Top Stories Today – July 31, 2019
Top Stories Today – July 31, 2019
Democrats debate on healthcare and immigration
Ten Democratic presidential hopefuls have clashed in a televised US debate that laid bare the party’s deep divisions over how best to win in 2020. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, the most liberal candidates in the crowded field, came under attack from their more moderate colleagues. The three women and seven men on stage in Michigan debated healthcare, border policy and how to defeat Donald Trump.
Candidates also differed on how to handle the crisis at the US-Mexico border. Warren and Sanders, both emphasized that families arriving at the border should not be criminalized. The candidates also tackled issues of race, with O’Rourke and Williamson calling for reparations – a repayment to black citizens for slavery. The 10 hopefuls largely agreed when it came to gun violence, dark money in politics and the need to address climate change. Ten more Democrats, including Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, debate on Wednesday. BBC
Beijing: US-China trade talks constructive
US and Chinese negotiators wrapped up a brief round of trade talks on Wednesday that Beijing described as “constructive”, including discussion of further purchases of American farm goods and an agreement to reconvene in September. “Both sides, according to the consensus reached by the two leaders in Osaka, had a candid, highly effective, constructive and deep exchange on major trade and economic issues of mutual interest,” China’s Commerce Ministry said in a statement shortly after the US team left Shanghai.
The statement said negotiators discussed more Chinese purchases of agricultural products from the United States, which had become a bone of contention after US President Donald Trump said China had not delivered on promised purchases. The talks began amid low expectations, with Trump on Tuesday accusing Beijing on Twitter of stalling, and warning of a worse outcome for China if it continued to do so. On Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that she was not aware of the latest developments during the talks, but that it was clear it was the United States that continued to “flip flop”. The US side did not make an immediate statement. Reuters
N Korea conducts another missile test
South Korea’s military said North Korea conducted its second weapons test in less than a week Wednesday, firing two short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast in a move observers said could be aimed at boosting pressure on the United States as the rivals struggle to set up fresh nuclear talks. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the missiles were launched from Wonsan, a city the North pushes as a vacation destination but that it also uses as a regular launch site.
It said both missiles were believed to have flown about 250 kilometers (155 miles) at a maximum altitude of 30 kilometers (19 miles), and that the South Korean and US militaries were trying to gather more details. The test, which would be yet another North Korean violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, comes as the country’s negotiations with the US over its nuclear weapons program are at a stalemate and as Pyongyang has expressed anger over planned US-South Korean military drills. The Associated Press
China’s capital orders Muslim symbols taken down
Authorities in the Chinese capital have ordered halal restaurants and food stalls to remove Arabic script and symbols associated with Islam from their signs, part of an expanding national effort to “Sinicize” its Muslim population. The campaign against Arabic script and Islamic images marks a new phase of a drive that has gained momentum since 2016, aimed at ensuring religions conform with mainstream Chinese culture.
The campaign has included the removal of Middle Eastern-style domes on many mosques around the country in favor of Chinese-style pagodas. China, home to 20 million Muslims, officially guarantees freedom of religion, but the government has campaigned to bring the faithful into line with Communist Party ideology. Reuters
Taliban expects peace deal with US
The Taliban says it is hopeful an agreement will be reached with the United States to end the 18-year-old war in Afghanistan when the two adversaries meet later this week in Qatar for a crucial round of peace negotiations. The two sides have worked hard for nearly one year and almost drafted a text in which “we have addressed all major issues,” Suhail Shaheen, who speaks for the Taliban negotiating team, told VOA.
Taliban negotiators have done their part and it is now up to the American side whether they have “made up their mind” and take the next step of winding up the dialogue process, he asserted. “We hope to reach an agreement on the troops’ withdrawal,” Shaheen said when asked for his exceptions from the upcoming meeting, though he declined to say when exactly the talks will take place. The Voice of America
Taiwan raises suspicion China is influencing elections
China is using media, money and more to influence the January 2020 presidential election in Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy that Beijing calls its own, officials and experts on the island assert. Authorities in Beijing have influenced Taiwan’s “grassroots” by enticing tourists, buying advertisements and using the “mafia,” the island government’s Mainland Affairs Council told VOA in a statement Monday. Some scholars also say the Chinese government pays some Taiwanese media outlets a fee for posting pro-Beijing reports.
“The Chinese Communists are actively intervening in the 2020 elections and that’s to violate Taiwan’s sovereignty, as well as destroy our democratic system,” the statement reads. Council spokesman Chiu Chui-cheng told VOA he wants China to stop. China has seen Taiwan as part of its territory since the Chinese civil war of the 1940s and has threatened to take it by force if needed. The Voice of America
US Fed expected to cut rates
The Fed is expected to take the unusual step of cutting interest rates while the economy is on seemingly solid footing, as a preventative measure. Market pros expect the Fed to cut rates by a quarter point Wednesday afternoon and leave the door open to a further move, but President Trump has been calling for a “large” cut.
Most analysts are anticipating a quarter-point cut, although some believe the Fed will cut rates by 50 basis points. Either way, it’s unusual for the Fed to cut rates as data show “above trend growth” and such a strong labor market, rather than waiting to offer stimulus when the economy is heading into trouble, said Ethan Harris, head of global economic research at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “There’s no historical precedent,” he said. CNBC
Puerto Rico governor chooses his successor
Just days before he is set to leave office, Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló has selected Pedro Pierluisi as the island’s new secretary of state, the El Nuevo Dia newspaper reports. Puerto Rico is a US territory, and Pierluisi, a lawyer, is the former representative in Congress. Under Puerto Rico’s rules of succession, the secretary of state is next in line to become governor. Rosselló announced earlier this month that he planned on resigning, effective August 2, following outrage over crude leaked group chats between Rosselló and several of his top aides and advisers. The secretary of state role had to be filled quickly, as the last person to hold the office, Luis Rivera Marin, resigned on July 13 due to his part in the group chat scandal. Reuters via The Week