Bhinneka News Online: Monday Morning Briefing: U.S. sees no material impact from virus on U.S.-China trade deal

Monday, 24 February 2020

Monday Morning Briefing: U.S. sees no material impact from virus on U.S.-China trade deal - for now

U.S.

Exclusive: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told Reuters he does not expect the coronavirus outbreak to have a material impact on the Phase 1 U.S.-China trade deal, although that could change as more data becomes available in coming weeks. Some asset prices are moving together in unusual ways, an indication that investors may be preparing their portfolios for a coronavirus-led global slowdown.

Tens of thousands of people packed into a stadium in western India to welcome President Donald Trump as he began his first official visit to the country at a time when relations that have been buffeted by a trade dispute. India and the United States have built close political and security ties and Trump’s two-day trip is a sign of their converging interests and a way to counter China’s rise as a superpower, officials say.

A gunman opened fire at a flea market in Houston on Sunday, wounding seven people in an area known for its Hispanic community, with a suspect being taken into custody at the scene. “No one is critically wounded,” Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said, adding that the victims were being taken to hospitals and that some injuries may have been a result of a bullet ricochet.

A federal judge on Sunday denied a request by Roger Stone’s lawyers that she be removed from the case in which she last week sentenced the long-time adviser to President Donald Trump to three years and four months in prison. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson had been accused of bias by Stone’s attorneys in a filing on Friday that called for her recusal.

As Bernie Sanders looked to cement his front-runner status in the Democratic presidential race after his dominant win in Nevada, his rivals sought in rallies on Sunday to blunt his momentum ahead of 15 nominating contests in the next 10 days. Marianne Williamson, who made an unsuccessful bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, has thrown her support behind former rival Bernie Sanders, appearing at a rally in Texas with the progressive senator. “Bernie Sanders has been taking a stand for a very long time,” she told the Sanders rally in Austin.

Jurors in the sexual assault trial of former movie producer Harvey Weinstein are expected to begin their fifth day of deliberations, after suggesting last week they were deadlocked on the most serious charges in the case. The seven men and five women on the jury began deliberating in criminal court in Manhattan on Tuesday.

World

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has submitted a letter of resignation to the country’s king, his office said, leaving the government in limbo amid talk of forming a new governing coalition. The fate of Malaysia’s ruling coalition had been in doubt after weekend talks between some of its members and opposition groups on forming a new government that would exclude Mahathir’s anointed successor Anwar Ibrahim.

Julian Assange appeared before a British court to fight an extradition request from the United States which wants to put the 48-year-old on trial for hacking government computers and violating an espionage law. A hero to admirers who say he has exposed abuses of power, Assange is cast by critics as a dangerous enemy of the state who has undermined Western security. Here is a look at are key events in the life of Assange.

A police raid, viral videos and the broken lives of Nigerian gay law suspects. A look at the story of the men who attended a birthday party and are now charged with suspicion of public displays of affection towards a person of the same-sex, which is illegal in Nigeria.

Senior members of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives gathered to decide on a leadership accession plan, after a state election drubbing in Hamburg added urgency to their search. Voters handed Merkel’s conservative Christian Democrats their worst-ever result in Hamburg on Sunday, punishing them for flirting with the far-right in an eastern state and descending into a messy leadership battle.

Business

Ex-Facebook executive starts group to help employees push companies on climate

Facebook’s former sustainability chief has launched an organization to help employees at big companies press their bosses for more aggressive policies to fight climate change.

3 min read

Cargill to challenge Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods with new plant-based burger

Cargill will launch plant-based hamburger patties and ground “fake meat” products in April, the company said, challenging Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods for sales in grocery stores, cafeterias and restaurants.

3 min read