International

• Wednesday, January 29th 2020 - 08:17 UTC

  Major quake in the Caribbean, northwest of Jamaica

  

  A major 7.7 magnitude quake struck on Tuesday in the Caribbean northwest of Jamaica, the US Geological Survey reported, raising the risk of tsunami waves in the region.

• Wednesday, January 29th 2020 - 07:44 UTC

  Guyana rapidly becoming an oil major: 16th discovery in four years of exploration

  

  ExxonMobil today announced its 16 discovery in the Stabroek Block, located off the Guyanese coastline. The Texas-based company announced that it encountered 29 meters of high-quality oil-bearing sandstone at the Uaru well.

• Wednesday, January 29th 2020 - 07:14 UTC

  Beer, wine and spirits companies agree to put clear age restriction labels on drinks

  

  Twelve leading beer, wine and spirits companies have pledged to put clear age-restriction labels on their drinks and set tighter controls on access to their online content in a bid to reduce underage drinking.

• Wednesday, January 29th 2020 - 07:06 UTC

  Drastic changes to the poultry industry production in France

  

  France is to ban from the end of 2021 the hugely controversial but widespread poultry industry practice of systematically slaughtering male chicks, Agriculture Minister Didier Guillaume said on Tuesday.

• Tuesday, January 28th 2020 - 08:35 UTC

  Maduro prepared to hand over the oil industry to foreign private companies

  

  Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is considering selling shares of the country's state-owned oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela SA, in an attempt to recover the country's petroleum industry and its dwindling production.

• Tuesday, January 28th 2020 - 08:20 UTC

  Prince Andrew wanted for questioning by US prosecutor and the FBI

  

  The scandal surrounding Prince Andrew's friendship with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein has deepened after a leading US prosecutor said requests to interview the senior royal - including from the FBI - had been ignored.

• Tuesday, January 28th 2020 - 08:16 UTC

  Argentina's economy minister scheduled to meet IMF officials

  

  Argentine Economy Minister Martin Guzman will meet with International Monetary Fund officials in New York on Tuesday, an IMF spokesman said on Monday, as the government continues talks with its biggest creditor ahead of a massive debt restructuring.

• Tuesday, January 28th 2020 - 08:09 UTC

  Brazil willing to discuss with OPEC, but not prepared to join the cartel

  

  Brazil has decided to stay out of OPEC for the time being as it seeks to expand its oil production, according to media reports quoting energy minister Bento Albuquerque. “The idea is just to increase our production and to participate more in the international oil and gas market,” Albuquerque said in an interview.

• Tuesday, January 28th 2020 - 07:50 UTC

  WHO admits several mistakes in assessing the severity of the coronavirus

  

  The World Health Organization said on Monday that it remained unclear if the deadly virus is contagious during its incubation period before symptoms appear. It did not immediately confirm assertions made by Chinese authorities that people who are infected can spread the disease before they show any symptoms of fever or respiratory difficulties.

• Tuesday, January 28th 2020 - 07:43 UTC

  Boeing's purchase of Embraer clears Brazilian antitrust regulator hurdle

  

  Technical staff at Brazilian antitrust regulator Cade on Monday approved Boeing Co's purchase of Embraer SA's commercial aviation division without restrictions, according to a statement on the agency's website.