Friday
Friday 2nd December 2022.
December 2, 2022
The third liquidating judge Baloisa Marquínez decided to suspend the hearing scheduled for the alternate date of December 6 to 9, 2022 for the case known as the Panama Papers. This, after it approved carrying out some test practices at the international level, explained the Judicial Branch in a statement. The Organized Crime Prosecutor’s Office requested the summons to trial of 32 people for the alleged crime of money laundering. According to the Judicial Branch, the Third Criminal Case Settlement Court declared the dismissal of the criminal action in favor of three defendants and issued a provisional dismissal for eight defendants. The case arises after the investigation that arose as a result of the publications of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), in 2016, as a result of the leak of documents from a Panamanian law firm.
A group of residents of the township of San Francisco came out on Thursday afternoon, to protest the lack of response from local authorities to complaints of excessive noise caused by some locals in the area. “We are tired of the noise, which does not let us sleep or rest,” said Héctor Endara, a resident of the corregimiento and one of the organizers of the “picket walk”. The demonstrators carried banners with slogans that said: “No more noise. We are more than 5 thousand affected”, “Enough noise. Free Sidewalks” and “Where is the Justice of the Peace”. According to Endara, some venues are making too much noise with karaoke and live music. Additionally, the area’s sidewalks have been taken over. “We are tired of not walking safely on the sidewalks,” he said, while explaining that they have sent an open letter to the representative of the corregimiento, Carlos Pérez Herrera. He indicated that a year ago they held a similar protest and to date they have not seen any change. “We have the right to rest, to live in a healthy environment, free from pollution, noise, light pollution, garbage and insecurity”.
Given the deficiencies in the waste collection service, the Government announced that yesterday the operation “Clean the Neighborhood” began. This operation seeks to “guarantee” the collection of garbage and cleaning in the most critical points of Panama City during this month of December. Criticism for failures in the waste collection service has increased in recent weeks, as one of the months of the year with the highest consumption by the population approaches. In the operation – where personnel from the Urban and Home Cleaning Authority (AAUD), the Government of Panama and the community boards will intervene – it is expected to also clean the gutters and sidewalks of the corregimientos of the capital. The operation began yesterday in Calidonia and San Miguel and it will last until 8:00 pm The AAUD and the Calidonia community board will have properly equipped personnel, backhoes, dump trucks and collectors, who will tour the main streets of Calidonia , starting in La Cuchilla and Q street in San Miguel, (former Chesterfield building), it has been reported.
After months of work and consultations, eight journalist organizations, with the collaboration of the National Bar Association, presented on October 14 to the National Assembly (AN), through the Citizen Participation Office, a bill that seeks to modify Law 81 of March 26, 2019, on the protection of personal data, whose interpretation, by some public officials, has caused much concern within journalistic unions and civil society in general. The proposal of the journalistic unions rescues three fundamental concepts. The first is respect for the private life of the holders of the information and, especially, the protection of minors, people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups. The second principle is the defense of access to information of public interest, which is that related to the use of State funds or the current or past exercise of public function, as well as the aspiration to exercise it. The third principle that guides the initiative is the promotion of the exercise of freedom of expression and information, without the danger of the arbitrary application of Law 81 of 2019 or the threat of an improper interpretation of the necessary regulations contained in said law. The idea of presenting reforms to Law 81 of 2019 had been considered since Antai fined the news site La Verdad Panama for disclosing a marriage certificate as part of the content of a news story, which, according to Antai, violates the protection of personal data. According to Antai, La Verdad had to obtain the consent of both parties (not just the spouse, who directly provided the document), before publishing the certificate.
The regular prices of fuels will register a decrease as of today Friday, confirmed the National Secretariat of Energy. 95 octane gasoline is reported to drop 12 cents, reflected in a price of $1.00 per liter ($3.78 per gallon). Meanwhile, 91 octane gasoline will decrease 9 cents and the cost per liter will be $0.95 ($3.59 per gallon). Regarding low sulfur diesel, it is specified that it will drop 10 cents, remaining at $1.09 per liter ($4.12 per gallon).These regular prices will be in effect until 5:59 am next Friday, December 16, 2022. It is important to highlight that currently the price of fuels is frozen at $3.25 per gallon, after the government and different social unions reached an understanding to set a single temporary cost, due to the rise in international oil prices. The State assumes the difference of $3.25 per gallon of gasoline or diesel. The client must provide the identification number and license plate of the vehicle to the dispatchers of the stations to use the subsidy.
The Embassy of the United States in Panama reported that the scheduled appointments were brought forward, between October 2023 and November 2024, to obtain the tourist visa. In a statement, the US embassy details that the new appointments were rescheduled for early 2023 and that people should check their email and their profile at ustraveldocs.com/pa to find out their new date.If the applicant cannot access their profile or has any questions, they should contact the Consulate through the platform ustraveldocs.com/pa In the same way, it is clarified that the advance date for the appointment will not represent any additional cost and people are warned not to make any payment to third parties since a new payment is not required. In addition, the embassy reports that it will continue to take steps to facilitate travel between the United States and Panama. “Thanks to a recent increase in staff, we have been able to advance a considerable number of interviews already scheduled,” it is highlighted in a statement.