCIM prosecutors Dinorah Yoselin Bustamante Puerta and Farik Karin Salcedo Mora; the director of criminal investigations at the agency, Asdrubal José Brito Hernandez, as well as its former deputy director, Rafael Ramón Blanco Marrero.
The sanctions also target several members of the Bolivarian National Guard: its general commander, Elio Ramón Estrada Paredes; the commander of the capital region, Johan Alexander Hernández Lárez, and lieutenant colonel, Alexander Enrique Granko Arteaga.
Other individuals sanctioned include the director of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (SEBIN), Alexis José Rodríguez Cabello, and his deputy director, Miguel Antonio Muñoz Palacios; Brigadier General of the Bolivarian National Police, Rubén Darío Santiago Servigna, and Domingo Antonio Hernández Lárez, commander of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces.
International
María Corina Machado urges Edmundo González Urrutia not to return to Venezuela for his safety
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said on Friday that she asked Edmundo González Urrutia, former candidate of the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD), not to return to Venezuela to avoid putting himself at risk.
In a video message, Machado explained that the opposition evaluated the situation and concluded that González Urrutia would be in danger if he tried to enter Venezuela as he had planned.
González Urrutia, who claims to have won the July 28 elections with the support of more than 85% of the official voting records, had announced that he would return to Venezuela on January 10 to assume the presidency.
Earlier, Nicolás Maduro, who was declared the winner of those elections, took the oath of office for a third term.
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María Corina Machado urges Edmundo González Urrutia not to return to Venezuela for his safety
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