Stories for 2020

Monday, February 17th 2020 - 07:50 UTC
Snakes mating season date forces closure of public park in Florida

A city in Florida closed off part of a park after residents spotted dozens of snakes that had apparently gathered for their annual coupling.
Monday, February 17th 2020 - 07:45 UTC
US calls for the immediate release of Guaidó's uncle detained on “preposterous charges” by the Maduro regime

The US State Department on Saturday condemned the detention in Venezuela of an uncle of opposition leader Juan Guaido, saying the man was being held on “preposterous charges.”
Monday, February 17th 2020 - 07:13 UTC
Pompeo confident the West is winning and will prevail over Russian and Chinese “empire desires”

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo defended on Saturday his nation's global role despite misgivings in Europe, vowing that Western values would prevail over Russian and Chinese desires for “empire”.
Monday, February 17th 2020 - 07:00 UTC
US influenza season, the worst in ten years and particularly severe with children, according to CDC

The number of children dying from influenza in the United States is higher at this point in the flu season than it has been in 10 years, and the virus is gaining momentum, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.
Saturday, February 15th 2020 - 09:05 UTC
Bolsonaro celebrates crime index falls to its lowest level in more than a decade

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro celebrated Friday after a crime index showed homicides fell to their lowest level in more than a decade during the first year of his term.
Saturday, February 15th 2020 - 09:04 UTC
Venezuelan government confirms arrest of an uncle of Guaidó on suspicion of smuggling “dangerous material”

A top Venezuelan government official has confirmed that the uncle of opposition leader Juan Guaidó is being held on suspicion of smuggling “dangerous material” into the country.
Saturday, February 15th 2020 - 08:58 UTC
Mystery virus Yara, with genes never seen before, uncovered in Brazil

A new, mystery virus, with genes never seen before in any life form, has been uncovered in Brazil, scientists say. The Yaravirus, which was named after Yara, a mythological Brazilian water goddess, was found in Lake Pampulha, an artificial lagoon in the city of Belo Horizonte, according to a new research paper on BioRxiv.
Saturday, February 15th 2020 - 08:48 UTC
Putin denies gay marriage, “as long as I am president, there will be dad and mum”

President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia would not legalize gay marriage as long as he was in the Kremlin. He made clear he would not allow the traditional notion of mother and father to be subverted by what he called “parent number 1” and “parent number 2”.
Saturday, February 15th 2020 - 08:31 UTC
COVID-19 death toll surges past 1.500 and 66.000 infected

The death toll from China's new coronavirus epidemic surged past 1,500 on Saturday after 139 more people died in Hubei province, the epicenter of the outbreak. The province's health commission also reported 2,420 new cases of the COVID-19 strain, about half the number from the previous day.
Saturday, February 15th 2020 - 08:20 UTC
Manchester City banned from EU competition and fined for breaching financial fair play rules; the club will appeal

English champions Manchester City have been banned from European competition for the next two seasons and fined 30 million Euros by European soccer's governing body UEFA after an investigation into alleged breaches of Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules.