15 Jul 2019

Monday's world news: what's making the headlines

7:43 pm on 15 July 2019

Trump accused of rascism after tweet at Democrat Congresswomen

Donald Trump has been accused of racism after posting tweets attacking Democratic congresswomen.

In a three-tweet thread, Mr Trump accused the congresswomen of "viciously" criticising him and the US. He claimed the women "originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe", before suggesting they "go back".

He then said Speaker Nancy Pelosi "would be very happy to quickly work out free travel arrangements".

It comes a week after Ms Pelosi clashed with "the squad", a group of four left-wing Democratic women of colour: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley - who are all US-born - and Ilhan Omar.

He did not explicitly name the congresswomen he was talking about but the reference to Ms Pelosi implies he means those four.

- BBC

Read more:

  • Donald Trump under fire for racially-charged tweets against congresswomen
  • India moon attempt delayed at last minute

    The launch of India's second lunar mission has been halted less than an hour before the scheduled blast-off, due to a technical problem.

    The countdown stopped 56 minutes before the launch after a "technical snag was observed in launch vehicle system," India's space agency said.

    A new launch date will follow soon.

    India hopes the $150 million mission, Chandrayaan-2, will be the first to land on the Moon's south pole.

    Research from the mission will focus on the lunar surface, searching for water and minerals and measuring moonquakes, among other things.

    If successful, India will become the fourth country to make a soft landing on the Moon's surface.

    - BBC

    European Ministers aim to defuse Iran-US tensions

    European foreign ministers will seek to flesh out how to convince Iran and the United States to reduce tensions and initiate a dialogue when they meet in Brussels amid fears that the 2015 nuclear deal is close to collapse.

    The three powers, who are party to the deal alongside Russia and China, have sought to defuse the tensions, which culminated in a plan for U.S. air strikes on Iran last month that Trump called off at the last minute.

    US-Iranian tensions have worsened since Donald Trump decided last year to abandon the nuclear deal under which Iran agreed to curtail its atomic program in return for relief from economic sanctions crippling its economy.

    In reaction to the re-imposition of tough U.S. sanctions, which have notably targeted Iran's main oil revenue stream, Tehran has scaled back on some of its nuclear commitments under the deal, leading the European parties to the pact, France, Britain and Germany, to warn it about not fully complying with the terms.

    - Reuters

    Read more:

  • Iran nuclear deal: Jeremy Hunt aims to ease tensions
  • Chinese economy dips in the face of US trade war

    China's economic growth slowed to 6.2 percent in the second quarter, its weakest pace in at least 27 years, as demand at home and abroad faltered in the face of mounting US trade pressure.

    While more upbeat June factory output and retail sales offered signs of improvement, some analysts cautioned the gains may not be sustainable, and expect Beijing will continue to roll out more support measures in coming months.

    China's trading partners and financial markets are closely watching the health of the world's second-largest economy as the Sino-US trade war gets longer and costlier, fuelling worries of a global recession.

    - Reuters

    Read more:

  • China GDP growth at slowest in 27 years
  • US set to approve resumption of sales to Huawei

    The US may approve licenses for companies to re-start new sales to Huawei in as little as two weeks, according to a senior US official, in a sign President Donald Trump's recent effort to ease restrictions on the Chinese company could move forward quickly.

    Huawei, the world's largest telecommunications equipment maker, was added to a Commerce Department list in May that prohibits US companies from supplying it with new American-made goods and services unless they obtain licenses that will likely be denied.

    After meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping last month, Mr Trump announced US firms could sell products to Huawei and in recent days, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said licenses would be issued where there is no threat to national security.

    Analysts said Mr Trump's reversal and the rapid implementation by the Commerce Department suggested Chinese political pressure - coupled with chip industry lobbying - may well have sparked a rethink on the policy.

    - Reuters

    PNG Police say killings of innocents "changed everything"

    Papua New Guinea's police minister says the massacre of more than two dozen women and children in the Highlands has "changed everything".

    Bryan Kramer visited the scene of last week's killings on the weekend, where he announced that a military unit and police mobile squad would be sent to Hela Province.

    He said the murder of at least 29 people, including several children, was a chilling escalation of tribal violence in the region, where attacks tended to be confined to men.

    "[The] killing of innocent women and children in tribal conflicts are unheard of, so last week's merciless killings has changed everything where the immediate concern is that it will become the new trend."

    Mr Kramer said in a post on Facebook he's concerned such attacks could become a new trend, and authorities were working hard to catch the offenders.

    "High-level discussions on a strategic deployment action plan with the use of drone technology and satellite surveillance, will be used to track and apprehend those on the run."

    - RNZ Pacific

    Read more:

  • PNG Highlands killings have 'changed everything'