International

• Saturday, March 14th 2020 - 08:56 UTC

  Recount of votes in Guyana election questioned by OAS observer mission

  

  The Organization of American States (OAS) election observer mission on Friday said it would be pulling out of Guyana because tabulation process for Region Four is unlikely to produce overall results that are widely accepted.

• Friday, March 13th 2020 - 08:57 UTC

  Coronavirus panic in markets wipes US$ 14 trillion in a month

  

  Global stock markets crashed on Friday, ending a years-long bull run, with coronavirus panic selling hitting almost every asset class and leaving investors nowhere to hide. Half a trillion dollars in liquidity from the U.S. Federal Reserve and the promise of more were not enough to calm the fear that has wiped some US$14 trillion from world stocks in a month.

• Friday, March 13th 2020 - 08:10 UTC

  Argentina soybean output forecast to reach 52 million tons, down 6% year on year

  

  Soybean output for Argentina -- the world's third-largest soy producer and exporter -- is forecast to be at 52 million tons, down 4.6% on February estimates and 6% year on year, in 2019-20 crop year (November-October), on dry conditions in Córdoba and Santa Fe, a Buenos Aires Grains Exchange report said on Thursday.

• Thursday, March 12th 2020 - 08:55 UTC

  Coronavirus: Trump locks out all travel from Europe for 30 days and pledges financial relief to small businesses

  

  President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the U.S. would restrict all travel from Europe for the next 30 days and use executive orders to offer financial relief to individuals and small businesses in his most extensive steps to date to address the crisis of the coronavirus.

• Thursday, March 12th 2020 - 08:50 UTC

  WHO declares coronavirus a pandemic and warns about “alarming levels of inaction”

  

  The World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus a pandemic on Wednesday as it spreads in more than 100 countries around the world. WHO defines a pandemic as “the worldwide spread of a new disease.” The determination is based on the geographic spread of a disease, the severity of illnesses it causes, and its effects on society.

• Thursday, March 12th 2020 - 07:41 UTC

  Merkel warns that up to 70% of German population could contract coronavirus

  

  German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that up to 70% of the country's population - some 58 million people - could contract the coronavirus. Mrs Merkel made the stark prediction at a news conference on Wednesday alongside Health Minister Jens Spahn.

• Thursday, March 12th 2020 - 07:35 UTC

  Coronavirus: Bank of England cuts interest rate 50 basis points to 0.25%

  

  The Bank of England (BOE), the UK's central bank, cut interest rates by 0.5 percentage points on Wednesday morning as part of an emergency response to the coronavirus, or COVID-19.

• Thursday, March 12th 2020 - 07:31 UTC

  Brazilian lawmaker sponsors bill to punish corrupt politicians with amputation of both hands

  

  A lawmaker who says Brazil is not doing enough to fight rampant political corruption put forward a bill on Tuesday that would punish any politician convicted of the graft with amputation of both hands.

• Wednesday, March 11th 2020 - 10:00 UTC

  Falklands updates its Travel Advisory concerning COVID-19

  

  The Government of the Falklands updated its advice on travelling to the Islands, in response to a further change in the global COVID-19 situation. The Italian Government this week announced emergency measures across the entire country in response to the virus.

• Wednesday, March 11th 2020 - 08:55 UTC

  Brazil downplays the threat of coronavirus: “it is overstated”

  

  Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro minimized the threat of the new coronavirus - which has killed nearly 4,000 people in more than 60 countries and tanked global financial markets, saying its destructive power has been “overstated”.