Top Stories Today – June 18, 2019
Top Stories Today – June 18, 2019
Iran fell deeper into recession
Iran says its economy fell into a worse recession last year than international organizations expected, as the United States began re-imposing tough sanctions on Tehran’s vital oil industry and other financial sectors. In a report published Sunday, the Statistical Center of Iran said Iranian gross domestic product contracted by 4.9% in the last Persian year that ended on March 21.
The World Bank, a Washington-based institution that provides loans to countries, published a report earlier this month estimating that Iran’s GDP shrank by 1.9% in 2018 after growth of 3.8% in 2017. The International Monetary Fund, another global lending agency headquartered in Washington, released a report in April saying it found Iranian GDP contracted by 3.9% in 2018. Both agencies also predicted Iran’s recession will deepen this year, with the World Bank forecasting -4.5% growth and the IMF forecasting -6% growth. The Voice of America
US releases new pictures of tankers attack
The US Defense Department has released new photographs it says are more proof that Iran attacked two foreign oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman last week. The pictures show what the United States says are Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces taking an unexploded mine off the side of the Japanese-owned Kokuka Courageous tanker. Another shot shows where the mine had been attached.
Other pictures show a large hole in the Courageous that the Pentagon says was likely caused by another mine. Press photographs taken after Thursday’s attacks showed a Norwegian tanker on fire, sending thick black smoke into the sky. The Pentagon is dispatching an additional 1,000 troops to the Middle East in response to the attacks. The Voice of America, Politico
Hong Kong leader offers apology to protesters
Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing leader Carrie Lam offered an apology Tuesday for the political crisis and unrest sparked by a proposed law that would allow extraditions to mainland China. But she did not give in to protester’s demands that she leave office over her handling of the controversial bill. Lam told reporters she would not bring the measure up again until the government can resolve divisions, but pledged to stay and finish the remainder of her term.
Opposition to the bill has driven repeated mass protests in Hong Kong this month. Organizers said two million people turned out Sunday. While the bill would allow for Hong Kong to extradite to a number of jurisdictions on a case by case basis where it does not have a long term agreement, the prospect of extradition to China, in particular, has alarmed a wide cross-section of Hong Kong society. Many protesters and pro-democracy legislators call it an “evil bill” or “evil law,” which they see as an infringement on Hong Kong’s autonomy, which was promised to the former British colony until 2047. The Voice of America
Trump vows mass immigration arrests
President Trump said in a tweet Monday night that US immigration agents are planning to make mass arrests starting “next week,” an apparent reference to a plan in preparation for months that aims to round up thousands of migrant parents and children in a blitz operation across major US cities.
Large-scale ICE enforcement operations are typically kept secret to avoid tipping off targets. In 2018, Trump and other senior officials threatened the mayor of Oakland, Calif., with criminal prosecution for alerting city residents that immigration raids were in the works. Trump and his senior immigration adviser, Stephen Miller, have been prodding Homeland Security officials to arrest and remove thousands of family members whose deportation orders were expedited by the Justice Department this year as part of a plan known as the “rocket docket.” Washington Post
Former Egyptian president Morsi dies in court
Former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, the country’s first democratically elected head of state who was later ousted from power, was buried Tuesday after his dramatic collapse and death inside a Cairo courthouse Monday.
A member of Morsi’s defense team said family members attended funeral prayers in the mosque of Cairo’s Tora prison, which was followed by the burial at a cemetery in the Egyptian capital’s eastern district of Nasr City. Morsi’s son Ahmed said security agencies refused to allow Morsi to be buried at the family’s cemetery in his hometown in Sharqia province, and instead had him interred at a Cairo cemetery for prominent Islamists. The Voice of America
12 die in 2 earthquakes in China
Chinese officials said Tuesday the death toll from two strong earthquakes in the country’s southwestern Sichuan province had risen to at least 12 people. The earthquakes hit late Monday, and left another 125 other people injured. Authorities in China said the quakes were centered near the city of Changning in a largely rural area of Sichuan province.
The US Geological Survey said the first quake of 5.9 magnitude was followed shortly afterward by a 5.2 quake in the same area. It said the quakes registered a shallow depth, which tends to cause more damage to buildings and infrastructure than deeper earthquakes. The agency warned there could be significant damage from the quakes. Chinese state television said rescuers at the epicenter of the quake had pulled some people from the rubble alive. The Voice of America