Bhinneka News Online: Tuesday Morning Briefing: How would a Democratic House alter foreign policy?

Tuesday 30 October 2018

Tuesday Morning Briefing: How would a Democratic House alter foreign policy?

Highlights

How would a Democratic House alter foreign policy? Democrats will try to harden U.S. policy toward Saudi Arabia, Russia and North Korea if they win a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, while maintaining the status quo on hot-button areas like China and Iran, congressional sources say.

Every time President Donald Trump mentions the $110 billion arms deal he negotiated with Saudi Arabia last year, he quickly follows up, saying “It’s 500,000 jobs.” But if he means new U.S. defense jobs, an internal document seen by Reuters from Lockheed Martin forecasts fewer than 1,000 positions would be created by the defense contractor, which could potentially deliver around $28 billion of goods in the deal.

Next week’s U.S. elections could see Wall Street’s favorite congressman assume one of the most coveted roles setting financial policy on Capitol Hill - if Republicans retain control of the House of Representatives. Keep up with the latest news on Midterms.

World

Last year, Argentines, together with their Uruguayan neighbors, led the world in meat consumption, but in September alone, meat prices jumped nearly 9 percent from the previous month, and beef was 39 percent more expensive than it was the same month a year earlier, according to the IPCVA data.

Brazilian president-elect Jair Bolsonaro has revisited his most contentious campaign promises, calling for looser gun laws, urging a high-profile anti-corruption judge to join his government and promising to cut government advertising for media that “lie.”

The fiancée of Jamal Khashoggi criticised President Donald Trump’s response to his killing, urging him to set aside U.S. trade interests in the push for truth, and demanded Riyadh disclose more details to bring those who ordered it to justice.

Commentary: The tragedy of the shooting at the Pittsburgh synagogue bears similarities to other recent mass shootings, but it's also very different, writes Zach Schapira, executive director of the non-profit J’accuse Coalition for Justice. "Coming on the heels of a record-breaking increase in anti-Semitic incidents in the United States, it represents a continued escalation in violence against Jews. Emerging from a pattern of tolerated hate speech, it serves as a reminder that Americans must address the increasingly permissive environment that trivializes anti-Semitism in the United States."