Top News Stories for Today – Jan 14, 2019
Top News Stories for Today – Jan 14, 2019
China reports record trade surplus with US
China’s trade surplus with the United States rose dramatically in 2018, despite a tit-for-tat tariff war with the US that has roiled global markets. The surplus stood at a record-high $323.3 billion, compared to $275.8 billion recorded the year before. Data released Monday by China’s customs bureau shows the country’s exports to the US grew more than 11 percent in 2018. Imports from the United States rose only slightly (0.7 percent).
But the data also revealed that exports slowed by 3.5 percent last month, as the administration of President Donald Trump imposed a series of stiff tariffs on billions of dollars of Chinese goods to force Beijing to buy more American goods and to resolve issues involving technology, intellectual property and cyber theft issues. The data also revealed mixed news about the strength of the world’s second-biggest economy – while China’s global trade surplus was $352 billion for 2018, its global exports dropped 4.4 percent in December compared to a year earlier, while imports plunged 7.6 percent, suggesting softening demand both at home and abroad. VOA
WH requested military options to strike Iran
Last year, the National Security Council asked the Pentagon to come up with military options to strike Iran, current and former US officials told The Wall Street Journal. The request came in September after three mortars were fired at the diplomatic quarter in Baghdad where the US Embassy is located; the shells were reportedly launched by a group with ties to Iran. There was minimal damage and no one was hurt, but the incident set National Security Adviser John Bolton off and several meetings were held to discuss a response, the officials told the Journal.
This worried officials at the Pentagon and State Department, who felt this was an intense reaction. Officials said the Pentagon went along with the request, but it’s unclear if the proposals were ever sent to the White House or if President Trump even knew Bolton asked for strike options. The Wall Street Journal via The Week
China sentences a Canadian to death
A Chinese court has sentenced a Canadian man to death on drug trafficking charges, after his previous 15-year sentence was determined to be too lenient. The decision was handed down Monday in the northeast city of Dailian against Robert Lloyd Schellenberg,
In November, he was given a 15-year prison sentence. But after an appeal, a high court in Liaoning ruled that the punishment was too lenient. Schellenberg denied the charges against him. VOA
Trump dismisses new allegations on Putin
US President Donald Trump is dismissing news reports suggesting he is beholden to Russia and President Vladimir Putin or hiding accounts of his private talks with the Russian leader the five times they have met, including at their July summit in Helsinki.
Asked directly late Saturday by Fox News talk show host Jeanine Pirro whether he is now or has ever worked for Russia, Trump said, “I think it’s the most insulting thing I’ve ever been asked.” VOA
Judge blocks Trump contraception rules
On Sunday, a federal judge in California temporarily blocked Trump administration rules allowing more employers to opt out of giving workers free birth control from going into effect on Monday in 13 states and the District of Columbia. Under the Affordable Care Act, employer insurance plans must provide workers with no-cost contraceptives, with religious groups that can show “sincerely held” objections able to opt out. In October 2017, the Trump administration announced it would let more employers opt out, including nonprofits, schools, and universities.
US District Judge Haywood Gilliam said there are “serious questions” about whether the new rules violate the ACA. His order only applies to D.C. and the 13 states that are suing the administration over the rules. NBC News via The Week
May urges MPs to back Brexit
Theresa May has urged MPs to back her Brexit deal “for the country’s sake” as Tuesday’s Commons vote looms closer. She warned of “paralysis in Parliament” if the deal is rejected and said trust in politics would suffer “catastrophic harm” if the UK did not leave the EU.
The PM welcomed new EU assurances over the impact of the deal on Northern Ireland, saying they had “legal force”. The EU said it didn’t want to use the “backstop” but, if it did, it would be for “the shortest possible period”. The “backstop” is the fallback plan to avoid any return to physical Northern Ireland border checks. BBC
Turkey dismisses Trump threat over Kurds
Turkey has dismissed President Donald Trump’s threat to “devastate” its economy if it attacks Kurdish forces in Syria following a planned pullout of US troops. “You cannot get anywhere by threatening Turkey economically,” Foreign Minister Nevlut Cavusoglu said.
US forces have fought alongside a Kurdish militia in northern Syria against the Islamic State (IS) group. Turkey, however, regards the People’s Protection Units (YPG) as terrorists. BBC