Colombians take to the streets to kick off third week of anti-government protests
Reuters | May 12, 2021 03:37 PM EDT
Demonstrators play drums during a protest demanding government action to tackle poverty, police violence and inequalities in healthcare and education systems, in Bogota (Photo : REUTERS/Nathalia Angarita NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES)
Union members, students, pensioners and workers took to the streets of Colombia to march in anti-government protests on Wednesday, as demonstrations entered their third week amid so-far fruitless talks.
The demonstrations, which have sometimes turned violent, were initially fueled in late April by outrage at a now-canceled tax plan. But protesters demands have expanded to include an end to police violence, economic support as the COVID-19 pandemic batters incomes, and the withdrawal of a health reform.
Lava streams threaten residents on slopes of Guatemalan volcano 2 minutes read
By Emiliano Castro Saenz
San Vicente Pacaya, Guatemala, Apr 14 (EFE).- Streams of lava from Guatemala’s Pacaya continue to flow in the general direction of two villages perched on the slopes of the 2,552 m (8,373 ft) mountain.
More than two months since the start of the latest of Pacaya’s 23 documented eruptions over the last five centuries, the Guatemalan government remains without a plan to evacuate the roughly 2,200 inhabitants of El Rodeo and El Patrocinio should it become necessary.
As witnessed by Efe on Wednesday, the slow-moving currents of lava are less than a kilometer away from some homes in the municipality of San Vicente Pacaya, just 40 km (25 mi) south of Guatemala City.
By Dr. Jaime Jimenez
In a pandemic, the prevention of a wider spread of a virus and economic recovery are the essentials of the day. Among other things, budgeting during a pandemic needs to focus on three things: response measures, social protection, and economic stimulus.
The theme of the 2021 General Appropriations Act (GAA), signed and approved on Dec. 28, 2020, is “Reset, Rebound and Recover: Investing for Resiliency and Sustainability.”
With this theme, building health and economic resilience, specifically the “Build, Build, Build” program, agriculture, the food value chain, and other new normal priorities will be given due importance by reprioritizing the 2021 and 2022 national budgets, according to the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA).