International

• Thursday, October 15th 2020 - 09:34 UTC

  Macron orders night curfew for Paris and eight other cities, a third of French population

  

  President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday ordered a nighttime curfew for Paris and eight other French cities to contain the spread of COVID-19 after daily new infection rates reached alarming record levels.

• Thursday, October 15th 2020 - 09:30 UTC

  Support for Scottish independence rises to record high, 58%

  

  Support for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom has risen to a record high of 58%, an Ipsos Mori poll released on Wednesday suggested. The poll of 1,045 adults aged over 16 across Scotland, conducted from Oct 2 to 9, saw only 42% back staying in the union once undecided voters were stripped out.

• Thursday, October 15th 2020 - 09:22 UTC

  Johnson waiting for the EU summit before taking any decision on post-Brexit talks

  

  Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson declared himself disappointed in the progress of post-Brexit trade talks on Wednesday, but he will wait for news from an EU summit before deciding whether to pull the plug.

• Thursday, October 15th 2020 - 08:58 UTC

  Germany pledges half billion Euros to aid Holocaust survivors, exposed to Covid-19

  

  Germany has agreed to provide more than a half-billion Euros to aid Holocaust survivors struggling under the burdens of the coronavirus pandemic, the organization that negotiates compensation with the German government said on Wednesday.

• Thursday, October 15th 2020 - 08:38 UTC

  Rape and sexual abuse of altar boys who serve Mass in St Peter's Basilica

  

  A Vatican court heard graphic descriptions of sexual abuse on Wednesday as two priests went on trial, one charged with repeatedly raping an altar boy in a youth seminary and the other of covering up the attacks.

• Thursday, October 15th 2020 - 07:26 UTC

  President Trump's son Barron overcame Covid-19, revealed First Lady Melania

  

  President Donald Trump's 14-year-old son, Barron, tested positive for COVID-19 but exhibited no symptoms after both of his parents contracted the virus, first lady Melania Trump said on Wednesday.

• Wednesday, October 14th 2020 - 09:39 UTC

  World Bank approves US$ 12bn for developing countries to purchase Covid-19 vaccines

  

  The World Bank said its executive board approved on Tuesday US$12 billion in new funding for developing countries to finance the purchase and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, tests, and treatments for their citizens. The financing plan is part of US$160 billion in total resources that the multilateral development lender has pledged to provide to developing countries through June 2021 to help fight the coronavirus pandemic.

• Wednesday, October 14th 2020 - 09:27 UTC

  Argentine economy to fall 11.8% in 2020 and rebound 4.9% in 2021, according to IMF

  

  The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts that the Argentine economy will fall by 11.8% this year, and rebound by 4.9% in 2021, the credit agency announced. This was stated in the Economic Outlook Report (WEO) called “A long and difficult road uphill”, where as a result of the pandemic it estimated a fall in world GDP of 4.4% and a recovery of 5.2% by 2021.

• Wednesday, October 14th 2020 - 09:26 UTC

  Ozone hole over Antarctica peaks at 24 million square kms, the highest for the last decade

  

  The annually occurring ozone hole over the Antarctic is one of the largest and deepest in recent years. Analyses show that the hole has reached its maximum size. The 2020 ozone hole grew rapidly from mid-August and peaked at around 24 million square kilometers in early October. It now covers 23 million km2, above average for the last decade, and spreading over most of the Antarctic continent.

• Wednesday, October 14th 2020 - 09:07 UTC

  China claims it found residues of Covid-19 in Brazilian beef packaging

  

  Two months after China said it found residues of Covid-19 in a batch of chicken wings imported from Brazil, Beijing authorities repeated the announcement, but this time in relation to Brazilian beef. Apparently, traces of Covid-19 were detected in beef packaging during an inspection carried out at the Port of Dalian, one of the largest in the country.