Namdaemun, the “Great Southern Gate” in the walls that once surrounded the city of Seoul. This photo was taken before a 2008 fire damaged the gate’s wooden structure, which was restored by May 2013. (CIA.gov)

South Korea lifts suspension on Canadian wheat sales

Seoul | Reuters — South Korea’s food ministry on Tuesday said it had lifted a temporary suspension on sales of Canadian wheat as it had not discovered any unapproved genetically modified strains during tests on imports. South Korea suspended sales of Canadian wheat last week after Canada announced the discovery in mid-2017 of an unapproved […] Read more

(JBSs.infoinvest.com.br)

Ex-JBS chair Batista charged with corruption

Brasilia | Reuters — Brazilian federal prosecutors on Monday charged JBS SA shareholder Joesley Batista, another senior executive of the meatpacking company and a former federal prosecutor with corruption. The charges against Batista, former executive Francisco Assis and former federal prosecutor Marcello Miller were filed before a federal court in Brasilia, prosecutors said in a […] Read more


(Mark Wilson photo courtesy Louis Dreyfus Co.)

Argentina’s grain exports halt in strike against Macri

Buenos Aires | Argentina — A strike called by Argentina’s largest trade union federation in protest over President Mauricio Macri’s market-friendly economic policies brought the country to a standstill on Monday, freezing grains exports and halting banking and public transit. The CGT umbrella labour union demanded wage hikes to keep up with inflation rates running […] Read more



(LOP.parl.ca)

Senate approves recreational use of marijuana

Toronto | Reuters — Canada’s upper house of Parliament on Tuesday approved a revised bill to legalize recreational marijuana, setting the stage for the country to become the first Group of Seven nation to legalize cannabis. The Senate voted 52-29 in favour of the revised bill from the House of Commons, paving the way for […] Read more

(CBSA-asfc.gc.ca)

Trump says ‘getting there’ in NAFTA talks

Washington | Reuters — U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday progress was being made in slow-moving talks to update the NAFTA trade accord between the U.S., Canada and Mexico, but he held out the prospect of striking bilateral pacts if a three-way deal could not be reached. “We’re trying to equalize it. It’s not […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

South Korea halts sale of Canadian wheat, flour

Seoul | Reuters — South Korea has suspended the sale of wheat and flour from Canada after Canadian officials announced last week the discovery in mid-2017 of an unapproved genetically modified trait in southern Alberta. “We will only allow sale of wheat products that are confirmed not to contain unapproved genetically modified wheat,” South Korea’s […] Read more




(MDurson/iStock/Getty Images)

EU backs plan to tackle antimicrobial resistance

Brussels | Reuters — EU member states backed a plan on Wednesday to combat antimicrobial resistance, an increasing global health issue, that would reduce the use of antibiotics in the food chain and limit certain drugs to humans. Antimicrobial resistance threatens the effectiveness of medicines such as antibiotics to treat infections in humans, as bacteria […] Read more