International

• Thursday, December 16th 2021 - 19:20 UTC

  British Queen cancels pre-Christmas family lunch

  

  British Queen Elizabeth II has called off her traditional pre-Christmas family lunch as a precaution against COVID-19, Buckingham Palace announced Thursday.

• Thursday, December 16th 2021 - 09:45 UTC

  Falklands: successful start to minefield fence removal program

  

  The Falkland Islands Government announced on Wednesday that the first phase of its three-year program of works to remove former minefield fences is progressing well and is ahead of schedule.

• Thursday, December 16th 2021 - 09:17 UTC

  Venezuela, Belarus strengthen bilateral ties

  

  The Governments of Venezuela and Belarus agreed Wednesday to set up in Caracas the VIII High-Level Joint Committee between the two countries to foster trade agreements and bilateral ties, it was reported.

• Thursday, December 16th 2021 - 09:00 UTC

  Gov't of Haiti and transport unions reach deal over price of fuel

  

  A memorandum of understanding was signed Wednesday between the Government of Haiti and transport unions barely a week after an increase in the price of fuels was decreed by Prime Minister Ariel Henry.

• Thursday, December 16th 2021 - 09:00 UTC

  World's largest sovereign fund screening companies for sustainability risk

  

  By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com – The world's largest sovereign wealth fund, Norway's US$ 1.4 trillion Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), is pre-screening companies for sustainability risk before deciding to invest in them and, within one decade, it has divested from 366 firms that it has assessed as lacking sustainable business models.

• Wednesday, December 15th 2021 - 21:29 UTC

  Uruguay signs deal with FAO to promote sustainable agriculture

  

  Uruguay's Federal Agricultural Cooperatives (CAF) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have signed a letter of agreement to promote agricultural awareness nationwide through the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture, and Fisheries, MGAP, it was announced.

• Wednesday, December 15th 2021 - 09:38 UTC

  Putin eyes ruble-peso scheme with Argentina to drop US dollar in bilateral trade

  

  Russian officials who met last week with Argentine economy authorities have reportedly conveyed a proposal from President Vladimir Putin's Government to drop the US dollar and hold bilateral trade operations through a conversion scheme between rubles and pesos.

• Wednesday, December 15th 2021 - 09:30 UTC

  Macron wish list: dialogue with China and Russia, digital economy, and a “good faith” UK government

  

  France will be holding the rotating six-month European Council presidency in the first half of 2022 and president Emmanuel Macron announced the priorities for the block during its tenure: rethinking the EU budget, dialogue with Russia and Vladimir Putin, and the ongoing dispute with the post-Brexit British government.

• Wednesday, December 15th 2021 - 09:18 UTC

  Alarming population declination of the rare Antarctic South Georgia shag

  

  Data collected from a long-term study by British Antarctic Survey (BAS) scientists shows declining populations of an already relatively rare Antarctic seabird, the South Georgia shag. Published in the journal Polar Biology, a 40-year census from Signy Island in the remote South Orkney Islands and a 30-year census from Bird Island, close to the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia, have shown significant population declines at both locations.

• Wednesday, December 15th 2021 - 09:11 UTC

  WMO registers new Arctic temperature record, 38°C, in Verkhoyansk on 20 June 2020

  

  A temperature of 38°C (100.4°F) in the Russian town of Verkhoyansk on 20 June 2020 has been recognized as a new Arctic temperature record by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).