Images of the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol are seared into many Americans’ minds and remain especially vivid for members of Congress who witnessed the riot. One congressman has been especially forthcoming about the mental trauma he has been experiencing months after the riot. VOA’s Carolyn Presutti spoke with the lawmaker and filed this report.
Although we are not going through a rainy season as such, In recent weeks, rainfall has increased considerably in some regions of the country and has caused several tragedies.
According to the records of the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD), between January 1 and February 28, there were 180 events related to rainfall, such as floods, landslides and flash floods.
(Also: Three tourists killed in the Coffee Region due to landslides)
These events, which occurred in 119 municipalities in 20 departments, left 33 dead, 50 injured, 15,927 people affected, 26 houses destroyed and 2,692 houses damaged. The most affected departments in the balance of the UNGRD are Cauca, with 29 emergencies; Huila, with 18; Antioquia, with 17; Cundinamarca, with 16, and Tolima, with 11 situations.
Among the latest events that have occurred is the death of three people due to landslides in the Coffee Regionwhere several emergencies have been recorded in recent days.
(Also read: One dead and three injured during heavy downpour in Cocorná, Antioquia)
One of the deaths occurred in the Termales de San Vicente reserve, in the municipality of Santa Rosa de Cabal, in Risaralda. The tragedy was caused by the saturation of water on the ground, which produced the detachment of the root of a tree and affected two tourists near the El Embrujo trail, in the Termales de San Vicente reserve, causing the death of one of them.
The second recent emergency was in the Cocora Valley, in Salento, Quindío. Two tourists died there after a landslide.
(In context: 9 points of Medellín affected by the rains are served)
This region has been one of the hardest hit by the rains. In Pereira, 16 people were killed by a landslide on February 8.
And last week, in Manizales, a landslide also caused the death of three people.
Another event that happened recently took place in Antioquia, where heavy rains on Monday night caused the death of one person and three others were injured by a landslide.
On the other hand, four horses died due to the collapse of a wall, product of the strong downpour. This municipality, in addition, practically woke up flooded this Tuesday.
(In other news: Judge cried at Nickol Valentina’s murder hearing)
The call of the risk management authorities to the mayors and governors, as well as to the community, is to activate emergency plans for disasters, taking into account that the first rainy season officially begins on March 15.
An inflation gauge that is closely monitored by the Federal Reserve jumped 6.1% in January compared with a year ago, the latest evidence that Americans are enduring sharp price increases that will likely worsen after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The figure reported Friday by the Commerce Department was the largest year-over-year rise since 1982. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, core inflation increased 5.2% in January from a year earlier.
Robust consumer spending has combined with widespread product and worker shortages to create the highest inflation in four decades — a heavy burden for U.S. households, especially lower-income families faced with elevated costs for food, fuel and rent.
At the same time, consumers as a whole largely shrugged off the higher prices last month and boosted their spending 2.1% from December to January, Friday’s report said, an encouraging sign for the economy and the job market. That was a sharp improvement from December, when spending fell. Americans across the income scale have been receiving pay raises and have amassed more savings than they had before the pandemic struck two years ago. That expanded pool of savings provides fuel for future spending.
Inflation, though, is expected to remain high and perhaps accelerate in the coming months, especially with Russia’s invasion likely disrupting oil and gas exports. The costs of other commodities that are produced in Ukraine, such as wheat and aluminum, have also increased.
President Joe Biden said Thursday that he would do “everything I can” to keep gas prices in check. Biden did not spell out details, though he mentioned the possibility of releasing more oil from the nation’s strategic reserves. He also warned that oil and gas companies “should not exploit this moment” by raising prices at the pump.
A separate report Friday showed that orders for long-lasting factory goods rose sharply in January, led by a rise in demand for airplanes. The figures indicate that many companies are willing to invest more in industrial equipment and other goods, a sign of confidence in the economy.
“Overall, the real economy appears to be in stronger health than we feared,” said Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics, a forecasting firm.
Russia’s invasion and the likely resulting rise in inflation have increased pressure on the Federal Reserve, which is expected to raise interest rates by a quarter-point as many as five or six times this year beginning in March. The Fed’s delicate task — to raise rates enough to restrain inflation, without going so far as to tip the economy into recession — has now become more difficult.
Fed officials are acknowledging that the invasion of Ukraine has complicated the economic outlook, but say that so far they are sticking with their plans for rate hikes.
Loretta Mester, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, said Thursday that she supported a series of rate hikes beginning in March. But she said the Fed should remain flexible: Faster rate hikes might be needed, she said, if inflation hasn’t begun to fade by mid-year, or more gradual increases if inflation is slowing.
“The implications of the unfolding situation in Ukraine for the medium-run economic outlook in the U.S. will also be a consideration,” she said. Other Fed officials have offered similar remarks this week.
Late Thursday, however, Fed governor Christopher Waller said he would support a half-point rate hike in March if inflation remains high.
Fed officials want inflation to fall back to its 2% target, as measured by the Commerce Department’s gauge, released Friday. A separate measure, the consumer price index, released two weeks ago, showed that inflation reached 7.5% in January from a year earlier, also a four-decade high.
In December, Fed officials projected that inflation would decline to just 2.7%, according to their preferred measure, by the end of this year, which most economists see as increasingly unlikely. The Fed will release updated projections at its March meeting.
January’s data show inflation was already picking up before the invasion. From December to January, prices rose 0.6%, up from 0.5% in the previous month.
There are early indications that consumer spending has stayed healthy, boosted by the rapid fading of the omicron wave of the coronavirus. JPMorgan Chase said that spending on its credit cards for airline tickets, hotel rooms, and restaurant meals rose in the first half of this month.
The JPMorgan Chase Institute also recently released data showing that cash balances remain elevated among their customers, including those with lower incomes. Bank account balances for Americans with less than $26,000 in income were 65% higher at the end of last year than they were two years before.
Americans’ paychecks are rising steadily. Average hourly earnings rose 5.7% in January compared with a year ago. Unless companies can offset their higher labor costs with greater efficiencies, most of them will likely charge their customers more. This would send inflation higher.
The combination of higher pay and enhanced savings suggests that Americans may be able to keep spending at a solid pace in the coming months, thereby sustaining the economy’s inflationary pressures.
A federal judge on Friday rejected efforts by former President Donald Trump to toss out conspiracy lawsuits filed by lawmakers and two Capitol police officers, saying in his ruling that the former president’s words “plausibly” led to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.
U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta said in his ruling that Trump’s words during a rally before the violent storming of the U.S. Capitol were likely “words of incitement not protected by the First Amendment.”
“Only in the most extraordinary circumstances could a court not recognize that the First Amendment protects a president’s speech,” Mehta wrote. “But the court believes this is that case.”
The order is the latest example of growing legal peril for the former president. Just hours earlier, the National Archives said records found at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort contained classified information and that it had notified the Justice Department.
On Thursday, a judge in New York ruled that Trump and two of his children must answer questions under oath in New York state’s civil investigation into his business practices. Another judge ordered that his company’s financial chief be subjected to questioning in another probe by the District of Columbia attorney general’s office. And earlier this week, the firm that prepared Trump’s annual financial statements said the documents, used to secure lucrative loans and burnish Trump’s image as a wealthy businessman, “should no longer be relied upon.”
During a planned rally on the Ellipse just hours before Congress was to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election, Trump told his supporters to “Fight like hell and if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.” He said, “(We’re) going to try to and give (weak Republicans) the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country,” and then told the crowd to “walk down Pennsylvania Avenue.”
Mehta said Trump’s speech could have directed people to break the law. But the judge dismissed similar charges made against Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. and lawyer Rudy Giuliani, saying their speech was protected by the First Amendment. Mehta did not yet rule on another motion to dismiss from Alabama Republican Rep. Mo Brooks, also named in the suits.
The lawsuits, filed by Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., officers James Blassingame and Sidney Hemby and initially by Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., argued that Trump, Trump Jr., Giuliani and Brooks made “false and incendiary allegations of fraud and theft, and in direct response to the Defendant’s express calls for violence at the rally, a violent mob attacked the U.S. Capitol.”
Thompson later dropped out of the lawsuit when he was named to lead the Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection. The NAACP continued in his stead.
The lawsuits cite a federal civil rights law that was enacted to counter the Ku Klux Klan’s intimidation of officials. They spell out in detail how the Trumps, Giuliani and Brooks spread baseless claims of election fraud, both before and after the 2020 presidential election was declared and charged that they helped to spin up the thousands of rioters before they stormed the Capitol. Five people died as a result of the violence on Jan. 6, including a U.S. Capitol Police officer.
They have all denied the allegations.
Mehta said Trump’s efforts to dismiss the case ignored the theory that his words sparked what followed, but that argument was plausible.
“In this one-of-a-kind case, the First Amendment does not shield the president from liability,” Mehta wrote.
U.S. consumer prices surged at an annual pace of 7.5% in January, the fastest increase in four decades, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
Americans are facing higher costs for autos, household furniture and appliances, according to the government. While some of those purchases can be delayed, U.S. household budgets are being squeezed by something everyone needs — food — with consumers facing higher prices for meat, eggs, citrus fruit and now produce as well. Gasoline prices for motorists also remain high in the U.S.
The inflationary surge is being fueled by coronavirus-related supply-and-demand issues.
Consumers seem willing to buy goods after the coronavirus curbed personal spending, but now manufacturers have been unable in some cases to make enough of their products and at the same time face a shortage of shippers and truckers to get their goods into stores and showrooms.
“The price pressures on households just don’t end,” Greg McBride, the chief financial analyst at Bankrate.com, said in a statement. “Not only have home prices jumped 20% in the past year, but now many rents are too, rising 0.5% in the past month alone. Nothing squeezes household budgets more than the outsized increases we’re currently seeing on costs for shelter and housing.”
The U.S. economy is sharply increasing, recovering from the pandemic at a faster pace than economists once projected, advancing by 5.7% in 2021, the fastest full-year gain since 1984.
The U.S., with the world’s biggest economy, added 467,000 more jobs in January, while its unemployment rate ticked up to 4% as more unemployed people looked for work. Businesses added a record 6.4 million jobs last year.
The inflation reading for January included a once-a-year revision that affects seasonally adjusted data for the past five years, with the Labor Department also updating the list of goods included in the calculation, to reflect consumer buying habits in recent years.
Economists are predicting that, over time, inflationary pressures will ease. But policymakers at the Federal Reserve, the country’s central bank, are signaling they will start increasing their benchmark interest next month to tamp down inflation and keep the U.S. economy from overheating. The Fed normally tries to set policies allowing for a 2% annual inflation rate, far less than the current jump in prices.
An increase in the Fed’s key interest rate will likely, over time, boost borrowing costs for consumers and businesses as well, helping to keep inflation in check.
New claims for jobless benefits fell in the United States last week, the Labor Department also reported Thursday, as many employers hung on to the workers they have and searched for more.
The agency said 223,000 unemployed workers filed for compensation, down 16,000 from the revised figure of the week before. The new total was in line with the claim figures from recent weeks as the U.S. economy continues to recover from the havoc inflicted on it by the advance of the coronavirus pandemic that swept into the country nearly two years ago.
Many employers are looking for more workers, despite about 6.5 million workers remaining unemployed in the U.S.
At the end of December, there were 10.9 million job openings in the U.S., but the skills of available workers often do not match what employers want, or the job openings are not where the unemployed live. In addition, many of the available jobs are low-wage service positions that the jobless shun.
In a surprising burst of hiring, America’s employers added a robust 467,000 jobs last month, a sign of the economy’s resilience in the face of a wave of omicron infections.
The government’s report Friday also drastically revised up its estimate of job gains for November and December by a combined 709,000. It also said the unemployment rate ticked up from 3.9% to a still-low 4%, mainly because more people began looking for work and not all of them found jobs right away.
The strong hiring growth for January, which defied expectations for only a slight gain, demonstrated the eagerness of many employers to hire even as the pandemic raged. Businesses appear to have regarded the omicron wave as having, at most, a temporary impact on the economy and remain confident about their longer-term prospects.
“Employers have assumed that omicron would be painful but short term, so they haven’t changed their hiring plans,” said Mathieu Stevenson, the CEO of Snagajob, a job listings site focused on hourly workers. “Demand from employers is as strong as ever.”
January’s hiring gain and sharp upward revisions to previous months mean that the United States has 1.1 million more jobs than government data had indicated only a month ago. The solid hiring, along with steady wage gains, are boosting consumer spending, which has collided with snarled supply chains to accelerate inflation to a four-decade high.
Adjusted for price increases, Americans’ paychecks on average don’t go as far as they did a year ago, even though many workers have received raises. Many households, especially lower-income families, are struggling to afford necessities like gas, food, rent and child care.
Those trends will give the Federal Reserve more leeway to raise interest rates, perhaps even faster than it had planned, to cool inflation. The Fed has indicated that it will begin raising rates in March, and it could do so again at its next meeting in May. Faster rate hikes could reduce borrowing and spending and possibly weaken the economy.
Stocks initially fell on the expectation that the Fed will tighten credit more quickly, before share prices recovered in early afternoon. But the yield on the 10-year Treasury jumped nearly one-tenth of a percentage point, to 1.91%, a sign that investors anticipate higher borrowing costs.
Across the economy, most industries hired workers last month, including retailers, which added more than 61,000 jobs, and restaurants and hotels, which gained 131,000. Shipping and warehousing firms added 54,000. Many companies in those industries likely held onto some of the workers they had hired over the winter holidays, economists said, rather than laying them all off.
Omicron did leave some fingerprints on the report: The percentage of Americans who were working from home rose to more than 15%, up from 11% in December. And the number of people out sick last month soared to 3.6 million, up from fewer than 2 million in the previous January and about triple the pre-pandemic level. This forced many companies, from restaurants to retailers to manufacturers, to reduce their hours or even close because of staff shortages.
Among the workers who were out sick was Perla Hernandez, whose entire family of eight contracted COVID last month. Hernandez and her husband and 20-year old daughter all missed work, a major blow to the family’s finances.
Hernandez, 42, who lives in the San Jose, California, area, missed six days from her job as a Burger King cook and janitor. Because she has no paid sick leave, the paycheck she receives every two weeks amounted to just $230.
About one-fifth of U.S. workers receive no sick pay, and the proportion is far higher among lower-paid service workers. Only 33% of workers who are at the bottom 10% of the pay scale receive paid sick leave, compared with 95% of employees in the top 10%.
“Thank God that we already had paid the rent for January,” she said through an interpreter. “We had to go to a food bank.”
Hernandez said she earns $15.45 an hour, after having received a 45-cent raise six months ago. But she and her colleagues, including managers, have been working especially long hours because the restaurant has had difficulty hiring.
Daniel Zhao, senior economist at the employment website Glassdoor, said the healthy hiring — not only for January but also for November and December — is a sign that last month’s gains weren’t merely a blip.
“This is an actual trend, and job growth was faster than we realized,” Zhao said.
A greater proportion of Americans are also now working or looking for work, the report showed, a trend that makes it easier for companies to find workers. It suggests that concerns about long-term labor shortages may have been overblown, at least in some industries.
“There are workers out there — it’s just taking time to integrate them back into the labor force,” Zhao said.
Grady Cope, the CEO of Reata Engineering and Machine Works, said nine of his 43 staffers were out sick last month — the most he can remember in nearly 30 years of running the company.
But Cope’s company, which makes parts for airplane and medical device manufacturers, also has the biggest order backlog it’s ever had. He wants to add at least eight employees, including machinists, assemblers and engineers. Last month, he raised pay 18%, far more than the usual 3%-4% increases. His company is based near Denver, where rents and other costs are rising fast.
“People have to have wages so they can support themselves and raise families,” he said.
Still, Cope has been increasing his own prices to offset his workers’ higher pay. The competition for workers, he said, is the toughest he’s ever seen. In October, four of his workers quit. Only one gave notice.
“That’s never happened in 28 years,” he said.
The overall outlook for the job market remains bright, with openings near a record high, the pace of layoffs down and the unemployment rate having already reached a healthy level. The nation gained more jobs last year, adjusted for the size of the workforce, than in any year since 1978. Much of that improvement represented a rebound from record job losses in 2020 that were driven by the pandemic recession.
Editor’s note: Here is a fast take on what the international community has been up to this past week, as seen from the United Nations perch.
Russia-Ukraine tensions
The United States and Russia faced off Monday at the U.N. Security Council over Washington’s accusations that Moscow is planning a large-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine, which the Kremlin has denied.
At UN, US Demands Russia Explain Its Troop Buildup on Ukraine Border
Somber Myanmar anniversary
Tuesday marked one year since the military seized the government in Myanmar. The army is clinging to power, democratically elected leaders face lengthy prison sentences and people continue to resist the coup.
People Resist Myanmar Military Coup One Year On
Attempted coup in Guinea-Bissau
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed concern at the “multiplication of coups” after one appeared to be under way in the West African nation of Guinea-Bissau on Tuesday. “It is, for us, clear that coups are totally unacceptable,” he said, noting coups have been on the rise lately. Tuesday’s coup was unsuccessful.
Guinea-Bissau President Withstands Coup Attempt
In brief
— Guterres on Tuesday appealed for the parties in Ethiopia to halt fighting in observance of the tradition and spirit of the Olympic truce. He said the truce, which is in effect now as the Beijing Winter Games get under way, could save lives and help the parties overcome differences and find a path to real peace.
— On January 29, a military tribunal in the Democratic Republic of the Congo sentenced 51 people to death — most of them militia members (and several in absentia) — for the 2017 slayings of U.N. experts Zaida Catalan and Michael Sharp. The two were investigating mass graves in the central Kasai region when they were abducted and killed along with their four Congolese companions. The DRC has a moratorium on the death penalty, which the U.N. urged the authorities to maintain.
— The U.N. said on January 29 that it might be forced to end its humanitarian operation in northern Ethiopia’s Tigray region by the end of February because supplies are running out. Stocks of food, medical supplies, fuel and cash have been perilously low for months because of a de facto government blockade on the region, which is fighting with the federal government.
— Funding shortages in Yemen, where nearly 21 million people need assistance, have led almost two-thirds of major U.N. aid programs to reduce assistance or close. Without more money, the U.N. says, further cuts are expected in the coming months.
Some good news
The International Committee of the Red Cross said Friday that it had flown its 10th cargo plane in 10 days into the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. The flights carry vital medical supplies provided by the ICRC and the Ministry of Health and will cover the immediate needs of thousands of people. Very little food, medicine, fuel and other humanitarian items have gotten into the region in months because of a de facto government blockade. The ICRC said it hopes the flights will become regular and has five more planned for next week.
Quote of note
“We have to remain vigilant. We never underestimated the Russian threat. Ukraine understands that every scenario is possible. But what we are seeing now is the implementation of destabilization scenario. And there is still room for diplomacy. I hope we will succeed diplomatically. If not, and Russia decides to attack, we will fight.”
— Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, in a call with reporters Wednesday.
What’s ahead
Tropical Cyclone Batsirai is expected to make landfall in Madagascar on Saturday. The “very dangerous” storm comes just two weeks after Tropical Storm Ana struck the Indian Ocean nation. Preemptive evacuations have begun and aid agencies have pre-positioned supplies. The storms are bearing down on the country, where more than 1 million people in the south face severe food insecurity because of climate change and swarms of desert locusts.
Aid Agencies Brace for Cyclone in Madagascar
Since January 2, when 23 bodies of alleged dissidents were found in various municipalities of Araucathey have not had a single day of peace there.
This beginning of the year has been one of the most violent in recent times in the department due to a war between the FARC dissidents and the guerrilla The n. This confrontation even has four of the seven municipalities under curfew.
(In context: What is behind the attacks of the Eln and the dissidences to the Public Force)
Among the latest acts of violence is the murder this Thursday of a soldier, soldier Edilson Yovany Roncancio, who died after being the victim of an explosive device in Fortul. Two other soldiers were injured in this act attributed to the ELN. Also, on Wednesday night he was murdered Herman Naranjo Quintero, a communal leader who had been kidnapped the day before.
That same night, the FARC dissidents kidnapped five workers from the Tecnioriente company in Arauquita, who were released this Thursday.
Everyone would like the armed actors of the groups in confrontation to sit down at a table and, as has happened on other occasions, to come to an agreement on their differences.
According to the authorities, 66 people have been murdered there so far this year, including several social leaders. Three in the last week.
(Also: The escalation of violence threatens the political campaign)
This has caused fear in the population, who denounced that before the authorities decreed a curfew in Tame, Saravena, Arauquita and Fortul, the illegals had already filed one and after 6 in the afternoon no one walked through these towns.
Faced with this, the community has come together and has taken to the streets to ask the illegals to get them out of their war. But the violence does not stop and many, out of fear, have been displaced.
figures of the Ombudsman They point out that 1,284 people out of 424 have left their homes, either from rural areas to urban centers or other municipalities. There are those who have fled to other departments such as Norte de Santander and Casanare.
(Also read: Social leader and his wife murdered in Arauca had no threats)
Among the displaced are 51 former FARC guerrillas, who were advancing their reincorporation process in this territory, but are at risk because the armed groups want to recruit them.
We reject the murder of our professional soldier Edilson Yovany Roncancio Carrillo, who while protecting the population of Fortul #arauca was the victim of an explosive charge installed by the organized armed group ELN, a violation of human rights and international humanitarian law #HeroForever (one) pic.twitter.com/L568zHCx85
– Colombian National Army (@COL_EJERCITO) February 3, 2022
This scenario has generated concern among human rights defenders in the country, as well as in entities such as the United Nations Organization (UN), which asked the State two weeks ago to strengthen its comprehensive presence.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), for its part, sees the humanitarian situation in Arauca as worrying. This organization, which has had an office in Saravena for 30 years, issued a statement to guarantee the rights of the communities.
(You may be interested in: Herman Naranjo, kidnapped community leader in Arauca, is assassinated)
“We call on all armed actors to respect humanitarian norms and take precautionary measures to protect the population and civilian objects from the effects of hostilities. It is important to guarantee the life and integrity of civilians and preserve community spaces,” said Nicolás Ferminet, head of the ICRC office in Saravena.
The Catholic Church, which since the beginning of the year has called for peace in this region, calling on the illegals not to affect the civilian population, as well as the State to make an integral presence, also spoke in the last hours .
This Thursday it was learned that Father Darío Echeverri, general secretary of the National Conciliation Commission of the Episcopal Conference of Colombia, met a few weeks ago with leaders of Arauca, who told him that they are afraid.
(Keep reading: Arauca: Church calls on the Government to listen to the population)
“Everyone would like the armed actors of the groups in confrontation to sit at a table and, just as has happened on other occasions, to be able to agree on their differences and solve their problems. That is the first thing, the constant of all those present”, said Echeverri.
Here is a summary of Uyghur-related news around the world in the past week.
IOC pressed on rights issues
Two U.S. lawmakers, a Democrat and a Republican, pushed the International Olympic Committee on Friday to take a position on China’s treatment of Uyghurs, which rights groups have described as genocide. China has denied such accusations and accuses the U.S. of politicizing the Olympic Games.
Olympic boycott urged
Uyghur, Tibetan and Hong Kong activists called on athletes and the media to boycott the Beijing Olympics. Rights groups have accused China of human rights abuses in Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Tibet. China says the accusations are based on “ideological prejudice” and “lies and rumors.”
Help for Uyghur orphans
An orphanage in Istanbul run by a Uyghur Muslim cleric gives hope to more than 100 Uyghur orphans whom Chinese authorities separated from their parents in Xinjiang, a Chinese region in Central Asia.
Japanese resolution on rights in China
Japan’s parliament passed a resolution expressing concern about China’s human rights abuses in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong. China accused Japan of slander, saying the resolution “ignores the facts.”
Uyghur relatives jailed
Radio Free Asia reported that two female members of an extended Uyghur family were jailed under China’s antiterrorism law because of their religious practices.
News in brief
A Uyghur activist and high school teacher in Canada is asking athletes who receive medals at the Beijing Winter Olympics to make a crescent-shaped hand gesture on the podium as a sign of hope for the Uyghur people. The Olympic charter states, however, that “no kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites.” On the other hand, the charter does allow athletes to express their views outside Olympic venues “before or after the Olympic Games.”
Quote of note
“If China disrespects the athletes’ right to express their opinions, it will prove that Beijing was not a place fit enough to hold the Olympics.”
— Kabir Qurban, Uyghur activist in Canada, calling for hand gesture of solidarity on Olympic podium
According to the report of the Ministry of Health on Monday, January 31, 2022, 15,284 new cases of covid-19 were reported in Colombia in the last few hours. This, after 46,409 tests were processed (28,745 for PCR and 17,664 for antigens).
(See also: These are the drugs that can prevent mortality from covid-19)
In the country, to date, 32,157,058 tests have been processed. Thus, Colombia reaches 5,887,261 confirmed cases of coronavirus since the pandemic began, in March 2020.
(Keep reading: This is how the obligatory nature of the anticovid vaccine advances in the world)
On the other hand, the report accounts for 221 more deaths from the virus. With this update, the total number of deaths in Colombia amounts to 134,300.
Among those confirmed deceased today are an 11 year old girl in the municipality of Calarcá, in Quindío. According to the health authority, his comorbidities are under study.
The report also shows that, in total, there are 71,863 cases that remain active in Colombia.
(We recommend: ‘Ómicron could be a sign of the end of the pandemic’)
In the last 24 hours, in addition, 16,021 recovered patients were reported. Thus, there are already 5,661,163 patients who have overcome covid-19 in the country to date.
Regarding the progress of the National Vaccination Plan, the health authority reported that, with a cutoff at 11:59 pm this Saturday, January 29, 71,597,387 doses of the vaccine against covid-19 have been applied in the country.
(Of interest: Omicron sublineage BA.2 spreads faster, according to scientific data)
Of that figure, 34,488,542 correspond to the first dose; 25,748,459 to second dose; 5,586,501, a booster dose, and 5,773,885 are for the single-dose vaccine.
In Colombia, 31’522344 people already have the complete vaccination schedule.
(Also: What to do if the digital vaccination certificate has incomplete data)
deaths of the day
This Monday, 221 more deaths from covid-19 were confirmed in Colombia. According to the Ministry of Health, of that figure:
Under 18: 1
Between 18 years to 40 years: 10
From 40 years to 60 years: 12
Over 60 years: 198
Motivated to return, to recover learning and to reconnect with colleagues. This is how the educational community is in the return to face-to-face classes 2022, which will take place this Monday in Barranquilla.
(Also read: The story of the informal cooks who graduated in Barranquilla)
As reported by the District, during the same week that children and young people return to classrooms, expansion works will be delivered to three District Educational Institutions (IED).
Being able to reach all schools so that our students, teachers, teaching directors and principals have decent places
He added that this is part of the action plan of the district administration for the return to attendance, which in addition to educational infrastructure, includes programs and strategies educational quality.
“We are working to continue giving good news in terms of educational infrastructure and to be able to reach all schools so that our students, teachers, teaching directors and principals have decent places to teach and learn,” said Mayor Jaime Pumarejo.
Since 2021 they are in intervention 160 locations Of the 154 official schools (some schools have more than one campus), improvement works were also completed in 28 and work began in 14 schools, according to official figures.
“We are going to be here ready to work hand in hand, continue listening and continue collaborating so that this is a return to hope, to life, to postponed dreams,” said the district president.
With respect to vaccination against covid-19 in childhood, the city is in first place in the range of children between 3 and 11 years old, according to data from the Ministry of Health.
(You may be interested: Cyclist was injured after being hit by a vehicle in Puerto Colombia)
The learning plan
Thinking about educational quality, the Secretary of Education, Bibiana Rincón, stressed that joint work has been carried out with FDI to achieve the learning recovery in this new stage.
In this sense, three fundamental pillars were designed: students with strengthened socio-emotional skills; teachers and schools with inclusive, innovative, student-centered pedagogical practices; and families and community with an active role in education.
The foregoing, according to the official report, will be developed through an action plan that also points to the gap closure, improving the learning of all children and adolescents so that they have the same opportunities to achieve complete educational trajectories.
Among the programs implemented by the District is ‘Soy Bilingüe’, which will reach 121 official schools in 2022, teaching English as a foreign language from transition, as an innovative method at the national level.
BARRANQUILLA
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– With an attack on the governor of Caquetá, attacks continue during the campaign
– Sewer water, the ‘headache’ of the samariums
According to the report of the Ministry of Health of this Friday, January 28, in Colombia 20,946 new cases of covid-19 in the last hours. This, after 70,633 tests were processed (35,068 for PCR and 35,565 for antigens).
(See also: This is how the pill that Invima approved to treat covid-19 works)
In the country, to date, 32,012,934 tests have been processed. Thus, Colombia reaches 5,837,408 confirmed cases of coronavirus since the beginning of the pandemic, in March 2020.
(Also: Verdaguer and other celebrities who paid with their lives for their opposition to the vaccine)
On the other hand, the report accounts for 268 more deaths from the virus. With this update, the total number of deaths from covid-19 in Colombia amounts to 133,560.
Within the list of deceased today are two minors. On the one hand, an 11-year-old boy, a resident of the municipality of Acevedo, in Huila. On the other hand, a 14-year-old minor from Medellín.
The report also shows that, in total, there are 79,139 cases that remain active in the national territory.
In the last 24 hours, in addition, 30,454 recovered patients were reported. Thus, there are already 5,604,944 people who have overcome covid-19 in the country to date.
(You may be interested: Combination of vaccines and coronavirus infection generates ‘superimmunity’).
As for the progress of National Vaccination Plan, the health authority reported that, as of 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, January 26, 70,827,473 doses of the covid-19 vaccine have been applied in the country.
Of that figure, 34,320,686 correspond to the first dose; 25,469,402 to second dose; 5,332,714, a booster dose, and 5,704,671 are for the single-dose vaccine.
In Colombia, 31,174,073 people already have the complete vaccination schedule.
ELTIEMPO.COM
More news:
– In these places there are vaccines from Janssen, Sinovac and AstraZeneca in Bogotá
– Colombia will receive donation of vaccines against covid-19 from Germany and Spain
A new global strategy of the National Police against drug trafficking and the definition of who reaches the presidency of Italy, among the main topics of the following week.
Time is running out for the Hope Center Coalition
Hope Center Coalition.
Next Friday, February 4, the deadline given by the National Electoral Council (CNE) expires so that the coalitions that want to participate in the inter-party consultations on Sunday, March 13, inform which pre-candidates will be in competition.
So far it has been officially registered Team for Colombia, in which former mayors Federico Gutiérrez, Alejandro Char and Enrique Peñalosa, and senators David Barguil (Conservative Party) and Aydeé Lizarazon (Mira Movement) will compete.
Likewise, the pre-candidates of the Historical Pact Gustavo Petro, Francia Márquez and Arelis Uriana. The unknown focuses on the Hope Center Coalition, in which some internal issues must be resolved to comply with the registration of who will be in the March consultation.
(You can also read: With the debates, the electoral campaign started firmly)
Strategy against drug trafficking
Seizure of 1.1 tons of cocaine that was on its way to Spain.
Anti-narcotics Police
The National Police will present – on February 3 and 4 – in Cartagena, the global strategy of comprehensive impact against drug trafficking ‘Esmeralda’, which encompasses a more plural concept to face the problem of cocaine trafficking on the premise that Colombia is the largest producer of the drug worldwide.
The event will be installed by the Minister of Defense, Diego Molano, and will include exponents such as the prosecutor Francisco Barbosa, who will refer to the impact of criminal income; the Minister of Justice, Wilson Ruiz, who will speak about artificial intelligence for drug control, and the director of the National Police, General Jorge Luis Vargas, who will present the scope of ‘Esmeralda’.
In the same way, prevention issues will be analyzed, in the business field, and there will be a tribute to the uniformed men who have offered their lives in the fight against drugs.
(Also: They seize a shipment of coconuts that hid liquid cocaine)
On Wednesday, the Prosecutor’s Office will present victims with a pre-agreement with Jhonier Leal
Lawyer Elmer Montaña confirmed that the prosecution already reached an agreement with the defendant John Leal which must be presented before a judge who will have to decide whether or not to endorse the negotiation that includes the penalty he will pay for the murder of his brother Mauricio Leal, and his mother, Marlene Hernandez.
He indicated that the Prosecutor’s Office summoned them to a meeting next Wednesday in Cali to publicize the scope of the pre-agreement that takes place after johnier accept the charges filed.
Who will be the new president of Italy?
Current President of Italy, Sergio Mattarella
Francesco Ammendola / Reuters
Italy is still waiting to know who will be the new president of the country after the political parties failed to reach an agreement on the candidate for the position.
The functions of the president are essentially honorary in Italy, where the parliamentary system rules, but this year the role of mario draghi, current Prime Minister, a personality of great weight and prestige, whose election to the Presidency would put the government in crisis.
At the same time, other names circulate for the position, among them that of the former president of the Chamber of Deputies, Pier Ferdinando Casini; the current president of the Senate, Elisabetta Casellati, as well as that of the experienced diplomat Elisabetta Belloni.
(More international news: What’s the report on Boris Johnson’s controversial parties?)
Safety in Bogota
In the middle of the strategy security and intervention of 8 localities that advances the Mayor’s Office and all the entities of the district, the administration announced that Ciudad Bolívar will be the third locality visited after Kennedy and Engativá. The Mayor’s Office is expected to deliver the first results on security in this area next Thursday.
(You can continue reading: Was there negligence in the death of a driver lynched by indigenous people?)
Here’s a look at what U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other top diplomats have been doing this week:
US, Russia, Ukraine
Following consultations with various European partners as well as Ukraine, the United States and NATO provided written responses to Moscow addressing Russia’s renewed security demands — the latest moves in diplomatic maneuvering aimed at heading off armed conflict.
U.S. Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan delivered the document in person Wednesday to Russia’s Foreign Ministry. Separately, NATO transmitted to Russia its own responses regarding European security in a document described by officials as a few pages in length.
US Responds to Russia’s Security Demands, Renewing Call for Diplomacy
Meanwhile, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman assessed that China’s hosting of the Winter Olympics early next month was a factor in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s calculation of military actions against Ukraine.
“We all are aware that the Beijing Olympics begin on February 4 — the opening ceremony — and Putin is expected to be there,” Sherman said. “I think that probably President Xi Jinping would not be ecstatic if Putin chose that moment to invade Ukraine. So, that may affect his timing and his thinking.”
On Sunday, the State Department ordered the departure of eligible family members from the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv and authorized the voluntary departure of U.S. direct-hire employees amid the continued threat of Russian military action against Ukraine. The State Department also asked U.S. citizens in Ukraine to consider departing the country via commercial or other privately available transportation options.
US Orders Departure of Family Members of Ukraine Embassy Staff
Burkina Faso
The State Department said it was watching closely “the fluid situation” in Burkina Faso, where a military junta ousted President Roch Marc Christian Kabore. But the U.S. said it was “too soon” to officially characterize the events in Burkina Faso as a coup.
“We call for the immediate release of President Kabore and other government officials, and for members of the security forces to respect Burkina Faso’s constitution and civilian leadership. We urge all sides in this fluid situation to remain calm and to seek dialogue as a means to resolve grievances,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said this week during a press briefing.
Burkina Faso Soldiers Say They Deposed President
US-Iran
The United States warned Iran was just weeks from developing the capacity to make a nuclear weapon. The alarm came amid indirect negotiations between the two countries seeking a mutual return to compliance with a 2015 nuclear deal.
“[Iran] is getting to the point where its breakout time, the time it would take to produce fissile material for a bomb, is getting down to a matter of a few weeks,” said Secretary of State Antony Blinken at a virtual event Monday. How the U.S. and its allies would deal with the risks will be decided soon, Blinken said, adding that “given what Iran is doing, we can’t allow this to go on.”
As Iran Nears Uranium Breakout Capacity, US Mulls Bomb-Making Scenarios
Human trafficking
On Tuesday, the U.S. State Department released its annual “Trafficking in Persons Report.” Blinken called for other countries to improve “collective efforts to comprehensively address human trafficking,” as the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the problem.
State Department Releases Annual Trafficking in Persons Report
According to the report of the Ministry of Health on Tuesday, January 25, 2022, 19,512 new cases of covid-19 were reported in Colombia in the last few hours. This, after 72,492 tests were processed (32,474 PCR and 40,018 antigen tests).
(See also: Getting Infected and Vaccinated Triggers a Robust Immune Response)
In the country, to date, 31,808,827 tests have been processed. Thus, Colombia reaches 5,780,910 confirmed cases of coronavirus since the pandemic began, in March 2020.
(Also: Study reveals what the symptoms of omicron are and how long they can last)
On the other hand, the report accounts for 260 more deaths from the virus. With this update, the total number of deaths in Colombia amounts to 132,737.
In total, there are 116,698 cases that remain active in Colombia.
(Also read: WHO recommends giving priority to investigations of version BA.2 of ómicron)
In the last 24 hours, in addition, 34,731 recovered patients were reported. Thus, there are already 5,511,881 patients who have overcome covid-19 in the country to date.
Regarding the progress of the National Vaccination Plan, the health authority reported that, with a cutoff at 11:59 pm this Sunday, January 23, 70,105,545 doses of the vaccine against covid-19 have been applied in the country.
(Also: Pfizer begins clinical trials of vaccine against omicron)
Of that figure, 34,145,507 correspond to the first dose; 25,196,488 to second dose; 5,134,877, a booster dose, and 5,628,673 are for the single-dose vaccine.
In Colombia, 30,825,161 people already have the complete vaccination schedule.
(Of interest: Where is the pandemic going in the country? Experts respond)
Here’s a look at what U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other top diplomats have been doing this week:
US, Russia, Ukraine
The United States will continue relentless diplomatic efforts to prevent Russia from further military aggression against Ukraine while providing defensive security assistance to Kyiv, Blinken said Wednesday.
“We’ve offered Russia a clear choice, a choice between pursuing dialogue and diplomacy on the one hand or confrontation and consequences on the other hand,” Blinken told VOA in an interview.
Standing with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba at a press conference, Blinken added that U.S. security assistance deliveries to Ukraine were ongoing and that more were scheduled “in the coming weeks.”
VOA Interview: Blinken Warns Russia of Action Should Moscow Invade Ukraine
After Ukraine, Blinken heads to Berlin on Thursday and then to Geneva, where he will hold talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday. Blinken will urge Russia to “take immediate steps to de-escalate” tensions along its border with Ukraine. The hastily arranged trip for the top U.S. diplomat comes one week after U.S.-Russia talks in Geneva reached an impasse.
Blinken, Lavrov to Meet in Geneva Friday to Continue Diplomacy Over Ukraine
US-North Korea
In response to North Korea’s recent missile launches, the United States called on Pyongyang to “cease its unlawful and destabilizing activities.”
In a call with South Korean and Japanese officials, Sung Kim, the U.S. special representative for North Korea, “expressed concern” about the missile launches and urged Pyongyang to return to dialogue “without preconditions.”
North Korea’s launch on Monday, which South Korea said involved short-range ballistic missiles, marked North Korea’s fourth weapons test this month as Pyongyang flexes its military muscle while ignoring the United States’ offers of talks.
North Korea Confirms Latest Missile Test
US-Iran
U.S. Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley will meet with Barry Rosen, an American who was taken hostage in Iran in 1979, while giving “full attention” to and seeking the release of all wrongfully detained American citizens in Iran, a State Department spokesperson told VOA.
Rosen began a hunger strike in Vienna on Wednesday to press U.S. and Iranian officials to come to an agreement about the release of Americans and other Westerners of Iranian origin jailed by Tehran. He hopes the move will help to break a monthslong stalemate in indirect talks between the two sides.
Former US Hostage in Iran to Begin Hunger Strike to Press for Prisoner Deal
Humanitarian assistance to Afghans
The United States said it would continue to support the people of Afghanistan, as Washington delivers more doses of COVID-19 vaccine and provides humanitarian funds.
He highlighted the United States’ latest contribution of more than $308 million toward humanitarian assistance for the Afghan people during a virtual meeting with U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths. The U.N. said it is “in a race against time” to prevent millions of Afghans from falling deeper into a severe economic and humanitarian crisis.
UN Chief: ‘Race Against Time’ to Save Afghan Economy