Top News Stories for Today – Oct 2, 2018
Top News Stories for Today – Oct 2, 2018
N. Korea peace treaty
North Korea says it will not abandon its nuclear weapons program in exchange for an official declaration of the end of the Korean War. The three-year war that split the communist North and US-backed South Korea ended in 1953 with a truce instead of a peace treaty, leaving the two sides in a technical state of war.
In a commentary issued Tuesday by its official news agency, the North rejected the suggestion of a quid pro quo deal, saying a formal peace treaty “is not just a gift from a man to another,” and added that “it can never be a bargaining chip for getting the DPRK to denuclearize,” using the acronym to the regime’s official name. VOA
Chinese ship forces US destroyer off course
A Chinese warship has forced an American destroyer to change course in the South China Sea by sailing close to it in an “unsafe and unprofessional” manner, the US Navy says. The USS Decatur was sailing past the Gaven and Johnson reefs in the disputed Spratly Islands, which China claims. The Luyang destroyer “approached within 45 yards [41m] of Decatur’s bow”, Commander Nat Christensen said.
The US routinely angers Beijing with “freedom of navigation” missions. The sea, home to vital shipping lanes, has in recent years become a flashpoint for tensions between China and several regional nations which have overlapping claims over islands and reefs. Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam all make claims to parts of the sea. BBC
Indonesia death toll jump to 1,234
On Tuesday, Indonesia’s disaster agency raised the death toll from Friday’s magnitude 7.5 earthquake and subsequent tsunami to 1,234 fatalities, from 844 dead. Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said nearly 800 people are also severely injured, and two communities, Sigi and Balaroa, are not included in the casualties count yet.
The earthquake and tsunami ravaged Palu and neighboring areas on central Sulawesi island. The survivors are struggling with a lack of food and shelter. Two more shallow earthquakes struck the eastern Indonesian island of Sumba on Tuesday, but no injuries have yet been reported. The Associated Press, BBC News
US trade deal with Canada and Mexico
President Trump on Monday announced a trade deal with Canada and Mexico, saying the updated agreement would ensure fair treatment for American workers and the manufacturing industry. The deal, called the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is an update to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which Trump called the “worst trade deal ever made.”
He said that dairy products will now be traded tariff-free with Canada, and that 40 percent of car manufacturing must now be done by “high-wage workers.” Trump asserted that it is a “privilege” for other countries to trade with the US, and that the USMCA will reflect that in requiring Canada and Mexico to “treat us fairly.” White House
Kavanaugh asked friend to defend him
Text messages obtained by NBC News suggest Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh spoke with at least one Yale classmate about Deborah Ramirez before The New Yorker published Ramirez’s accusation that Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a party freshman year. The texts are between Kerry Berchem and Karen Yarasavage, college friends of Kavanaugh and Ramirez.
One of the messages from Yarasavage states that Kavanaugh asked her to go on the record refuting Ramirez’s allegation. During his Senate Judiciary Committee testimony last week, Kavanaugh said under oath the first time he heard of Ramirez’s accusation was when The New Yorker published her account on Sept. 23. Berchem says the FBI has not responded to her offer to hand over the texts. NBC News
Poll: Voters believe Ford over Kavanaugh
A Quinnipiac University poll released Monday found that 48 percent of voters say Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh should not be confirmed, while 42 percent say he should. Support for Kavanaugh varies across demographic groups —55 percent of women oppose his confirmation, while 37 percent support it. Men support Kavanaugh’s confirmation 49 percent to 40 percent. A slim majority of white voters, 51 percent, say Kavanaugh should be confirmed, while 81 percent of black voters and 65 percent of Hispanic voters say he should be rejected.
Forty-eight percent of voters believe Christine Blasey Ford, who alleges that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in the 1980s, over Kavanaugh, while 41 percent believe Kavanaugh over Ford. The Senate is awaiting an FBI investigation into the allegations before Kavanaugh’s final confirmation vote. Quinnipiac University