Top Stories Today – august 2, 2019
Top Stories Today – august 2, 2019
US pulls out of nuclear missile pact with Russia
The United States formally withdrew from a landmark nuclear missile pact with Russia on Friday after determining that Moscow was in violation of the treaty, something the Kremlin has repeatedly denied. Washington signaled it would pull out of the arms control treaty six months ago unless Moscow stuck to the accord. Russia called the move a ploy to exit a pact the United States wanted to leave anyway in order to develop new missiles.
The 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) was negotiated by then-US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Reuters
China threatens retaliation for Trump’s planned tariff hike
China on Friday said it would not be blackmailed and warned of retaliation after US President Donald Trump vowed to slap a 10% tariff on $300 billion of Chinese imports from next month, sharply escalating a trade row between the world’s biggest economies.
Trump stunned financial markets on Thursday by saying he plans to levy the additional duties from Sept. 1, marking an abrupt end to a truce in a year-long trade war that has slowed global growth and disrupted supply chains. Beijing would not give an inch under pressure from Washington, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said. “If America does pass these tariffs then China will have to take the necessary countermeasures to protect the country’s core and fundamental interests,” Hua told a news briefing in Beijing. Reuters
Saudi Arabia allows women to travel independently
Women in Saudi Arabia can now travel abroad without a male guardian’s permission, royal decrees say. The new rule announced on Friday allows women over the age of 21 to apply for a passport without authorization, putting them on an equal footing to men. Women are also being given the right to register births, marriage or divorce.
The kingdom has recently eased other long-standing social restrictions on women, though campaigners say more remains to be done for women’s rights. Saudi Arabia has increasingly come under the spotlight over its treatment of its female citizens, an issue highlighted by several high-profile cases of Saudi women seeking asylum abroad. BBC
Scientists link Europe heat wave to man-made global warming
The heat wave that smashed temperature records in Western Europe last month was made more intense by man-made climate change, according to a study published Friday. The rapid study by a respected team of European scientists points to an array of evidence that man-made global warming was behind the continent’s most recent heat wave.
“The July 2019 heat wave was so extreme over continental Western Europe that the observed magnitudes would have been extremely unlikely without climate change,” the study concluded. In countries where millions of people sweltered through the heat wave, temperatures would have been 1.5 to 3 degrees Celsius (2.7 to 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit) lower in a world without human-induced climate change, the study said. Global warming is also making such extreme heat more frequent, the study by experts from France, the Netherlands, Britain, Switzerland and Germany found. The Associated Press
N Korea conducts third launch in 8 days
North Korea launched a fresh round of short-range ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast early Friday, US and South Korean officials say. It is the third such launch in just more than a week. The North launched two projectiles around 3 a.m. local time from South Hamgyong province, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. The projectiles traveled an estimated 220 kilometers, reaching an altitude of 25 kilometers, it later added.
US and South Korean intelligence officials assess the projectile is likely a “short-range ballistic missile” that shares flight characteristics with other recent North Korean launches, South Korea’s presidential Blue House said in a statement to reporters. The Voice of America
Conservatives lose key seat in Britain
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s governing Conservative Party lost a special election early Friday, leaving it with a one-vote working majority in Parliament as Brexit looms. In the Conservatives’ first electoral test since Johnson became prime minister nine days ago, the party was defeated for the seat of Brecon and Radnorshire in Wales by Jane Dodds of the opposition Liberal Democrats. Dodds won 43% of the vote, while Conservative Chris Davies, who was fighting to retain the seat after being convicted and fined for expenses fraud, got 39%.
The result makes it harder for Johnson’s government to pass laws and win votes in Parliament, with Brexit scheduled to happen in less than three months. Johnson says Britain will leave the European Union on Oct. 31, with or without a divorce deal. But Parliament voted in the past against the country leaving the EU without an agreement on the terms, and is likely to try again in the fall to thwart Johnson’s plans. The Associated Press
US warns Al-Qaida still very strong
Despite the reported death of the son and heir apparent of al-Qaida founder Osama bin Laden, US officials warn the global terror group remains a significant threat to the United States.
The officials refused to confirm the death of Hamza bin Laden, said to have been killed in a US-involved operation sometime in the past two years. But they warned Thursday that regardless of his status, al-Qaida should not be underestimated. The Voice of America
The 3rd Texas Republican to announce retirement
Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas) has decided not to seek re-election, he told The Washington Post on Thursday. Hurd, the only black Republican in the House, represents the 23rd congressional district, which goes along the Mexican border, between San Antonio and El Paso.
The 41-year-old former CIA officer barely won re-election in November, and President Trump lost his district in 2016 by four percentage points. He is the third Texas Republican to announce over the last week that they will not seek re-election. Hurd told the Post that he does plan on running for elected office in the future, but did not say which one. The Washington Post via The Week