Tractor protest leader welcomes pesticide-law withdrawal. Danilo Calvani, one of the farmers leading the tractor protests in Italy, on Tuesday welcomed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's announcement that a proposed law to slash the use of pesticides in the EU was being pulled.

"It is the first partially positive proposal we have heard in the recent period. We are on the right track. But our protest goes on. We want deeds. We demand the cancellation of all the bilateral pacts with non-EU countries that are killing us," he said.