In other news, Theresa May has officially stepped down as the leader of her conservative party, but she will technically remain prime minister until the party chooses a new leader.
Meanwhile, NASA says tourists with at least $58 million to spare will soon be able to book a stay on the International Space Station beginning next year.
Finally, Russian President Vladimir Putin came to the defense of China at an economic forum in St Petersburg where he spoke alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping. Putin blasted Trump's trade war and the campaign against Chinese telecom giant Huawei.
“States which previously promoted free trade with honest and open competition have started speaking the language of trade wars and sanctions, of open economic raiding using arm-twisting and scare tactics, of eliminating competitors using so-called non-market methods,” said Putin.
“Look for example at the situation around Huawei which they are trying not to just squeeze out, but to unceremoniously push out of the global market. It’s already being called the first technological war of the emerging digital era in some circles.”
The world risked slipping into an era when “general international rules will be exchanged for the laws of administrative and legal mechanisms ... which is how the United States is unfortunately behaving, spreading its jurisdiction over the whole world,” added Putin.
“...It’s a path to endless conflicts, trade wars and maybe not just trade wars. Figuratively speaking, it’s a path to battles without rules that pit everyone against everyone else.”
Putin obviously has designs and schemes of his own, but I find it difficult to argue with these specific words. Trump is delivering all of this to Xi and Putin.
Have a good weekend.