North Korea issues nuclear threat to the US, and Prince Charles says Britain’s involvement in transatlantic slavery an ‘appalling atrocity’.
US midterms marked by racist ad, calls
The campaign for the 6 November US midterm election was marred by derogatory advertisements and campaigns, BBC reported a day before voting. US TV networks withdrew a controversial ad issued by US President Donald Trump and the Republicans that sought to juxtapose the caravan of central asylum-seekers with an immigrant convicted of a policeman’s murder — a bid to stoke fear in their conservative voter base.
Meanwhile, voters also received “racist automated calls that targeted prominent African-American candidates in Florida and Georgia”.
Tuesday’s elections are being seen as a referendum on Donald Trump, and are extremely crucial because the control of both the chambers of the US Congress are up for grabs. Both the Senate and the House of Representatives are currently under Republican control, and the election represents an opportunity for critics to stall Trump’s controversial policies.
North Korea issues nuclear threat to the US over sanctions
An official from North Korea’s foreign ministry has warned Washington that Pyongyang could restart “building up nuclear forces” if the US did not ease the sanctions imposed on the country, reports CNN.
The statement comes days before US secretary of state Mike Pompeo and his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong Chol meet in New York this week. The North Korean official was quoted by the state-run news agency as saying that the US had failed “to understand that the improvement of relations and sanctions are incompatible”.
Pompeo made light of the remarks, calling them a “stray voltage” he not worried about. “We know with whom we’re negotiating. We know what their positions are. And President Trump has made his position very clear: No economic relief until we have achieved our ultimate objective,” he said.
Afghan Taliban to join Moscow peace talks
Senior members of the Afghan Taliban said Tuesday that they will participate in the multilateral peace talks to be hosted by Russia Friday, reports Reuters. However, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said they had not formally agreed to take part.
Russia invited 12 countries and the Taliban to the conference, but the US and Afghanistan have turned down their invitations. According to Russian officials, representatives from Iran, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan are expected to attend.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani refused to attend the conference because he believes that talks with the Taliban should be led by the Afghan government. The Taliban is likely to be represented at the conference by a five-member Taliban delegation led by Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanakzai, head of the Taliban’s political council in Qatar.
Pentagon doesn’t want troops building housing facilities for immigrants
The Donald Trump administration has dropped the idea of using US military forces to build detention facilities for migrants on the Mexican border after the Pentagon expressed hesitation, reports Reuters.
Last week, Trump said that he planned to build tents on the border, where asylum-seekers would be expected to stay while the US government sorted out their requests.
A top US official told Reuters that there was tension in the administration over the use of military resources for keeping out illegal immigrants. The US military had announced last week that 7,000 troops would be sent to the Mexico border to keep out a caravan of asylum-seekers headed for the US.
Britain’s involvement in transatlantic slave trade an atrocity: Prince Charles
Prince Charles has said that Britain’s involvement in transatlantic slave trade was an appalling atrocity that has left an “indelible stain” on the world, reports The Guardian.
Charles made the comment in a speech in Ghana, from where many Africans were shipped across the Atlantic for slavery during the colonial era. He said that it was “profound injustice” which could never be forgotten.
“The appalling atrocity of the slave trade, and the unimaginable suffering it caused, left an indelible stain on the history of our world,” he said.
Britain was involved in transatlantic slave trade for more than 200 years until 1807. “While Britain can be proud that it later led the way in the abolition of this shameful trade, we have a shared responsibility to ensure that the abject horror of slavery is never forgotten,” Charles said.