Stories for 2014

Tuesday, May 20th 2014 - 08:27 UTC
Hailstorm blankets Sao Paulo: good news for the city was running out of water

An unusually heavy hailstorm in Brazil's largest city, Sao Paulo, has brought residents out onto to the streets to play with the ice it left behind. For many of them, it was the first time they had seen huge ice balls littering the streets of the subtropical city.
Tuesday, May 20th 2014 - 08:19 UTC
Antarctica ice sheet loss has doubled since 2010, shows CryoSat satellite

The Antarctic ice sheet has lost ice twice as quickly in the past three years as when it was last surveyed between 2005 and 2010, say scientists. Results from the CryoSat-2 satellite mission, published Monday in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, say the largest ice sheet on Earth is now losing 159 billion tons of ice each year.
Tuesday, May 20th 2014 - 08:07 UTC
Pele admits tourists are cancelling trips to Brazil because of protests and delays

Protests in Brazil and delays in building stadiums are putting the World Cup next month at risk and prompting tourists to stay away, soccer great Pele said on Monday. Brazil's tournament organizers have faced headwinds since the country was tapped to host the World Cup in 2007.
Tuesday, May 20th 2014 - 08:00 UTC
Metropolitan Buenos Aires majority disapproves of Cristina Fernandez, but she retains 36% support

A clear majority of Argentines, 56%, in metropolitan Buenos Aires, which is the most densely populated area of the country, disapprove of President Cristina Fernandez, according to the latest public opinion poll made public but also 36% remain faithful and approve the performance of the controversial Argentine leader.
Tuesday, May 20th 2014 - 07:31 UTC
Venezuelan situation impedes Mercosur summit to take place in Caracas, says Almargo

Uruguay Foreign Affairs minister Luis Almagro said that the political situation in Venezuela makes it quite improbable that the three-times postponed and since delayed Mercosur summit can effectively take place in Caracas sometime in the next two months.
Monday, May 19th 2014 - 21:00 UTC
WHO's Dr. Chan targets childhood obesity: “our children are getting fatter”

World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan voiced deep concern about the increase worldwide of childhood obesity, with numbers climbing fastest in developing countries. “As the 2014 World Health Statistics report bluntly states, ‘Our children are getting fatter,’” she said during her opening speech to the Health Assembly on Monday in Geneva.
Monday, May 19th 2014 - 13:54 UTC
People living longer, both in rich and poor countries, says latest WHO report

People everywhere are living longer, according to the World Health Statistics 2014 published this week by the World Health Organization (WHO). Based on global averages, a girl who was born in 2012 can expect to live to around 73 years, and a boy to the age of 68. This is six years longer than the average global life expectancy for a child born in 1990.
Monday, May 19th 2014 - 12:04 UTC
British MEP alleges UK torpedoed Spain's 2020 Olympics' bid because of Gibraltar

The British Government torpedoed Spain’s bid to host the 2020 Olympic Games as a reprisal for the Spanish Government’s hard line stance on Gibraltar, Sir Graham Watson has claimed.
Monday, May 19th 2014 - 09:50 UTC
Gibraltar: Spain hits back at UK accusing the Rock of increased tobacco smuggling

The Spanish Government has accused Britain of failing to tackle a sharp rise in tobacco smuggling at the border. In a statement marking the six-month deadline set by the European Commission following its visit last year, Spain also said that cooperation with law enforcement agencies in Gibraltar had deteriorated.
Monday, May 19th 2014 - 09:44 UTC
New Commons' Defense Committee chairman supported by Labor and Lib-Dem

Conservative MP Rory Stewart has been selected to chair the British House of Commons defense committee. In a short statement to the Commons, Speaker John Bercow said 479 MPs voted in the election for the post. In the final round of voting, Mr Stewart got 226 votes. His rival, Julian Lewis received 212 votes. There was one spoilt ballot paper.