International

• Monday, May 30th 2016 - 07:13 UTC

  Chilean rescue of Shackleton's crew from Elephant Island marked at British residence

  

  A networking reception was held in the British residence on Wednesday 25 May to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the rescue by the Chilean pilot Luis Pardo, of the Armada de Chile, of Ernest Shackleton’s crew from Elephant Island.

• Monday, May 30th 2016 - 07:03 UTC

  Australia enforces low sulfur fuel regulations: Carnival cruise fined

  

  Australia’s Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has fined Carnival PLC US$15,000 after one of its P&O Cruises ships, the Pacific Jewel, breached new low sulfur fuel regulations in Sydney Harbor. A fuel sample taken by the ship’s crew and provided to EPA officers while the ship was berthed at the White Bay Cruise Terminal on February 26, 2016 had a sulfur level of 0.293%, nearly three times the 0.1% sulfur limit.

• Sunday, May 29th 2016 - 14:18 UTC

  British tourists target holidays in Spain and Portugal instead of Egypt and Tunisia

  

  More British tourists are set to spend their summer holidays in Spain and Portugal as demand for sunshine breaks in Tunisia and Egypt declines over fears of violence, travel agents said. Trade body the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) cited figures showing that bookings to Portugal were up 29%, while Spain was up 26% and Cyprus increased 18% compared to last year.

• Sunday, May 29th 2016 - 13:06 UTC

  Superbug in US: Doctors fear it could herald a post-antibiotic era

  

  A superbug resistant to all known medications has been found in the United States for the first time, raising new concern about the dwindling effectiveness of antibiotics, the top US public health official said this week. . The case involved a 49-year-old woman in Pennsylvania whose urinary tract infection tested positive for a strain of E. coli that is resistant to the antibiotic of last resort for such infections, known as colistin.

• Sunday, May 29th 2016 - 08:23 UTC

  “Modern Times”, robots rapidly replacing workers in electronics factories

  

  Apple and Samsung supplier Foxconn has reportedly replaced 60,000 factory workers with robots. One factory has “reduced employee strength from 110,000 to 50,000 thanks to the introduction of robots”, a government official told the South China Morning Star.

• Saturday, May 28th 2016 - 08:25 UTC

  Net migration to UK, 333.000 in 2015, provides more ammo to the Leave campaign

  

  Campaigners wanting Britain to leave the European Union warned that immigration has “spun out of control”, as the new mayor of London launched his campaign for the country to stay in the bloc. Four weeks before the so-called Brexit referendum on June 23, the Office for National Statistics published data putting net migration - the difference between those arriving and leaving Britain - at 333,000 last year.

• Saturday, May 28th 2016 - 07:27 UTC

  WHO public health advice regarding the Olympics and Zika virus

  

  Based on current assessment, cancelling or changing the location of the 2016 Olympics will not significantly alter the international spread of Zika virus. Brazil is one of almost 60 countries and territories which to-date report continuing transmission of Zika by mosquitoes. People continue to travel between these countries and territories for a variety of reasons. The best way to reduce risk of disease is to follow public health travel advice.

• Saturday, May 28th 2016 - 06:38 UTC

  UK and Eire farmers warn about falling farm-gate prices, and celebrate exclusion of Mercosur beef

  

  Following a meeting to discuss common concerns, the British Isles' farming unions – NFU Scotland, the English NFU, NFU Cymru, the Ulster Farmers Union and the Irish Farmers Association – issued a joint statement warning buyers that the downward pressure on farm-gate prices was “sapping confidence” out of the sector.

• Saturday, May 28th 2016 - 06:08 UTC

  UK-Argentina: a new start for an old relationship, according to The Economist

  

  With its green bell tower and royal coat of arms, the Torre Monumental in Buenos Aires would not look out of place in a British market town. The 60-metre Palladian clock tower was a gift from the city’s British community to mark the centenary of Argentina’s 1810 revolution (though it was completed in 1916). On May 24th this year around 200 people gathered to commemorate its centenary.

• Saturday, May 28th 2016 - 05:53 UTC

  Falklands claim and UN chief post bid', “not incompatible” for Argentine minister Malcorra

  

  Argentina's foreign minister Susana Malcorra said on Friday she believes there's no conflict of interest between her bid to be the next U.N. secretary-general and her ministerial work including pressing Argentina's sovereignty claim over the disputed Falkland Islands.