International
Vaccine pass becomes mandatory in tourist hotspot Rio

AFP
Accessing Rio de Janeiro’s tourist sites became conditional Wednesday on presentation of a coronavirus vaccine certificate, as authorities seek to encourage people to get their shots.
The requirement also applies for access to other public spaces such as cinemas, theaters, gyms, museums, sports stadiums and conference venues, but not restaurants, bars or shopping malls.
Foreign visitors are allowed to present an international health pass.
On Wednesday morning, the queue for the cable car to the top of the iconic Sugarloaf Mountain advanced without incident, with most visitors clutching paper or mobile phone app versions of their vaccine records.
The move, Rio mayor Eduardo Paes said Tuesday, was “important for the city to be able to return to normal, for people to be able to frequent public places again.”
Earlier, he had said: “We’re going to make things difficult for those who don’t want to be vaccinated… It’s inconceivable for people who think they’re protected without the vaccine to have normal lives. They won’t.”
Rio, a city of 6.8 million people famous for its beautiful beaches and breathtaking views, has seen a surge of coronavirus infections recently because of the Delta variant.
The city has registered more than 30,000 Covid-19 deaths.
Rio is betting on widespread vaccination to bring back beloved events such as its annual carnival, the world’s largest, which had to be canceled this year because of the pandemic.
Brazil, a country of 213 million people, has registered more than 587,000 Covid-19 deaths, a toll second only to the United States.
Rio has a reported coronavirus death rate of 439 per 100,000 inhabitants — much higher than the national average of 280.
On Wednesday evening, the 78,000-seater Maracana Stadium will receive 20,000 people for a Brazil Cup quarter-final match between Flamengo and Gremio in a “test” event after many months of fanless matches.
A vaccine certificate was required for ticket purchases.
Brazil had a late start with coronavirus vaccination but is now the country with the fourth-most doses administered.
Nearly two-thirds of the population have received at least one vaccine dose, and 35 percent are fully immunized — in Rio, it is nearly 50 percent.
Sao Paulo, Brazil’s largest metropolitan area, already has a vaccine requirement in place since September 1.
Rio was also meant to implement the requirement on that date, but postponed it by two weeks due to technical problems with issuing the health passes.
International
Trump urges Putin to reach peace deal

On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated his desire for Russian President Vladimir Putin to “reach a deal” to end the war in Ukraine, while also reaffirming his willingness to impose sanctions on Russia.
“I want to see him reach an agreement to prevent Russian, Ukrainian, and other people from dying,” Trump stated during a press conference in the Oval Office at the White House.
“I think he will. I don’t want to have to impose secondary tariffs on Russian oil,” the Republican leader added, recalling that he had already taken similar measures against Venezuela by sanctioning buyers of the South American country’s crude oil.
Trump also reiterated his frustration over Ukraine’s resistance to an agreement that would allow the United States to exploit natural resources in the country—a condition he set in negotiations to end the war.
International
Deportation flight lands in Venezuela; government denies criminal gang links

A flight carrying 175 Venezuelan migrants deported from the United States arrived in Caracas on Sunday. This marks the third group to return since repatriation flights resumed a week ago, and among them is an alleged member of a criminal organization, according to Venezuelan authorities.
Unlike previous flights operated by the Venezuelan state airline Conviasa, this time, an aircraft from the U.S. airline Eastern landed at Maiquetía Airport, on the outskirts of Caracas, shortly after 2:00 p.m. with the deportees.
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, who welcomed the returnees at the airport, stated that the 175 repatriated individuals were coming back “after being subjected, like all Venezuelans, to persecution” and dismissed claims that they belonged to the criminal organization El Tren de Aragua.
However, Cabello confirmed that “for the first time in these flights we have been carrying out, someone of significance wanted by Venezuelan justice has arrived, and he is not from El Tren de Aragua.” Instead, he belongs to a gang operating in the state of Trujillo. The minister did not disclose the individual’s identity or provide details on where he would be taken.
International
Son of journalist José Rubén Zamora condemns father’s return to prison as “illegal”

The son of renowned journalist José Rubén Zamora Marroquín, José Carlos Zamora, has denounced as “illegal” the court order that sent his father back to a Guatemalan prison on March 3, after already spending 819 days behind barsover a highly irregular money laundering case.
“My father’s return to prison was based on an arbitrary and illegal ruling. It is also alarming that the judge who had granted him house arrest received threats,” José Carlos Zamora told EFE in an interview on Saturday.
The 67-year-old journalist was sent back to prison inside the Mariscal Zavala military barracks on March 3, when Judge Erick García upheld a Court of Appeals ruling that overturned the house arrest granted to him in October. Zamora had already spent 819 days in prison over an alleged money laundering case.
His son condemned the situation as “unacceptable”, stating that the judge handling the case “cannot do his job in accordance with the law due to threats against his life.”
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