Stories for February 2020

Friday, February 7th 2020 - 09:40 UTC
Bumblebees essential for pollinating, suffer drastic declines in North America

When scientist Peter Soroye first saw the figures showing estimated bumblebee populations in North America had fallen by nearly 50% in a single generation, he thought it must be a typo. He checked the numbers - the result of a long-term analysis of bumblebee populations published in the journal Science on Thursday, seven times to be sure they were accurate.
Friday, February 7th 2020 - 09:39 UTC
Fishing subsidies battle at WTO speared by the US

The United States said on Thursday it was pushing hard for the World Trade Organization to reach agreement on cutting fishing subsidies in coming months and viewed those talks as a test of whether the global body can still achieve multilateral deals.
Friday, February 7th 2020 - 09:37 UTC
Brazil approves quarantine rules for nationals returning from China

Brazil's lower house of Congress late approved a bill laying out rules for the quarantine of Brazilian nationals returning from China who may be infected with coronavirus, as well as other measures to combat the disease. The measures will be in force as long as the public health emergency declared by the World Health Organization is in place.
Friday, February 7th 2020 - 09:35 UTC
Brazil's development bank BNDES sells shares in Petrobras

Brazil's development bank BNDES sold US$5.2 billion in common shares it owned in state-controlled oil company Petrobras. The company priced the offering at 30 Reais per common share, a discount of 1.57% relative to Wednesday's closing price. BNDES sold 22 billion reais in shares.
Friday, February 7th 2020 - 09:35 UTC
Brazilian higher court for labor rules in favor of Uber: no employment relation between the company and drivers

A Brazilian higher court for labour ruled this week that there was no employment relationship between Uber and its drivers, siding with the ride-hailing company against a Sao Paulo driver. The federal judge in Brasilia ruled against recognizing an employer-employee link, arguing that Uber drivers can disconnect at any time from the app and have a flexible work schedule.
Friday, February 7th 2020 - 09:14 UTC
“Repentant” Popeye, Colombian Escobar's most notorious hit man dies at age 57

Pablo Escobar’s most notorious hit man, known by the nickname Popeye, died on Thursday at age 57 after a life of crime he celebrated on YouTube, Colombia’s prison authorities said.
Friday, February 7th 2020 - 09:01 UTC
Christina Koch shatters spaceflight record for female astronauts with eleven months in the Space Station

NASA's Christina Koch returned to Earth safely on Thursday after shattering the spaceflight record for female astronauts with a stay of almost 11 months aboard the International Space Station. Koch touched down at 0912 GMT on the Kazakh steppe after 328 days in space, along with Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency and Alexander Skvortsov of the Russian space agency.
Friday, February 7th 2020 - 08:54 UTC
Chinese doctor who warned about coronavirus and reprimanded for “spreading rumors” has died of the infection

A Chinese doctor who was among the first to warn publicly about the new coronavirus outbreak - and was reprimanded by authorities for “spreading rumours” - died of the infection early on Friday, his hospital announced.
Friday, February 7th 2020 - 08:46 UTC
“Trump acquitted” celebration in the White House; the president calls Pelosi and Senator Romney “dishonest and corrupt”

President Donald Trump celebrated his impeachment acquittal on Thursday in a rambling, emotional speech raging against the investigations that have overshadowed his entire administration.
Thursday, February 6th 2020 - 09:10 UTC
Argentine Senate grants full power to the Fernandez administration to restructure foreign debt

Argentina’s Senate voted in favor of a bill on Wednesday that grants power to the government of President Alberto Fernandez to handle a massive debt restructuring of bonds issued in foreign currency.