*** The president of the United Workers Front of Ecuador called for a protest march against the government of President Guillermo Lasso for what they called its ineptitude in the face of the country's problems, local media reported Tuesday. According to Marcela Arellano, president of this union organization, "mobilization is part of fundamental human rights, it is within the Constitution, and we protest precisely because at this moment we are in a state of defenselessness". The labor leader rejected the accusations of the opposition that the protests generate destabilization, because in her opinion it is the Executive who generates greater instability due to the absence of social investments, thus making the burden of the economic, political and security crisis fall on the citizens.
*** The Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, said Tuesday that he complained to the Russian leader Vladimir Putin about the "problems" related to the Russian peacekeepers deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh, and warned that the danger of a military escalation in that region, disputed by Armenia and Azerbaijan, is growing. "In a telephone conversation with Putin yesterday, I talked about a possible escalation in Nagorno Karabakh, and said that there are problems in the area where Russian peacekeepers are responsible," the leader said. "Azerbaijan's rhetoric is becoming more and more aggressive," he added, denouncing that the blockade of the Lachin corridor, Karabakh's only land link with Armenia, is still active. In Pashinyan's view, the disruption along the route, which Azerbaijan claims is driven by environmental groups concerned about illegal mining, has lasted for months and is part of a "preparation for ethnic cleansing of Armenians." That blockade, says the Yerevan government, has generated "a full-blown humanitarian crisis" in Karabakh, which is facing food, meal and fuel shortages.
*** The international pact on the export of grain from Black Sea ports, which had been blocked by the conflict in Ukraine, expires on March 18. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin on Monday expressed readiness to accept the extension of the agreement on the transportation of grain from Black Sea ports for 60 days, at the end of consultations with representatives of the United Nations (UN) in Geneva. "The Russian side, stressing the package character of the Istanbul agreements proposed by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, is not opposed to a further extension of the Black Sea initiative after the second deadline, which expires on March 18, but only for 60 days," the Russian deputy foreign minister noted. The agreement allowing Ukrainian cargoes to sail through a safe corridor was reached last August mediated by Türkiye and the UN to alleviate the international food crisis and was extended for 120 days. Before accepting its latest extension, Moscow already denounced that part of the commitments made by the UN, which includes the export of Russian agricultural products and fertilizers, had not been fulfilled.
*** The captain of the Venezuelan national team, Miguel Cabrera, managed to make history in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) after his participation in the duel against Puerto Rico. The Venezuelan star became the first player in history to participate in five editions of this event. The information was released by Major League Baseball (MLB) through its account on the social network Twitter, where they congratulated "Miggy" for this achievement. "Miguel Cabrera is the only player in history to play in all five editions of the World Baseball Classic," said the competition. During the game against Puerto Rico he went 4-1 with a single to center field.
*** Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Tuesday at the summit of the International Russophile Movement that the expansion of NATO's infrastructure in Asia presages a protracted confrontation in the region. "The Anglo-Saxon world, with the creation of such blocs as AUKUS and the promotion of NATO's military infrastructure in Asia, is making a very serious bet on a confrontation for many years," the Russian foreign minister said. He further noted that "the Anglo-Saxons have taken the reins and [...] tell Europe to forget about strategic autonomy." Likewise, the head of Russian diplomacy warned that Nazism is taking over more and more European countries. "We see not only neo-Nazism, but pure Nazism, which is spreading to more and more European countries. We see how history is being destroyed before our eyes, how sacred monuments are being destroyed," he denounced.
*** On March 24, Spanish singer Alejandro Sanz will release his new song titled "Correcaminos", which is the result of his first collaboration with Venezuelan Danny Ocean. Through a press release issued by Universal Music, it was learned that pop, urban and southern air come together in a song that will be marked by the celebration, in which the notes full of music are present to impose a rhythm that combines Spanish and Latin airs. In this sense, Sanz emphasized that "among the musical fetishes of my life, this one with Danny will remain among my favorites", at the same time that he described the theme as "an adventure". For his part, the Venezuelan singer described as "magical" the opportunity to work with Sanz on a song he co-wrote with him. It is worth mentioning that this new song will also have a video clip that was filmed in the desert landscapes of Mexico.
*** The inhabitants of Metropolitan Lima are expecting heavy rains this Tuesday 14, which could be generated by the presence of cyclone "Yaku" in the Pacific Ocean, about 500 kilometers from the Peruvian coast. Authorities and specialists have warned that the eventual rainfall could generate flooding and serious damage in a city of 10 million inhabitants that is located in the middle of the Peruvian coastal desert and whose infrastructure is not prepared for persistent rains. Faced with this scenario, which led the mayor of Lima, the ultra-conservative Rafael López Aliaga, to ask citizens to make a "prayer chain", the government of President Dina Boluarte declared on Monday a state of emergency in 18 districts of the capital and four of the neighboring province of Callao. This decision seeks to execute measures and actions of exception, "immediate and necessary for the reduction of the very high existing risk", as well as of response and rehabilitation corresponding to the sectors affected so far.
*** The team representing Puerto Rico in the V World Baseball Classic defeated Israel on Monday by a knockout score of ten goals to zero in eight innings, giving them the first perfect game in the history of the sporting event. The work of starter José de León was unbeatable. In five and two-thirds innings, he allowed no hits and no scores and gave out ten strikeouts without issuing a single base on balls. Thus, the Puerto Rican team is second in its group with two wins and one loss, only surpassed by the Venezuelan team that remains undefeated with the same number of wins and one game less. The surprise of the day was signed by Great Britain who defeated Colombia by a score of seven runs to five.
*** The renowned American investor and writer Robert Kiyosaki urged on Monday to invest in bitcoin to face the turbulence in the US banking sector, by suggesting that the US Federal Reserve (known as Fed) will print more dollars to support the economy. "Financial bailouts begin. More fake money to invade an ailing economy. I keep recommending the same response. Buy more G [gold], S [silver], BC [bitcoin]. Beware. Crash landing ahead," tweeted the author of the book 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad'. The remarks by Kiyosaki, who in mid-February predicted that confidence in the US dollar "will be destroyed," come after President Joe Biden assured the public of the stability of the banking system. Last Friday, the U.S. experienced its largest failure since the 2008 financial crisis with the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). Two days later, regulators shut down New York-based Signature Bank due to systemic risks and in order to prevent contagion in the sector.
*** Transgenic corn and agrochemicals such as glyphosate affect human health, but have been minimized and even blocked by large agribusiness corporations, denounced specialists in Mexico. The director for Latin America of the Action Group on Erosion, Technology and Concentration (ETC Group), Silvia Ribeiro, warned that corporations present their own studies under parameters that are not sufficient to establish whether or not they cause health effects. However, she said, in the last decade, scientists and international organizations have presented research on the effects, and the most obvious case is that of Professor Gilles-Eric Séralini, published in 2012 in the journal Food and Chemical Toxicology, which concluded that the herbicide Roundup and a transgenic corn, both owned by Monsanto, caused tumors and diseases. Ribeiro recalls that the United States is pressuring Mexico to withdraw a decree by which the country prohibits the import and use of transgenic corn for human consumption. After the publication of this research in 2012, Monsanto - the world's largest producer of agrochemicals - undertook a campaign to discredit the research, to the extent that the journal that originally published it removed it from its site, but the scientist refuted the accusations and it was republished in the academic journal Environmental Sciences Europe.
