News
Wednesday 9th November 2022.
November 9, 2022
The former presidents of the Republic, Ricardo Martinelli and Juan Carlos Varela, are two of the 36 people for whom Judge Baloisa Marquínez requested a call to trial in the Odebrecht case. The list also includes former ministers, businessmen, lawyers, among others.
The floor slab on the 12th floor of the Urbana building, in Obarrio, the building where a strong explosion was recorded on November 1, has cracks, which forced the Fire Department of Panama and the National Civil Protection Service (Sinaproc) to shore up the slabs of apartments 9, 10, and 11, to avoid possible collapses. In the visual inspection procedures that were carried out on Monday on the 12th floor, structural engineers from the Technological University of Panama (UTP) and criminalistics were supposed to participate, but when observing the state of the apartment’s floor, they recommended doing shoring work, since some previously placed supports had yielded due to the deterioration. The primary care prosecutor, Julio Villarreal, added that an assessment should be made of the damage caused to the Urbana building itself, as well as to the residences in the area. Apart from the material damage, there are also the effects on people: three people are hospitalized it also left at least 20 slightly injured. Villarreal warned that it is still premature to be able to define whether the PH Urbana can be occupied again, since this will depend on the evaluations of the structural technicians. He acknowledged that the investigative work would take some time due to the complexity of the procedures that must be carried out by a multidisciplinary team. Ángel Delgado, director of Related Calamities of the Fire Department, reported that two of the three people who were injured on the day of the event have shown significant improvement and that only the older adult who sustained burns to her body and who is being held at the Santo Tomás Hospital is still in a delicate condition.
Without establishing a specific figure, the Ministry of Health (Minsa), through the regional directorate of Health of the district of San Miguelito, announced this Tuesday, that there will be a sanction for the organizers of the ‘culeco’ carried out in the place called Xtreme Plaza; because “they did not have permission from the district health authority.” In a statement, the entity indicates that the organizers of this event did not have the sanitary permits, since for this, an authorization by the Minsa is required with the prior notification by the person in charge of the activity. The organizers, according to the entity, also did not comply with the inspection of the water transport, which must meet certain requirements, among them: it must not be used for hydrocarbon products. “In this case, there is a sanction of more than a thousand dollars, imposed by the Health Region,” the statement said.
Two people were arrested this Monday, for their alleged connection to the robbery of the Brilat jewelry store, located on Avenue Samuel Lewis, Obarrio, which occurred last month. This was reported by the Public Ministry and the National Police. The so-called “Impact Operation” carried out this day included two raids in the sectors of Los Quemados and El Futuro, district of San Miguelito, as well as in the village of Pacora, district of Panama. In the proceedings, carried out by the Primary Care Section of the Metropolitan Prosecutor’s Office with the support of the National Police, $1,265 dollars in cash, illicit substances, in addition to clothing were found, according to the report. On October 12, five men robbed the Brilat jewelry store. Three of the criminals were disguised as Muslims and the other two as sanitation workers.
The latest data from the National Migration Service shows that in the first seven days of November, 3,535 irregular migrants entered through the Darién border. In the recent hours, up until 7:00 am this Tuesday, 658 irregular travelers arrived at the migratory reception points, installed in Darién (border with Colombia); Of that amount, 449 are men and 209 women. In addition, there are 124 minors (72 boys and 52 girls). Of the 3,535 migrants who arrived in the first days of November, 1,163 are Haitians, 1,250 Ecuadorians, 173 are Venezuelans; 163 Cubans, 106 Dominicans and 57 Colombians. Between July and September of this year, the monthly average of Haitians who entered the country was about 1,500. The information from Migración Panamá reflects that the number of Venezuelans, who were the ones who were making the greatest number of crossings to the United States, has dropped notably. In September.
The Social Security Fund (CSS) reported that the transplant program has been restored in the entity with the arrival, on November 2, of the drug basiliximab at the pharmacy of the Dr. Arnulfo Arias Madrid Hospital Complex. The program was suspended on October 28, by the Panamanian Transplant Organization, due to the lack of medication that is key to preventing the patient from rejecting the transplanted organs. In fact, the function of basiliximab is to stop white blood cells called lymphocytes from being produced to prevent the patient from rejecting the organ.
The electric charging service for vehicles could be offered by any final customer, whether a natural or legal person, as long as they assume the responsibility of building and putting into operation the electric charging stations, as well as carrying out their operation and maintenance. The foregoing is provided by the proposal of the public consultation carried out by the National Public Services Authority (ASEP) from September 19 to October 27 to apply article 15 of Law 295 of April 24, 2022, by which encourages electric mobility in land transport. The distribution companies, Naturgy and Ensa, participated in this consultation; the generators Interenergy, Celsia, Enel and Aes Panama; in addition to the Association of Large Electric Customers.The electric vehicle market in Panama is still incipient. There are some 74 electric recharging points for vehicles throughout the country, with a total of 91 chargers. Of these, 10 are fast-charging chargers that take a maximum of 15 minutes to charge the vehicle’s battery. There are other medium and slow charge chargers, which are installed in residences.
The National Police reported that they arrested two people who allegedly tried to introduce various items, including a refrigerator, to the La Joyita prison. According to the authorities, agents of the Penitentiary Security Police Service apprehended two people at dawn on Tuesday, who apparently tried to introduce more than 90 cans and bottles of liquor, among other products. Luis García, head of Prison Security, explained that the arrest of these people occurred after a chase near the La Joyita complex.It was reported that the seized merchandise included clothing, speakers, appliances, kitchen utensils, a refrigerator, razors, electronic equipment, perfumes, 15 bottles of liquor and more than 80 cans of beer. The police also reported that these people were placed under the orders of the competent authorities and that one of them had left this prison six months ago.