Watch Your Language: Tasty Words ‘Luring’ People to Healthier Foods

Rich and zesty or low fat and vegan? Clever marketing with mouth-watering words can boost sales of plant-based dishes by more than 70 percent, experts said Tuesday, amid a drive to cut meat intake to improve human and planetary health. Describing sausages as “Cumberland-spiced” rather than “meat-free” and promoting a soup as “Cuban” instead of “low fat vegetarian” increased sales in British and U.S. cafes, found research by the World Resources Institute (WRI) think tank. “Right now, the predominant language is ‘meat-free’, ‘vegan’ and ‘vegetarian’ and that doesn’t have associations with deliciousness,” said Daniel Vennard, head of WRI’s Better Buying Lab, which aims to get people to eat more sustainable foods. “Language isn’t a silver bullet, but it’s going to have a key role in reframing the food and luring in a whole new set of the population,” he told Reuters. Many people in the United States and Europe eat more than double the recommended levels of meat for their health and experts say reducing consumption of animal products would be a relatively easy way to tackle climate change. Scientists unveiled in January what they said was an ideal diet — doubling consumption of nuts, fruits, vegetables and legumes, and halving meat and sugar intake — which could prevent 11 million premature deaths and cut planet-heating emissions. But vegans are often seen as weak hippies and consumers dismiss vegetarian meals as bland, the WRI’s two-year study found, urging restaurants and retailers to emphasize instead the provenance, flavor, look and feel …

Hospital Radiologists Can Help Detect Domestic Violence, Researchers Say

Radiologists, who typically interact little with patients, can play a key role in identifying victims of abuse by spotting patterns of injuries that point to domestic violence, researchers said Tuesday. Abuse victims, most often women, have more face, skull and arm fractures than other patients, combined with high rates of asthma, chronic pain and suicide attempts, a team at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston reported. The signs of abuse can be detected by radiologists, who specialize in interpreting images such as X-rays, given that such victims undergo four times more emergency-related imaging exams than other patients, the researchers said. The abuse can be physical, sexual and psychological, they said. “There’s a wealth of information that’s available to us as radiologists,” said Dr. Elizabeth George, chief resident in the department of radiology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a lead researcher of the report. “There might be indications on the prior imaging, and if you see a pattern, that could alert you to something else going on in this case, such as violence.” The World Health Organization reports that one in three women experiences physical or sexual violence in her lifetime. The Violence Policy Center, a research and advocacy group focused on gun violence, reported that more than half the women murdered in the United States last year were killed by current or former romantic partners. Signs of abuse can be easily missed in a busy hospital emergency department, George said. The researchers also said hospital records may not identify …

Facebook дозволив повністю видаляти відправлені повідомлення

У месенджері Facebook з’явилася можливість видалення відправлених повідомлень у всіх учасників переписки. Таку опцію додали в нові версії програми Messenger для iOS та Android. Щоб видалити повідомлення, потрібно два рази торкнутися його на екрані. З’явиться спливаюче меню, в якому користувач зможе вибрати один з варіантів – або приховати повідомлення від усіх співрозмовників, або, як було раніше, тільки від самого себе. Видаляти повідомлення у всіх учасників розмови можна буде лише протягом 10 хвилин після їх відправлення. Потому нова функція працювати перестає. Facebook – найбільша у світі соціальна мережа, що почала працювати 4 лютого 2004 року. Засновником та головою сервісу є Марк Цукерберг. …

Будівельні роботи в аеропорту Одеси планують завершити цього року – Омелян

Завершити будівельні роботи в аеропорту Одеси та ввести об’єкт в експлуатацію планують до кінця 2019 року. Про це 5 лютого заявив міністр інфраструктури України Володимир Омелян, повідомляє прес-служба міністерства. «У період з грудня 2017 по січень 2019 року на летовище «Одеса» виділено 922 мільйонів гривень. У 2019 році при виділенні 757,94 мільйона гривень планується завершення всього комплексу будівельних робіт в аеропорту Одеси та введення об’єкта в експлуатацію», – зазначив Омелян. Він підкреслив, що розвиток регіональних летовищ вимагає інвестицій і часу. «Але це – ті інфраструктурні проекти, ефект від яких ми відчуватимемо і через рік, і через 10 років», – сказав міністр. У Мінінфраструктури розповіли, що до пріоритетних проектів також належить реконструкція аеродрому комунального підприємства «Аеропорт Вінниця», на реалізацію якого цього року спрямують 1 мільярд гривень, а загалом проект обійдеться у 2,2 мільярди гривень. Серед інших проектів – розвиток інфраструктури львівського аеропорту імені Данила Галицького та початок робіт із будівництва нового летовища в селі Солоне Дніпропетровської області. …

Долар впав до п’ятимісячного мінімуму – НБУ

Долар впав до п’ятимісячного мінімуму, свідчать дані на сайті Національного банку України. З 28 січня його вартість стосовно гривні знизилася на 60 копійок: на 6 лютого офіційний курс встановлений на рівні 27 гривень 21 копійки. Востаннє ціна національної валюти перебувала нижче цього рівня 10 серпня 2018 року. …

AP Source: Trump to Tap Critic of Agency to Lead World Bank

President Donald Trump plans to nominate David Malpass, a Trump administration critic of the World Bank, to lead the institution.   That’s according to a senior administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official wasn’t authorized to comment publicly on personnel decisions.   Trump is expected to make an announcement later this week.   Malpass, the undersecretary for international affairs at the Treasury Department, has been a sharp critic of the World Bank, especially over its lending to China.   Malpass would succeed Jim Yong Kim, who announced in January that he is stepping down three years before his term was set to expire.   The final decision on a successor to Kim will be up to the bank’s board.   Politico was first to report on the nomination.     …

АРМА отримало майже 25 мільйонів гривень від реалізації заарештованих активів у 2019 році

Національне агентство України з питань виявлення, розшуку та управління одержаними від злочинів (АРМА) активами отримало майже 25 мільйонів гривень від реалізації заарештованих активів з початку 2019 року. Кошти розміщені на депозитному рахунку АРМА у державному банку. «Якщо власників арештованих активів визнають винними або в рамках кримінального провадження буде доведено, що ці активи є похідними від злочину, тоді кошти, отримані від їх реалізації, підлягають конфіскації і будуть перераховані до держбюджету. Якщо ж власників арештованих активів виправдають, то кошти будуть повернуті з відсотками», – пояснив начальник управління з питань управління активами АРМА Віталій Різник. У грудні 2018 року очільник АРМА Антон Янчук розповів, що загальна вартість заарештованих активів перевищила 3,5 мільярда гривень, йдеться про понад 700 об’єктів. АРМА було створене наприкінці 2016 року за аналогом установ, які успішно функціонують у державах-членах Європейського союзу. Нацагентство реалізує активи, заарештовані у кримінальному провадженні, з метою збереження чи збільшення їхньої економічної вартості. Для цього АРМА проводить аукціон, на якому обирає компанію-управителя. У разі скасування арешту – майно повертають власнику. …

«Мала» приватизація принесе державі майже 735 млн гривень – Мінекономрозвитку

Україна отримає понад 735 мільйонів гривень завдяки вже завершеним аукціонам з «малої» приватизації, повідомило Міністерство економічного розвитку у Twitter. «Гарні новини від «Prozorro.Продажі». У системі завершилось 567 аукціонів з малої приватизації – вони принесуть державі понад 735 мільйонів гривень», – розповіли у відомстві. У Мінекономрозвитку заявили, що початкова вартість об’єктів була 395 мільйонів гривень. Завдяки конкуренції їхня ціна зросла в середньому на 86%. «Prozorro.Продажі» – це система з реалізації активів неплатоспроможних банків, оренди та продажу державного та комунального майна. Станом на кінець грудня система заробила 12,2 мільярда гривень. …

Two Thirds of Himalayan Glaciers Could Melt if Global Climate Goals Fail: New Study

Failure to meet global climate goals could lead to warming of five degrees celsius in the Himalayan mountains and a loss of two-thirds of the region’s glaciers by the year 2100, with disastrous consequences for water supplies and food production for about two billion people in eight Asian countries, warns a new study. Meeting the Paris agreement goals of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees celsius will slow down the process, but one third of the region’s glaciers are still set to disappear according to the Nepal-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, which conducted the five-year study. The problem is being exacerbated by severe air pollution in parts of the region. “Big hit on agriculture, changing rainfall patterns, so what this translates into is sometimes too much water, sometimes too little water, and so we see the hazard of floods increasing or landslides, ” according to David Molden, Director General of ICIMOD. Pointing out that there has been far too little attention on this mountain hotspot, he says “It’s basically a highly vulnerable region to disasters because of these changes.” The Hindu Kush Himalayan region covered by the study spans 3,500 kilometers across Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan. According to the report, the ice masses on the Himalayas have been thinning and retreating since global warming set in and the present pace of warming will spike temperatures in mountain areas by 5 degrees celsius, whereas limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees by the end of the century …

US Trade Agency Sees Negotiating New WTO Rules to Rein in China as Futile

Negotiating new World Trade Organization rules to try to rein in China’s “mercantilist” trade practices would be largely a futile exercise, the Trump administration’s trade office said on Monday, vowing to pursue its unilateral approach to protect U.S. workers, farmers and businesses. The U.S. Trade Representative’s office used its annual report to Congress on China’s WTO compliance in part to justify its actions in a six-month trade war with Beijing aimed at forcing changes in China’s economic model. The report also reflects the United States’ continued frustration with the WTO’s inability to curb what it sees as China’s trade-distorting non-market economic policies, and offered little hope that situation could change soon. “It is unrealistic to expect success in any negotiation of new WTO rules that would restrict China’s current approach to the economy and trade in a meaningful way,” the USTR said in the report. Some U.S. allies, including Canada, the European Union and Japan, which are also frustrated with pressures created by China’s economic policies, have begun talks on the first potential changes and modernization of WTO rules since it was founded in 1995. But any WTO rule changes must be agreed by all 164 member nations, and past efforts have stalled. It was “highly unlikely” China would agree to new disciplines targeting changes to its trade practices and economic system, the USTR said. Tariff deadline The report shed little light on progress in talks between the United States and China to ease a bruising tariff fight, despite a …

Brazil Mulls Minimum Retirement Age of 65 for Men and Women

Brazil’s government has opened discussions with congressional leaders, state governors and mayors on a pension reform bill that would set the minimum retirement age for men and women at 65, a government official said on Monday. The proposal is one of several under consideration, as President Jair Bolsonaro looks to get the legislative ball rolling on his ambitious plans to overhaul Brazil’s creaking social security system. Currently, if workers have contributed into the system for at least 15 years, the earliest men can retire is 65 and for women it is 60. But men can retire at any age if they have paid into the system for at least 35 years, and women if they have contributed for 30 years. Speaking to reporters outside the Economy Ministry in Brasilia, Rogerio Marinho, secretary of social security and labor at the ministry, confirmed talks were underway on the proposal to change that. Part of the proposal, which was originally reported by O Estado de Sao Paulo newspaper, stipulates that workers must pay into the system for a minimum of 20 years. “Until a draft has been finalized, Bolsonaro cannot confirm anything on social security,” Bolsonaro’s spokesman Otavio Rego Barros said on Monday. Bolsonaro has put overhauling social security at the top of his agenda. Depending on the final proposals, it could save up to 1.3 trillion reais ($354 billion) over the next decade, economy ministry sources reckon. Investors have pinned much of their optimistic outlook for Brazil this year on Bolsonaro delivering …

For Migrants in Russia, Shattered Dreams and Uncertain Futures

Long before she became just one of the financially destitute legions of street sweepers that dot Moscow’s bitterly cold winter landscape, Shaknoza Ishankulova had simply wanted to do the right thing. It was 2008, and the recent Uzbekistan National University graduate was ecstatic to secure a teaching post at a Tashkent high school, finally making good use of her diploma in secondary education. Twenty-two years old and eager to guide younger Uzbeks toward a better life, she was shaken when Uzbekistan’s notoriously vast culture of entrenched corruption revealed itself in the form of a personal mentor and supervisor — a deputy principal at the school who notified her that, if she wished to keep her job, a full third of her weekly salary would have to be kicked back to him. It was his cut, he explained, for having hired her in the first place. Years passed before Shaknoza gathered the courage to broach the issue with the school’s principal, a suspiciously wealthy public servant who promptly dismissed the complaint as naively frivolous. Taking her cue from the anti-corruption initiatives she had seen in Uzbekistan, marketed in the form of public service announcements since 2005, Shaknoza escalated her complaint to Russia’s Ministry of Education, and was summarily placed on paid leave pending further investigation.  Two years and a cancer battle later, Shaknoza’s case had wound its way through ministry proceedings, leaving her fate in the hands of her employer, who summarily fired her, demanded reimbursement for the two years of …

Trump Likely to Take Credit for US Economic Success in State of Union Speech

U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to praise the U.S. economy and insist on the need for a physical barrier on the U.S. border with Mexico in his upcoming state of the union address. Trump’s address was originally scheduled for Jan. 29, but has been postponed for Feb. 5 (Tuesday) due the longest-ever U.S. government shutdown, caused by the rift between the Republican president and the Democratic majority in Congress over the funding for the border wall. VOA’s Zlatica Hoke reports. …

Handheld Cancer Detector Works in Hours Not Days

February 4 is designated as World Cancer Day, and the disease remains one of the world’s leading causes of death. Last year, there were close to two million new cases of cancer worldwide and more than 600-thousand people died of the disease. But progress is being made. Cancer mortality rates have been going down for decades, and new technology is making early detection easier. VOA’s Kevin Enochs reports. …

Chronic Pain Given as Top Reason for Using Medical Marijuana

Chronic pain is the most common reason people give when they enroll in state-approved medical marijuana programs.   That’s followed by stiffness from multiple sclerosis and chemotherapy-related nausea, according to an analysis of 15 states published Monday in the journal Health Affairs.   The study didn’t measure whether marijuana actually helped anyone with their problems, but the patients’ reasons match up with what’s known about the science of marijuana and its chemical components.   “The majority of patients for whom we have data are using cannabis for reasons where the science is the strongest,” said lead author Kevin Boehnke of University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. California became the first state to allow medical use of marijuana in 1996. More than 30 states now allow marijuana for dozens of health problems. Lists of allowable conditions vary by state, but in general, a doctor must certify a patient has an approved diagnosis.   While the U.S. government has approved medicines based on compounds found in the plant, it considers marijuana illegal and imposes limits on research. That’s led to states allowing some diseases and symptoms where rigorous science is lacking. Most of the evidence comes from studying pharmaceuticals based on marijuana ingredients, not from studies of smoked marijuana or edible forms.   Dementia and glaucoma, for example, are conditions where marijuana hasn’t proved valuable, but some states include them. Many states allow Parkinson’s disease or post-traumatic stress disorder where evidence is limited.   The analysis is based on 2016 data from …

Report: Huawei CFO May Fight Extradition by Claiming US Political Motive

Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, who was arrested in Canada and faces possible extradition to the United States, is exploring a defense that claims U.S. charges against her are politically motivated, the Globe and Mail newspaper reported on Monday. Meng, the chief financial officer of China’s Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., is the central figure in a high-stakes dispute between the United States and China. Canada arrested Meng in December at the request of the United States and last month she was charged with wire fraud that violated U.S. sanctions on Iran. “The political overlay of this case is remarkable,” Richard Peck, lead counsel for Meng, told the Toronto newspaper in a telephone interview. “That’s probably the one thing that sets it apart from any other extradition case I’ve ever seen. It’s got this cloud of politicization hanging over it,” Peck added. The office of Canadian Justice Minister David Lametti and Peck did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A Huawei spokesman declined comment. In December, U.S. President Donald Trump said in a Reuters interview he would intervene in the Justice Department’s case against Meng if it would serve national security interests or help close a trade deal with China. Canada fired John McCallum, its ambassador to China, in January after he said Meng could make a strong argument against being sent to the United States. “He [Mr. McCallum] mentions some of the potential defenses – and certainly, I think any person that knows this area would see the potential for …

Tech Women in Silicon Valley Likely to Be Foreign-Born

Pushpa Ithal may not fit the stereotype of the typical Silicon Valley CEO — she’s female, foreign-born, and a mother. Nevertheless, Ithal is an entrepreneur, living the Silicon Valley dream of running her own startup. Like her, many foreign-born tech women are finding a place in the Valley — as tech companies have become more and more dependent on foreign-born workers to create their products and services. Silicon Valley, the global center for high-tech innovation, could be renamed “Immigrant Valley.” When it comes to technical talent, the engine of Silicon Valley is fueled by foreign-born workers, many of whom are from humble roots. And having worked hard to get here, many have ambitions beyond their day jobs. One of them is Ithal. On Sundays, she and her two children, ages 5 and 10, pick out the clothes the kids will wear the coming week. Each outfit is placed on a labeled hanger. Then she does the same with the week’s snacks. “So there are no surprises for the kids,” Ithal said. Being organized is one of Ithal’s strategies for juggling parenting and running her own startup. And while that juggle is commonplace in Silicon Valley, Ithal is part of a distinct club — foreign-born women in tech.  Hailing from countries such as India and China, these women make up the majority of all women in certain Silicon Valley fields and are often the only females on male-dominated teams in tech companies.  Their uniqueness does not stop there. Foreign-born women in …

Check Your Compass: Magnetic North Pole Is on Move

True north isn’t quite where it used to be. Earth’s north magnetic pole has been drifting so fast in the last few decades that scientists that past estimates are no longer accurate enough for precise navigation. On Monday, they released an update of where true north really was, nearly a year ahead of schedule. The magnetic north pole is wandering about 34 miles (55 kilometers) a year. It crossed the international date line in 2017, and is leaving the Canadian Arctic on its way to Siberia. The constant shift is a problem for compasses in smartphones and some consumer electronics. Airplanes and boats also rely on magnetic north, usually as backup navigation, said University of Colorado geophysicist Arnaud Chulliat, lead author of the newly issued World Magnetic Model. GPS isn’t affected because it’s satellite-based. Magnetic north has military uses The military depends on where magnetic north is for navigation and parachute drops, while NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration and U.S. Forest Service also use it. Airport runway names are based on their direction toward magnetic north and their names change when the poles moved. For example, the airport in Fairbanks, Alaska, renamed a runway 1L-19R to 2L-20R in 2009. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and United Kingdom tend to update the location of the magnetic north pole every five years in December, but this update came early because of the pole’s faster movement. The movement of the magnetic north pole “is pretty fast,” Chulliat said.  Pole’s pace has increased …

Zimbabwe Teachers to Strike, Ignoring Government Appeal

Zimbabwean teachers will go ahead with a national strike from Tuesday after last-ditch negotiations with the government failed, unions said, risking more unrest after violent protests last month. The main public sector union backed down last week on its plan to strike for better pay, citing a volatile situation after security forces cracked down on protesters in January, but teachers said they would go ahead with a work stoppage. Government officials met teachers’ unions on Monday in Harare to try to dissuade them from walking out, and to continue negotiations, but without success. The country’s 305,000 government workers are demanding wage rises and payments in dollars to help them to deal with spiraling inflation and an economic crisis that has sapped supplies of cash, fuel and medicines in state hospitals. The Zimbabwe Teachers Union and Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ), the two biggest teachers’ unions, said their demands had not been met and the strike was on from Tuesday. “There is no going back, the strike is indefinite. But if government concedes to our demands tomorrow, we will call it off,” said PTUZ secretary general Raymond Majongwe. Education Minister Paul Mavhima said he had pleaded with unions to give talks a chance as the government seeks ways to address some of their grievances. “They should be guided by considerations of the bigger national interests and in this case it is the welfare of learners,” Mavhima told reporters. Zimbabwe was thrown into turmoil last month when a three-day stay-at-home strike …

US, China Will Be Big Losers in Tit-for-Tat Trade Wars, UN Report Says

A new report from U.N. Conference on Trade and Development warns the U.S.-China trade wars will negatively impact international trade, with the two economic superpowers emerging among the biggest losers. U.S.-China trade discussions are underway.  If no agreement is reached by March 1, tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods will increase from 10 percent to 25 percent.  A new UNCTAD study warns the repercussions on international trade will be massive, leading to a downturn in the global economy and instability in commodities and financial markets. Pamela Coke-Hamilton, director of UNCTAD’s Division on International Trade in Goods and Services, and Commodities, said small — and lower — income countries will suffer, as their exposure to external shocks will make it very difficult for them to maintain any level of resilience. “Stagflation leading to job losses and higher unemployment and more importantly, the possibility of a contagion effect, or what we call a reactionary effect, leading to a cascade of other trade distortionary measures because everybody then will get in the game, and it will be very difficult,” Coke-Hamilton said.   The study predicts higher tariffs will trigger currency wars and devaluation.  It warns the impact on global value chains and intermediate suppliers will be devastating.  For example, the U.N. report says the relocation from East Asian value chains will result in a reduction of almost $160 billion to the region. Coke-Hamilton said the retaliatory tariffs imposed by the United States have not achieved their intended effect.  She says they have …

Report: Norway’s Arctic Islands at Risk of ‘Devastating’ Warming

Arctic islands north of Norway are warming faster than almost anywhere on Earth and more avalanches, rain and mud may cause “devastating” changes by 2100, a Norwegian report said on Monday. The thaw on the remote Svalbard islands, home to 2,300 people and where the main village of Longyearbyen is 1,300 kms (800 miles) from the North Pole, highlights risks in other parts of the Arctic from Alaska to Siberia. Average temperatures on Svalbard have leapt between three and five degrees Celsius (5.4-9.0 Fahrenheit) since the early 1970s and could rise by a total of 10C (18F) by 2100 if world greenhouse gas emissions keep climbing, the study said. Almost 200 governments promised in the 2015 Paris climate agreement to limit a rise in average global temperatures to “well below” 2C (3.6F) above pre-industrial times by 2100. Worldwide, temperatures are up about 1C (1.8F). On Svalbard, the envisaged rise in temperatures would thaw the frozen ground underpinning many buildings, roads and airports, cause more avalanches, “slushflows” and landslides, melt glaciers and threaten wildlife such as polar bears and seals that rely on sea ice to hunt. “A 10 degree warming, with the implications for Arctic nature, ice-dependent species, will be devastating,” Climate and Environment Minister Ola Elvestuen told Reuters. Norway will have to increase investment to relocate buildings from avalanche paths and drill deeper infrastructure foundations as permafrost thaws, the report said. Two people died in 2015 when an avalanche destroyed 10 houses in Longyearbyen. Many other parts of the …

З банку «Хрещатик» перед його банкрутством вивели 2,3 млрд гривень – Фонд гарантування вкладів

З банку «Хрещатик» за кілька місяців перед його банкрутством вивели майже 2,3 мільярда гривень, повідомив Фонд гарантування вкладів фізичних осіб. У відомстві заявили, що перед створенням тимчасової адміністрації управління банку купували «цінні» папери компаній з ознаками фіктивності. «На момент запровадження тимчасової адміністрації таких облігацій на балансі ПАТ «КБ «Хрещатик» було виявлено загалом на 2,3 мільярда гривень. При цьому майже 85% з них виявились незабезпеченими, і у 91,8% випадків емітенти виявилися пов’язаними з банком особами. Після того, як термін погашення облігацій сплив, кошти банку повернуті не були», – заявили у фонді. Заступниця директора-розпорядника фонду Світлана Рекрут розповіла, що через це до правоохоронних органів спрямували 77 заяв. Національний банк України 5 квітня 2016 року визнав неплатоспроможним банк «Хрещатик», в якому місту Києву належить 25%, і передав його до Фонду гарантування вкладів фізичних осіб, який ввів у нього тимчасову адміністрацію. …

Fears of Street Riots as British Economy Takes Brexit Hit

British lawmakers are debating new proposals on the European Union Withdrawal Agreement this week, amid a series of stark warnings over the consequences of Britain crashing out with no deal on 29 March. Prime Minister Theresa May hopes to negotiate changes to the Withdrawal Agreement in meetings with Brussels in the coming days, after a majority of British MPs backed calls to change the deal last week. The European Union has flatly rejected reopening the talks. There are growing signs that uncertainty over Brexit is starting to hit investment, as Japanese car giant Nissan has announced Sunday it is moving production of the X-trail — one of its most popular SUV models — out of the UK. The decision reverses a pledge made by Nissan in the wake of the 2016 referendum. It’s emerged that Britain offered Nissan over $100 million in 2016 to persuade it to keep its operations in the UK. The reversal was met with dismay by British lawmakers. ‘”It concerns me that they have noted the uncertainty around Brexit and I think that is a serious signal to all of us in Parliament, that now is the time to resolve that uncertainty,” Business Minister Greg Clark told reporters Sunday. As Britain’s ties stumble, Japan and the European Union are celebrating the entry into force of a trade deal, covering a third of global GDP. Visiting Tokyo Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said a Brexit deal was still possible. “But we need to know from Britain — and this …

Порошенко схвалив подальший мораторій на продаж сільгоспземель в Україні

Президент України Петро Порошенко підписав закон про продовження мораторію на продаж земель сільськогосподарського призначення в Україні до 2020 року. Як йдеться на сайті Верховної Ради, 4 лютого документ був повернутий з підписом президента. «Перед запровадженням в Україні обігу земель сільськогосподарського призначення спершу необхідно напрацювати та ухвалити законодавчу базу щодо формування розвинутої мережі фермерських господарств та сільськогосподарської кооперації», – йдеться у пояснювальній записці до закону про продовження мораторію на продаж землі.  Наприкінці січня Мінекономрозвитку пропонувало президентові Петру Порошенку ветувати закон про мораторій на продаж сільгоспземлі. У відомстві заявляли, що відсутність ринку завдає шкоди не тільки економіці, а й самим власникам земельних паїв, які здають свої ділянки в оренду за заниженою ціною. Відкриття ринку землі підтримують західні організації, зокрема Міжнародний валютний фонд і Європейський суд із прав людини. 17 січня Верховна Рада не підтримала скасування чергового річного продовження мораторію на продаж землі. Попередня заборона на продаж землі діяла до 1 січня 2019 року. …