Stories for February 2020

Thursday, February 6th 2020 - 09:09 UTC
Coronavirus deaths keep climbing; China increasingly isolated by air and sea

The death toll from a new coronavirus in mainland China jumped by 73 to 563 on Thursday, its third consecutive record daily rise, as experts intensified efforts to find a vaccine for a disease that has shut down Chinese cities and forced thousands more into quarantine around the world.
Thursday, February 6th 2020 - 09:05 UTC
Argentina tells IMF it can't continue servicing unsustainable debt

Argentina on Wednesday told the International Monetary Fund that Buenos Aires cannot continue servicing unsustainable debt, as the IMF encouraged it to enact efficient restructuring policies.
Thursday, February 6th 2020 - 09:03 UTC
The world's biggest iceberg, 6.000 sq km, is about to enter the open ocean heading for South Georgia

A68, a colossus that broke free from the Antarctic in 2017, has pushed so far north it is now at the limit of the continent's perennial sea-ice. When it calved, the berg had an area close to 6,000 sq km and has lost very little of its bulk over the past two and a half years.
Thursday, February 6th 2020 - 08:58 UTC
Pope Francis calls for debt sustainability to alleviate the suffering of people

Pope Francis staged a surprise visit to admonish the International Monetary Fund chief and several finance ministers to help alleviate the debt burden of struggling countries, calling for “a new financial architecture” to ensure social justice.
Thursday, February 6th 2020 - 08:45 UTC
Two Celebrity Eclipse passengers air rescued by the Argentina Coast Guard

Two American passengers on board the cruise vessel Celebrity Eclipse and vomiting blood were rescued in the high seas, some 210 kilometers from the seaside resort of Mar del Plata, by an Argentine Coast Guard helicopter on Tuesday.
Thursday, February 6th 2020 - 08:44 UTC
“Not a page without a lie”, House leader Pelosi comment on Trump's State of the Union

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi had not planned to tear up President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech but decided to do so after she could not find a page “that didn’t have a lie on it,” she told fellow Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday.
Thursday, February 6th 2020 - 08:44 UTC
Statement by IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Argentina

Ms. Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), issued the following statement after meeting with Argentina’s Economy Minister Martin Guzmán in Rome:
Thursday, February 6th 2020 - 08:24 UTC
Argentina industrial production up 1.2% in December, first time in 20 months

Argentina's industrial output rose 1.2% in December versus the same month a year earlier, the government statistics agency said on Wednesday, returning to positive territory for the first time in 20 months as the country grapples with the recession.
Thursday, February 6th 2020 - 08:17 UTC
Brazilian central bank cuts interest rate to 4.25%, but the easing cycle could be coming to an end

Brazil’s central bank intends to hold interest rates going forward to consider the impact of the record-breaking monetary easing cycle it concluded on Wednesday with a quarter-point cut.
Wednesday, February 5th 2020 - 09:54 UTC
Strong support message from US Congress for Guaidó, present at Trump's State of the Union speech

Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó's appearance in the US Congress at the State of the Union — as well as the bipartisan ovation he received — was intended to send a strong message of U.S. support for his efforts to unseat Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. Guaidó attended the address as a guest of the White House.