Category Archives: Americas

5G and QAnon: how conspiracy theorists steered Canada’s anti-vaccine trucker protest

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Ottawa’s occupation was a result of unrivaled coordination between anti-vax and anti-government organizations

Thousands of demonstrators have successfully occupied Canada’s frigid capital for days, and say they plan on staying as long as it takes to thwart the country’s vaccine requirements.

The brazen occupation of Ottawa came as a result of unprecedented coordination between various anti-vaccine and anti-government organizations and activists, and has been seized on by similar groups around the world.

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Ottawa protesters turn to Christian crowdfunding site after GoFundMe snub

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GoFundMe blocked fundraising after Canadian city declared emergency over protests against vaccine mandates

A trucker-led protest against vaccine mandates in Canada has raised several million dollars on a Christian crowdfunding site after being removed from GoFundMe, sparking debate over how online platforms moderate campaigns.

GoFundMe blocked fundraising for the “Freedom Convoy” over the weekend, after the mayor of Ottawa declared a state of emergency over a week-long protest led by truck drivers over Covid-19 restrictions.

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Infant killed after coast guard opens fire on boat carrying Venezuelan migrants

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The baby’s mother was injured after the Trinidad and Tobago coast guard shot at the boat, later saying it fired in ‘self defence’

A Venezuelan woman was shot and wounded and her nine-month-old baby was killed in her arms when Trinidad and Tobago’s coast guard opened fire on the boat carrying migrants fleeing their home country.

In a statement posted on Facebook, the coast guard said its personnel had opened fire “in self-defence” on Saturday after “aggressive manoeuvres” by the migrant craft when it was intercepted as it entered Trinidadian waters late on Saturday.

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Ottawa protesters defy growing calls to end occupation of capital

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Protesters against Covid vaccine mandates have defied government calls for them to end a 10-day occupation of Canada’s capital, a day after the city’s mayor declared a state of emergency and promised to “get the city back”.

Ottawa police have described the protest as a “siege” on the city, where hundreds of trucks and cars have blockaded the downtown areas. On Sunday, Mayor Jim Watson warned that officials were “losing this battle”, and a civil class-action lawsuit was filed against protesters over the incessant horn blasting and disruption to daily life.

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Signs of premature ageing found in monkeys after hurricane

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Rhesus macaques in Puerto Rico appear to have aged by about two years more than expected

Monkeys that survived a devastating hurricane in Puerto Rico were prematurely aged by the experience, a study has found.

Scientists say the findings suggest that an increase in extreme weather around the world may have negative biological consequences for the humans and animals affected.

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Ottawa protests: how did the rallies against vaccine mandates begin and what’s next?

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Protesters occupying Canada’s capital city say they will not leave until all vaccine requirements and mandates have been abolished

For more than a week, the centre of Canada’s capital city has been paralysed by protestors who have blockaded the downtown area with trucks and cars. City police have described the protest as a “siege” and on Sunday the mayor of Ottawa declared a state of emergency.

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Ottawa declares state of emergency as Canada trucker protest paralyses city

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Police chief describes situation as a ‘siege’ as thousands of protesters join demonstrations against Covid restrictions

The mayor of Canada’s capital declared a state of emergency Sunday and a former US ambassador to Canada said groups in the US must stop interfering in the domestic affairs of America’s neighbour as protesters opposed to Covid-19 restrictions continued to paralyse Ottawa’s downtown.

The mayor, Jim Watson, said the declaration highlights the need for support from other jurisdictions and levels of government. It gives the city some additional powers around procurement and how it delivers services, which could help purchase equipment required by frontline workers and first responders.

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Ten Cuban migrants in sinking vessel rescued off Florida coast

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Rescue comes after a boat believed to be used for human smuggling capsized with only one of 40 passengers surviving

Ten Cuban migrants in a sinking vessel were rescued off the Florida coast, according to the US Coast Guard.

A Coast Guard boat spotted the vessel on Thursday about 40 miles (about 64km) off Key Largo, the Coast Guard said in a tweet.

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Misinformation and distrust: behind Bolivia’s low Covid vaccination rates

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About half the country’s population is yet to receive a single dose of vaccine, despite availability

In a vaccination centre in El Alto, Bolivia, the staff bagged up in protective gear far outnumbered the few people sitting in plastic chairs waiting for their injection. A young doctor reeled off a list of all the vaccines available: Sinopharm, Sputnik, Pfizer, Moderna. What’s lacking is demand. They see 100 people on a good day.

South America, once the region most afflicted by the pandemic, is now the most vaccinated in the world. But this turnaround doesn’t extend to Bolivia, where roughly half the population is yet to receive a single dose – even though the state has had all the vaccines it needs since October.

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Peru’s prime minister to step down after allegations of domestic violence

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Héctor Valer confirms resignation just four days after being named for the post

The Peruvian prime minister Héctor Valer confirmed on Saturday that he will step down just four days after being named for the post, after allegations that he beat his daughter and late wife.

On Friday, President Pedro Castillo said he would reshuffle the cabinet again, after just three days, amid widespread condemnation of his appointment of Valer as prime minister.

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‘We need politicians and experts’: how Chile is putting the climate crisis first

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President Gabriel Boric has brought renowned named climate scientist Maisa Rojas into government to help ensure a greener future

Hidden behind the Andes in a quiet corner of South America, a formidable generation of former student leaders are putting together one of the world’s most exciting progressive movements.

On 11 March, Gabriel Boric, 35, a tattooed leftist with a steely resolve to reform Chile from the bottom up, will become the country’s youngest ever president – and his green agenda is echoing across the world as time ticks away on an impending climate catastrophe.

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‘Lawlessness must end’: Canada police pledge tougher action on truck protests

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Ottawa police announce 150 more officers will be deployed as 400 more trucks and 2,000 protesters expected to arrive

Police in Canada have promised tougher action against the “unlawful and unacceptably dangerous” protests paralyzing the nation’s capital, but admitted the situation was increasingly out of their control.

With 400 more trucks and 2,000 protesters expected to arrive in the city this weekend, Ottawa police on Friday announced that 150 additional officers will be deployed and concrete barricades set up to prevent more vehicles from reaching the city’s downtown core. Illegally parked vehicles will be towed and highways and bridges could be closed.

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In too deep: the epic, doomed journey of Europe’s first narco-submarine

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Former boxer Agustín Álvarez jailed for piloting a sub carrying 3,000kg of cocaine across the Atlantic

Twenty-eight months after it began in a clandestine shipyard deep in the Brazilian Amazon, one of the more unlikely criminal voyages of all time came to an end on Tuesday with the seven sentences handed down by a court in north-west Spain.

Agustín Álvarez, a 31-year-old former Spanish amateur boxing champion, was jailed for 11 years for piloting a semi-submersible “narco-submarine” carrying 3,068kg of cocaine worth an estimated €123m (£104m) across the Atlantic. His two crewmates, Ecuadorian cousins Luis Tomás Benítez Manzaba and Pedro Roberto Delgado Manzaba, received the same sentence, while four Spaniards who conspired with Álvarez to help guide the sub ashore were jailed for between seven and nine years.

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Ottawa protests: tensions grow as ‘intolerable’ truck blockade paralyzes Canada capital

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Does movement against vaccine mandates herald Canada’s tea party moment?

For nearly a week, Paul Aubue has lived and slept in the cab of his truck, parked in downtown Ottawa.

The 64-year-old grandfather travelled from New Brunswick to join hundreds of others as they descended on the Canadian capital. Aubue, the owner of a trucking company, said he’d been driven to protest by a recent requirement that truckers crossing from the US into Canada be vaccinated against Covid.

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Argentinians urged to throw out cocaine after tainted batches kill at least 23

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Officials fear death toll from adulterated cocaine could increase, with 84 people currently in intensive care

Authorities in Argentina are advising drug consumers to throw away any cocaine they may have purchased in the last two days after at least 23 people died after ingesting adulterated cocaine in the Greater Buenos Aires area.

Eighty-four others are are currently under intensive care, of which 20 have been intubated, but authorities fear the death toll could increase as further victims are found to have died alone at home.

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‘It gives me joy’: the LGBT Colombians embracing visibility in town with a legacy of abuse

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In El Carmen de Bolívar, LGBTQ+ people want the history of their brutal persecution by police and paramilitaries to be told, but the sense of safety is fragile and many still face prejudice

  • Photography by Sam Ritholtz

In a mountain town near the north coast of Colombia, three drag queens strike poses in the blazing sun. Wearing extravagant Caribbean carnival costumes, they place each high heeled step carefully to avoid puddles. Neighbours come out to take photos and cheer.

This impromptu show has unique significance in the streets of El Carmen de Bolívar, representing the remarkable resurgence of a community once brutally victimised by homophobic armed groups.

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Super corals: the race to save the world’s reefs from the climate crisis – in pictures

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Few corals are safe from warming oceans, a new study warns, but studies are finding surprisingly hardy corals, natural sunscreens and how coral ‘IVF’ can regrow reefs

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Groundhog Day: mysterious rodent deaths and cover-ups plague ceremony

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Wiarton citizens smelled a rat when Willie did not make an appearance at the virtual celebration last year

Every year in the Canadian town of Wiarton, devout followers of Wiarton Willie the albino groundhog learn from the rodent if the grip of winter is loosening.

The annual celebration is part of Groundhog Day, a North American tradition (and movie of the same name) which holds that if a groundhog sees its shadow after emerging from hibernation, six weeks more of winter weather are expected.

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‘Samba is politics’: struggle for Brazil’s future invades its dancefloors

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Outcry as club that is symbol of black resistance finds itself at the centre of politically charged squabble over Bolsonaro’s far-right government

The beer-soaked samba session was drawing to a close and, as usual, the crowd was preparing to vent its spleen.

As percussionists from one of Rio’s top samba groups hammered their tamborins and tantãs, revelers raised their glasses and let out loud, cathartic cheers demanding the removal of a president they despise. “Fora Bolsonaro!” jeered the sweat-drenched throng. “Bolsonaro out!”

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Canada’s Covid protests highlight rise of rightwing populist movements

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Stores and vaccine clinics remain closed in Ottawa as protesters refuse to leave while federal Conservative leader faces criticism

Days of protests against pandemic policies and a deep rift within Canada’s conservative movement have highlighted the growing power of rightwing populist movements in the country.

On Tuesday, retail stores and vaccine clinics in Ottawa remained closed as protesters, who had travelled to the nation’s capital under the guise of protesting vaccine mandates for truckers, refused to leave.

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