International

• Friday, February 26th 2021 - 21:27 UTC

  Beijing naval expansion has driven 2020 world military expenditure to a record

  

  Global military spending, driven in part by Chinese naval expansion, reached record levels in 2020 despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and ensuing economic contraction, a British think-tank said on Thursday.

• Friday, February 26th 2021 - 21:20 UTC

  Spectacular pictures from Mars sent by NASA's Perseverance rover

  

  The US space agency NASA has released a spectacular panoramic view of the landing site of the Perseverance rover on Mars. The panorama shows the rim of the Jezero Crater where the rover touched down last week and the cliff face of an ancient river delta in the distance.

• Friday, February 26th 2021 - 13:54 UTC

  IMF admits discussions with Argentina continue but no meeting planned for May

  

  IMF has no date yet set for its next visit to Argentina to discuss replacement to a failed 2018 program, a spokesman for the Fund advanced on Thursday. The parties could next meet in Washington soon, as Argentine Economy Minister Martin Guzman will visit the U.S. capital next month, according to Buenos Aires sources.

• Friday, February 26th 2021 - 13:19 UTC

  Brazil purchases 20 million doses of India's Bharat Biotech vaccine

  

  Brazil's health ministry on Thursday signed a deal with India's Bharat Biotech to purchase 20 million doses of Covaxin, a Covid 19 vaccine. The news came a day before Brazil marks one year since the first case of Covid-19 was confirmed in the country after a Sao Paulo businessman returning from a trip to Italy tested positive.

• Friday, February 26th 2021 - 12:01 UTC

  EU declares Venezuela ambassador persona non grata and expels her

  

  The European Union has declared Venezuela's ambassador in Brussels as a “persona non grata” in a tit-for-tat diplomatic move. A EU statement said member states had agreed that Venezuela's ambassador would no longer be welcome as an envoy to the bloc.

• Friday, February 26th 2021 - 11:46 UTC

  WTO new chief admits reforming the dispute resolution body “won't be easy”

  

  Reforming the World Trade Organization’s paralyzed dispute-resolution body will be a key priority for the institution, but the process won’t be easy, incoming Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said.

• Friday, February 26th 2021 - 09:30 UTC

  President Xi announces end of poverty in China, on Communist Party's 100th anniversary

  

  China's President Xi Jinping officially declared Thursday that the country has completed its “arduous task” of eradicating extreme poverty, saying 98.99 million people have been lifted out of poverty over the past eight years.

• Thursday, February 25th 2021 - 10:19 UTC

  The Venturer leaves Brazil and is sailing for the Falklands

  

  Following four weeks docked in Bahia, northeast Brazil, because of a Covid 19 outbreak on board, the Red Ensign flagged trawler Venturer left on Tuesday night for the Falkland Islands.

• Thursday, February 25th 2021 - 10:15 UTC

  Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine proves 94% effective in a study with 1,2 million in Israel

  

  AFP – The Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine has proven 94% effective in a study involving 1.2 million people in Israel, the first peer-reviewed real world research confirming the power of mass immunization campaigns to bring the pandemic to a close.

• Thursday, February 25th 2021 - 10:05 UTC

  Venezuela declares EU's head of delegation persona non grata and gives her 72 hours to leave the country

  

  Venezuela announced on Wednesday that the head of the European Union's delegation in Caracas had 72 hours to leave the country and declared her persona non grata after the bloc imposed new sanctions on Venezuelan officials this week.