Stories for October 17th 2019

Thursday, October 17th 2019 - 15:25 UTC
UK and US raid “dark web” of child pornography: 337 arrests in 38 countries

UK and US authorities investigating a “dark web” child pornography site run from South Korea on Wednesday announced the arrest of 337 suspects in 38 countries. Britain's National Crime Agency (NCA) said the “Welcome to Video” site contained 250,000 videos that were downloaded a million times by users across the world.
Thursday, October 17th 2019 - 15:23 UTC
Thousands of protesting Dutch farmers laid siege to Parliament in The Hague

Thousands of tractor-driving Dutch farmers stepped up protests on Wednesday against the government's climate policies, prompting authorities to block off parliament with army vehicles. In the second national demonstration in three weeks against government plans to curb nitrogen emissions, farmers laid siege to the country's seat of power in The Hague, causing widespread travel disruption.
Thursday, October 17th 2019 - 15:01 UTC
China's hog production expected to bounce back to normal levels in 2020

China's hog production is expected to bottom out before the end of 2019 and recover to normal levels in 2020, an agriculture ministry official said on Thursday.
Thursday, October 17th 2019 - 09:56 UTC
Argentina has bent over to please the UK while gaining nothing in return

By Facundo Rodriguez (*) - It's now been three years since the British and Argentine governments signed the Foradori-Duncan agreement and committed to taking “appropriate measures to remove all obstacles limiting the economic growth and sustainable development” of the Falkland/Malvinas Islands.
Thursday, October 17th 2019 - 09:55 UTC
Brexit concerns blowing gale across nervous Falklands

The following piece on the Falklands and Brexit was distributed by the French news agency, AFP, both in English and Spanish. - It may be a remote archipelago 13,000km from mainland Britain but the Falkland Islands' incredible biodiversity, as well as fishing and meat exports, are under threat from Brexit.
Thursday, October 17th 2019 - 09:54 UTC
September inflation in Argentina reaches 5.9% and 53.5% in twelve months

Argentina consumer prices rose 5.9% in September, the country’s statistics agency said on Wednesday, the sharpest jump in a year amid a flaring economic crisis in Latin America’s no. 3 economy. That brought year-to-date inflation to 37.7%, the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INDEC) said, while rolling 12-month inflation was running at 53.5%.
Thursday, October 17th 2019 - 09:51 UTC
Brazil's Economy minister cancels trip to IMF assembly to ensure pension reform approval

Brazil’s Economy Minister Paulo Guedes has canceled a trip to the International Monetary Fund’s annual meeting (IMF) in Washington, to deal with his economic agenda, the ministry said on Wednesday, as the government’s pension reform plan winds its way through Congress.
Thursday, October 17th 2019 - 09:50 UTC
Brazilian police launch corruption probe into Bolsonaro's party head

Brazilian police launched a corruption probe this week into the head of President Jair Bolsonaro’s right-wing Social Liberal Party (PSL) Luciano Bivar, a police source revealed, adding to tensions within the fractious governing coalition.
Thursday, October 17th 2019 - 09:49 UTC
Syria: Trump tells Turkish president: “Don't be a tough guy” and “Don't be a fool!”

President Donald Trump told Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in a letter about Turkey's incursion into Syria, “Don't be a tough guy” and “Don't be a fool!”
Thursday, October 17th 2019 - 09:47 UTC
Trump calls Nancy Pelosi a “third rate politician”; President experienced a “meltdown”

Top congressional Democrats walked out of a fractious White House meeting on Syria policy on Wednesday when US President Donald Trump attacked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as a “third-rate politician.”