International

• Thursday, August 8th 2019 - 08:35 UTC

  Hero reception in Colombia for Bernal, winner of the Tour de France

  

  The Colombian city of Zipaquirá has welcomed home local hero Egan Bernal, 10 days after he won the Tour de France. Last month the 22-year-old became the first Colombian to win cycling's most prestigious race - and its youngest champion in 110 years. Thousands of people gathered in the town's central square as early as 05:00.

• 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 - 09:33 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 - 09:00 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 - 08:44 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.

• 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.

• Tuesday, August 6th 2019 - 10:01 UTC

  British Foreign secretary Raab travels to US, Canada and Mexico to boost trade, ahead of Brexit

  

  British foreign minister Dominic Raab will travel to Canada, the United States and Mexico this week to seek to boost ties with non-European countries ahead of Brexit, his office said.