News Round Up - March 3rd, 2019 - Morning

in #news6 years ago (edited)

 Today's most interesting news articles with links and brief summaries...

 

 

BBC News: Donald Trump launches furious attack on Robert Mueller

LINK: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-47430996

US President Donald Trump has launched a furious attack on Special Counsel Robert Mueller and on his critics at a conservative summit.

In the longest speech of his presidency, Mr Trump railed against the inquiry into alleged collusion between his campaign and Russia.

Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland, Mr Trump lashed out at his detractors in a wide-ranging speech.

The president repeatedly said that Mr Mueller had "Never received a vote", nor had Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mr Mueller to his position.

 

Senate Intel Committee Now Investigating Trump’s Various Trips to Russia

LINK: https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/senate-intel-committee-now-investigating-trumps-various-trips-to-russia/

The U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence apparently has a new series of leads on President Donald Trump and his Russian contacts over the years.

According to The Atlantic's Natasha Bertrand, Senate investigators are combing over at least three separate trips Trump took to Russia and the Soviet Union during each of the last three decades.

"Meanwhile, the Senate has kept up a steady pace of questioning witnesses with knowledge of Trump's trips to Russia to scope out real-estate deals," Bertrand writes.

The Senate Intelligence Committee recently interviewed architect Ted Liebman, who sketched a proposed Trump International Hotel for Trump to present to Moscow city officials during his 1996 trip, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

 

US urges UK to embrace chlorinated chicken which has been banned since 1997. US wants UK to lower food standards for agricultural trade.

LINK: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-47426138

Fears over chlorine-washed chicken and hormone-fed beef are "Myths", according to the US ambassador to the UK. In the Daily Telegraph, Woody Johnson urged the UK to embrace US farming methods after Washington published its objectives for a UK-US trade deal.

Its British counterpart said the UK government should not accept a US deal "Which allows food to be imported into this country produced in ways which would be illegal here".

"Any future trade deals should reflect the high standards that the UK public both wants and expects."

Despite the NFU's insistence that consumers are keen to maintain the current welfare standards in farming, Ms Batters said there was a possibility the UK would give in to the US. She said: "There's always been the risk - and agriculture has always been the last chapter in any trade deal to be agreed - so yes there is a huge risk that British agriculture will be the sacrificial lamb in future trade deals."

 

Google, siding with Saudi Arabia, refuses to remove widely-criticized government app which lets men track women and control their travel

LINK: https://www.businessinsider.com/absher-google-refuses-to-remove-saudi-govt-app-that-tracks-women-2019-3

Google reviewed the app - called Absher - and concluded that it does not violate any agreements, and can therefore remain on the Google Play store.

INSIDER last month reported how Absher - an all-purpose app which Saudis use to interact with the state - offers features which allow Saudi men to grant and rescind travel permission for women, and to set up SMS alerts for when women use their passports.

The 14 - including Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Katherine Clark, and Jackie Speier - said that Google and Apple are "Accomplices in the oppression of Saudi Arabian women" for hosting the app.

"As of today, the Absher app remains available in both the Apple App store and the Google Play Store even though they can easily remove it."

 

Canada will contribute US$1.4bn to a proposed Nasa space station that will orbit the Moon and act as a base to land astronauts on its surface.

LINK: https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-47426798

NASA Canada will contribute US$1.4bn to a proposed Nasa space station that will orbit the Moon and act as a base to land astronauts on its surface.

"Canada is going to the Moon," Mr Trudeau told a news conference at Canadian Space Agency's headquarters near Montreal, according to AFP. Nasa plans to build the small space station in lunar orbit by 2026.

Nasa Administrator Jim Bridenstine commented: "Nasa is thrilled that Canada is the first international partner for the Gateway lunar outpost. Space exploration is in Canada's DNA.".

According to Space News, Canadian aerospace companies have been lobbying government for years for a new investment for space programmes.