International

• Monday, February 8th 2021 - 08:49 UTC

  Ban of cruise vessels in Canadian waters until February 2022, triggers reaction from Alaska

  

  Transport Canada extended its ban by continuing its order prohibiting cruise vessels in all Canadian waters until February 28, 2022. The orders, which were extended several times were announced by Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra.

• Saturday, February 6th 2021 - 08:47 UTC

  IMF chief Georgieva tells Argentina, “it takes two to tango”

  

  The chief of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva said on Friday that the fund is working towards reaching an agreement on a new loan deal with Argentina and the next round of meetings will focus on the details. However, “'it takes two to tango' so both sides need to do our part and find the pathway to an agreement, and we are not yet at that point.”

• Saturday, February 6th 2021 - 08:20 UTC

  Hamburg/Falklands/Munich: details from Lufthansa's longest nonstop flights

  

  An airline preparing to launch its longest-ever flight – a fifteen-hour non-stop flight from Hamburg Germany to the Falkland Islands in an A350 – is as tricky a project as one might expect.

• Friday, February 5th 2021 - 18:33 UTC

  FAO's food prices index at its highest level since July 2014

  

  Global food prices rose in January for the eighth consecutive month, led by cereals, vegetable oils and sugar, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

• Friday, February 5th 2021 - 09:20 UTC

  Falklands-Munich, Lufthansa completes record-breaking flight

  

  Yesterday at 1:24 pm the crew of the Lufthansa record-breaking flight received a very warm “welcome back” upon their return in Germany. After landing at Munich Airport, the Airbus A350-900 was greeted by the fire department with a water salute.

• Friday, February 5th 2021 - 09:10 UTC

  “Turn off the soundscape” plead marine animals, Science journal reports

  

  A cacophony of industrial noise is disrupting marine animals' ability to mate, feed, and even evade predators, scientists warn. With rumbling ships, hammering oil drills, and booming seismic survey blasts, humans have drastically altered the underwater soundscape.

• Friday, February 5th 2021 - 08:50 UTC

  UK in Covid-19 rare success: it has vaccinated 15% of the population (10 million)

  

  The UK reached the milestone of vaccinating 10 million people, about 15% of the population, according to the latest official reports. “We are on a downward slope of cases, hospitalizations and deaths,” Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said at a televised press conference. “This peak, at least, we are past.”

• Friday, February 5th 2021 - 08:42 UTC

  Uruguay, one the very few “full democracies” in the world, The Economist

  

  Uruguay leads as one of four full democracies in the Americas, according to the Democracy Index 2020, published by The Economist. Uruguay scored 8,61 points out of a possible 10 and ranked fifteenth at world level, while the other “full” democracies in the region are Costa Rica, 8,16; Chile, 8,28 and Canada with 9,24 points.

• Friday, February 5th 2021 - 08:21 UTC

  Bank of England tells banks to prepare for negative interest rates

  

  The Bank of England (BOE) told banks to start getting ready for negative interest rates but added that the message shouldn’t be taken as a signal that the policy is imminent. The BOE made the announcement as it held its key rate at a record low of 0.1%.

• Thursday, February 4th 2021 - 23:23 UTC

  Northern Ireland Protocol controversy forces new round of UK/EU talks

  

  The government and the EU have vowed to “work intensively” to quell tensions over post-Brexit checks at Northern Ireland ports. In a joint statement, both sides said talks on Wednesday with Northern Ireland leaders were “constructive”.