International

• Monday, October 5th 2020 - 09:58 UTC

  Guyana's big profits dreams crushed by the pandemic and the “resource curse”

  

  By Amy Myers Jaffe (*) – This year was supposed to bring great things for Guyana. ExxonMobil discovered massive oil deposits off the South American country’s Caribbean coast in 2015, and Guyana sold its first cargo of crude oil this February. As production ramps up, its first stage offshore wells were projected to produce 750,000 barrels a day by 2025, tripling the size of Guyana's economy, from US$ 3,4 billion to US$ 13 Billion.

• Monday, October 5th 2020 - 09:45 UTC

  COVID-19 disrupting mental health services in most countries, WHO survey

  

  The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted or halted critical mental health services in 93% of countries worldwide while the demand for mental health is increasing, according to a new WHO survey. The survey of 130 countries provides the first global data showing the devastating impact of COVID-19 on access to mental health services and underscores the urgent need for increased funding.

• Monday, October 5th 2020 - 09:36 UTC

  Gibraltar issues Technical Notice on Aviation in the event of no agreement with EU

  

  The Government of Gibraltar has issued a fourth Technical Notice, this time on the subject of Aviation, in the event that there is no agreement on the future relationship of Gibraltar with the European Union.

• Monday, October 5th 2020 - 09:31 UTC

  The scrap metal yard for cruise vessels, Aliaga in Turkey

  

  At a sea dock in western Turkey, five hulking cruise ships are being dismantled for scrap metal after the COVID-19 pandemic all but destroyed the industry. Cruise ships were home to the some of the earliest clusters of COVID-19 as the pandemic spread globally early this year.

• Monday, October 5th 2020 - 09:01 UTC

  New Caledonia votes to remain as a French Overseas Territory

  

  Voters on the South Pacific archipelago of New Caledonia were on course to reject breaking away from France in a referendum on Sunday, partial results showed. With votes from 282 out of 304 polling stations tallied, the partial results showed the “no” camp ahead with 53.6% support after expanding its lead as results came in from the capital, Noumea, traditionally a bastion of pro-Paris loyalty.

• Monday, October 5th 2020 - 09:01 UTC

  Johnson does not want to end Brexit transition without a new trade deal, but can live with such an outcome

  

  British Prime Minister Boris Johnson does not particularly wish for the Brexit transition period to end without a new trade deal in place but believes that Britain could live with such an outcome, he said on Sunday.

• Monday, October 5th 2020 - 08:00 UTC

  Saudi Arabia cautiously resumes pilgrimage to the Grand Mosque in Mecca

  

  Mask-clad Muslims circled Islam's holiest site along socially distanced paths on Sunday, as Saudi authorities partially resumed the year-round umrah pilgrimage amid extensive health precautions after seven-month coronavirus hiatus.

• Saturday, October 3rd 2020 - 08:36 UTC

  Boris Johnson’s Cunning Plan; If PM Johnson is Blackadder, who is his Baldrick?

  

  By Gwynne Dyer – “I’ve got a plan so cunning you could put a tail on it and call it a weasel,” said Blackadder’s sidekick Baldrick in the BBC’s brilliant historical comedy series ‘Blackadder.’ In fact, he said, “I have a cunning plan” in almost every episode, but the plans hardly ever worked, and it became a popular catch-phrase.

• Saturday, October 3rd 2020 - 08:36 UTC

  Merkel and UK remain optimistic on a post Brexit-deal, but “the fisheries gap is unfortunately very large”

  

  German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she had no breakthrough to announce on Friday as a week of EU talks with Britain ended, but remained optimistic that sealing a deal on a post-Brexit trade relationship was still possible before the end of the year.

• Saturday, October 3rd 2020 - 08:19 UTC

  French Overseas Territory New Caledonia votes independence referendum on Sunday

  

  Voters in New Caledonia, a French archipelago in the South Pacific, will choose whether they want independence from France in a referendum that marks a milestone in a three-decade decolonization effort.