Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rose for the 14th consecutive month in June, preliminary government data on Friday showed, heaping further pressure on President Jair Bolsonaro who is under fire for worsening destruction of the rainforest on his watch.
Bolivia's interim leader Jeanine Anez is self-isolating but is “asymptomatic” after testing positive for the coronavirus, her personal doctor announced on Friday. The 53-year-old, a candidate the September 6 presidential elections, is isolating in the official residence in La Paz, Andrei Miranda told Bolivia's Cadena A television.
The coronavirus pandemic has exposed a clash among medical experts over disease transmission that stretches back nearly a century - to the very origins of germ theory. The Geneva-based World Health Organization acknowledged this week that the novel coronavirus can spread through tiny droplets floating in the air, a nod to more than 200 experts in aerosol science who publicly complained that the UN agency had failed to warn the public about this risk.
Venezuelan oil minister Tareck El Aissami has tested positive for COVID-19, he said on Twitter on Friday, a day after the leader of the socialist party, Diosdado Cabello, tested positive for the virus as well.
Cruise lines have responded to new Foreign Office guidance which advises those aged over 70 and those with underlying health conditions not to go on cruises. Many have are contacting customers affected and offering further cruise credit.
President Donald Trump on Friday commuted the prison sentence of his longtime ally Roger Stone, shielding the veteran Republican operative from 40 months behind bars. Roger Stone is now a free man! the White House said in a statement, days before he was to report to a federal prison to start serving his term.
Wall Street stocks jumped on Friday with the Nasdaq racing to yet another record as progress on a coronavirus vaccine offset worries about spiking US case levels. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index finished at 10,617.44, up 0.7%, notching its sixth record close in seven sessions.
Goya Foods, the largest Hispanic-owned US food company and a popular brand among Latino Americans, became the target of a boycott campaign on social media on Friday sparked by its CEO effusively praising President Donald Trump at the White House.
Investors will watch next week's earnings from BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, for a snapshot of how the industry performed during the second quarter's dramatic rebound in global financial markets.
The Trump administration on Friday announced additional duties of 25per cent on French cosmetics, handbags and other imports valued at US$1.3 billion in response to France's digital services tax, but would hold off on implementing the move for up to 180 days.