World AM News Briefs For Tuesday, 6 August 2019
Hello Australia!! - The Dow tanks thanks to Trump's trade war - Explosions tear through a Russian ammunition facility - India's sudden rule change in one of the most fought-over places in the world - And more in your CareerSpot Global News Briefs:
The Dow Jones suffered its worst day of the year because of uncertainty caused by Donald Trump's trade war with China. The Dow plunged more than 960 points at the worst, and recovered only a little bit to close down more than 760 points. The New York stock market's plunge came after China devalued its Yuan currency in retaliation for Donald Trump tariffs slapped on Chinese imports last week; Beijing also announced it is suspending purchases of US agricultural goods. Weakening its own currency will soften the blow of Trump's tariffs. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite - the technology companies that will be most harmed by a trade war - suffered its longest losing streak since November 2016.
The death toll from the El Paso massacre rose to 22 as two more people died in hospital. On Saturday, a white nationalist terrorist opened fire on a Walmart store in the Texas border town filled with families stocking up on back-to-school supplies. On Monday, Donald Trump gave a short speech from the White House condemning racism, and claiming that hate "has no place in America". Critics say it simply doesn't ring true with his own words and actions: Trump began his 2016 presidential campaign by claiming Mexicans were rapists and murderers, referred to Central American immigration as an "invasion" (words parroted by several mass murderers since), and recently told four female US Representatives of color to go back to their "own countries" (apparently unaware that three were born in the US and the fourth is a naturalized citizen). Trump made no mention of gun control reform legislation.
An earlier Trump-inspired terrorist, Cesar Sayoc, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for mailing pipe bombs to perceived "enemies" of Donald Trump. The 57-year old ex-pizza deliverer, who lived in his van decked out with numerous pro-Trump stickers, targeted Hillary and Bill Clinton, Barack Obama among others. Three targets, Senators Kamala Harris and Cory Booker plus tech billionaire Tom Steyer, are running to replace Trump.
A car laden with explosives raced the wrong way down a street and exploded outside a cancer hospital in Cairo, Egypt, killing at least 20 people and injuring 47. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called it a "cowardly terrorist incident", and police blamed a militant wing of the banned Muslim Brotherhood. Some 78 cancer patients from the hospital have been transferred to other facilities.
India has locked down the restive Jammu and Kashmir state after revoking Article 370 of the constitution which granted autonomy to the state, and there are fears of coming unrest. During the partition of India and Pakistan some 70 years ago, the Muslim majority princely state of Kashmir was given a choice of joining Pakistan or India - it chose the latter based on the condition it could make its own laws and that only full time residents could own property. That was fine for as long as the multi-cultural Congress Party of Gandhi and Nehru was in charge, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the Hindu nationalist BJP campaigned on promises to end the special status, and made good on it this week. Pakistan and India have fought several border conflicts over the region.
Russia is evacuating towns and villages around a Siberian ammo dump that was rocked with a series of explosions. There are reports of one death and eight injuries near the town of Achinsk in Krasnoyarsk Krai. Area residents posted videos and photos on social media showing people trying to bug out while mushroom clouds rise in the background.
Brazilian authorities released video of the failed attempt by a drug dealer to escape prison while dressed as his own teenage daughter - complete with a somewhat horrifying silicon mask.