Here are today’s biggest headlines.
Trump administration labels China a currency manipulator
The Trump administration on Monday designated China a “currency manipulator,” after the country’s central bank allowed its currency to weaken amid the ongoing trade dispute.
North Korean cryptocurrency heists net estimated $2 billion: UN report
North Korea earned as much as $2 billion dollars through large-scale cyber attacks to help fund its weapons programs, a United Nations panel alleges in a new report.
Trump announces total economic embargo against Venezuela
President Donald Trump on Monday announced the US would expand its existing sanctions against Venezuela with an executive order to impose a total economic embargo against the country.
Teen charged with attempted murder after child thrown from 10th floor of London’s Tate Modern
A 17-year-old has been charged with attempted murder after a 6-year-old boy was thrown from the Tate Modern gallery in the British capital on Sunday, London’s Metropolitan Police said.
Sharks bite 3 people in 24 hours at the same Florida beach
Experts describe New Smyrna Beach in Volusia County, Florida, as the shark attack capital of the world, and it lived up to that reputation this weekend, when three people were bitten by sharks over two days.
R. Kelly charged with prostitution involving a minor in Minnesota
Singer R. Kelly has been charged with two counts of engaging in prostitution with a person under 18 in Minnesota, prosecutors said Monday.
High-end retailer Barneys files for bankruptcy
Barneys, an icon of America’s luxury clothing world for decades, has filed for bankruptcy.
Winners of the 2019 Drone Awards
(CNN) – Cross-country skiers racing in Poland, crabeater seals lying on ice in the Antarctic peninsula and flowers blossoming in the waters of Vietnam were among the winners in the 2019 Drone Awards contest. Now in its second year, the photo competition, sponsored by the Art Photo Travel Association, celebrates the work of aerial photographers from across the world.
Obama: Reject leaders whose words stoke hatred
Former US President Barack Obama has called on Americans to reject language from any of their leaders that feeds hatred or normalises racism. Mr Obama did not name anyone but his rare comments came after President Donald Trump sought to deflect criticism that his anti-immigrant rhetoric had fuelled violence.
Huge blasts as Russian arms depot in Siberia explodes
At least eight people including service personnel were injured in the blasts near the town of Achinsk. Three of the injured were being treated in hospital. The depot reportedly contained tens of thousands of artillery shells. Witnesses posted videos of balls of flame and black smoke, starting during the day and continuing after dark.
Laurent Koscielny: Arsenal defender set to join Bordeaux
Arsenal have agreed a deal to sell defender Laurent Koscielny to Ligue 1 side Bordeaux for a fee of up to 5m euros (£4.6m). The 33-year-old centre-back is having a medical on Tuesday before completing a return to France after nine years with the Premier League club.
The desert oasis with clues to early life – BBC Reel
The Cuatro Ciénegas Basin in northern Mexico is a rare oasis in the Chihuahuan Desert that includes over 200 crystalline natural pools with bright blue tones. These pools are home to living stromatolites, rock-like structures that are among the earliest fossil evidence of life on Earth. Video by Adrián Gutiérrez
Africa Live: Mugabe in Singapore hospital ‘since April’
Relatives of people murdered under the regime of The Gambia’s former ruler, Yahya Jammeh, have expressed outrage over the release of three self-confessed assassins. The men, who were members of a paramilitary unit known as the “Junglers”, were freed from army custody two weeks after appearing before the Gambian Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC).
Tencent set to buy 10% stake in Universal Music
Vivendi is set to sell a 10% stake in the Universal Music Group (UMG) to Chinese tech group Tencent. Universal – the world’s biggest music company – already has its content streamed by Tencent in China as the result of a deal struck in 2017.
Alaska’s sea ice has completely melted away
Alaska’s exceptional summer continues. The most rapidly changing state in the U.S. has no sea ice within some 150 miles of its shores, according to high-resolution sea ice analysis from the National Weather Service. The big picture is clear: After an Arctic summer with well above-average temperatures, warmer seas, and a historic July heat wave, sea ice has vanished in Alaskan waters.
Former Tinder exec sues over sexual assault, wrongful termination
Rosette Pambakian won’t back down. The former Tinder executive filed a sexual assault and workplace retaliation lawsuit against the dating app’s parent companies on Monday. The filing comes roughly a year after the alleged groping was described in a separate lawsuit that claimed Match Group and IAC Interactive cheated Tinder founders, including Pambakian, out of billions of dollars.
‘The OA’ canceled at Netflix after two seasons
Interpretive dance magic and wild Jesus allegories weren’t enough to keep The OA train rolling at Netflix, unfortunately. After two seasons and 16 episodes, the streaming service has decided to not continue with the Brit Marling-led series.
Barack Obama shares heartfelt response to mass shootings, calls for stricter gun laws
Barack Obama has finally released a statement on the deadly mass shootings that took place over the weekend in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. The former president shared a heartfelt four-paragraph message on Twitter Monday afternoon, explaining that he and Michelle “grieve with all the families in El Paso and Dayton who endured these latest mass shootings.”
Viral Google employee memo alleges pregnancy discrimination
An internal Google memo in which an employee alleges discrimination and retaliation for pregnancy has gone viral within company message boards, according to a report from Motherboard. Entitled “I’m Not Returning to Google After Maternity Leave, and Here’s Why,” the memo has reportedly been viewed by more than 10,000 Google employees since its publication last week.
Hubble photo shows what a side view of the Milky Way might look like
We may never leave our Milky Way galaxy and see it from the outside, but the Hubble Space Telescope at least helps us imagine that view. A newly shared Hubble image that NASA posted on Friday takes a look at NGC 3432. This not- too-distant celestial body (it’s only 42 million light-years away!)
