Trump: economy doing tremendously well
President Donald Trump on Sunday dismissed suggestions that the United States was facing the possibility of a recession reports CNBC and Reuters. “We’re doing tremendously well,” he told reporters. “Our consumers are rich. I gave a tremendous tax cut and they’re loaded up with money.” Top White House economic official Larry Kudlow also rejected talk of recession, but, as The Financial Times reports, he also dismissed “the pessimists” in December 2007 ahead of the financial crash. Trump also hinted that any trade deal with China was dependent on a resolution “in a very humanitarian fashion” to the situation in Hong Kong. “I think it’d be very hard to deal if they do violence, I mean, if it’s another Tiananmen Square,” the president said, according to the South China Morning Post.
Over a million march in Hong Kong
The Guardian says an estimated 1.7 million people took to the streets of Hong Kong following a rally in the city’s Victoria Park on Sunday afternoon. Police had approved the rally but not the accompanying march, which was attended by the elderly and young children, according to Deutsche Welle. Turnout was being closely watched as a gauge of public sentiment, says The New York Times in an in-depth report. That sentiment is one of “absolute defiance” reckons Sky News. But CNBC cites strategist David Roche as saying the protests will “be settled or crushed” before China’s National Day on 1 October.
Iranian tanker leaves Gibraltar
The Iranian ship that had been held in Gibraltar since July has set sail into the Mediterranean, with the Greek port of Kalamata listed as its destination, the BBC reports. The ship, carrying 2.1 million barrels of oil, had changed its name from Grace 1 to Adrian Darya-1. The Guardian reports that the Gibraltar authorities had earlier dismissed a US warrant for the seizure of the tanker, because “the EU sanctions regime on Iran is fundamentally different to that of the US.”
Leak aimed at undermining Johnson trip says no.10
Downing Street was on the offensive on Sunday after The Sunday Times (paywall) and other media reported on documents detailing the government’s plans for a no-deal Brexit. The Guardian reports that no.10 claims the documents were “deliberately leaked by a former minister in an attempt to influence discussions with EU leaders.” Boris Johnson is set to visit Berlin and Paris this week. Meanwhile, ITV News reports that Michael Gove, the minister in charge of no-deal planning, dismissed the “Operation Yellowhammer” report as “old” and said that the new Johnson government had taken “significant additional steps to ensure that we are prepared to leave on October 31 deal or no-deal.”
Trump says no to Huawei
Dismissing the company as a “national security threat”, US president Donald Trump said on Sunday that he does not want to do any business with Chinese tech giant Huawei, Reuters reports. His statement came after reports on Friday suggested that the Commerce Department was preparing to extend Huawei’s current limited license for 90 days, says CNBC. A definitive decision will be announced on Monday.
IS claims Afghan wedding blast
Time reports that Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a suicide blast at a wedding reception in Afghanistan that killed 63 people on Saturday. Afghan president Ashraf Ghani blamed the Taliban for “providing a platform to terrorists”, the BBC says.
1MDB trial postponed
One of the most significant trials surrounding the multi-billion-dollar fraud at Malaysian state fund 1MDB has been postponed by a week, Reuters reports.
Danish PM laughs off US Greenland purchase
CNN reports that Mette Frederiksen has said that Donald Trump’s interest in buying Greenland is “absurd” and that her Greenland counterpart Kim Kielsen has made it clear that the island is not for sale. But as The New York Post reports, Trump confirmed his interest in Sunday saying that although it’s not a priority, the idea is “essentially…a large real estate deal,”
Swede wins Edinburgh joke award
Swedish comedian Olaf Falafel has won the prestigious Dave award for having the funniest joke at the Edinburgh fringe. The winning gag was: “I keep randomly shouting out ‘Broccoli’ and ‘Cauliflower’ – I think I might have Florets.” The Guardian has the full list of the top ten jokes, while inews has 55 of the funniest one-liners since the award was launched.
Today’s breakfast briefing was written by Duncan Roberts