Stories for May 19th 2020

Tuesday, May 19th 2020 - 15:34 UTC
Costa Rica becomes 38th member of OECD

OECD countries unanimously decided last Friday to invite Costa Rica to become a member of the Organization. Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado Quesada and OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría will sign an Accession Agreement in the coming days.
Tuesday, May 19th 2020 - 14:33 UTC
Tim Atkin's report on the remarkable transformation of Argentine wines

The latest annual report, which is available through his website timatkin.com, is the eighth of his annual reports from Argentina. Atkin said: “I first went to Argentina in 1992 and the transformation has been remarkable. I can’t think of another country, even South Africa that has changed so much in my wine writing lifetime.
Tuesday, May 19th 2020 - 08:59 UTC
Brazil has the third largest number of coronavirus cases in the world

Brazil has the third-highest number of novel coronavirus cases in the world, according to official figures released on Monday, a troubling surge for a country struggling to respond to the pandemic.
Tuesday, May 19th 2020 - 08:53 UTC
WHO admits an independent probe into the coronavirus management; China pledges US$ 2 Billion

The World Health Organization bowed to calls on Monday from most of its member states to launch an independent probe into how it managed the international response to the coronavirus, which has been clouded by finger-pointing between the U.S. and China over a pandemic that has killed over 300,000 people and leveled the global economy.
Tuesday, May 19th 2020 - 08:50 UTC
Falklands' lab can undertake on-Islands Covid-19 testing; no need to send swabs to UK

The Falkland Islands government on Monday reported that the latest test results received by the Stanley hospital KEMH are all negative for Covid-19.
Tuesday, May 19th 2020 - 08:47 UTC
Latin American stocks and currencies rise on hopes of global economic recovery

Latin American stocks and currencies roared higher on Monday, with Brazil shares rising 3.5% as commodity prices surged on hopes of economic recovery as countries eased pandemic-induced lockdowns.
Tuesday, May 19th 2020 - 08:45 UTC
Desperate efforts to save indigenous people from tribes in the Amazon rainforest

The novel coronavirus is spreading so fast among the indigenous people in the furthest parts of Brazil's Amazon rainforest that doctors are now evacuating critical COVID-19 patients by plane to the only intensive care units in the vast region.
Tuesday, May 19th 2020 - 08:42 UTC
LATAM Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru to lay off 1,400 workers

LATAM Airlines Group, the largest airline conglomerate in Latin America, announced it will lay off 1,400 workers from its branches in Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. The news was confirmed by the company on May 15, after Reuters released an internal video where LATAM CEO Roberto Alvo announced the measures to its employees.
Tuesday, May 19th 2020 - 08:40 UTC
Clashes with police in Santiago de Chile because of food shortages in the poorest neighborhoods

Police and protesters clashed in Santiago on Monday amid a city-wide lockdown meant to stem the spread of the coronavirus as local officials warned that food shortages had hit one of the Chilean capital's poorest neighborhoods.
Tuesday, May 19th 2020 - 08:30 UTC
Bolsonaro disregards public health advice while Sao Paulo struggles with a healthcare system virtually collapsed

Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro again disregarded public health advice amid the coronavirus pandemic on Sunday to snap photos with lockdown protesters, as the country’s largest city of Sao Paulo struggles to keep its healthcare system afloat with public hospitals at 90 percent capacity.