Stories for December 2020

Friday, December 11th 2020 - 09:00 UTC
Bolsonaro certain Brazil is at the “tail end” of the pandemic

President Jair Bolsonaro said on Thursday Brazil was at the “tail end” of the coronavirus pandemic, despite a surge in infections and deaths that many experts are calling a second wave.
Friday, December 11th 2020 - 09:00 UTC
UK announces travel bans and asset freezes for human rights violators

The United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Secretary announced travel bans and asset freezes for 11 Russian, Venezuelan, Gambian and Pakistani human rights violators.
Friday, December 11th 2020 - 08:43 UTC
Brazilian and Argentine beef exports to China suspended after Covid-19 in packaging

Two beef producers from Brazil and one from Argentina have had their exports to China suspended for one week after packaging of their products tested positive for traces of COVID-19, customs said. China's General Administration of Customs (GAC) made the announcement.
Friday, December 11th 2020 - 08:40 UTC
Mexican median age of Covid-19 deaths is 55, compared to 75 in other countries

Mexico’s coronavirus spokesman said on Thursday the country’s median age of death from COVID-19 was a shockingly young 55, as compared to an average of 75 in many European countries.
Friday, December 11th 2020 - 08:40 UTC
Spanish government takes over Franco's summer palace and its art collection

The Spanish state on Thursday took over former dictator General Francisco Franco's summer palace, complete with its vast art trove, and evicted his heirs as part of the leftist government's efforts to erase the legacy of his rule.
Friday, December 11th 2020 - 08:40 UTC
Brazil lowers corn production forecast because of dry weather in the south

Brazil's corn production forecast for 2020-21 has been cut to 102.6 million mt from 104.9 million mt projected in November, Brazil's national agricultural agency, Companhia Nacional de Abastecimento (Conab), said in its latest forecast.
Friday, December 11th 2020 - 08:35 UTC
The “Last Shark” and the Amazon dolphin in the endangered species list

A shark only just formally discovered might already be extinct - a fate no shark has yet suffered in the human era - while an Amazon river dolphin has become endangered, a Red List of species in trouble showed on Thursday.
Friday, December 11th 2020 - 08:20 UTC
Brazil's richest man and world banker Joseph Safra dies in Sao Paulo, aged 82

Joseph Safra, one of the world’s richest bankers who built an empire spanning continents with over US$ 85 billion in banking assets, has died. He was 82. Safra died of natural causes on Wednesday in Sao Paulo, Banco Safra said in a statement.
Friday, December 11th 2020 - 08:00 UTC
Brazil confident of its chicken and pork production in 2021, despite grain costs

Brazil's meat producers increased output for world markets this year and will again boost production next year, even though they face continued challenges because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the country's meat lobby ABPA said.
Thursday, December 10th 2020 - 10:39 UTC
Quito officially complains statements by Cristina Fernandez questioning democracy in Ecuador

The Government of Ecuador announced that it has presented a protest note before a statement by Argentina’s Vice-President Cristina Fernández on the alleged obstacles to the candidacy of Andrés Aráuz, the Ecuadorian progressive candidate.