China bans Brazilian poultry imports over avian influenza
Brazil, the world's largest chicken exporter, confirmed its first outbreak of bird flu on a commercial poultry farm in its southernmost state earlier this month, triggering a slew of international trade bans.
The Brazilian government had previously asked top buyer China to restrict its embargo to poultry products just from the city where the outbreak occurred.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
Meet the Afghan girls building robots at home after the Taliban stopped their education
In the sweltering heat of Kabul, a group of young women, who have been barred from higher education for the past three years, gather in one of their homes to work on a new project. Calling themselves 'Voices of Hope,' the group's members are former computer science students who refuse to abandon their pursuit of knowledge, despite the Taliban's sweeping ban on female education. They are using the internet and artificial intelligence to reconnect with the subject they once studied at university. In a country where even a walk in the park is off-limits for them, they have created their own community of learners behind closed doors. Their education was interrupted in December 2022, when a Taliban ban forced them to abandon their studies. The young women were all in their second semester of computer science studies at a private Afghan university. Initially, they clung to the hope that public outrage and international pressure might prompt the regime to reverse its decision. Instead, the Taliban, who had seized power in 2021, issued even harsher decrees, further tightening restrictions on women and making their lives even more difficult. Asrar Parsa, the 25-year-old leader of Voices of Hope, told Independent Persian that the university ban caused a wave of despair. But she and 20 of her classmates decided to keep going, turning to online educational resources to continue studying at home. Since then, the team has taken on several projects in their desire to learn, grow and keep their dreams alive. Among their achievements are building two robots from scratch. They cost about 30,000 Afghanis (roughly $430 or £330) to build, paid for by the group members themselves. Under Taliban rule, women are not allowed to go outside without a male guardian. The team has one male member: Asrar's 28-year-old brother, Navid Parsa, a computer science graduate who is their link to the outside world. He runs errands for the group and brings in supplies from the city. The group started off with 20 members. But over time, 14 dropped out due to economic hardship and a growing sense of hopelessness. Asrar explains: 'Our goal was to keep the light of hope alive in our hearts, to stay motivated, and to learn about AI. But most of the team became disheartened and gave up.' However, some chose to stay. 19-year-old Hadiya Ahmadi, says she suffered from depression and anxiety after universities shut down. But working on small projects and learning how to use AI with the support of the group helped her feel better. Over the past two years, the team has used what they learned in their first year of university and supplemented it with online tutorials. They've built two robots and several other devices. One robot can recognise 20 different objects, including humans, and is controlled remotely. The team tested its movement on a kitchen table. It's powered via radio frequency and bluetooth and can be operated through four different apps. Asrar says if developed further, it could be used in search and rescue operations after earthquakes or explosions. The team is also working on building a drone. If successful, they hope it could be used for tasks like collecting rubbish, delivering emergency medicine, or transporting small items across Kabul. For Asrar, Hadiya, and the rest of the group, tinkering with wires and batteries and listening to online lessons is about more than just robotics or AI. In a time when, under Taliban laws, even a woman's voice and face are deemed awrah (something to be hidden), these sessions are a way to cope with the mental and emotional toll of their isolation. Asrar says these gatherings are a way to escape 'the pain and grief brought about by their current situation'. The meetings offer hope, she explains:'When we're together, it feels like not everything is lost. We still have the power to learn and grow.' Hadiya adds that meeting the group two to three times a week has had a positive impact on her mental well-being. They study AI, build robots, and talk about their hopes for the future. She says she feels better now than she did when her university first closed down: 'Seeing the results of our work makes us happy. It makes us feel that our education isn't over yet and we can still try to reach our goals.' They draw inspiration from another Afghan robotics team, known as 'The Afghan Dreamers', which was founded in 2017 and gained widespread attention both at home and abroad. Focused on technology, engineering, and robotics, the team became a symbol of talent and hope in the face of social and political restrictions. After the Taliban returned to power and banned education and employment for women and girls, team members left the country and now continue their work in exile. For Voices of Hope, the Afghan Dreamers serve as an inspiration. But unlike them, Asrar's team has not yet received any support from external organisations. Despite all the obstacles, they hope to one day showcase their work in international exhibitions, and find opportunities to keep chasing their dreams. The Taliban have strictly enforced their ban on education for girls over the age of 12, claiming that they are adhering to 'Sharia law'. These decrees, especially those denying women access to education and jobs, have drawn widespread international condemnation. But Taliban leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada has dismissed international pressure as 'pointless.' Over the past four years, Mullah Hibatullah has repeatedly emphasised the importance of 'education within the framework of Sharia and Islamic principles'. However, not once has he addressed the topic of education or employment for women and girls in Afghanistan.
The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
Trump claims Chinese president Xi made him a big promise about the fate of Taiwan
Donald Trump has claimed that Chinese president Xi Jinping promised not to invade Taiwan while he remains in the White House, as the US leader positions himself as a global dealmaker on some of the world's most volatile conflicts. Speaking en route to the Alaska summit with Russian president Vladimir Putin on Friday, Mr Trump told Fox News he 'appreciates' Mr Xi's patience. "I will tell you, you know, you have a very similar thing with President Xi of China and Taiwan, but I don't believe there's any way it's going to happen as long as I'm here. We'll see," Mr Trump said during an interview on Fox News' "Special Report' onboard Air Force One. "He told me, 'I will never do it as long as you're president.' President Xi told me that, and I said, 'Well, I appreciate that,' but he also said, 'But I am very patient, and China is very patient." Mr Trump said. The US and its allies have long sought to deter China from taking military action against Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own and has threatened to seize by force if necessary. Taiwan rejects China's sovereignty claim. The Chinese embassy in Washington on Friday described the topic of Taiwan as "the most important and sensitive issue" in China-US relations, without referring to Mr Trump's statement. "The US government should adhere to the one-China principle and the three US-China joint communique, handle Taiwan-related issues prudently, and earnestly safeguard China-US relations and peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said in a statement. Taiwan is yet to respond to Mr Trump's remarks. Mr Trump and Mr Xi held their first confirmed call under the US president's second presidential term in June. Later in April, Mr Trump said that the Chinese president had called him, but did not specify when that call took place. His comments on Taiwan come as he presses Russia and Ukraine towards a peace deal, repeating his campaign promise to end the war 'within 24 hours' of taking office. He has already claimed credit for easing or resolving several other disputes, including tensions between India and Pakistan in May, the Cambodia–Thailand border standoff in July, and flare-ups involving Congo and Rwanda, and Serbia and Kosovo. By citing Mr Xi's assurances alongside his push for a ceasefire in Ukraine, Mr Trump is seeking to cast himself as the central broker of peace in multiple global crises –a narrative he has openly linked to his pursuit of a Nobel Peace Prize.
Telegraph
3 hours ago
- Telegraph
Fat jab price rise could fuel surge in dangerous fakes
Experts have warned people against trying to beat the Mounjaro price rise by turning to black market weight-loss jabs. Dealers are importing the copycat drugs from Chinese labs and selling them on social media and in beauty salons. Drug crime specialists expect a rise in the number of illicit sales in the wake of 170 per cent price rises due to Donald Trump's tariffs, designed to make medications cheaper for Americans. Steroid dealers have reacted to the cost of private weight-loss injections and NHS supply bottlenecks by turning to the black market. Chinese laboratories can imitate the real drugs and sell them online for as little as £1.50 a vial, with dealers buying them in bulk and selling them on for profit. Mounjaro, the weight-loss medication made by Eli Lilly, has increased in price to as much as £330 for a month's supply. The US-based company's product is the most effective injection on the market. Dr Luke Turnock, a criminologist at the University of Lincoln who specialises in the sale of enhancement drugs, warned that this would see many people turn to imported imitations sold cheaply online. 'I would definitely expect the price rise to lead to more people looking to the illicit market,' he told The Telegraph. 'If you're paying £330 for a prescription and you see something advertised for £110, then you would think it would be stupid to keep going and getting this private prescription.' A study by Dr Turnock found that one company allegedly sells replicas of both semaglutide and tirzepatide, known commercially as Wegovy and Mounjaro, made by Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, respectively. But with these drugs now regulated in the UK it is technically a crime to sell them and as a result the number of fake versions available online has diminished. Next-generation weight-loss jab However, the laboratories have pivoted to selling imitation retatrutide, a next-generation weight-loss jab still in clinical trials. Also made by Eli Lilly, retatrutide could be Mounjaro's big brother and is potentially the most powerful weight-loss drug yet as a result of its triple-threat mechanism, which targets three pathways in the body. Ozempic – a drug for type 2 diabetes – works on just one, and Mounjaro only hits two of the three. Online marketing shows retatrutide to be the most effective fat injection, but it is not yet proven safe or effective. Early clinical trial data suggest it is also able to speed up how much fat a person's body burns as well as suppressing appetite and slowing down stomach emptying. But the drug is as yet unauthorised and unregulated and this provides a loophole for the Chinese laboratories who can sell their product under the guise of a 'research chemical'.
