Politics

• Monday, July 6th 2020 - 06:48 UTC

  British historian who said slavery was not genocide, quits Cambridge University

  

  A British royal historian who said slavery was not genocide has quit his honorary position at Cambridge University and been dropped by his publisher HarperCollins. The comments from Professor David Starkey came during a period of soul searching in Britain over its colonial past.

• Saturday, July 4th 2020 - 08:28 UTC

  Bolsonaro waters down law making it mandatory to wear face masks in public places

  

  Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro on Friday watered down a law requiring the wearing of face masks in public places to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The far-right leader used his veto power to remove articles obliging people to wear masks in shops and churches.

• Saturday, July 4th 2020 - 08:20 UTC

  Portuguese tourism industry furious with England over the quarantine measures

  

  Portugal's tourism sector reacted with fury and disbelief at Britain's decision to maintain a quarantine regime for travelers coming from Portugal despite having a higher number of coronavirus cases and deaths.

• Saturday, July 4th 2020 - 08:15 UTC

  Trudeau not sure he will attend trade treaty celebration in Washington with Trump and Lopez Obrador

  

  Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday he was still unsure whether he would go to Washington DC next week to celebrate a new North American trade treaty, citing concern about possible US tariffs on aluminum.

• Saturday, July 4th 2020 - 08:00 UTC

  International banks accuse Argentine major soy crusher of “diverting hundreds of millions of dollars” in a US court

  

  Banks owed money by cash-strapped Argentine soy crusher Vicentin are accusing the company of diverting hundreds of millions of dollars and have asked a U.S. court to subpoena records as part of a lawsuit, including wire transfers and bank statements.

• Saturday, July 4th 2020 - 07:30 UTC

  Monuments vandalizing spree: Copenhagen's Little Mermaid described as a “racist fish”

  

  Denmark woke up on Friday to the words “racist fish” scrawled across the base of the Little Mermaid, the bronze statue honoring Hans Christian Andersen's famous fairy tale that perches on a rock in the sea off a pier in Copenhagen.

• Saturday, July 4th 2020 - 07:27 UTC

  Putin mocks US embassy in Moscow for flying a rainbow flag to celebrate LGBT rights

  

  President Vladimir Putin on Friday mocked the US embassy in Moscow for flying a rainbow flag to celebrate LGBT rights, suggesting it reflected the sexual orientation of its staff.

• Saturday, July 4th 2020 - 07:15 UTC

  UN questions as “vague and overly broad” Hong Kong's national security law

  

  The UN human rights office voiced concern on Friday that “vague and overly broad” provisions in the national security law for Hong Kong may lead to arbitrary interpretation and prosecutions of activists in violation of freedoms of assembly and expression.

• Saturday, July 4th 2020 - 07:09 UTC

  Germany makes up skirting a criminal offence punishable with up two years in prison

  

  Germany is making up-skirting, surreptitiously taking photographs or filming under a person's clothing, a criminal offense punishable with fines or up to two years in prison.

• Saturday, July 4th 2020 - 07:05 UTC

  Angela Merkel wears a face mask in the Bundesrat

  

  German Chancellor Angela Merkel made her first public appearance wearing a mask on Friday after dismissing accusations of hypocrisy earlier this week for not wearing one.