International

• Thursday, December 19th 2019 - 08:54 UTC

  UK will suffer more than the EU if it quits with no deal, von der Leyen warns

  

  Britain will suffer more than the European Union if it quits the bloc with no deal next year, a Brussels chief warned on Wednesday. Ursula von der Leyen, who has taken over from Jean-Claude Juncker as European Commission president, also stressed the timetable to reach an agreement was “extremely challenging” after London decided to put into law that the UK must leave by the end of December 2020.

• Thursday, December 19th 2019 - 08:41 UTC

  Seven-day state of emergency in Australia's New South Wales state ravaged by bushfires

  

  Australian authorities declared a seven-day state of emergency in New South Wales state on Thursday as a record heatwave fanned unprecedented bushfires raging across the region.

• Wednesday, December 18th 2019 - 09:58 UTC

  Latin America as deadly as Middle East for journalists, RSF annual report

  

  Forty-nine journalists were killed across the world in 2019, Reporters Without Borders said on Tuesday, the lowest death toll in 16 years.

• Wednesday, December 18th 2019 - 09:55 UTC

  Falklands provides sea and air support for the search of missing Chilean aircraft

  

  Falkland Islands based PHAROS SG, on regular deployment as a South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands fishery patrol vessel, returned on Tuesday morning to Stanley Harbour, after assisting in the search for wreckage and debris from the Chilean C130 aircraft that went missing on Monday 09 December.

• Wednesday, December 18th 2019 - 09:45 UTC

  Brazil/China finalizing sanitary protocol for soy-meal exports to the Asian giant

  

  Brazilian and Chinese government authorities are finalizing a protocol setting health standards for domestic processors to export soy-meal to the Asian country, André Nassar, president of oilseeds industry group Abiove, announced.

• Wednesday, December 18th 2019 - 09:31 UTC

  Strong subscription growth for Netflix in Latin America and Asia

  

  Netflix is seeing rapid subscriber growth in regions including Asia and Latin America as it girds for tougher competition in the streaming market, newly detailed figures show.

• Wednesday, December 18th 2019 - 09:27 UTC

  Johnson pledges post-Brexit transition in 2020; Queen sets the legislative program of new government Thursday

  

  Britain's government said on Tuesday it will legislate to ensure a post-Brexit transition period does not extend beyond 2020, sending the pound sinking as the European Union warned of a race against time to agree new trade terms.

• Wednesday, December 18th 2019 - 09:18 UTC

  Chinese consortium wins contract to build and operate Brazil's second longest bridge

  

  A consortium of state-owned Chinese companies was awarded the contract to build and operate what will be the second-longest bridge in Brazil. Under the project, a bridge will be built spanning the famed Bay of All Saints, which connects Salvador, the capital of the northeastern Bahia state, with Itaparica Island. The project also involves the construction of related roads.

• Wednesday, December 18th 2019 - 08:49 UTC

  UN Decolonization Committee C24 on a visiting mission to Montserrat

  

  The United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization, currently chaired by Keisha Aniya McGuire (Grenada), is on a visiting mission to the Caribbean island of Montserrat until Friday 20 December, while also holding meetings in Antigua and Barbuda.

• Tuesday, December 17th 2019 - 09:59 UTC

  Brazilian government dismisses as a “commercial game” results of COP25 climate talks in Madrid

  

  Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a climate change skeptic, dismissed as a “commercial game” the result of the COP25 climate talks in Madrid. He particularly singled out rich European nations as the players.