Reaching a cheese truce, and quarantining Afghanistan's only pig

GOOD DAY FOR: American baguette bakers, after the U.S. and Europe came up with a deal to avert a trade war over, among other things, French Roquefort. A Bush-era retaliatory tariff on some EU luxury foods—Roquefort, but also truffles and mineral water—was set to take effect next week. In the provisional deal, the EU would keep its ban on U.S. hormone-treated beef, but will quadruple non-hormone beef imports in four years. (Foreign Policy)

BAD DAY FOR: Khanzir the pig, after Afghanistan’s only representative of the swine family was placed into solitary confinement amid public fears over the H1N1 flu virus. Pork is banned in Afghanistan, and Khanzir, who lives in the Kabul Zoo, was a gift from China. The swine flu outbreak has also postponed the zoo’s search for a porcine companion for Khanzir. (USA Today)

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