
Ecuador’s central bank said it expected the country’s economy to expand by 3.1% in 2021, following an 8.9% contraction in 2020 due to a plunge in crude prices and the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson might be persuaded to take a COVID-19 vaccination on television to show it is safe but he would not have one before those in greater need, his press secretary said on Wednesday.

A large gang of heavily armed bank robbers invaded the Brazilian city of Cameta just one day after a similar force struck another mid-sized city on the opposite side of the country, taking residents hostage as they looted a bank.

The United States hopes to have immunized 100 million people against Covid-19 by the end of February, a top official said on Wednesday, which is approximately 40% of the country's adult population.

China pushed past the United States in the third quarter to become the European Union's top trade partner, as the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the US while Chinese activity rebounded.

Canada will not agree to lift a ban on non-essential travel with the United States until the coronavirus outbreak is significantly under control around the world, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday.

British Antarctic Survey (BAS) celebrated Antarctica Day in 2020 on December first, with a series of activities to highlight the importance of Antarctic research and operations during a year that marked the 200th anniversary of the discovery of the continent.

The S&P 500 climbed to a record high close on Wednesday and the Nasdaq Composite Index dipped as investors weighed upbeat vaccine developments and a potential coronavirus fiscal package against a bleak private jobs report.

The Falkland Islands Government, both here and in London, have worked hard over the past four years to ensure that the impact of Brexit on the Falkland Islands was fully understood by the UK government.

The United Kingdom steps forward the United States and Europe and became the first Western country to approve a Covid-19 vaccine for general use as it announced on Wednesday a rollout of Pfizer-BioNTech’s drug from next week.