Stories for October 2019

Friday, October 4th 2019 - 09:49 UTC
Pope looking into options to recruiting more priests in the Amazon region

A shortage of Catholic priests in the Amazon is eroding the church's influence in the remote region, bishops in Brazil and Peru warn, ahead of a Vatican synod dedicated to the rainforest. Wilmar Santin, one of the scores of Brazilian bishops set to attend the Oct 6-27 gathering, says the church is ceding ground to more nimble Evangelical rivals and needs to lift its game.
Friday, October 4th 2019 - 09:46 UTC
Facebook refuses to suspend encryption plan despite impact on criminal activities

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg defended on Thursday his decision to encrypt the company's messaging services, despite concerns about its impact on child exploitation and other criminal activity.
Friday, October 4th 2019 - 09:43 UTC
OAS develops inter American cooperation network on counterterrorism

The Organization of American States (OAS) will launch the Inter-American Network on Counterterrorism, a project aimed at strengthening cooperation between member states to prevent and address terrorist threats in the Western Hemisphere.
Friday, October 4th 2019 - 09:40 UTC
 Argentine industrial activity dropped 6.4% in August and 8.1% so far this year

Industrial activity in Argentina dropped 6.4% during August compared to a year ago and 2.8% over last July, totalling a slide of 8.1% so far this year, according to the official stats office, Indec.
Friday, October 4th 2019 - 09:36 UTC
Royal Navy fifth patrol vessel formally named HMS Spey; Falklands' bound HMS Forth undergoing helicopter trials

The fifth and final new patrol ship for the Royal Navy was today formally named as work on HMS Spey nears completion. The shattering of a bottle of whisky from the affiliated Speyside Distillery as it struck the hull of the £127m Offshore Patrol Vessel marked the formal ‘baptism’ after Spey’s sponsor Lady Alison Johnstone had uttered the historic words “I name this ship…”.
Friday, October 4th 2019 - 09:27 UTC
Argentine fisheries coastal research vessel, “Mar Argentino” launched in Galicia

The Argentine coastal fisheries research vessel BIP “Mar Argentino” (Argentine Sea), was launched this week in Vigo, Spain and should be ready to sail and operate by next March. She will join the renovated fleet of research vessels from the country's Fisheries Research and Development Institute, INIDEP, in Mar del Plata.
Friday, October 4th 2019 - 09:07 UTC
FAA complains to ICAO of weakening skills of “manual” aircraft piloting

The United States Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, demanded that International Civil Aviation Organization, ICAO, address the problem of weakening skills of “manual” aircraft piloting – pilots forgot how to fly aircraft in unusual, crisis conditions and are simply not ready for emergency situations.
Thursday, October 3rd 2019 - 09:58 UTC
British/Argentina AMR research partnership programs with £5 million of UK aid

The UK government has provided £5 million of aid as part of an Argentine program to manage antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in agriculture and its impact on the environment. The funding will go to five research partnerships between the UK and Argentina.
Thursday, October 3rd 2019 - 09:54 UTC
Developing nations foreign debt reaches US$ 7.8 trillion, World Bank report

Total foreign debt held by developing nations jumped more than 5% to US$7.8 trillion, driven by a surge in Chinese debt, the World Bank said in a report on Wednesday.
Thursday, October 3rd 2019 - 09:51 UTC
Brazil's landmark pension reform bill closer to its final approval

Brazil’s Senate on Wednesday approved a landmark pension reform bill in the first round of voting, in relief for far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, although senators voted down an amendment in a move that dilutes the reform’s projected savings. The bill will now pass to a second and final voting round.