International

• Friday, January 29th 2021 - 08:12 UTC

  Uruguayan skipper leads female rowers across the Atlantic in the Talisker Whisky Challenge

  

  All-female four-boat, The Bristol Gulls, including for the first time a Uruguayan skipper, raced into English Harbour, Antigua, completing this year’s Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge on the 27th January 2021.

• Friday, January 29th 2021 - 08:00 UTC

  Beijing warns Taiwan, “any mention of independence means war”

  

  Beijing warned Taiwan on Thursday that “independence means war” and that its armed forces stepped up activities were in response to provocation and foreign interference.

• Thursday, January 28th 2021 - 09:51 UTC

  Over a million people have died from Covid-19 in the Americas

  

  More than one million people have died from COVID-19 in North and South America, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) reported. Last week two million more cases were reported in the Americas, with the United States the main driver of the outbreak.

• Thursday, January 28th 2021 - 09:15 UTC

  Johnson off to Scotland to confront growing support of independence referendum

  

  Prime Minister Boris Johnson is traveling on Thursday to Scotland to confront growing support for another independence referendum. Ahead of his visit, Johnson said that Scotland, as a part of the UK, gained access to a coronavirus vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca, and they are being administered by their shared armed forces, who are creating 80 new vaccine centers in Scotland.

• Thursday, January 28th 2021 - 09:14 UTC

  Putin criticizes “digital giants” that challenge “legitimate democratic institutions”

  

  Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized the growing influence of U.S. social media companies and said their impact on society now puts them in competition with elected governments.

• Thursday, January 28th 2021 - 08:55 UTC

  China has begun using anal swabs for high risk population

  

  AFP – Anal swabs are being used in China to test those it considers at high risk of contracting Covid-19, state TV reported. According to doctors, the invasive procedure is said to be more effective in detecting the virus.

• Thursday, January 28th 2021 - 08:33 UTC

  Climate change becomes a national security issue for the Pentagon

  

  Reuters – The risk of climate change in military theatre simulations and war games was confirmed by the Pentagon following a raft of executive actions signed by US president Joe Biden to tackle the climate issue.

• Wednesday, January 27th 2021 - 20:39 UTC

  Director of Sinovac's intermediary institute said it did not close a deal with Uruguay for vaccine

  

  The Director of the Butantan Institute on Tuesday contradicted the words of Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou, assuring that there is not yet a closed agreement between the Uruguayan government and the Chinese laboratory Sinovac for the purchase of the vaccine against Covid-19. However, the institute affirmed that there is a pre-agreement and talks are still ongoing. Lacalle Pou announced on Saturday at a press conference the purchase of 1.75 million doses from this laboratory.

• Wednesday, January 27th 2021 - 09:27 UTC

  Global Covid-19 reaches 100 million cases and 2,155.00 deaths, John Hopkins Center

  

  The world has reached 100 million COVID-19 infections, according to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center statistics. More than 2,155.00 people have died from the virus.

• Wednesday, January 27th 2021 - 09:20 UTC

  China recovers pre-pandemic growth and is expected to expand 8,1% in 2021 and 5,6% in 2022, IMF

  

  IMF projects China's economy will grow 8.1% in 2021 and 5.6% in 2022. The global growth is expected to be 5.5% in 2021 and 4.2% in 2022 after an estimated 3.5% contraction in 2020, according to the latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) released on Tuesday.