A look at the stories making global headlines today.
Scourge of superbugs killing Malawi’s babies
Malawi is facing an epidemic of infections causing sepsis, particularly among newborns, made worse by ever-increasing resistance that bacteria are showing against the common drugs used to kill them.
Indonesia earthquake death toll rises to more than 345
The death toll from Sunday’s devastating earthquake on the Indonesian island of Lombok has risen to 347, according to the state-run Antara news agency.
After last night, more women are major party nominees in House and gubernatorial races than ever before
The glass ceiling for female politicians suddenly has a lot more cracks.
This company is laying off almost all its workers because of tariffs
Element Electronics, which assembles televisions, notified the state of the expected job cuts earlier this week. The company also plans to close its plant in the town of Winnsboro. The company said the layoffs and plant closure were a direct result of US tariffs on goods imported from China, including important parts that Element uses to put together TVs.
Twitter CEO defends decision not to ban Alex Jones and InfoWars
“We didn’t suspend Alex Jones or Infowars yesterday,” Dorsey tweeted Tuesday. “We know that’s hard for many but the reason is simple: he hasn’t violated our rules. We’ll enforce if he does. And we’ll continue to promote a healthy conversational environment by ensuring tweets aren’t artificially amplified.”
Spanish fighter jet accidentally fires missile over Estonia
A Spanish fighter jet accidentally fired an air-to-air missile while flying over Estonia during an air-policing mission, a NATO official told CNN.
Contaminated food kills at least 9 people at funeral in Peru
At least nine people died and dozens more became ill after eating contaminated food at a Peruvian funeral.
‘Dear Ivanka’: Celebrities target Trump’s daughter in Instagram campaign
Celebrities including Amy Schumer and Sophia Amoruso are flooding Ivanka Trump’s Instagram feed with messages urging her to act on family separations.
Kepa Arrizabalaga: Goalkeeper pays $91m release clause
Kepa Arrizabalaga paid his release clause of $91m Wednesday, allowing him to leave the La Liga outfit ahead of a proposed move to London.
Inside Airlander 10, the world’s longest aircraft
(CNN) – It may not have the most attractive exterior, but it seems the Airlander 10 — currently the world’s longest aircraft — will more than make up for this on the inside.
Britain, France, mark centenary of decisive WW1 battle of Amiens
AMIENS, France (Reuters) – Britain and France on Tuesday marked 100 years since the decisive battle of Amiens that put Europe on the path to the end of World War One, in a sober ceremony in the northern French city’s Gothic cathedral.
Zimbabwe police arrest senior opposition leader Biti at Zambian…
HARARE (Reuters) – Former Zimabwean finance minister and opposition politician Tendai Biti has been detained by police as he tried to cross the border and seek asylum in neighboring Zambia, his lawyer said on Wednesday. A day earlier the authorities said they were looking for Biti in connection with violence following last week’s disputed election in which President Emmerson Mnangagwa was declared winner.
Naspers creates new video on demand unit as Netflix rivalry heats up
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Naspers’ video entertainment division has created a new over-the-top (OTT) video unit to be headed by Niclas Ekdahl in a bid to counter stiff competition for video on demand from global players such as Netflix.
China to slap additional tariffs on $16 billion worth of U.S. goods
China is slapping additional import tariffs of 25 percent on $16 billion worth of U.S. goods ranging from oil and steel products to autos and medical equipment, the commerce ministry said, as the world’s two largest economies escalate their trade dispute.
Tesla’s board says Musk started go-private talks last week
Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk had opened a discussion with the board last week about taking the company private, some board members said in a statement on Wednesday.
China hits back at US with new tariffs
China’s commerce ministry has announced that it will start imposing 25% import duties targeting $16bn (£12.4bn) worth of US goods. The Chinese counter-move will take effect immediately after the US imposes tariffs on the same amount of Chinese goods on 23 August.
DR Congo president not seeking third term
Democratic Republic of Congo’s President Joseph Kabila will not be seeking a third term in December’s election, his spokesperson has said. The governing coalition has nominated former interior minister Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary to be its candidate. Mr Kabila’s second term ended in 2016, but elections have been delayed and there had been speculation that he would run again.
Assad’s wife treated for breast cancer
The wife of the Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Officials confirmed on Wednesday that Mrs Assad was receiving treatment for an early-stage malignant tumour. Born and raised in London, the Syrian first lady has been a highly controversial figure.
Elon Musk is playing a dangerous game
Elon Musk had better have the money lined up to take Tesla private or he could be in serious trouble with regulators. There is never a dull moment with the mercurial Mr Musk, but he excelled himself on Tuesday, stunning the markets by tweeting that he was considering taking the company private by buying publicly available shares for $420 each – a significant premium to the $340 they were trading at before he dropped his bombshell.
Twitter is basically OK with harassment, just don’t @ anyone
Twitter will let you harass whomever you want as long as you don’t tag or @-mention them. That’s essentially how Twitter explained its decision not to ban Alex Jones from its platform Tuesday after Facebook, Apple, Google, Spotify and others banned Jones for violating policies against hate speech and harassment.
Why Elon Musk can get away with tweeting about Tesla’s business plans
It certainly felt like a whim or marijuana-infused trolling, but Elon Musk’s tweet Tuesday morning about taking his now-publicly traded electric car company private is just how the Tesla CEO operates.
Crypto prices sharply down after SEC postpones Bitcoin ETF decision
The prices of Bitcoin, Ethereum and all other major cryptocurrencies are sharply down Wednesday following an announcement by the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it will postpone the decision on approving what would be the first-ever Bitcoin ETF.
Facebook’s app is now the third-most popular browser in the U.S.
In case you still had any doubts about how influential Facebook is, consider this: Facebook’s app is now the third-most popular browser in the United States, according to new data. The study, from analytics company Mixpanel, shows that Facebook’s mobile app is the now one of the top mobile browsers in the U.S., accounting for 7.63 percent of mobile browser traffic in the country.
