The main suspect in New Zealand's worst peacetime mass shooting intended to continue the rampage before he was caught by police, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Saturday. She also vowed to change New Zealand gun laws.
Forty-nine people have been killed and at least 20 wounded in shootings at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison described one alleged gunman, who had Australian citizenship, as an “extremist, right-wing” terrorist.
While experts struggle to pinpoint the original source of the Mycoplasma bovis outbreak, New Zealand Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor says resources may be better spent on bio security systems that prevent similar outbreaks. Last May the New Zeland government announced it would try to eradicate the disease, which can cause mastitis and abortions in cows, ordering a phased culling program that's expected to cost close to US$ 700 million.
The European Union on Monday adopted quotas for farming produce it will accept from third countries after Britain leaves the bloc and acknowledged this could happen before it has concluded talks with them on the subject.
Like it happened in the Falkland Islands earlier in the month a group of up to 145 pilot whales have died after becoming stranded on a beach on Stewart Island in New Zealand. The animals were discovered by walkers late on Saturday, strewn along the beach of Mason Bay.
Farmers, dairy product manufacturers and trade representatives in Uruguay and Argentina are hearing a New Zealand take on current agricultural issues this week.
International food commodity prices dipped in October, as falling dairy, meat and vegetable oils prices more than offset a surge in sugar prices, the United Nations said. The FAO Food Price Index, a measure of the monthly change in international prices of a basket of food commodities, averaged 163.5 points in October, down 0.9 percent from September and 7.4 percent below its level a year earlier.
Australia and other anti-whaling nations are seeking a showdown with Japan as Tokyo attempts to resume commercial whaling later this year. Japanese officials have reportedly confirmed the country's attempt to alter voting rules and allow hunting of whale species with healthy numbers at an International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting in Brazil in September.
Global agricultural food commodity prices rose in May, with dairy prices jumping significantly. The FAO Food Price Index averaged 176.2 points during the month, up 1.2% from April.
New Zealand, which produces three percent of the world’s milk, announced this week its plan to cull about 150,000 cows to eradicate the disease Mycoplasma bovis. The largest mass animal slaughter in the country’s history will cost some US$ 612 million. If successful, it would be the first time an infected country has eliminated the disease-causing bacteria.