Almost every day this week Trump has flip-flopped on what he said the day before. The US has been shocked by the performance of their president at a summit between Putin and Trump in Helsinki on Monday – more details to follow in the News Flash. This culminated yesterday in Trump extending an invitation to Putin to visit the White House later this year.
Global News
- Trump cast doubt on the US intelligence community’s conclusion that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election.
- Rather Trump sided with Putin, saying that Putin powerfully denied the accusations.
- A large concern is that the two leaders had a two-hour meeting with translators alone – it is not yet known what was discussed in that meeting.
- For in-depth analysis follow this link.
- There has been widespread condemnation of Trump’s actions over the week from all sides, former CIA director, John O. Brennan, said that the situation was, “nothing short of treasonous.”
- To defuse the matter, Trump deemed it an appropriate time to invite Putin to the White House in the fall. US Intelligence Chief, Dan Coats, found out about the visit live, while he was conducting an interview.
- Lastly on Trump – Trump has publicly criticised the interest rate policies of the Federal Reserve Bank saying, “I don’t like all of this work that we’re putting into the economy and then I see rates going up.” These comments end a two-decade tradition of the White House respecting the central bank’s independence.
- The EU and Japan have signed a massive trade deal that covers a third of the world economy. The deal diminishes or cuts tariffs on nearly all goods.
- Theresa May has demanded that the EU strikes up a new deal in order to prevent a hard border in Northern Ireland.
Local News
- This week Ex-US President Barack Obama delivered a speech for the Nelson Mandela centennial celebrations in Johannesburg. Follow the link for the full transcript of the speech.
- The South African Reserve Bank kept interest rates on hold.
- Cyril Ramaphosa has activated the Protection of Investment Act, amidst speculation and controversy. Follow this link for analysis on this and this link for what the Act means.
- Anthea Jeffery has written an interesting article on the similarities between the potential land grabs in South Africa and the land grabs that took place in Venezuela. It is an engaging read.
