Stories for August 7th 2019

Wednesday, August 7th 2019 - 09:58 UTC
Brazil's record on pesticides and weed killers could create problems for the Mercosur/EU trade agreement

Brazil's agriculture minister on Tuesday defended a record number of pesticide and weedkiller approvals this year, saying the government was not “putting poison on anyone's plate.”
Wednesday, August 7th 2019 - 09:51 UTC
Trump will appeal to “every appropriate tool” to end the Maduro regime

The White House said on Tuesday it would use “every appropriate tool” to end the presidency of Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro after President Donald Trump ordered a freeze on the country's US-based assets.
Wednesday, August 7th 2019 - 09:33 UTC
Trump vows to protect US farmers against China and promises further aid

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday vowed to protect US farmers against China by signaling to provide further aid if needed, a day after Chinese firms stopped agricultural purchases and Beijing threatened more tariffs on US farm products.
Wednesday, August 7th 2019 - 09:30 UTC
Applications for Chevening Scholarships to study in the UK open until 5 November

The British Embassy has announced that applications for Chevening Scholarships to study in the UK are open until 5 November 2019.
Wednesday, August 7th 2019 - 09:20 UTC
Cuba to defend itself in US court against oil giant ExxonMobil

Cuba announced on Tuesday it would defend itself in US court against oil giant ExxonMobil, which has accused two companies on the island nation of “unlawful trafficking” of its assets after Fidel Castro's 1959 communist revolution.
Wednesday, August 7th 2019 - 09:15 UTC
El Paso residents tell Trump he is not welcome and to stay away

Residents in majority-Hispanic El Paso told US President Donald Trump on Tuesday to stay away amid fury over his anti-immigration rhetoric as he struggles to unite the country in the wake of mass shootings that killed 32 people.
Wednesday, August 7th 2019 - 09:00 UTC
Armed robbers steal US$ 2 million in gold coins from Mexico's mint

Armed robbers have stolen commemorative gold coins worth more than US$ 2m from Mexico's mint. Two men threatened guards at a branch of the Casa de Moneda in Mexico City before grabbing more than 1,500 coins from a vault, police said.
Wednesday, August 7th 2019 - 09:00 UTC
UK police using drones to watch livestock at night to prevent illegal sheep butchery

Operation Stock is Northamptonshire Police's response to such incidents. Using the drone’s thermal image technology and flying no higher than 400ft, its operators can monitor large rural areas.
Wednesday, August 7th 2019 - 08:50 UTC
Millions of Muslims flock to Mecca for the annual hajj pilgrimage

More than 2.5 million Muslims will on Friday begin the annual hajj pilgrimage in the Islamic holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, against a backdrop of tensions in the Gulf. Crowds of worshippers have already begun to gather in Mecca in the days ahead of the hajj, the focal point of the Islamic calendar.
Wednesday, August 7th 2019 - 08:50 UTC
United States need an independent Federal Reserve

The following article was published 6 August, in the Wall Street Journal, signed by ex-Fed chiefs Paul Volcker, Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke and Janet Yellen. Basically, it states that the US economy functions best when the central bank is free of short-term political pressures.