Juan Convers

With five votes in favor and four against, Colombia's constitutional court issued a ruling yesterday decriminalizing abortion in this South American republic. Given that like many of its neighbors, Colombia is a Catholic country, where the church and right-wing parties exert a strong influence in the judicial decisions, this is undoubtedly a landmark ruling that continues a trend that has already set its pace in Mexico and Argentina.

I am aware that the issue of abortion is quite contentious and generates many conflicting opinions, but that a woman who wishes to have an abortion (and who is going to do it in any case), can do it in a safe way, is a huge achievement, Well done!

Last Friday I learned that the day before the federal council of Switzerland had reached an agreement to relax the covid measures, so that the use of masks is limited to public transport and health institutions only. This morning I was reading that also in other European countries, these measures are being adopted also in other countries like the UK, Norway, France, Germany and Austria.

It is true that vaccination rates have reached important levels in most of these countries, that covid cases have decreased significantly and that fortunately omicron-related cases have been milder than previous variants; but in any case it feels a bit surreal to enter stores and restaurants without having to wear that mask that has been part of the essential accessories during these long months of pandemic.

Fingers crossed that the situation continues to evolve so positively!.

This morning, before starting work, I noticed that the day was quite beautiful with a bright sun, so I went for a short walk to the lake here in Morges, and when I was passing by the harbor I captured this image with an interesting composition.

Sometimes you are lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to capture an interesting photo. This is what happened last weekend in Ouchy, Lausanne: We were relaxing by the fountain in the main square and as the sun was setting, illuminating the bridge and the water, people were passing by, including this cyclist who was captured in the image.

Last weekend when I was walking home after getting a PCR test (which is part of the routine in this pandemic era), I passed by markplatz where I have walked thousands of times, but from the angle where I was, looking at the clear sky, with the Rathaus in the background, I said to myself: wow it really looks beautiful!

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