GLOBAL DIARY

“The UK is embracing its future as an independent trading nation” – BORIS JOHNSON, PRIME

MINISTER OF THE UNITED KINGDOM

ANNALENA BAERBOCK GERMANY’S FIRST WOMAN FOREIGN MINISTER

Annalena Baerbock, the co-president of the German Green Party, will take over the position of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany, and thus she will become the first woman in that position in this country. Annalena Baerbock will take office as part of a government coalition formed alongside the Social Democrats and Liberals. The Ministry of Economy and Climate will also be headed by the Green Party, another co-president, Robert Habeck. The first Chancellor of Germany from the ranks of the Social Democrats after 16 years, will become the additional Vice Chancellor and Minister of Finance, Olaf Scholz.

EL SALVADOR BITCOIN CITY PLANNED AT BASE OF A VOLCANO

El Salvador plans to build a Bitcoin city at the base of a volcano, with the cryptocurrency used to fund the project, its president has announced. The city will be circular to represent the shape of a large coin and will be built in the south-eastern region of La Unión, President Nayib Bukele said. The site would take advantage of the Conchagua volcano’s geothermal energy to power Bitcoin mining, he added. El Salvador recently became the first country to use Bitcoin as legal tender. The move led to large-scale protests over fears the cryptocurrency would bring instability and inflation to the impoverished Latin American country.

NUMBER OF TREES CUT DOWN IN AMAZON REACHES HIGHEST LEVEL SINCE 2006

Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has jumped 22% in the latest 12-month period, reaching its highest level since 2006, data from the country’s space agency shows. Between August 2020 and July 2021, trees were felled from land measuring 13,235 square km (5,110 square miles), the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) said. The state of Para suffered the most deforestation, accounting for 40% of the latest figure. There are nine states in the Amazon region. Data was gathered through the INPE’s PRODES satellite programme.

“The Chinese people will never allow foreign forces to bully, oppress or enslave us” – XI JINPING, PRESIDENT OF THE PEOPLE’S

REPUBLIC OF CHINA

NOVAK DJOKOVIC CLINCHES RECORD SEVENTH YEAR-END NO. 1

U.S. ISSUES ‘DO NOT TRAVEL’ COVID-19 WARNING FOR MANY EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

Novak Djokovic has made history again. The Serbian secured the year-end No. 1 FedEx ATP Ranking for a record seventh time, eclipsing the mark previously he shared with American Pete Sampras. By defeating Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz in Rolex Paris Masters semi-finals, Djokovic breaks a tie with Sampras, who completed six straight year-end No. 1 finishes between 1993-98. Djokovic has achieved the feat in seven of the past 11 seasons (also 2011-12, ’14-15, ’18 and ’20). “Just proud and extremely happy. Obviously that was one of the biggest goals and it’s always one of the biggest goals, to try to be No. 1 and end the season as No. 1,” Djokovic said.

Screenshot/YouTube NovaS

PROTESTS IN SERBIA DUE TO THE NEW LAWS ON PROPERTY EXPROPRIATION AND REFERENDUM

Hundreds of protesters blocked major roads and bridges in Serbia during the last weekend of November, as they rallied against new laws that green activists argue will give free rein to foreign mining companies, causing irreparable damage to the environment. Activists have threatened further action if the laws on property expropriation and referendum aren’t withdrawn. Environmentalists and civil society groups have expressed dismay that authorities have lowered the referendum threshold.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the State Department latest advise against travel to Germany and Denmark because of a rising number of COVID-19 cases in those countries. The CDC elevated its travel recommendation to “Level Four: Very High” for the two European countries, telling Americans they should avoid travel there, while the State Department issued parallel “Do Not Travel” advisories for both countries. The CDC currently lists about 75 destinations worldwide at Level Four, with many European countries on the list including Austria, Britain, Belgium, Greece, Norway, Switzerland, Romania, Ireland and the Czech Republic.