Stories for August 17th 2019

Saturday, August 17th 2019 - 09:29 UTC
Steel has been cut for the Royal Navy’s second Type 26 frigate, HMS Cardiff.

The ceremony held at BAE System’s shipyard in Govan this week, on the River Clyde, marks a milestone for the Global Combat Ship program. Minister for Defense Procurement, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, pressed the button to start the plasma-cutting machine to work on a plate of steel which will form part of the unit which holds stores.
Saturday, August 17th 2019 - 09:22 UTC
Falklands' wildlife recorded on the book “Britain's Distant Lands”

The author of the bestselling book Britain’s Treasure Islands is releasing a new work, with a section dedicated to the Falkland Islands. Britain’s Distant Lands by Stewart McPherson is a 208 page, landscape-format examination of the wildlife of all the UK Overseas Territories.
Saturday, August 17th 2019 - 09:13 UTC
Maduro and Guaidó fight for the Venezuelan prized Citgo refineries in the US

The government of President Nicolas Maduro on Thursday nullified the newly named board of Venezuela’s prized Citgo refineries in the U.S. amid a political battle for control of the country, saying opposition leaders had no right to appoint them.
Saturday, August 17th 2019 - 09:09 UTC
Beware if traveling to US: airports clogged because of security systems outage

Thousands of travelers at US airports faced delays on Friday because of a nationwide outage of US Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) processing systems that lasted several hours.
Saturday, August 17th 2019 - 08:53 UTC
Fitch downgrades Argentina's long term debt, fearing the risk of default

Argentina's Peso ended a tumultuous week on Friday having shed 20% in its value against the dollar as Fitch cut the South American country's long-term debt by two notches, citing increased uncertainty and a rising risk of default.
Saturday, August 17th 2019 - 07:40 UTC
Trump's attempt to purchase Greenland, puts the Arctic in the geostrategic global map

President Donald Trump's reported wish to buy Greenland may have been rejected by Denmark, but it underscores the rapidly rising value of the massive, ice-covered island due to global warming and to China's drive for an Arctic presence.
Saturday, August 17th 2019 - 07:29 UTC
WTO agrees to a Beijing request for a dispute channel on solar channels and US tariffs

The World Trade Organization agreed on Thursday to China's request to create a dispute panel tasked with judging whether US tariffs on solar panels violate international trade rules. The trade restrictions were imposed by Donald Trump's administration last year, part of a raft of measures initiated by Washington that have triggered a tit-for-tat tariff war between the world's top two economies.
Saturday, August 17th 2019 - 07:00 UTC
Trump reveals “productive” trade talks with Beijing and anticipates a “fairly short war”

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that U.S. and Chinese negotiators were holding “productive” trade talks and expected them to meet in September despite U.S. tariffs on over US$125 billion worth of Chinese imports taking effect Sept 1.
Saturday, August 17th 2019 - 06:47 UTC
Bolsonaro administration has privatized some US$ 20bn of assets

Brazil has privatized nearly US$ 20bn of assets and investments since the election of right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro, according to a government minister. Secretary of state for privatization, divestment and markets Salim Mattar announced that the government’s sweeping program of privatization was going as planned.
Saturday, August 17th 2019 - 02:41 UTC
Global meeting to regulate trade in 18 types of shark and ray; 30 countries back proposals

Dozens of countries will push at a global meeting for regulations on trade in 18 types of shark and ray, with conservationists warning of looming extinction for many species. “Sharks and rays are pretty much unmanaged still in fisheries around the world and are disappearing before our eyes,” Luke Warwick of the Wildlife Conservation Society told reporters in Geneva.