International
Denmark will raise the limit for abortion from 12 to 18 weeks
The Danish center-left government announced this Friday an agreement with four more parties to raise the limit for abortion from 12 to 18 weeks, so this country would be among those with the latest deadlines in Europe, along with Sweden, Iceland and the Netherlands.
The seven signatory parties – which total 124 of the 179 seats in Parliament – justified the decision by the need to give women “more time and possibilities to act according to the knowledge they acquire after the first examinations of the fetus and thus reinforce their right to decide for themselves,” according to a statement.
The text also alludes to the fact that medical techniques, technological possibilities and the diagnosis of the fetus have evolved in a “colossal” way in recent decades and that the current legislation on the subject – which dates back to 1973, when abortion was allowed in Denmark – has been “outdated.”
“After 50 years, it’s time for the rules of abortion to be adapted to their time. We reinforce women’s right to decide. There is no basis for the current limit from a medical point of view and nothing indicates that there will be many more or later abortions to extend the limit,” said the Minister of Health, Sophie Løhde.
Løhde alluded to the case of Sweden, where the 18-week limit applies since 1996 and abortions have not increased or changed when they are done.
The motion will be presented in Parliament this year or the following and is expected to enter into force on June 1, 2025.
The agreement follows the recommendations made last year by the so-called Ethical Council, an advisory body of the Danish Parliament.
In addition to raising the pregnancy limit, the Government announced two other agreements: one to allow young women from 15 to 17 years old to have an abortion without needing the consent of the parents or a special commission; and another to unify the five existing regional commissions into a single national level.
Several non-governmental organizations, in addition to gynecologists and obstetricians, have long been lobbying for Denmark to modify the regulations on abortion.
“It’s a very good agreement, it’s an essential extension of women’s ability to decide,” said today the president of the Danish College of Physicians, Camilla Rathcke.
International
Trump criticizes Panama Canal fees and demands U.S. control over strategic waterway
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump criticized what he described as unfair fees imposed on American ships passing through the Panama Canal and threatened to demand that Washington take back control of the strategic waterway.
“Our Navy and commerce have been threatened in a very unjust and reckless way. The rates that Panama charges are ridiculous,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
The president-elect also denounced the growing influence of China in the canal, a situation he called concerning as U.S. businesses depend on the waterway to transport goods between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
“This complete scam against our country will end immediately,” he stated.
The Panama Canal, completed by the United States in 1914, was handed over to Panama under the 1977 treaty signed by Democratic President Jimmy Carter. Panama took full control of the commercial passage in 1999.
“It was exclusively for Panama to manage, not China or anyone else,” Trump said. “We would never allow it to fall into the wrong hands!”
“If Panama cannot guarantee a ‘safe, efficient, and reliable’ operation of the canal, we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us in its entirety, without a doubt,” the Republican added.
Panamanian authorities did not immediately respond to Trump’s statements. While he will assume office on January 20, Trump has been exerting his political influence in the final days of President Joe Biden’s administration.
Five percent of global maritime trade passes through the Panama Canal, which allows vessels traveling from Asia to the U.S. East Coast to avoid the long and dangerous route around the southern tip of South America.
The countries that use the Panama Canal the most are the United States, China, Japan, and South Korea.
In October, the Panama Canal Authority reported earnings of nearly $5 billion in the last fiscal year.
International
Putin vows retaliation following drone attack on luxury building in Kazan
Russian President Vladimir Putin promised more “destruction” in Ukraine on Sunday, in response to a drone strike that hit a residential building in the city of Kazan, located in central Russia, on Saturday.
Russia accused Ukraine of launching a “massive” drone attack, which struck a luxury apartment block in Kazan, about 1,000 kilometers from the border.
Videos shared on Russian social media show drones hitting a high-rise glass building. No casualties have been reported as a result of the attack.
In his statements, Putin addressed the local leader of Tatarstan, the region where Kazan is located, during a virtual ceremony marking the opening of a road.
The attack in Kazan is the latest in a series of increasingly frequent bombings in this nearly three-year-old conflict. Ukraine has not commented on the attack.
Putin had previously threatened to strike the center of Kyiv with a hypersonic ballistic missile in response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory.
The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the recent Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities were retaliation for Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied missiles to target Russian territory.
International
Small plane crashes in Gramado, Brazil, killing nine people
At least nine people were killed on Sunday after a small aircraft crashed in a commercial area of the tourist city of Gramado, in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, authorities confirmed.
“There are nine confirmed deaths according to Civil Defense services, and there are no survivors from the plane,” said Cléber dos Santos Lima, director of the Interior Police Department of the Civil Police of the state, in a statement to AFP.
Authorities have not yet confirmed the exact number of passengers and crew aboard the aircraft, a turbo-prop Piper Cheyenne 400. However, Civil Defense had previously stated that “preliminarily, the plane was carrying ten people.”
The plane crashed on Sunday morning “into the chimney of a building, then onto the second floor of a house, and finally fell onto a furniture store,” according to a statement from the Rio Grande do Sul Public Security Secretariat.
Trump criticizes Panama Canal fees and demands U.S. control over strategic waterway
Putin vows retaliation following drone attack on luxury building in Kazan
Small plane crashes in Gramado, Brazil, killing nine people
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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