Stories for 2026

Monday, June 22nd 2026 - 04:30 UTC
De la Espriella wins Colombia's presidency in the preliminary count as Cepeda awaits the tally

Right-wing criminal lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella won Colombia's presidency, according to the preliminary count by the Registraduría, defeating left-wing senator Iván Cepeda by less than a point in the closest runoff in the country's history. With about 99.9% of the tables processed, De la Espriella took 49.66% of the vote against Cepeda's 48.70%, a difference of some 250,000 ballots. The governing-coalition candidate acknowledged the preliminary count but warned that he would not accept the result until the definitive tally, and challenged 33,000 of the 120,000 polling tables; President Gustavo Petro said that “neither can proclaim himself president.”
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Sunday, June 21st 2026 - 21:25 UTC
Report says Chinese firms control nearly two-thirds of the squid fleet in Argentina's waters

Companies of Chinese origin own 63.1% of the jigger fleet that, under the Argentine flag, fishes squid inside Argentina's Exclusive Economic Zone, according to a report by illegal-fishing and marine-conservation researcher Milko Schvartzman, published by the outlet Infobae. The study states that 53 of the 84 jigger vessels that catch the species under the national flag have Chinese companies as owners or “beneficial owners,” based on satellite observations from Global Fishing Watch and the translation of official Chinese documents.
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Sunday, June 21st 2026 - 15:39 UTC
Starmer weighs political future as pressure to resign mounts

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is weighing his political future as pressure grows within the Labour Party for him to announce his resignation, following Andy Burnham's victory in last week's Makerfield by-election.
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Saturday, June 20th 2026 - 20:56 UTC
Tenth anniversary of Brexit, UK GDP per head cost of 8% in 2025, LSE professor estimates

Ten years ago, June 2016, the UK voted to leave the EU and since then, an extensive body of research has studied the impact of Brexit on the UK economy.
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Saturday, June 20th 2026 - 20:35 UTC
Australia reports bird flu has killed 13.000 elephant seal pups in Heard and McDonald islands

The pathogenic strain of bird flu, H5N1 has killed more than 13,000 elephant seal pups after infecting a breeding colony on a sub-Antarctic volcanic island, Australian scientists from the Antarctic Program discovered.
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Saturday, June 20th 2026 - 06:57 UTC
Cuba approves its deepest market reforms in over a decade amid public skepticism

Cuba's National Assembly approved on Friday a package of 176 measures that introduces market dynamics into the island's economy, in the deepest shift since the reforms promoted by Raúl Castro in 2011. The government presented the plan as a response to the worst economic crisis in decades, though much of the population receives it with skepticism.
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Saturday, June 20th 2026 - 06:30 UTC
Hot political summer ahead for Britain, Burnham MP intends to challenge PM Starmer

Andy Burnham, Labor’s former Greater Manchester mayor has won with a clear majority in a special election to the British parliament, and is ready to challenge Prime Minister Keir Starmer for the party leadership saying he wants “to lay out a new path for Britain“ and Labour needs to ”make life affordable” again.
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Saturday, June 20th 2026 - 06:28 UTC
Bank of England keeps rate at 3.75%; inflation 2.8% but energy prices remain volatile

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted by a majority of 7–2 to maintain Bank Rate at 3.75%. Two members voted to increase Bank Rate by 0.25 percentage points, to 4% during the MPC meeting on June 18.
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Friday, June 19th 2026 - 17:44 UTC
Peru's Sánchez calls a protest against the result that makes Fujimori the virtual winner

Left-wing candidate Roberto Sánchez called a protest in Lima for Friday against the result of Peru's presidential runoff, which makes right-wing Keiko Fujimori the virtual winner, as the electoral justice was due to decide on the challenges filed by his party. With 99.51% of the tally sheets counted, Fujimori leads Sánchez by some 44,101 votes, though no winner has yet been proclaimed.
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Friday, June 19th 2026 - 17:34 UTC
Trump opens a new rift with Meloni by claiming she 'begged' him for a G7 photo

US President Donald Trump opened a new rift with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni by claiming that she “begged” him for a photo during the G7 summit and that he obliged out of “pity.” Meloni called the account fabricated, and in response Italy's foreign minister canceled a planned trip to the United States this weekend.
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