International

• Monday, March 8th 2021 - 08:25 UTC

  EU medicines' regulator calls for refrain in approving Russia's Sputnik V vaccine

  

  A senior European Medicines Agency (EMA) official urged European Union members on Sunday to refrain from granting national approvals for Russian Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V while the agency reviews its safety and effectiveness.

• Monday, March 8th 2021 - 08:00 UTC

  Ululations of joy during the Pope's four day visit to Irak

  

  Pope Francis met Christians on Sunday in an ancient church torched by the ISIS terror group when it swept into the northern Iraqi town of Qaraqosh in 2014. After the militants were ousted from the town in 2016, the Al-Tahera (Immaculate Conception) Church’s imposing marble floors and columns were restored and the faithful gathered there on Sunday to welcome the pontiff.

• Monday, March 8th 2021 - 08:00 UTC

  Swiss voters backed ban on burqa by a slim margin: 51,2% to a 50,8% turnout

  

  Swiss voters on Sunday narrowly backed a ban on full-face coverings in public places - a decision hailed by supporters as a bulwark against radical Islam but branded as discriminatory by opponents. Official results showed that 51.2% of voters, and a clear majority of federal Switzerland's cantons, supported the proposal.

• Saturday, March 6th 2021 - 09:49 UTC

  Maersk forecasts 3% world trade growth; regulations a challenge in Mercosur

  

  The shipping company Maersk expects world trade to grow by 3% or more in 2021. The company sees global trade recovering, but there is still a lot of uncertainty about the size of the impact of Covid-19 on the world economy in 2021. So it is implementing a global strategy that positions it for growth in several countries, including Mercosur members.

• Saturday, March 6th 2021 - 09:40 UTC

  Falklands extends Rockhopper's offshore licenses until November 2022

  

  The Falkland Islands government has agreed to extend each of Rockhopper Exploration plc’s offshore North Falkland basin petroleum licenses, including the Sea Lion discovery area, until Nov. 1, 2022. The extension includes no additional license commitments. The previous expiry date was May 1, 2021.

• Saturday, March 6th 2021 - 09:30 UTC

  Falklands: lively debate on the possibility of a salmon farming industry

  

  The Falklands ocean coastal ecosystems are one of its biggest assets and, “its value is beyond measure,” commented Islander Josh Peck speaking against the introduction of a salmon-farming industry to the Falkland Islands, at last Tuesdays workshop on an environmental strategy held at the Chamber of Commerce, as reported by the Penguin News.

• Saturday, March 6th 2021 - 09:23 UTC

  Pandemic has pushed 20 million Latin Americans into poverty, UN report

  

  More than 20 million people were pushed into poverty during pandemic-plagued 2020 across Latin America and the Caribbean, the U.N. economic agency for the region announced this week.

• Saturday, March 6th 2021 - 09:12 UTC

  UK-Gibraltar partnership strengthened by new funding stream

  

  The UK Government has included Gibraltar in the UK Community Renewal Fund for 2021-22. This means that projects in Gibraltar will be eligible for funding up to a maximum of half a million pounds.

• Saturday, March 6th 2021 - 08:40 UTC

  Casino supermarkets sued under French law for selling beef linked to deforestation

  

  French supermarket chain Casino is being sued by indigenous groups from the Amazon, for allegedly selling beef linked to deforestation. The 11 indigenous groups, backed by NGOs in the US and France, are seeking €3.1m in damages.

• Saturday, March 6th 2021 - 07:10 UTC

  Rossby Waves, and Wave-7

  

  Bt Gwynne Dyer – It used to blast straight east all the way around the planet, but even then it occasionally developed long S-shaped kinks called Rossby waves: Big loops extending far north and south of its usual track.