International

• Monday, May 25th 2020 - 20:52 UTC

  China open to the identification of the source of coronavirus, but “free of political interference”

  

  China is “open” to international cooperation to identify the source of the novel coronavirus but any investigation must be “free of political interference”, China's foreign minister said on Sunday. Wang Yi blasted what he called efforts by US politicians to “fabricate rumors” about the pathogen's origins and “stigmatize China”.

• Monday, May 25th 2020 - 20:48 UTC

  British government ready to rescue companies considered strategically important

  

  British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak has authorized a bailout plan to rescue companies that are seen as strategically important, with the state expected to buy stakes in crucial businesses that are facing acute financial problems, the Financial Times newspaper reported.

• Monday, May 25th 2020 - 07:54 UTC

  Iranian petrol reaches Venezuela, despite US warnings

  

  The first of five Iranian tankers carrying fuel for gasoline-starved Venezuela entered the country's exclusive economic zone on Saturday, despite a US official's warning that Washington was considering a response to the shipment. The tanker, named Fortune, reached the country’s waters at around 7:40 pm local time (1140 GMT) after passing north of the neighboring dual-island Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago, according to vessel-tracking data from Refinitiv Eikon.

• Monday, May 25th 2020 - 07:52 UTC

  Pierre Andurand, French 'wonder boy' who predicted the sub zero oil market collapse

  

  French oil trader Pierre Andurand was catapulted into the spotlight this year after correctly betting that the deadly novel coronavirus would spark a sub-zero oil market collapse. Andurand, the 43-year-old founder of London-based Andurand Capital who runs two multi-million-dollar funds, bet in February that the deadly COVID-19 outbreak could represent a rare “black swan” event that would send prices into reverse.

• Monday, May 25th 2020 - 07:46 UTC

  Virology institute in Wuhan admits having live strains of bat coronavirus but “do not match with the current outbreaks”

  

  The Chinese virology institute in the city where COVID-19 first emerged has three live strains of bat coronavirus on-site, but none match the new contagion wreaking chaos across the world, its director has said.

• Monday, May 25th 2020 - 07:16 UTC

  South Georgia's new £11million wharf facilities completed in 108 days

  

  Surrounded by spectacular scenery, dominated by mountains and glaciers, construction has completed on a new £11million wharf, dolphin, and slipway to serve the King Edward Point Research Station (KEP), in South Georgia Island.

• Saturday, May 23rd 2020 - 10:50 UTC

  Argentina asks Ireland's support to exclude the Falklands from any post Brexit EU-UK accord

  

  The Argentine foreign minister Felipe Solá held a round of talks with his counterparts from Australia, Ireland and Armenia to address issues of special significance for an Argentine foreign policy such as the current Coronavirus pandemic, and its impact on the global economy, and the European Union position regarding the Falkland Islands in a post Brexit scenario.

• Saturday, May 23rd 2020 - 09:58 UTC

  South America becomes a new epicenter of Covid-19 pandemic

  

  South America has become “a new epicenter” of the deadly coronavirus pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday, following a surge in the number of Covid-19 infections.

• Saturday, May 23rd 2020 - 09:49 UTC

  Restrictions on Chinese air carriers flying to US unless there is reciprocity

  

  The US government on Friday accused the Chinese government of making it impossible for US airlines to resume service to China and ordered four Chinese air carriers to file flight schedules with the US government. The administration of President Donald Trump stopped short of imposing restrictions on Chinese air carriers but said talks with China had failed to produce an agreement.

• Saturday, May 23rd 2020 - 09:47 UTC

  Hertz Global files for bankruptcy protection as Covid-19 vanishes business

  

  The more than a century old car rental firm Hertz Global Holdings filed for bankruptcy protection on Friday after its business all but vanished during the coronavirus pandemic and talks with creditors failed to result in needed relief.