International

• Wednesday, August 20th 2014 - 21:24 UTC

  Red tide devastates mussel growing and canning industry in Galicia

  

  The presence of the lipophilic toxin in the Galician estuaries, (northwest Spain) has caused the closure of almost all Galician mussel polygons and forced the closure of activities in the local canning industry. The red tide is currently blocking 90% of the rafts production, since only two polygons located in Betanzos and four in Redondela are open, reported Atlantico news.

• Wednesday, August 20th 2014 - 00:15 UTC

  UN accepts extension of Uruguay's continental shelf to 350 miles; first in South America

  

  The United Nations accepted the proposition of the Uruguayan government to extend the Uruguayan territorial seabed from 200 to 350 miles. Uruguay thus becomes the first South American nation to receive the approval of the UN for such request.

• Wednesday, August 20th 2014 - 00:08 UTC

  Three relatives of Pope Francis killed in car accident in Argentina

  

  Three relatives of Pope Francis, including two young children, died on Tuesday when their car slammed into the back of a truck in Argentina. The Pope's nephew, Emanuel Horacio Bergoglio, who was driving the car, was in a serious condition after the accident, officials said.

• Tuesday, August 19th 2014 - 08:45 UTC

  UK Home Office loses arbitration and is ordered to pay Raytheon £224m

  

  The UK Home Office has been told to pay £224m to a major US corporation it sacked for failing to deliver a controversial secure borders program. Ministers will pay Raytheon £50m in damages, plus other costs. The order to make the payments comes from a binding arbitration tribunal. Home Affairs Committee chairman Keith Vaz called it a “catastrophic result”.

• Tuesday, August 19th 2014 - 08:31 UTC

  Assange announces he plans to abandon the Ecuadorean embassy 'soon'

  

  WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has spent over two years inside Ecuador's London embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden, said on Monday he planned to leave the building “soon”, but his spokesman said that could only happen if Britain let him.

• Tuesday, August 19th 2014 - 08:20 UTC

  South Korea was a feast, but more important China warmed up to Pope Francis

  

  Pope Francis ended his first official visit to Asia on Monday with a fresh overture to China and a call for reconciliation between South Korea and its totalitarian neighbor, North Korea. As the pope flew across Chinese airspace on his return flight to Rome, he sent a telegram — his second during the trip — to President Xi Jinping, expressing his “divine blessings” for the powerful leader and the Chinese people.

• Tuesday, August 19th 2014 - 08:05 UTC

  Falklands' war statements from Chilean minister praised by Argentine peer

  

  Argentine Defense minister Agustín Rossi praised on Monday his Chilean peer statements relative to Chile's role and attitude during the Falklands war when Britain sent a task force to expulse the Argentine military invasion in 1982.

• Monday, August 18th 2014 - 07:16 UTC

  Mixed data from China, and doubts about the 7.5% growth target for 2014

  

  China's latest industrial production and retail sales figures are higher in July from one year ago but the pace of expansion has slowed. Industrial production, a measures of output at factories, workshops and mines jumped 9% in July, compared to a 9.2% rise in June. Retail sales in July rose by 12.2%. But that's also below June's 12.4% spike.

• Monday, August 18th 2014 - 07:11 UTC

  Strong sales of Jaguar and Land Rover help boost Tata profits

  

  Tata Motors has reported a big jump in profits thanks to strong sales at its Jaguar Land Rover business. Net profits at India's biggest carmaker tripled to 53.98bn rupees (882m dollars) in the three months to the end of June, far more than analysts had expected. Revenue grew by almost 40%.

• Monday, August 18th 2014 - 07:04 UTC

  Scientists create a carbon dioxide absorbing 'polymer sponge' that helps new energy sources

  

  Scientists have created a new sponge-type material that absorbs carbon dioxide, which is believed to play a key role in global warming. The polymer – a large molecule used in plastics – is thought to have the potential to bridge the gap between the use of fossil fuels and new energy sources such as hydrogen, and could be integrated into power plant smokestacks in the future.