
The theme of this year’s International Day of Families, “Men in Charge?”, highlights the importance of gender equality and children’s rights in contemporary families, said United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in his message.

A local aquarium in New Zealand reported that a giant washed-up squid has been found on a beach at South Bay in Kaikoura. Reportedly, a man—who was out with his dog for a stroll at the beach—accidentally stumbled upon the marine creature with long tentacles.

The hull bears the scars of a 10,483 kilometre journey from the Falkland Islands in the south Atlantic, through the Southern and Indian Oceans to the shores of Esperance in southern Western Australia, according to reports in the Australian media.

Brazilian Finance Minister Joaquim Levy said he expected the country’s economic slowdown to be temporary and that fiscal discipline remained central to ensuring the recovery as a commodity price boom waned. Addressing investors in London, Levy said fiscal discipline was needed to cushion the economy against the inflationary effects of the falling Real currency.

Peru, Brazil and China are moving forward on a transcontinental railway that will cut across the continent, climb the Andes and connect port cities in the Pacific and Atlantic coasts.

China will invest 50 billion dollars to help overhaul Brazil's aging infrastructure, the government announced on Thursday, ahead of an official visit by Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang next week. Brazil has repeated that it was determined to overhaul its dilapidated roads, railways, airports and ports.

Malvinas war veterans have taken their Human rights abuse case against Argentine officers to the Inter American Human Rights Commission, IHRC, following on Argentina's Supreme Court decision rejecting the case because of time limit.

Saudi Arabia continues to ratchet up production, taking market share away from U.S. shale producers. According to OPEC's latest monthly oil report, Saudi Arabia boosted its oil output to 10.31 million barrels per day in April, a slight increase over the previous month's total of 10.29 million barrels.

The Vatican concluded its first treaty that formally recognizes the State of Palestine, with an agreement on Catholic Church activities in areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority, the Holy See said on Wednesday.

Remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean set a new record high in 2014 with 65bn dollars basically supported by the recovery of the economy and labor market in the United States, according to the latest release from the Inter American Development Bank.