Written by: Kelly Grounds, SFU Student
“Scallop War” breaks out between France and the UK
An incident in which 35 French fishing boats chased five UK ones out of the Baie de Seine has been dubbed the “Scallop War.”
Following the incident which occurred on August 28, the English boats then proceeded to call on the Royal Navy to back them in an escalating conflict.
The conflict was sparked over fishing for scallops in the area. French fishermen argued that the British were depleting the stock in the area before France had a chance to fish there.
Since then, ministers of both countries have agreed to begin discussions this week in order to avoid any future incidents.
With files from The New York Times and BBC News.
United States removes aid from Pakistan
The United States has withdrawn $300 million in aid to Pakistan. This is the second time that the United States has withdrawn aid from them, having cancelled $500 million in aid earlier in the year.
The United States claimed that Pakistan has not done enough to meet conditions of the aid. The United States has alleged that, instead of expelling militants out of the country, Pakistan has instead become a “safe haven” for them.
Pakistan denies the accusations.
With files from Global News and The Guardian.
United States and Mexico confirm trade deal
U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the United States and Mexico had reached a preliminary trade deal.
The president then announced that he had given Canada a deadline of August 31 to reach a trade deal with the U.S. or risk being ousted from a revamped North American Free Trade Agreement. However, trade discussions were difficult with many points of contention and ended early on the day of the deadline.
The talks are expected to begin again shortly, leading to speculations that the deadline created was only a political threat.
With files from CBC News and Vox.
United Nations speaks to to violence in Myanmar
The United Nations Human Rights Council released their final report on the violence in Myanmar.
The report estimates that 10,000 people were killed and 700,000 forced to flee to Bangladesh. Furthermore, the report calls the violence an act of genocide.
This report is the most significant international response to the violence since it began in August of 2017.
The report also calls for the Myanmar military generals to be prosecuted for their crimes of war and crimes against humanity. Despite the report’s findings, Myanmar officials refuse to cooperate and are defending their military.
With files from The Washington Post and The Independent.
