Top Stories Today – July 2, 2019
Top Stories Today – July 2, 2019
Venus Williams knocked out by 15-year-old
Venus Williams, a five-time Wimbledon champion, was knocked out of this year’s tournament by the field’s youngest player, 15-year-old Cori “Coco” Gauff, on Monday. The 39-year-old Williams, who was the oldest player at Wimbledon, had already won four Grand Slam titles before Gauff was even born, but Gauff snatched a 6-4, 6-4 victory. Gauff said Williams is one of her idols and she told the veteran she “wouldn’t be here” without Williams.
Gauff is the youngest player to enter the main draw of Wimbledon since 2009 and the youngest to win a match since 1991. Williams was not the only big name to go down in the opening round; Naomi Osaka, who won the most recent US and Australian Opens, fell to Yulia Putintseva, 7-6 (4), 6-2. ESPN via The Week
Beijing ends silence on Hong Kong protest
China’s government strongly backed Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s embattled administration on Tuesday, saying the occupation and vandalizing of the city’s legislature by pro-democracy protesters amounted to “serious illegal acts” that endangered the social order. Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Beijing condemned the acts that saw several hundred demonstrators break through glass and steel barriers to enter the building on Monday night.
Geng said China’s central government strongly supported Hong Kong’s government and its police force in dealing with the incident in accordance with law. “The violent attacks … are serious illegal acts that trample on the rule of law and endanger social order. We strongly condemn it,” Geng told reporters at a daily briefing. Geng also reiterated China’s rejection of any foreign nation commenting on or intervening in protest actions in Hong Kong, saying such matters were a purely Chinese affair and other countries “must not support any violent criminals in any form, and not send any misleading signals or take any erroneous actions.” The Associated Press
France urges Iran to reverse breach of nuclear deal
France’s president is urging Iran to immediately reduce its stockpiles of low-enriched uranium and stick to the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Emmanuel Macron said in a statement Tuesday that he “took note with concern” of Iran’s announcement that it has surpassed the limit of 300 kilograms (661 pounds) of low-enriched uranium laid out in the accord.
Macron asked Iran also abstain from any other steps that would threaten the deal, which promised to lift trade sanctions in exchange for curbing Iran’s atomic program. France strongly opposed President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the US from the deal and impose new sanctions on Iran. The Associated Press
US Border Patrol investigate disturbing Facebook group
US officials are investigating a secret Facebook group where border patrol members allegedly posted racist and sexist jokes about migrants. The private group had about 9,500 members, including former and current border patrol agents, ProPublica reported.
Some posts mocked migrant deaths, while others targeted Latino members of Congress, ProPublica said. The Border Patrol chief has called the posts “completely inappropriate”. “Any employees found to have violated our standards of conduct will be held accountable,” Carla Provost said. The group was called “I’m 10-15”, ProPublica said – 10-15 being Border Patrol code for “aliens in custody”. BBC
Experts: Trump-Kim DMZ summit changed little
The sudden summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arose out of their common desire for “perpetuating the illusion of denuclearization” even though their divergent definitions of denuclearization remain unchanged, said experts.
Kim met Trump at the border even though Washington had made no public change to its position on how North Korea could obtain sanctions relief. Kim shares a common interest with Trump in preserving the talks in order to perpetuate “the illusion of denuclearization” but for different reasons, according to Evans Revere, acting assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific Affairs during the George W. Bush administration. Revere said Kim is motivated to continue the denuclearization talks because they give him a cover under which he can build more weapons without having to face extreme measures from the US. The Voice of America
Harris and Warren jump ahead of Sanders after debates
The first major poll after last week’s inaugural 2020 Democratic presidential debates confirms the conventional wisdom: They were great for Sen. Kamala Harris (Calif.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and bad for former Vice President Joe Biden. The CNN/SSRS poll released Monday evening showed Biden as the top pick of 22 percent of Democrats, down 10 percentage points from CNN’s last poll in May; Harris jumped 9 points to 17 percent, and Warren got an 8-point bump, to 15 percent.
Previous runner-up Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) dropped 4 points to 14 percent and fourth place. All other candidates are in the single digits. SSRS conducted the poll by phone June 28-30, reaching 656 Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents; that sample has a margin of error of ±4.7 points. CNN, The Washington Post via The Week
Heavy rain collapses walls in Mumbai, kills 27
Monsoon rains caused wall collapses that killed 27 people in India Tuesday, as a second day of bad weather disrupted rail and air traffic in the financial capital Mumbai, prompting officials to shut schools and offices, though markets were open. During every monsoon season, which runs from June to September, India experiences fatal incidents of building and wall collapses as rainfall weakens the foundations of poorly built structures.
Mumbai is looking to turn itself into a global financial hub, but large parts of the city struggle to cope with annual monsoon rains, as widespread construction and garbage-clogged drains and waterways make it increasingly vulnerable to chaos. More than 300 mm (11.8 inches) of rain fell in 24 hours in some areas of Mumbai, flooding streets and railway tracks, forcing the suspension of some suburban train services, which millions of commuters ride to work each day. The Voice of America