Stories for August 2019

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.
Wednesday, August 7th 2019 - 08:44 UTC
Sino/US clash eases: Beijing supports Yuan and Washington pledges to continue trade talks

Asian shares steadied slightly on Wednesday as investors caught their breath from a searing week-long selloff, with steps taken by Chinese authorities to contain a sliding Yuan helping calm fears of a full-blown Sino-U.S. trade and currency war.
Wednesday, August 7th 2019 - 08:44 UTC
North Korea with cyber attacks stole US$ 2bn to fund its weapons programs, UN report

North Korea has stolen US$ 2bn to fund its weapons program using cyber-attacks, a leaked United Nations report says. The confidential report says Pyongyang has targeted banks and crypto-currency exchanges to collect cash.
Wednesday, August 7th 2019 - 08:30 UTC
Brazilian police in major operation against the country's most powerful gang

Brazilian police on Tuesday carried out a major operation against the First Capital Command (PCC) gang, in the latest attempt to try to hobble the country’s most powerful and sophisticated organized crime group.
Wednesday, August 7th 2019 - 08:20 UTC
Brazilian drug dealer who failed in attempt to escape dressed as his daughter, found dead in his cell

Prison authorities in Brazil have found convicted drug dealer Clauvino da Silva dead in his cell, three days after an elaborate escape was foiled. Prison officials said it appeared that Silva had hanged himself.
Tuesday, August 6th 2019 - 12:55 UTC
No end in Brazil to controversy, while deforestation continues: 67% increase over the same period last year

Deforestation in Brazil's rainforest has jumped around 67% in the first seven months of the year, according to preliminary data from Brazil's space research agency, which the government has attacked as misleading and harmful to the national interest.
Tuesday, August 6th 2019 - 10:30 UTC
The Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt stretches 5.592 miles, fed with rich nutrients from farms along the Amazon river

Slimy, stinky brown seaweed that ruins beachgoers' vacations from Mexico to Florida may be the new normal unless Brazil halts Amazon deforestation, experts say. The culprit, called sargassum, turns clear-blue seawater a murky brown and smells like rotten eggs when it washes ashore and starts to rot.