Xi Jinping becomes first Chinese leader to visit the UAE in decades, and Turkey President Erdogan is passing several laws to consolidate power.
Trump wants to invite Putin to the White House
The White House announced Thursday that President Donald Trump plans on inviting Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit Washington soon, blindsiding America’s top intelligence official, the New York Times reports.
“Say that again,” the director of national intelligence, Dan Coats, said when a journalist broke the news to him during an interview. Coats, taking a deep breath and chuckling awkwardly, remarked “that’s going to be special,” said the report.
The New York Times writes that he seemed “genuinely astonished”. In a follow-up question, he said that he will be looking into the “potential intelligence risks” of such a meeting.
Coats says he is still looking for details of what Trump and Putin discussed during their meeting in Helsinki, Finland.
“The announcement came as the White House spent a third day trying to explain statements made by Mr. Trump after the Helsinki meeting, and as uncertainty spread throughout the government about whether he had reached agreements with Mr. Putin on Syria and Ukraine, leaving his military and diplomatic corps in the dark,” the report said.
Time magazine creates a new face from the world’s most popular ones
Time magazine has again amused the world with its latest cover.
The work of renowned visual artist Nancy Burson, the cover was created by morphing images of US president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin — two of the world’s most recognised men, reports Time
TIME’s new cover: Trump wanted a summit with Putin. He got way more than he bargained for https://t.co/sUu9gGKmmP pic.twitter.com/qq6iOjlis1
— TIME (@TIME) July 19, 2018
The composite image is representative of the leaders’ recent meeting in Helsinki, Finland.
“A year and a half into his presidency, Trump’s puzzling affinity for Putin has yet to be explained”, Time said in its cover story.
Earlier, after the summit where Trump had implied greater trust in Moscow than in his own intelligence officers, he clarified saying that he ‘misspoke’ at the conference and held Russia responsible for interference in the US presidential elections.
Under Netanhyahu regime, Israel is now nation-state of Jewish people
Israel’s parliament Thursday adopted a law defining the country as the nation-state of the Jewish people, Al Jazeera reports. This has provoked amongst people a fear of blatant discrimination against Palestinian citizens.
“The legislation, adopted by 62 votes to 55, makes Hebrew the country’s national language and defines the establishment of Jewish communities as being in the national interest,” said the report.
The bill also strips Arabic of its status of an official language, giving it a “special status” that allows the continued usage in restricted spaces, in Israel’s institutions.
“This is a defining moment in the annals of Zionism and the history of the state of Israel,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly told Knesset after the vote.
Palestinian members of the Knesset condemned the bill, stating that it will further deepen a sense of alienation amongst the Arabs in the country.
Xi Jinping is the first Chinese leader to visit UAE in three decades
Xi Jinping, who is on a three-day visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is the first Chinese president to visit that part of the world in almost three decades. The premier, along with first lady Peng Liyuan, reached UAE Thursday, reports Global Times.
Chinese experts suggest that talks will focus on advanced technologies, new-energy projects and investment during Xi’s trip. However, China’s neutrality on Middle East issues will remain unchanged, noted experts.
Ahead of the meeting, Xi authored an article for two of the leading newspapers of the Middle East stating that the two nations were deepening relations in the fields of energy, industry and finance.
Both countries are working on a project on a 44-sq. km solar thermal power project — the size of more than 6,000 soccer fields — which is expected to be connected to the power grid during the Dubai Expo from 2020-2021.
The two countries share strong trade ties. According to Xinhua News Agency, while UAE is China’s second largest trade partner and the largest export market for Chinese goods among Arab countries, China has been the largest trade partner of the UAE for many years now.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan is changing govt ways in Turkey rapidly
Hours before taking the oath of office — after 15 years already in power — Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan published a 143-page decree changing the way almost every government department and public body in the country operates, reports the New York Times.
Erdogan was inaugurated last week after winning an elaborate election that was held a year and a half ahead of schedule.
In the days since taking office, he has issued several other decrees that have centralised power and blatantly expanded his own ambit: the prime minister’s office has been abolished, the military has been brought under civilian control, the president can dismiss Parliament and call new elections whenever he wants, and none of the president’s appointments require a confirmation process.
“None of the amendments Mr. Erdogan decreed were subject to public debate before becoming law. The vast accumulation of power fulfills Turkey’s shift from a parliamentary system to the presidential one that was narrowly approved by voters in a referendum last year,” said the report.
China wants its people to read more
Beijing has come up with a new way to aid traditional bookstores which are losing out due to the increasing trend of online shopping. The municipal government of the Chinese capital has decided to hand out 50 million yuan ($7.46 million) in subsidies every year to help brick-and-mortar bookstores survive in downtown areas in the city.
Government information Tuesday revealed that from 2018, the yearly budget will be appropriated to support 150 brick-and-mortar bookstores, Xihuan reported.
In order to improve sales, the municipal government has encouraged bookstores to open 24 hours and combine book sales with cultural activities such as book clubs and lectures in cooperation with public libraries.