Top Stories Today – May 14, 2019
Top Stories Today – May 14, 2019
Trump celebrates Ramadan with WH Iftar
US President Donald Trump called it his “great privilege” to welcome ambassadors and diplomats from Muslim-majority nations to the White House for an iftar dinner Monday marking the end of the day’s fasting observed by Muslims during the holy month of Ramadan. He highlighted Ramadan as “a time of charity, of giving and service to our fellow citizens,” and one in which to become closer as families and communities.
Trump also spoke of what he called a “very rough period of time” for people of different faiths in recent weeks with deadly attacks on Muslims, Christians and Jews in New Zealand, Sri Lanka and the United States. In their memory, Trump said, “we resolve to defeat the evils of terrorism and religious persecution so that all people can worship without fear, pray without danger, and live by the faith that flows from their heart.” He also called for prayer for “a future of harmony and peace.” During Ramadan, observers abstain from food and drink from sunrise to sunset. The iftar dinner is traditionally held at sundown, breaking the fast. The Voice of America
Barr launches new look at origins of Russia probe
Barr provided no details about what “spying” may have taken place but appeared to be alluding to a surveillance warrant the FBI obtained on a former Trump associate, Carter Page, and the FBI’s use of an informant while the bureau was investigating former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos.
Trump and his supporters have seized on both to accuse the Justice Department and the FBI of unlawfully spying on his campaign. The inquiry, which will focus on whether the government’s methods to collect intelligence relating to the Trump campaign were lawful and appropriate, is separate from an investigation by the Justice Department’s inspector general. The agency’s watchdog is also examining the Russia probe’s origins and Barr has said he expects the watchdog report to be done in May or June. The Associated Press
WH Reviews Military Plans Against Iran
At a meeting of President Trump’s top national security aides last Thursday, Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan presented an updated military plan that envisions sending as many as 120,000 troops to the Middle East should Iran attack American forces or accelerate work on nuclear weapons, administration officials said.
The revisions were ordered by hard-liners led by John R. Bolton, Mr. Trump’s national security adviser. They do not call for a land invasion of Iran, which would require vastly more troops, officials said. The development reflects the influence of Mr. Bolton, one of the administration’s most virulent Iran hawks, whose push for confrontation with Tehran was ignored more than a decade ago by President George W. Bush. The New York Times
Supreme Court allows antitrust case against Apple
The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 on Monday that a small group of iPhone users have the right to pursue a major antitrust lawsuit against Apple over its App Store. The iPhone users contend that Apple is using its role as sole marketplace for iPhone apps to charge higher prices than those apps would get in a free market.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, whose majority decision was joined by the court’s four more liberal justices, stressed that the court was not taking any position on the merits of the lawsuit. But he said protecting consumers from monopoly pricing is the central concern of antitrust law. In his dissent, Justice Neil Gorsuch said only app developers should be allowed to sue on those grounds. NPR via The Week
Markets calm amid hopes for US-China talks
Global stock markets have steadied amid hopes that the US and China will resume talks next month, following an escalation in their trade war. On Monday, China announced tit-for-tat tariffs on $60bn (£46bn) of US exports, causing stock markets to tumble
But later US President Donald Trump said he expected to meet China’s president at the G20 summit in Japan. He also said he had not decided whether to go ahead with threatened tariffs on another $325bn of Chinese imports. At a briefing on Tuesday, China’s foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said: “The two heads of state maintain contact through various means.” BBC
WhatsApp discovers ‘targeted’ surveillance attack
Hackers were able to remotely install surveillance software on phones and other devices using a major vulnerability in messaging app WhatsApp, it has been confirmed. WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook, said the attack targeted a “select number” of users and was orchestrated by “an advanced cyber-actor”.
A fix was rolled out on Friday. On Monday, WhatsApp urged all of its 1.5 billion users to update their apps as an added precaution. The surveillance software involved was developed by Israeli firm NSO Group, according to a report in the Financial Times. Facebook first discovered the flaw in WhatsApp earlier in May. BBC