Stories for December 2020

Wednesday, December 30th 2020 - 08:00 UTC
Greenest and craziest 180,00 tons cruise vessel Mardi Gras offers a roller coaster and brewery for craft beers

In cold, dark Finland, in the middle of the pandemic, shipyard workers at Meyer Turku were hard at work setting a roller coaster on top of a cruise ship - a world first. Others were installing a brewery that could produce craft beers with filtered seawater, intended for a staggering on-board audience of up to 6,500 passengers.
Wednesday, December 30th 2020 - 08:00 UTC
Ireland's most liberal Catholic prelate, Archbishop of Dublin, retires

Ireland's most liberal Roman Catholic prelate, the Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin, is to step aside having reached the normal retirement age for bishops of 75, the Vatican said on Tuesday.
Wednesday, December 30th 2020 - 07:59 UTC
AstraZeneca vaccine not ready for EMA's approval during January

The European Medicines Authority (EMA) will most likely not be able to approve the COVID-19 vaccine developed by drug maker AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford in January, the watchdog’s Deputy Executive Director Noel Wathion said.
Wednesday, December 30th 2020 - 07:58 UTC
Controversial couturier and merchandising king Pierre Cardin dies aged 98

French couturier Pierre Cardin, who made his name by selling designer clothes to the masses, and his fortune by being the first to exploit that name as a brand for selling everything from cars to perfume, died on Tuesday, aged 98.
Tuesday, December 29th 2020 - 09:38 UTC
Collapse of tourism industry because of Covid-19, has caused US$ 2 trillion loss to the global GDP

International arrivals fell by 72% over the first ten months of 2020, with restrictions on travel, low consumer confidence and a global struggle to contain the COVID-19 virus, all contributing to the worst year on record in the history of tourism.
Tuesday, December 29th 2020 - 09:35 UTC
Oxford/Astra Zeneca will apply for full approval of its vaccine from Brazil's regulator on 15 January

Brazil's Fiocruz biomedical institute will seek approval for the Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccine against COVID-19 with federal health regulator Anvisa on Jan. 15, one of the center's senior officials said on Monday.
Tuesday, December 29th 2020 - 09:31 UTC
Biden claims US security agencies have been “hollowed out” under Trump and calls it a major irresponsibility

President-elect Joe Biden said on Monday many of America's security agencies had been “hollowed out” under President Donald Trump and the lack of information being provided to his transition team by the outgoing administration was an “irresponsibility.”
Tuesday, December 29th 2020 - 09:30 UTC
“Nobody pressures me for anything”, blasts Bolsonaro when asked about Covid-19 vaccines

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, one of the world's most prominent coronavirus skeptics, said over the weekend he was not worried about criticism over the speed of Brazil's vaccine rollout, saying he felt no pressure.
Tuesday, December 29th 2020 - 09:22 UTC
Maduro calls on Judiciary to act against “unconstitutional” opposition controlled National Assembly

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Monday said a move by the opposition-controlled National Assembly to extend its term into next year was “unconstitutional,” and called on the country's justice system to “do its work.”
Tuesday, December 29th 2020 - 09:20 UTC
Spain trying to prevent a hard border with Gibraltar; commuters will have a special document

Cross-border workers who commute between Gibraltar and Spain will be exempt from border controls after Brexit even if no agreement on free movement is reached with Britain, Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya said on Monday.