Stories for February 2019

Tuesday, February 12th 2019 - 09:55 UTC
Unexpected meeting of Uruguay and Argentina to address the Venezuelan situation

Presidents from Uruguay and Argentina, Tabare Vazquez and Mauricio Macri, will be meeting on Wednesday to discuss an open agenda, but which according to Buenos Aires sources will be centered on the Venezuelan situation, where the two countries hold different positions. The meeting is scheduled to take place in Colonia, at the Anchorena Park, which is an official resting place of the Uruguayan Executive, and a twenty minutes helicopter flight distance from Buenos Aires.
Tuesday, February 12th 2019 - 09:51 UTC
Brazil ready to provide humanitarian aid to Venezuela through Roraima

Venezuelan opposition envoy Maria Teresa Belandria was received as her country’s official ambassador in Brazil on Monday and said Brazil’s government would provide all possible support to get humanitarian aid to the border.
Tuesday, February 12th 2019 - 09:47 UTC
Guaido delivers a “symbolic” first cargo of humanitarian aid

Venezuela’s opposition leader, Juan Guaido, said on Monday his team had delivered a first cargo of the humanitarian aid that has become a flashpoint in his tussle with President Nicolas Maduro, without specifying how it had received it.
Tuesday, February 12th 2019 - 09:43 UTC
Tudder, the livestock Tinder, helps farmers find the perfect breeding for their cattle

Following the example of dating and matchmaking Tinder, UK farming start-up Hectare has launched its own equivalent for livestock and called it Tudder. The app features data profiles of animals from 42,000 UK farms in an effort to help farmers find the perfect breeding partner for their cattle.
Tuesday, February 12th 2019 - 09:41 UTC
UK and Switzerland sign a post-Brexit “continuity agreement” on trade

The UK and Switzerland have signed a deal to continue trading after Brexit as they did before it. The “continuity agreement” - based on the EU's existing free trade deal with Switzerland - was agreed in December but ratified on Monday.
Tuesday, February 12th 2019 - 09:36 UTC
UK food industry blasts the “catastrophic impact” of a no-deal Brexit

The UK food industry has threatened to stop co-operating with government policy consultations, saying it is busy trying to stave off the “catastrophic impact” of a no-deal Brexit. The warning came in a letter to Environment Secretary Michael Gove from more than 30 business leaders.
Tuesday, February 12th 2019 - 09:30 UTC
Mrs. May to tell Parliament Brexit talks at crucial stage: “we need to hold our nerve”

Prime Minister Theresa May will tell British lawmakers this Tuesday they must hold their nerve over Brexit to force the European Union to accept changes to the divorce deal that would pave the way for an orderly exit.
Tuesday, February 12th 2019 - 09:29 UTC
“Good” insects declining dramatically while houseflies and cockroaches’ boom

Scientific review of insect numbers suggests that 40% of species are undergoing “dramatic rates of decline” around the world. The study says that bees, ants and beetles are disappearing eight times faster than mammals, birds or reptiles. But researchers say that some species, such as houseflies and cockroaches, are likely to boom.
Tuesday, February 12th 2019 - 09:24 UTC
China iron ore futures soar on concerns over the Vale tragedy in Brazil

China iron ore futures rose to a record on Monday, the first session after a week-long national holiday, on concerns that supply from Brazil, the country’s second-largest ore supplier, may decline after a fatal dam accident at a Vale mine.
Monday, February 11th 2019 - 09:36 UTC
Shackleton blog: Agulhas II positioned where the Endurance went down crushed by ice

South African icebreaker Agulhas II, 05.24 hours GMT. Ice Pilot Freddie Ligthelm over ship’s intercom: “Good Morning from the Bridge. This is to say we have reached the Endurance sinking position. Lekker Lekker Lekker [Afrikaans for “Nice, Nice, Nice”]”