International

Friday, October 18th 2019 - 09:29 UTC
Humpback whales in the SW Atlantic total some 25.000, NOAA survey

One of the whale populations taken to the edge of extinction by commercial hunting in the early 20th Century has essentially recovered its numbers. It's estimated the humpbacks that frequent the southwest Atlantic once totaled perhaps 27,000 animals.
Thursday, October 17th 2019 - 15:25 UTC
UK and US raid “dark web” of child pornography: 337 arrests in 38 countries

UK and US authorities investigating a “dark web” child pornography site run from South Korea on Wednesday announced the arrest of 337 suspects in 38 countries. Britain's National Crime Agency (NCA) said the “Welcome to Video” site contained 250,000 videos that were downloaded a million times by users across the world.
Thursday, October 17th 2019 - 15:23 UTC
Thousands of protesting Dutch farmers laid siege to Parliament in The Hague

Thousands of tractor-driving Dutch farmers stepped up protests on Wednesday against the government's climate policies, prompting authorities to block off parliament with army vehicles. In the second national demonstration in three weeks against government plans to curb nitrogen emissions, farmers laid siege to the country's seat of power in The Hague, causing widespread travel disruption.
Thursday, October 17th 2019 - 15:01 UTC
China's hog production expected to bounce back to normal levels in 2020

China's hog production is expected to bottom out before the end of 2019 and recover to normal levels in 2020, an agriculture ministry official said on Thursday.
Thursday, October 17th 2019 - 09:56 UTC
Argentina has bent over to please the UK while gaining nothing in return

By Facundo Rodriguez (*) - It's now been three years since the British and Argentine governments signed the Foradori-Duncan agreement and committed to taking “appropriate measures to remove all obstacles limiting the economic growth and sustainable development” of the Falkland/Malvinas Islands.
Thursday, October 17th 2019 - 09:55 UTC
Brexit concerns blowing gale across nervous Falklands

The following piece on the Falklands and Brexit was distributed by the French news agency, AFP, both in English and Spanish. - It may be a remote archipelago 13,000km from mainland Britain but the Falkland Islands' incredible biodiversity, as well as fishing and meat exports, are under threat from Brexit.
Thursday, October 17th 2019 - 09:49 UTC
Syria: Trump tells Turkish president: “Don't be a tough guy” and “Don't be a fool!”

President Donald Trump told Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in a letter about Turkey's incursion into Syria, “Don't be a tough guy” and “Don't be a fool!”
Thursday, October 17th 2019 - 09:46 UTC
EU Council president Tusk hopeful a Brexit deal is ready to materialize

EU Council President Donald Tusk said on Wednesday that the basic foundations of an agreement on Brexit were ready and that it could materialize within hours.
Thursday, October 17th 2019 - 09:19 UTC
Spanish King will visit Cuba as part of Havana's 500th anniversary

Spain's King Felipe VI will visit Cuba next month as part of the 500th anniversary celebrations of the island nation's capital Havana, the European country's Foreign Minister Josep Borrell said on Wednesday. “I can confirm it will take place in November” after the Spanish general elections on November 10, Borrell said during a visit to Havana where he met his Cuban counterpart Bruno Rodriguez.
Thursday, October 17th 2019 - 09:05 UTC
Universal Health Coverage passes key global milestone

The World Health Organization welcomed a new Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Resolution on achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by 2030. The resolution, adopted at the IPU Assembly in Belgrade, Serbia, comes one month after heads of state agreed on a high-level United Nations Political Declaration on UHC in New York.