Page 5 - Soft Commodity News Today

PARIS (Reuters) -France and Britain moved to defuse their dispute over fishing on Thursday, with sanctions off the table for now but all options still possible should talks fail, French European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune said. Beaune was speaking after meeting British Brexit minister David Frost in Paris after France and Britain came to the brink of a cross-Channel trade war over fishing. At the heart of the dispute is the number of licences London allocated to French boats after leaving t...

PARIS (Reuters) -France and Britain moved to defuse their dispute over fishing on Thursday, with sanctions off the table for now but all options still possible should talks fail, French European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune said. Beaune was speaking after meeting British Brexit minister David Frost in Paris after France and Britain came to the brink of a cross-Channel trade war over fishing. At the heart of the dispute is the number of licences London allocated to French boats after leaving t...

By Brenda Goh and Dominique Patton SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) - The Chinese government has told families to keep daily necessities in stock in case of emergencies, after COVID-19 outbreaks and unusually heavy rains that caused a surge in vegetable prices raised concerns about supply shortages. The directive by the commerce ministry stirred some concern on domestic social media that it may have been triggered by heightened tensions with Taiwan. In response, the Economic Daily, a Communist Party-b...

By Neha Arora and Mayank Bhardwaj NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Intermittent rain and winds led to a rare drop in pollution in Indias capital last month, with residents breathing the cleanest air in at least four years, but authorities warn that air quality is set to drop sharply in November. A delayed end to the monsoon and a sharp pick-up in wind speeds ensured that the concentration of hazardous, small airborne particles known as PM2.5 in a cubic metre of air averaged 72 in October when air quality ty...

KABUL (Reuters) - For Kabul day labourer Khan Ali, struggling to feed a family of six since losing his job as a market trader, life has become so hard that he jumped on an offer by the cash-strapped Taliban government to pay him in wheat rather than the local afghani currency. For now this is good, at least we will not die of hunger, the 43-year-old told Reuters. In a country where U.N. agencies estimate only 5% of households have enough to eat on a regular basis, the government is giving him 10...

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indias Supreme Court said on Thursday farmers are entitled to protest against the government over three new agricultural laws but protesters cannot block a road indefinitely. For 11 months, tens of thousands of farmers have camped out on major highways around the capital New Delhi to oppose the laws, introduced late last year, in the longest-running growers protest against Prime Minister Narendra Modis government. The farmers have the right to protest, but (they) cannot kee...

By Ueslei Marcelino XINGU INDIGENOUS PARK, Brazil (Reuters) - When a big chief dies on the Xingu indigenous reservation, its tribes gather for a unique funeral ritual called the Kuarup. Wearing body paint and bird feathers, they join in ceremonial dances, combat and feasts to celebrate life, death and rebirth. The loss of Chief Aritana of the Yawalapiti people to COVID-19 in August has shaken the Xingu, leaving its tribes without a strong leader and able negotiator to unite them against mounting...

(Reuters) - British Brexit minister David Frost called in a speech in Lisbon on Tuesday for the European Union to allow significant change to post-Brexit rules governing trade with Northern Ireland. He was speaking a day before the EU presents its proposals to solve a standoff over part of the Brexit divorce deal. Here is an explanation of what is at stake in talks between Britain and the EU on the so-called Northern Ireland protocol. THE PROTOCOL – Both the EU and Britain agreed that keeping ...

By Maytaal Angel LONDON (Reuters) - Coffee farmers in Colombia, the worlds No. 2 arabica producer, have failed to deliver up to 1 million bags of beans this year or nearly 10% of the countrys crop, leaving exporters, traders and roasters facing steep losses, industry sources told Reuters. World coffee prices have soared 55% this year, mainly due to adverse weather in top producer Brazil, prompting Colombian farmers to default on sales clinched when prices were much lower in order to re-sell the ...

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - A three-week blockade of Sudans main port by tribal protesters is causing shortages of wheat and fuel oil for power generation, endangering the countrys already faulty electricity supply, a cabinet minister said on Saturday. Tensions between Sudans military and civilian leaders have been running high in recent weeks, and some civilian figures have accused the military of playing a role in the Beja tribes blockade of Port Sudan, surrounding roads and fuel pipelines. Military ...