International

• Friday, September 4th 2020 - 08:15 UTC

  Palau in the Pacific urges US military to build bases to contain Beijing influence

  

  The tiny Pacific nation of Palau has urged the United States military to build bases on its territory - which lies in a region where Washington is pushing back against growing Chinese influence.

• Thursday, September 3rd 2020 - 08:44 UTC

  Snowden' vindication: NSA mass surveillance program of US phones unlawful, and US intelligence leaders lied

  

  Seven years after former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden blew the whistle on the mass surveillance of US’ telephone records, an appeals court has found the program was unlawful - and that the U.S. intelligence leaders who publicly defended it were not telling the truth.

• Thursday, September 3rd 2020 - 07:06 UTC

  Scotland’s new independence referendum draft “surprises” Johnson administration

  

  A British minister said she was surprised by plans for another Scottish independence referendum given the budget deficit in the country and the economic challenges facing the whole of the United Kingdom after the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Thursday, September 3rd 2020 - 06:56 UTC

  Skip kissing and wear a mask when having sex, Canada's chief medical officer

  

  Skip kissing and consider wearing a mask when having sex to protect yourself from catching the coronavirus, Canada’s chief medical officer said on Wednesday, adding that going solo remains the lowest risk sexual option in a pandemic.

• Wednesday, September 2nd 2020 - 09:46 UTC

  Roundup weedkiller and cancer decision, appealed by Bayer at California Supreme Court

  

  Bayer AG has asked California’s Supreme Court to review a decision awarding US$ 20.5 million to a groundskeeper who claimed the company’s Roundup weedkiller caused his cancer, arguing the ruling was at odds with federal law and settled legal principles.

• Wednesday, September 2nd 2020 - 09:43 UTC

  Argentina/China accord to produce nine million tons of pork delayed by environmentalists

  

  The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between China and Argentina scheduled for this week has been delayed until November, the Argentine foreign ministry announced officially on Tuesday. The delay will enable to add an “article referred to the protection of the environment, natural resources, and bio-security”, added the release.

• Wednesday, September 2nd 2020 - 08:15 UTC

  Pope Francis urges nations to fight global warming: “creation is groaning”

  

  Pope Francis on Tuesday urged nations to fight global warming according to the 2015 Paris climate accord, weighing in on issues that figure in the US presidential race. Modern society had pushed the planet beyond its limits and the time to fix a climate emergency was running out, he said.

• Tuesday, September 1st 2020 - 08:57 UTC

  Argentina restructures 99% of US$ 66bn debt issued under foreign legislation: now IMF and debt in local legislation

  

  Recession-hit Argentina has managed to restructure 99% of US$ 66 billion in debt issued under foreign legislation, Economy Minister Martin Guzman announced on Monday.

• Tuesday, September 1st 2020 - 08:00 UTC

  Argentine president would like Messi to finish his career in Newell's Old Boys

  

  Argentine president Alberto Fernandez has urged Lionel Messi to finish his career in his home country. The Barcelona forward spent several years in the academy at Newell's Old Boys in Rosario before moving to Europe as a teenager.

• Tuesday, September 1st 2020 - 07:41 UTC

  Texel “Double Diamond” sold for 350,000 guineas in Lanark

  

  A young ram was sold for a record 350,000 guineas -- some US$ 490,000 at an auction in Scotland this week. The lamb, named Double Diamond, had generated buzz before the Scottish National Texel sale in Lanark started, according to a news release from the Texel Sheep Society.