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Media join “I stay home” and “Together we will move forward El Salvador”

“El Salvador together we will overcome this” and “Stay at home” are two of the slogans used by the Salvadoran media in all their broadcasts and publications.

Replicating president Nayib Bukele’s message to stay at home and help prevent an uncontrol spread of the virus, is the intention of every TV station, radio and newspaper, as well as transmitting all relevant information about the crisis.

following the government’s decision to take preventive measures before there were any confirmed cases, the privet sector both the media and privet companies decided to join and collaborate donating food, water and basic necessity articles that the most vulnerable sector of the country requires at this time.

Fast food restaurant were the first ones to react and start providing food to the shelters that keep all the Salvadorans that entered the country before the preventive closure and are being monitored in a quarantine as a precautionary measure.

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A permanent dialogue and collaboration between both the executive and the privet sector has been the key factor to face the worldwide COVID-19 emergency.

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Biden promises Zelensky advanced air defense systems

Photo: RTVE

AFP

US President Joe Biden on Monday promised to provide advanced air defense systems to Ukraine after Russian missiles rained down on the capital Kyiv and other cities, the White House said in a statement.

Biden spoke to President Volodymyr Zelensky and “pledged to continue providing Ukraine with the support needed to defend itself, including advanced air defense systems,” the statement said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened more “severe” attacks against Ukraine after the biggest wave of strikes in months killed at least 11 in retaliation for an explosion that damaged a key bridge linking Russia to the Moscow-annexed Crimean peninsula.

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After speaking with Biden, Zelensky tweeted that “air defense is currently the number 1 priority in our defense cooperation.”

Kyiv said Russian forces had fired more than 80 missiles on cities across the country and that Russia had also used Iranian drones launched from neighbouring Belarus.

Biden “conveyed his condolences to the loved ones of those killed and injured in these senseless attacks,” the White House said.

“He also underscored his ongoing engagement with allies and partners to continue imposing costs on Russia (and) holding Russia accountable for its war crimes and atrocities.”

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Top Argentina lawmaker named economy ‘super minister’ as crisis drags on

AFP

Argentina’s government on Thursday appointed the head of the country’s lower house of Congress, Sergio Massa, as the new economy “super minister,” as Buenos Aires attempts to surmount an economic crisis marked by soaring inflation.

Massa’s appointment brings together three ministries under his supervision: economy, development and agriculture.

Some 37 percent of Argentina’s population of 45 million live in poverty, while inflation for the first half of the year topped 36 percent.

Massa, a 50-year-old attorney by training who has been in politics for years, will take over his new post once he has properly stepped down from his seat in Congress, the office of President Alberto Fernandez said in a statement.

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The previous economy minister Silvina Batakis, who had just returned from Washington where she held talks at the International Monetary Fund over Argentina’s debt, will shift over to run the state-owned bank Banco Nacion.

Argentina, which earlier this year renegotiated repayments on a $44-billion loan with the IMF, has committed to reducing its public deficit from three percent in 2021 to 0.9 percent by 2024.

On Thursday, thousands of people demonstrated in Buenos Aires for a “universal salary” worth 67,000 pesos (around $490 at the official exchange rate), which amounts to the cost of two basic food baskets, for the country’s lowest earners.

“Poverty has taken control of the country,” Monica Sulle, a leader of the Socialist Workers’ Movement (MST), told AFP.

“This unstoppable inflation is taking a seat at the family dinner table at every level of society, but in the poorest sectors, it’s a catastrophe,” said Vilma Ripoli, a leader of the Workers’ Leftist Front (FIT).

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Protesters against Panama’s soaring costs end roadblocks: authorities

AFP

Protesters angry at the high cost of living in Panama ended their three-week blockade of major roads on Tuesday, authorities said, as negotiations between the government and groups behind the demonstrations continued.

Security minister Juan Manuel Pino told AFP in a short message that the roads were “all open” for the first time since the protests began.

Earlier, police had announced on Twitter that “the roads that had been kept closed by protests have been cleared,” and traffic was flowing freely.

Panama has been gripped by protests over the cost of living and corruption in the worst social crisis since the American invasion of the country in 1989.

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Since the unrest began, protesters have blocked various roads, most notably the Pan-American Highway, which connects Panama with Costa Rica and is the country’s main route for trade and the transport of goods.

The severing of the routes had led to shortages of food and fuel in several cities.

On Tuesday, leaders of the indigenous region of Ngabe-Bugle in the east of the country announced that they would stop blocking the Pan-American Highway in the province of Chiriqui, the source of most of the fresh food consumed in the country.

The president of Panama, Laurentino Cortizo, had reiterated on Tuesday his call for protesters to reopen the roads.

“The protests (and) closures of streets and highways affect us all, putting at risk the health and lives of Panamanians, and raising the cost of food and threatening employment,” he said.

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While the government “respects the right to protest,” Cortizo said it should be done “without disruptions to social order, violations of the rights of third parties, and much less acts of vandalism.”

The opening of the roads came amid talks that have been taking place since Thursday in Penonome, 150 kilometers (90 miles) southeast of the capital, between the government and representatives of the organizations behind the protests.

So far, the government has agreed to reduce the cost of 72 basic goods and to lower the price of fuel from $5.20 per gallon (3.78 liters) to $3.25.

However, the groups have demanded the price of gasoline be cut to $3, along with reductions to the cost of medicines and electricity, improvements to public health and education, and measures to fight corruption.