Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un’s ‘beautiful’ letter exchanges, and sharks are paying a high price to satisfy human taste buds.
More than 830 killed in Indonesia earthquake and tsunami
Two days after an earthquake measuring 7.5 and a powerful 18-foot tsunami hit the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia, the toll is said to have crossed 800, reports CNN.
Authorities said more bodies could still be recovered. Hundreds were injured and at least 17,000 people left homeless, added Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, the spokesperson for the Indonesian Disaster Management Agency.
Palu city is the worst affected. “An airport runway was damaged, limiting flights into the area, and several roads and bridges have been washed out,” said Jan Gelfand, chief of an International Red Cross delegation in Indonesia. The lack of heavy equipment and rescue workers has slowed down relief efforts in the city.
“I am asking all of you to work day and night to complete every task related to the evacuation. Are you ready?” Indonesian President Joko Widodo said in an address to the military when he visited the city Sunday.
Kavanaugh has suffered ‘meanness & anger’ of Democratic party, says Trump
US President Donald Trump has praised his Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman in his teens, and is seeking to use his nomination as a rallying cry for Republican voters ahead of the November congressional elections, reports CNN.
Referring to Kavanaugh’s testimony before the US Congress last week, where he denied the charges, Trump said “American people saw the… quality and courage” of the judge that day.
Addressing a crowd in West Virginia, he said a vote for Kavanaugh would be a vote to “reject the ruthless and outrageous tactics of the Democratic Party”.
“Kavanaugh has suffered the meanness, the anger of the Democratic Party throughout his nomination process,” he added.
“A vote to confirm Judge Kavanaugh is a vote to confirm one of the most accomplished legal minds of our time, a jurist with a sterling record of public service,” he told the crowd.
“All of what we’ve done is at stake in November. Five weeks away from one of the most important elections in our lifetimes… I am not running, but I am really running,” he added.
How Donald Trump & Kim Jong-un ‘fell in love’
US President Donald Trump has said that he and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un fell in love after the latter wrote him “beautiful letters”, reports Reuters.
Earlier this year, the leaders met in Singapore for a historic summit where they talked about working towards denuclearising North Korea in a bid to resolve the countries’ decades-old hostilities. However, the summit followed a constant exchange of threats and insults between the two leaders.
“I was really being tough – and so was he. And we would go back and forth,” Trump told a rally in West Virginia Saturday.
“And then we fell in love, okay? No, really — he wrote me beautiful letters, and they’re great letters,” he added.
The Trump administration is planning a second summit with Kim to talk about denuclearisation.
How China is hoping to beat impact of US import tariffs
China is making efforts to attract more foreign investors by reducing import duties on local goods, The Global Times reports.
Beijing released a new policy in late September to cut import tariffs on up to 1,500 kinds of products. “The massive tariffs reduction is set to bring China’s overall tariff level from 9.8 per cent to 7.5 per cent. The tax reductions are expected to save foreign exporters 60 billion yuan ($8.7 billion) a year,” the report added.
Highlighting China’s Belt and Road initiative, the report adds how the government is encouraging foreign companies to invest in the country “by creating the world’s most convenient transport and logistical infrastructure, setting up more than a dozen special free trade zones throughout the country, and giving them the same taxation and credit policy treatment as China’s own businesses”.
“Some analysts claim the series of tariffs cuts were well thought moves by Beijing to deflect pressure from the US government which has placed punitively high tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods,” the report added.
Why 100 million sharks are dying every year
Over 100 million sharks are killed across the world annually for shark fin soup, a delicacy in several east Asian nations, Al Jazeera reports.
A delicacy that was once a part of lavish spreads among Chinese elites, the soup became accessible to a much wider demographic over the years as earnings grew. Consumption of shark fin reportedly increased two folds between 1985 and 2001.
Amid greater awareness about the irreversible costs of excessive shark fishing, a crackdown on ‘finning’ has led to some gains. According to WildAID, shark fin consumption in China has reduced by 50 to 70 per cent since 2011. Between 2011 and 2014, shark fin imports decreased by 81 per cent, according to China Seafood Logistic and Processing Association. However, danger still looms large as sharks are being killed at a rate higher than their population grows.
How to get a taste of rural life in Switzerland
The tiny Swiss village of Corippo in the Verzasca valley is the kind of destination jaded city-dwellers dream about. And a personal crisis is now driving the village to tap this very appeal to populate its deserted lanes, reports CNN.
Corippo was once home to a thriving farming community of around 300 people, but now has just 12 residents, 11 of whom are over 65, the report added. A local rustic restaurant, in fact, remains the sole economic activity in the village.
Now, a local foundation named Fondazione Corippo 1975 is leading plans to transform Corippo by fashioning it as Switzerland’s first “albergo diffuso”, or scattered hotel.
As part of the concept, already popular in Italy, around 30 of the village’s 70 buildings are to to be converted into vacation cottages and hotel rooms. The first cottage under the project, which comes with a price tag of around $6.5 million, opened to guests in late July 2018.