Venezuela plans to fingerprint shoppers to stop food shortages August 22, 2014 The President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, has announced plans for a major mandatory fingerprinting system to combat the increasingly dire food shortages and rampant smuggling afflicting the Latin American state. He said the fingerprinting system would be similar to the one the country uses for voting and was intended to stop Venezuelans buying too much [...]
Scottish independence: Official campaigns barred from high schools August 22, 2014 With less than a month to go before voters north of the border decide whether to ditch the United Kingdom, 27 of Scotland's 32 local councils have barred the two sides from senior schools. Although the official campaigns may find themselves stuck outside the school gates, pupils are, of course, free talk about the merits [...]
Russia partially abandons food ban as minister claims it could cost country €10bn August 21, 2014 Russia has dropped part of the ban on EU food imports after its agriculture minister claimed the policy could cost the Russian economy €10bn (£8bn) over the next few years. Russia's food authority has removed a host of products from the black list, including: trout and salmon hatchlings; potato and onion seeds; hybrid sugar maize [...]
Uber launches same-day grocery delivery with no minimum spend August 21, 2014 Uber is branching out from app based taxi hire to same-day grocery delivery services. The pilot programme launched in Washington DC will last just a few weeks but could be extended if proves to be popular. “The more you love it, the more likely it will last,” the company said. The Corner Store service is [...]
Independent Scotland could be running short of oil and gas in 15 years, says Sir Ian Wood August 21, 2014 An independent Scotland could start to feel the impact of depleting oil and gas reserves in just 15 years, according to a leading figure in the oil industry. Former chief executive of Wood Group, Sir Ian Wood, has warned that Alex Salmond has massively overestimated the amount of recoverable oil and gas left in the [...]
New York’s BitLicense under fire from China’s biggest exchanges August 21, 2014 China's three largest Bitcoin exchanges have joined forces to warn New York regulators of the potential damage if proposed regulations for cryptocurrency are implemented. In a letter signed by the chief executives of BTC China, Huobi and OKCoin, the companies said the proposed "BitLicencses" by New York State authorities – which will apply to all [...]
Poland wants to take Russia to court over food ban August 20, 2014 In the wake of Russia's ban on some European food products, Poland has asked the European Commission to complain to the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Poland sent the request to European Trade Commissioner Karel De Grucht, who represents the EU in WTO cases. Marek Sawicki, Poland's agriculture minister has said that preliminary consultations are underway, and [...]
This message will self-destruct in five seconds: Snapchat is set to offer disappearing ads August 20, 2014 Photo messaging app Snapchat could soon be offering users more than just perishable pictures and videos, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). In a move that could actually begin to make the three-year old company some money, Snapchat has been in talks with a host of media companies and advertisers about offering disappearing news [...]
Scottish independence: Half of English voters “want spending cuts in Scotland” if it votes no August 20, 2014 English voters will get tough on Scottish public spending if September's referendum results in a no vote, according to a new poll from YouGov and university researchers. If voters reject Alex Salmond's campaign for an independent Scotland, 56 per cent of English voters would support a crackdown on the amount of public money doled out [...]
Cars and aircraft could be next target for Russian sanctions August 19, 2014 Russia could hit back against Western nations with bans on imported cars if the US and the EU and introduce additional sanctions, Russin newspaper Vedomosti has reported. Russia's involvement in Ukraine has already led to a host of sanctions being imposed, including measures against the energy and finance sector and travel bans for top officials. [...]
