International

• Monday, December 9th 2019 - 09:11 UTC

  Australia on fire, waiting for heavy rains; Sydney blanketed in smoke and ashes

  

  Thousands of firefighters were fortifying containment lines on Monday as temperatures were forecast to soar, increasing the danger of a fresh wave of bushfires across Australia's east coast. More than 100 fires remain ablaze in the region, and authorities warned conditions would worsen on Tuesday, when temperatures were predicted to top 40 degrees Celsius.

• Monday, December 9th 2019 - 09:03 UTC

  Cruise vessel adrift off Canary Islands after engine failure

  

  A cruise ship that is operated by Carnival-owned P&O Cruises, based in the UK is back in Tenerife after having suffered a loss of propulsion and remained adrift until towed to port.

• Saturday, December 7th 2019 - 10:25 UTC

  Anniversary of the Battle of the Falkland Islands

  

  The Falkland Islands commemorates on Sunday 8th December the great Battle of the Falklands, 105 years ago, which ended with a resounding victory for the Royal Navy over the Kaiser's fleet.

• Saturday, December 7th 2019 - 09:40 UTC

  Guyana optimistic it will win the Esequibo dispute at the International Court of Justice

  

  President David Granger is optimistic that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will dispense a ruling in Guyana’s favor in the border case with Venezuela. The Guyanese president expressed these sentiments while appearing on the popular radio program, Hot Seat.

• Saturday, December 7th 2019 - 09:32 UTC

  Peru agrees to promote US investments in the country to counter Beijing influence

  

  Lima and Washington are in the final stages of talks on a deal to promote American investments in Peru as part of a U.S. initiative to counter Chinese influence in the region, Peruvian diplomatic sources said.

• Saturday, December 7th 2019 - 09:26 UTC

  HMS Forth on its way for deployment to the Falklands; she will replace HMS Clyde

  

  The British Royal Navy’s next-generation offshore patrol vessel HMS Forth is on its way for deployment to the Falkland Islands, after a brief call in Gibraltar. The long-term deployment of HMS Forth will see the ship act as the guardian of the Falkland Islands and Britain’s South Atlantic territories.

• Friday, December 6th 2019 - 08:55 UTC

  French general strike against planned reform of pensions enters second day

  

  A strike that crippled public transport and closed schools across France entered a second day on Friday, with trade unions saying they planned to keep going until President Emmanuel Macron backs down from a planned reform of pensions.

• Thursday, December 5th 2019 - 10:58 UTC

  Discovery of WW1 German Battlecruiser SMS Scharnhorst in Falklands waters

  

  The Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust is pleased to announce that the wreck of SMS Scharnhorst has been located off the Falkland Islands. The Scharnhorst, an armoured battle-cruiser and the flagship of Admiral Maximilian Graf von Spee’s East Asia Squadron, was sunk on 8 December 1914 during the Battle of the Falkland Islands, a crucial naval battle in the early days of the First World War.

• Thursday, December 5th 2019 - 09:59 UTC

  Suddenly out of the deep sea gloom emerged the mighty Scharnhorst with her great guns poking in every direction

  

  Mensun Bound, the leader of the mission which discovered the flagship of Admiral Graf von Spee's squadron, was born in the Falkland Islands and since a child has been obsessed with the sea, its mysteries, myths and the great Battle of the Falkland Islands, a decisive naval action at the start of the Great War of 1914.

• Thursday, December 5th 2019 - 09:21 UTC

  Trump leaves Nato summit following footage showing several world leaders making remarks about the president

  

  US President Donald Trump has left a major Nato summit early following video footage which appeared to show world leaders poking fun of him. Footage from an event on Tuesday night emerged that showed several world leaders making remarks about Trump.