Trump: Impeach me and the market crashes
US President Donald Trump has responded to speculation that he might be impeached by warning that any such move would damage the economy.
In an interview with Fox & Friends, he said the market would crash and "everybody would be very poor".
He was speaking after Michael Cohen, his ex-lawyer, pleaded guilty to violating election laws and said he had been directed to do so by Mr Trump.
Mr Trump has rarely spoken about the prospect of being impeached.
Correspondents say it is unlikely Mr Trump's opponents would try to impeach him before November's mid-term elections.
Why does Trump say the market would crash?
"I don't know how you can impeach somebody who's done a great job," Mr Trump told Fox and Friends.
"I tell you what, if I ever got impeached, I think the market would crash, I think everybody would be very poor."
Pointing to his head, he said: "Because without this thinking, you would see numbers that you wouldn't believe in reverse."
Ronnie Baker: American sprinter sets fastest 100m time of season
American sprinter Ronnie Baker set the fastest 100m time of the season by clocking 9.87 seconds to win at the Chorzow meeting in Poland.
It meant the 24-year-old lowered his personal best, as well as the season's best of 9.88 he shared with compatriot Noah Lyles.
His time also eclipsed Usain Bolt's previous meeting record of 9.98, which was set in 2014.
"I felt ready," said the world indoor 60m bronze medallist.
Baker will have the opportunity to win the Diamond League title in Brussels on 31 August.
He triumphed over 100m in the Rome, Paris and London legs to lead the standings going into the final.
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi: 'New audio message' from IS leader released
The Islamic State group (IS) has released an audio message purportedly from its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, his first in almost in a year.
In a speech, he calls on IS supporters to "persevere", despite the losses the group has suffered in Iraq and Syria.
The recording's authenticity could not be verified, but experts said the voice resembled that heard in other messages.
Although it is undated, there are references to recent events, including the detention of a US pastor in Turkey.
Russia claimed last year that it had probably killed Baghdadi in an air strike in Syria, but US commanders said they believed he was still alive and hiding in a remote area on the Syria-Iraq border.
In July, IS news outlets reported that Baghdadi's son Hudhayfah had been killed during an IS "commando operation" in the Syrian province of Homs.
Baghdadi - an Iraqi whose real name is Ibrahim Awwad Ibrahim al-Badri - has not been seen in public since he proclaimed the creation of a "caliphate" from the pulpit of the Great Mosque of al-Nuri in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul in July 2014.
His last audio message was released in September 2017, two months after Iraqi government forces recaptured Mosul and one month before IS militants were driven from their Syrian stronghold of Raqqa by a US-backed alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters.
Huawei and ZTE handed 5G network ban in Australia
Chinese smartphone maker Huawei says the Australian government has banned it from providing 5G technology for the country's wireless networks.
It said fellow communications firm ZTE had also been banned, both reportedly because of national security concerns.
"This is a extremely disappointing result for consumers," the company said on Twitter.
Faster data download and upload speeds are promised with 5G, which is the next stage of mobile internet connectivity.
Wider coverage and more stable connections than current 4G technology are also highlighted as benefits.
Several countries are preparing for the roll-out of 5G mobile networks, although analysts say few will launch 5G services before 2020.
Mark Newman, from the consultancy ConnectivityX, said: "5G is going to be the next significant wave of mobile infrastructure deployment.
"If existing suppliers are banned, it will be quite a major blow for them."
Huawei is the world's biggest producer of telecoms equipment. It also ranks second in global smartphone sales, behind Samsung and ahead of Apple.
In July, a UK security committee warned that it had "only limited assurance" that Huawei's telecoms kit posed no threat to national security.
The UK's cyber-defence watchdog - the National Cyber Security Centre - has also warned that the use of ZTE's equipment and services could pose a national security risk.
Tesla Is Still Worth More Than GM
Despite a sell-off in Tesla Inc.'s (NASDAQ: TSLA) stock due to the erratic behavior of CEO Elon Musk, SEC scrutiny of his public statements, rumored turmoil among board members and risks that it can't hit production targets, the electric car company's market value is still higher than that of General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM). GM sells about 10 million cars a year. Tesla delivered slightly more than 40,000 last quarter.
Venezuela devalues currency by 96 percent and raises minimum wage in an attempt to arrest hyperinflation
President Nicolas Maduro’s administration in Venezuela has undertaken the largest currency devaluation ever recorded in recent times, cutting value of the Bolivar by some 96 percent in an attempt to arrest the hyperinflation that has helped to bring the country to its economic knees.
The International Monetary Fund has estimated that inflation in Venezuela may hit an astounding one million percent, higher than the inflation rate in Zimbabwe under the former Robert Mugabe administration.
The Central Bank of Venezuela set the rate at 68.65 of the new “sovereign bolivars” to the euro, equivalent to around 60 bolivars per dollar.
The previous rate was equivalent to some 2.48 sovereign bolivars to the dollar. Expressed in the previous “strong bolivar” currency in effect until Monday, it amounts to a hike from 248,210 to 6,000,000 to the dollar.
In another drastic move, the Maduro administration has also decided to raise the country’s minimum wage by some 3,000 percent, a move that he hopes to bring citizens back home, add value to consumer savings and also bolster confidence in consumer spending.
During the political and economic collapse within Venezuela that prompted these latest adjustments by Maduro, residents have fled the country to neighbouring Columbia, Brazil and as far down south as Argentina and have also sought refuge in Caribbean islands from Anguilla to Trinidad and Tobago.
In a Facebook broadcast announcing the devaluation, Maduro also noted that it was his solemn promise and intention to revive the economy, and as part of that he also planned to raise taxes, increase petrol prices for some drivers, in addition to currency devaluation and introducing the rebranded currency – the sovereign bolívar – which will have five fewer zeros than its inflation-stricken predecessor, the bolívar.
Luis Vicente Leon, president of the Caracas-based pollster Datanalisis, said Venezuela’s latest package of economic measures is likely to cause major problems for domestic businesses.
“The transition to apply the concrete elements of the proposal: exponential increase in salaries, massive requests for advancement of benefits and increase and change of frequency of tax payments puts companies in a situation of catastrophic cash flow,” Leon said in a tweet posted on Friday.
In several other tweets, Leon went on to further assert that this move will create market distortion, raise the likelihood of more black market activity and that moves like this are not in keeping with trying to establish and maintain a respected exchange rate.
The new sovereign bolivar is also expected to be pegged to the newly unveiled Venezuela cryptocurrency, the Petro, unveiled early this year to widespread criticism.
Further in Maduro’s address, he also made clear that he wishes everything in Venezuela to be tied to the Petro and that: “They’ve dollarized our prices. I am petrolizing salaries and petrolizing prices … We are going to convert the petro into the reference that pegs the entire economy’s movements.”
Skeptics of Venezuela’s Petro have gone on record stating that the cryptocurrency is risky, not needed to be backed by oil-revenues, with Venezuela being a large exporter of oil and petroleum products, having the world’s largest oil reserves. The Petro leaves itself open for more fraudulent activity than most other cryptocurrencies in that it is backed by a regime that is already under heavy international sanctions and thus the Petro may be used to back illicit and illegal transactions.
With Venezuela also falling under the crippling pressure of international sanctions, which has affected its largest export, oil, whether or not these moves will help or are just another desperate ploy remains to be seen
Regina Hall Confirms 'Girls Trip 2' Is In The Works: 'We’re Trying To Make That Happen'
It looks like the Flossy Posse will be making their comeback in a Girls Trip 2 sooner than we might expect.
Regina Hall confirmed in a recent interview that the powers that be are working hard to bring a sequel to the successful 2017 hit.
“We’re trying to make that happen,” Hall told BuzzFeed News’ “AM to DM“. “So we’re trying to get everything together with the schedule. I think they’re working on something. I don’t know where we’re going. I don’t know where the girls are going, but… we’re going somewhere.”
La Liga players 'outraged' over deal to play match in the United States
Footballers in Spain have not ruled out strike action over a plan to stage a top-flight league match in the United States, says the players' union.
Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos and Barcelona vice-captain Sergio Busquets were among the high-profile players to attend a meeting on Wednesday to discuss their "concern" over the issue.
La Liga agreed a 15-year deal with US media company Relevent on Friday.
The players' union - the AFE - says its members were not consulted by La Liga.
Players from all of the La Liga sides met in Madrid on Wednesday to discuss the issue with AFE president David Aganzo.
Among those in attendance were Ramos and Real Madrid team-mate Nacho, Barcelona duo Busquets and Sergi Roberto, Leo Baptistao from Espanyol, Bruno from Villarreal, and Atletico Madrid players Koke and Juanfran.
Aganzo said: "The problem is the lack of common sense, a schedule where only the export of soccer benefits - nobody counts on the fans.
"We need to fix it with the bosses. The captains are outraged, they're against it, they are unanimous.
"It does not make sense. We are talking about an agreement that has a validity of 15 years without consulting the players."
On the possibility of strike action, he added: "We will try not to reach that extreme but we are willing to go to the end if necessary."
Aganzo said the players would meet again in September.
Asked last week when the US-based match would take place, and whether it would be a regular fixture, La Liga told BBC Sport it "cannot confirm the teams, match, date or season".
The AFE said players "do not understand the unilateral decisions", adding: "La Liga is distancing the fans of the players, something that harms the show and the essence of football."
After the meeting the league said in a statement: "La Liga will meet with AFE in the appropriate forum to discuss the plans to play a match outside of Spain."
Cuba denies rumours of new customs restrictions
The customs department in Cuba (AGRC) has denied rumours about new customs restrictions, reported by foreign media and other channels of communication.
For several days now, news has been spreading, in what was described as an erroneous and malicious manner, that the AGRC will soon be putting into effect new provisions on the customs clearance of travellers and their belongings.
The official communiqué stated that rumours have even reached the point of setting dates and presenting false documents, according to the questions posted on the AGRC’s Facebook page.
“The current customs regulations have not been modified and are not intended to be modified and are the same as those that appear on its website and on its social networking sites on the Internet,” the AGRC said.
It also reaffirmed that, as is customary, the Cuban customs department will always inform travellers in advance, by all means available, of any changes that may be made to the regulations.
Cuba denies rumours of new customs restrictions
Saudi Arabia has called off Aramco float, report suggests
Saudi Arabia is reported to have cancelled its plans to sell shares in state oil giant Aramco, which had been billed as the largest flotation ever.
The group of financial advisers working on a plan to sell 5% of the company domestically and internationally has been disbanded.
The wire service quoted a source suggesting the decision was taken some time ago but is not being announced.
Neither Saudi Aramco nor the Saudi Royal Court has commented on the story.
Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince, first proposed the share sale early in 2016 as part of his economic reform agenda, to bring western regulation and scrutiny to the company, as well as raising cash to reduce the country's large budget deficit.
At the time he predicted the sale would value Aramco at around $2 trillion (£1.55 tn). The plan was to float shares on both the local stock market in Riyadh, and one of the world's leading international financial centres.