Stories for August 2020

Wednesday, August 19th 2020 - 08:58 UTC
Airlines prepared to accept passengers with a negative Covid-19 test within 48 hours before travel

Airlines and airports have asked a United Nations-led task force meeting on Monday to recommend that countries accept a negative Covid-19 test within 48 hours of travel as an alternative to quarantines that have decimated demand for travel, according to a document seen by news agency Reuters.
Wednesday, August 19th 2020 - 08:46 UTC
Citigroup with a record clerical error of US$ 900 million; a beneficiary refuses to hand back US$ 175 million

Citigroup asked a US judge on Tuesday to freeze funds it mistakenly sent Revlon Inc creditors amid a lawsuit over one of the largest clerical errors by a bank in years. Last week, Citi repaid a nearly US$900 million loan made to Revlon, a day after lenders sued the cosmetic company over its restructuring tactics, but the repayment was made in error.
Wednesday, August 19th 2020 - 07:09 UTC
Diabetes Type 1 among children in UK almost doubled during Covid-19 peak, Imperial College

Cases of type 1 diabetes among children in a small UK study almost doubled during the peak of Britain's COVID-19 epidemic, suggesting a possible link between the two diseases that need more investigation, scientists said on Tuesday.
Wednesday, August 19th 2020 - 06:02 UTC
Kiwi Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern hits back at Trump statements

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Tuesday hit back against United States President Donald Trump for saying her country is experiencing a “big surge” in Covid-19, calling the remarks “patently wrong”.
Tuesday, August 18th 2020 - 15:50 UTC
Falkland Islands and oil companies new approach to “stranded assets”

An article in World Oil by Laura Hurst refers to the term “stranded assets” and mentions the case of the Falkland Islands oil industry: the discovery a decade ago of as much as 1,7 billion barrels of crude offshore the British Overseas Territory, and rather than the next frontier, the project to extract energy risks being added to a list of what companies call “stranded assets” that could cost them huge sums to mothball.
Tuesday, August 18th 2020 - 09:55 UTC
Thousands waving national flags demonstrate across Argentina to protest against government plans

Thousands of demonstrators across Argentina's main cities defied social distancing rules to answer calls to protest against a government announcement last Friday to extend containment measures in the Buenos Aires region until Aug 30 and to condemn a controversial reform of the judicial branch.
Tuesday, August 18th 2020 - 09:09 UTC
The US pledges US$ 5bn to Colombia for rural development; Duque supports US candidate for IDB

The United States and Colombia will work together to bring new investment to rural areas of the country, officials said on Monday, as Colombia's president reiterated support for the U.S. candidate to lead the Inter-American Development Bank.
Tuesday, August 18th 2020 - 09:06 UTC
Mexican corruption in Congress exposed with piles of cash changing hands

An unverified video showing piles of cash being handed to Mexican congressional staffers went viral on Monday, fuelling a corruption scandal that is already convulsing the country even as the clip's source and context remain unclear.
Tuesday, August 18th 2020 - 08:57 UTC
“Stampede” at Brazil's Economy ministry, another top official resigns

Brazil's Undersecretary for Macroeconomic Policy Vladimir Kuhl Teles has resigned, according to an announcement in the Official Gazette on Monday, the latest in a string of resignations from the economy ministry.
Tuesday, August 18th 2020 - 08:54 UTC
Brazil and China drafting a protocol for chicken slaughterhouses to avoid Covid-19

Following China's claims to have found traces of the new coronavirus in chicken wings from Brazil, the two countries are in negotiations to establish a protocol to prevent contamination of Covid-19 in slaughterhouses that export to the Asian largest economy.