Stories for 2020

Wednesday, July 15th 2020 - 08:15 UTC
Suriname elects new president replacing four decades of dictator Bouterse

Mercosur associate, Suriname elected a new president Monday, ending the dictatorial rule of Desi Bouterse. Chan Santokhi, an Indian-origin former police chief, won a landslide victory in the general elections conducted in the country in May.
Wednesday, July 15th 2020 - 08:03 UTC
Earth will be home to 8.8 billion people in 2100, two billion less than current UN projections

The Earth will be home to 8.8 billion people in 2100, two billion fewer than current United Nations projections, according to a major study published on Wednesday that foresees new global power alignments shaped by declining fertility rates and graying populations.
Wednesday, July 15th 2020 - 08:00 UTC
A teen ager dies of bubonic plague in Mongolia; allegedly he hunted and ate a marmot

A 15-year-old boy has died from the bubonic plague in Mongolia, health authorities said on Tuesday, one of a handful of cases that recently emerged in the country and neighboring China.
Wednesday, July 15th 2020 - 08:00 UTC
Hagia Sophia will be open to visitors outside prayer times, and Christian icons will remain, pledges Turkey

Turkey's Hagia Sophia will open to visitors outside prayer times and its Christian icons will remain, religious officials said on Tuesday, after a court ruling paved the way for it to become a mosque. The sixth-century Istanbul landmark's museum status - in place for nearly a century - was revoked on Friday, with control handed to the religious authority Diyanet.
Tuesday, July 14th 2020 - 09:59 UTC
Latin America death toll from coronavirus now exceeds North America

The number of deaths from the coronavirus in Latin America has exceeded the figure for North America for the first time since the start of the pandemic. Latin America had by Monday seen at least 144,680 deaths so far, compared to 143,847 deaths in North America - comprising Canada and the United States - according to official counts.
Tuesday, July 14th 2020 - 09:58 UTC
Approval of Argentine president pandemic policies eroding, but concern with the virus is still very strong

Approval of Argentine president Alberto Fernandez handling of the pandemic continued to slide during the last week and is at levels similar to those at the start of the quarantine, according to the latest opinion poll from Poliarquia made public over the weekend in Buenos Aires daily La Nacion.
Tuesday, July 14th 2020 - 09:50 UTC
The virus has reached Petrobras offshore oil rigs; prosecutors investigations into the outbreaks

On Friday, May 1, two workers on the PXA-1 offshore platform owned by Brazil's state-run oil company Petrobras checked into the facility's infirmary complaining of headaches and fever-like symptoms. Another Petrobras employee fell visibly ill the following day, according to Brazilian media.
Tuesday, July 14th 2020 - 09:49 UTC
Russia replaces Venezuela as supplier of heavy fuel to US refineries

Russia kept fuel oil exports to the United States close to its record-highs in the first six months of this year, as Washington looks to replace the heavy Venezuelan barrels it stopped buying a year ago, traders said and data showed.
Tuesday, July 14th 2020 - 09:45 UTC
Bolsonaro is feeling “very good” and ready to return to work

Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro said on Monday he is feeling “very good” and will return to work if he tests negative for the new coronavirus on Tuesday, but that he will continue to isolate himself until he is free of the virus.
Tuesday, July 14th 2020 - 09:31 UTC
Justice lifts restraining order on Trump family book written by a niece

The New York Supreme Court lifted a stay on Monday that temporarily blocked Donald Trump’s niece from publishing a tell-all book that offers an unflattering look of the U.S. president and his family.