International
World can end Covid emergency this year: WHO chief
AFP
The head of the World Health Organization said on Monday that the planet can end the Covid-19 emergency this year, although the virus last week killed someone every 12 seconds.
“We can end Covid-19 as a global health emergency and we can do it this year,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the UN health agency’s executive board.
To do so, countries need to work harder to ensure equitable access to vaccines and treatment, track the virus and its emerging variants, and keep restrictions in place, he warned.
The WHO has for months demanded that countries do more to accelerate the distribution of vaccines in poorer nations, calling on all countries to vaccinate at least 70 percent of their populations by the middle of this year.
Half of the WHO’s 194 member states missed the previous target of vaccinating 40 percent of their people by end-2021 and 85 percent of people in Africa were yet to receive a single jab, Tedros said.
“We simply cannot end the emergency phase of the pandemic unless we bridge this gap,” he said.
“On average last week, 100 cases were reported every three seconds, and somebody lost their life to Covid-19 every 12 seconds,” he added.
Covid-19 has killed more than 5.5 million people since it first emerged in late 2019 and case numbers have been driven to record levels by the new Omicron variant.
Since the strain was first detected in southern Africa nine weeks ago, Tedros said 80 million cases had been reported to the WHO — more than in all of 2020.
Omicron appears to cause less severe disease than previous variants and Tedros confirmed that “the explosion in cases has not been matched by a surge in deaths”.
The WHO chief said the world would need to learn to live with Covid.
“We will need to learn to manage it through a sustained and integrated strategy for acute respiratory diseases,” he said, emphasizing it was “dangerous to assume that Omicron will be the last variant, or that this is the end game.”
“On the contrary,” he said, “globally the conditions are ideal for more variants to emerge.”
“The potential for a more transmissible, more deadly variant remains very real.”
International
Venezuela mobilizes forces nationwide as tensions with U.S. rise
Venezuela’s armed forces launched a “massive” nationwide deployment on Tuesday in response to what the government calls “imperialist threats” from the United States, which continues its anti-drug military operation in the region and is preparing for the arrival of its most advanced aircraft carrier.
Since late August, U.S. forces have maintained a growing presence in the Caribbean to combat alleged drug trafficking originating from Colombia and Venezuela. The operation has resulted in the bombing of 20 vessels in international waters in the Caribbean and Pacific, leaving 76 people dead.
Venezuelan authorities claim the U.S. mission is aimed at toppling President Nicolás Maduro. While insisting he seeks peace, Maduro has repeatedly warned the country is prepared to defend itself and has frequently showcased military activities.
A statement from Venezuela’s Defense Ministry said the deployment includes land, air, naval, river and missile systems; armed forces units; the Bolivarian militia; and additional police, military and civilian defense structures.
State broadcaster VTV aired speeches from military leaders in various states, along with images of troops mobilizing and equipment being positioned.
However, analysts note that these frequent and highly publicized announcements do not always lead to visible operations on the ground.
On Monday, Maduro cautioned that Venezuela has the “strength and power” to respond to any aggression, including mobilizing civilians. “If imperialism were to strike and do harm, from the moment the order is given, the entire Venezuelan people would mobilize and fight,” he warned.
International
Jara: “Real toughness” means targeting drug money in Chile’s crime fight
Left-wing presidential candidate Jeannette Jara said during Chile’s final debate on Monday that the “real tough approach” to crime is to go after the financial networks behind drug trafficking and organized crime.
Rising crime, often linked in public discourse to a surge in irregular migration, has become the top concern among Chileans and has dominated the election campaign.
Although Chile’s homicide rate has nearly tripled over the past decade — from 2.5 to 6.7 per 100,000 inhabitants — the country remains one of the safest in Latin America, according to the United Nations.
“I want to call on the right-wing candidates to join us in targeting those who control the money behind drug trafficking and organized crime. That is real tough action,” Jara, who is favored to win Sunday’s first-round vote, declared during the debate.
All eight candidates faced off on Monday night in the final televised confrontation before the election.
Polls — unavailable since they were suspended on November 2 — indicate that far-right candidate José Antonio Kast is likely to finish second behind Jara, but would hold the advantage in a potential December 14 runoff.
Kast is expected to consolidate support from three other right-wing contenders: Evelyn Matthei, Johannes Kaiser and Franco Parisi.
International
Investigation widens after Michoacán mayor’s killer shot post-arrest
Mexico’s Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch said Tuesday that the investigation into the killing of a popular mayor from the western state of Michoacán now also includes his security detail. The announcement comes after the governor said the alleged attacker — a 17-year-old — was shot dead after having already been detained.
“The municipal police officers who formed the mayor’s first security ring will give new statements,” García Harfuch said during the president’s daily morning press briefing, noting that includes the officer who admitted firing at the assailant.
He added that authorities are examining both the weapon that killed the attacker and the one that fatally shot the mayor. He did not clarify whether the 14 National Guard members assigned to the mayor’s protection are also under investigation.
Carlos Manzo, mayor of the city of Uruapan, about 400 kilometers west of Mexico City, was gunned down the night of November 1 while surrounded by dozens of people taking part in Day of the Dead festivities.
Governor Alfredo Ramírez Bedolla said Monday that investigators are trying to determine why lethal force was used on the attacker and whether it was excessive. “The killer was detained and moments later there was a struggle and a single shot that killed the assailant,” he said.
Authorities are also reviewing “what happened that led to a lapse or weakening in the mayor’s security cordon,” the governor added, noting that the eight municipal bodyguards were personally chosen by Manzo.
Venezuela mobilizes forces nationwide as tensions with U.S. rise
Jara: “Real toughness” means targeting drug money in Chile’s crime fight
Investigation widens after Michoacán mayor’s killer shot post-arrest
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